My first car in high school in the very early 60's was a 1958 two door E100 and I LOVED that little car. It had the four cylinder flat head engine in it but it did everything I asked of it and with great fuel mileage. I have tried over the years to find another one but the dragster crowd in this country has all but made them as extinct as the dinosaur. They are really rare and if you do see one it's a rat rodded farce of what it once was. At my age now, 77, I don't have much time left but I still keep hoping.....that car was one of the fondest memories of my youth.
-I had the 58 Anglia. I'd give a dollar to have it back today. I loved that car. A screwdriver and a pair of pliers and I'm ready to cross the country,,
I had a prefect in 1974. My dad used to call it 'the snowdrift', because it was a dirty white, sat down the side of the house and never moved. When it did, it had the acceleration of a stunned slug. It was to be a teenage passion-wagon, but got sold when the passion discovered OHV engines.
Great nostalgic viewing. My father had one, and they certainly weren't a super- car. The wheezing asthmatic side valve engine produced very little power, and coupled to a three speed gearbox, meant that on a long, gradual uphill stretch, you'd be constantly changing between second and third (top), so very slow indeed ! The wipers were pneumatic and seemed to slow down as the car speeded up, so in heavy rain you could hardly see. They were cheap to buy and maintain, which was their main strength.
Drove an eight-year old Anglia for two years in UK during the early sixties. Never had trouble, starting winter or summer, lively engine, brisk runner.
Fue el primer carro de mi papa modelo 1958 Ford Anglia coupe. Lo tuvo por 20 años hasta que ya no hubo repuestos en Guatemala. Buen auto y muchos recuerdos. Bonito video.
My first car was a 57 Prefect. Always started first time, never once was a problem. The main fault was the dreadful 3 speed box. Almost any hill, and you'd be down to 2nd in no time, and if the hill was more than 200 yards long, into bottom before the top of the hill, about 10mph max. Seems daft now, but in those days it seemed pretty normal.
just bought a 1957 Ford prefect 100e yes it's slow yes the breaks need to be put on an hour before you need them...Way before we bought it some one has put in a 4 speed gear box. I love the shape the whole style of it looks the nuts. Me and my fiance are looking forward to giving it a new lease of life with a nice two tone paint job,white walls two tone interior..It's going to be fun..It's a proper car unlike the shite of today. we are use to breaking down and spending money as we Both own classic Vespa scooters and both are Rockabillys...it's all about having fun and enjoying life...DJ Trickster
All 100E models were fitted with 3 speed gearboxes (bottom gear was not syncromesh but a crash 1st gear) only sync on 2nd and 3rd. Its unusual to find a 4 speed gearbox on a side valve 100E (must be a special conversion.)????? Towards the end of 100E production Ford produced the 107E which was in effect a 100E body with the later 105E ohv 4 speed gearbox fitted and marketed as the "Prefect". Oh how simple cars were then.
They never tested starting on a cold damp morning. I grew up in East London and it was known as the Ford dawn chorus, broken only by the running down of the battery.
That was pretty much the case with all low cost British cars of the time - due to crappy Lucas ignition systems. Later came the BMC Mini, which had all the old vices, plus a new one - it would stop when you went through puddles. American cars back then could also be hard to start in very cold weather, until they changed to 12 volt electrics. In the 1960's when these '50's cars were still in use, and I worked in an electronics R&D lab, some of us hand-built electronic ignition systems for our cars, which significantly improved starting. Today's cars start and run when cold beautifully, due to electronic ignition and carefully calibrated fuel injection.
They didn't mention it wouldn't make 10 years before becoming a box of rust. And every ford I had had horrendous starting problems. My Mrs still brings up in company how she had to help push/bump start my cars when dating. Lol
107E was the one to have . They only made it towards end of production. It had the overhead valve 105E Anglia engine and 4 speed box in the 4 door prefect. Plenty of scope for throwing in later more powerful ford engines. Get rid of the drum brakes and you got a good useable fun car for peanuts .
My first car. A Ford prefect. It was a tough little car but that side valve engine was pretty slow. I fitted blinkers to it to make it legal. It could do 65 mph if u rocked it forward.
My first car - does anyone remember the windscreen wipers that worked on air pressure? I remember times when it was chuckin' it down and the damn things would get slower and slower until they stopped altogether....
Ha, yes. But they worked on vacuum - the more you put your foot down, the less vacuum and the slower the wiper: no good in the piddling down with rain!
Hello, later ones supposedly had a better vacuum tank but, bleaughhhhhh. They had the same bloody useless system on the consuls, zephyrs and the bigger thames vans: as you say "what were they thinking",. Cheers, Les.
Les Reed There's something strangely satisfying about being able to look back and say 'I know, it happened to me'. People I have told recently think I'm pulling their leg..!
Ha:) Window washers? If you were lucky, someone might have fitted a set, that you had to push a rubber bulb on the floor to get to work. - and that's where the dipswitch was, too! As you say, no-one who wasn't there has any idea: they think it's all done by magic - or worst ways just touching a little button or lever! Riding motorbikes from the 40/50/60s had just as many quirks! Cheers again, Les.
@@lizichell2 Yes, it did. But that was a completely different model, with a completely different engine, that came out much later, in 1959 (the 105E). What I'm saying is that the 100E would have been so much better if it had had a 4-speed box. Its main competitors, the Austin A30, Morris Minor and Standard Eight, all had 4-speeds.
@@lizichell2 Cost probably, same reason they kept a sidevalve engine when BMC went OHV, the last of the Prefect 107E series had the Anglia 997 CC engine and 4 speed box in them from 1959 until replaced by the Consul Classic.
"Independant front suspension"! But how about at the rear?
6 лет назад+6
What this film failed to mention is that it rains a lot in Britain and all 1950's/1960's British cars rusted like crazy! Still, I always thought the Prefect was an elegant little car. My first car was a 1965 Vauxhall Viva SL, one of the best cars I ever owned - but it rusted away.
I found "the cracking point" in my ford pop alright. The Ford engineers missed this one. If you drove down a long hill and turned the ignition off for a few seconds, then opened the throttle fully, then turned the ignition on again, they would backfire really loud. If you pulled out the choke at the same time the bang could shatter windows. I blew the silencer off mine.
Yep used to do that in my R16 when I was 18 , we thought it was so funny and was lucky it didn't split the silencer , ironically when I bought a Rover 110 and it wouldn't start we towed it and there was a loud bang and it split the silencer ! karma I suppose ! :o)
It's amazing that with all of its drawbacks, they used engine vacuum for so many things: wipers, power brakes, early power windows, power seats and the air conditioning dampers. I had a 1986 Dodge Lancer with the 2.2 L turbocharged engine and every time you stepped hard on the accelerator, the cold air would stop coming out of the dashboard and start blowing at your feet. It wasn't a major problem, but they should have added a vacuum reservoir when they added the turbocharger. Finally now, I believe the AC controls on my Honda are all electric.
It's a bit of a joke. It was not a bad car, but the engine was an update of the old side valve engine in pre-war Fords, whereas other car makers had moved on to more efficient overhead valve engines. It only had 3 forward gears, and was not good to drive because it felt like second gear was missing with such a small engine. It couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Compared to other makers cars with their OHV engines and 4 speed gearboxes, the Ford Anglia was an outdated sluggard. The big thing going for this Anglia was that it was the cheapest car you could buy, and that's why it sold so well. I would add that the Consul and Zephyr shown at the beginning were excellent cars, and could hold their own with other brands.
The 100E motor was flogged off by Morris (from their series MM Minor) when they joined Austin. I had the 53 delux Prefect with TWO sun visors!! You had to make sure you didnt slip your foot off the throttle pedal - the linkage would poop off at the carb and the engine would go to max revs!! Loved it though.
I had the 'Popular' version of this model. You are quite right about the 3 speed box. Hilly inclines used to crucify this car and, in particular, long winding ones. The car would quickly wind down to the annoyance of other drivers behind! And to think Ford were still flogging these cars engined with ancient sidevalves as late as '63!
8:30 "Driving pedals that cut out draughts", a reminder of how some cars' (e.g. Austin A series) pedal shafts descended through the floor rather than going to a bulkhead master cylinder. Like most cars then, 1950's Fords were very rust prone. Rubber water pipes turned to biscuit. Radiators leaked. Battery charging was inadequate. Lights were a dim yellow. Tyres were extremely skinny, of rigid cross-ply designs. Braking was poor. The cars were-basic. Even my 1960's 105E Anglia had a big rust hole in the floor to show the road flying by below!
They look very modern for 1952, when you consider the Austins and Morris's of the time - even 69 years later they still look good. By the way, this film was produced by Jack R. Greenwood. I guess this is the same Jack Greenwood who went on to produce the Edgar Wallace and Scotland Yard (from 1958) films at Merton Park
I remember well the Mk 1 Zephyrs and Consuls here in NZ, there were plenty privately owned, 3 speed column change, not the best performers but ok for that era in motoring. Our Government Traffic Department used the Zephyrs as patrol cars during the 50s and changed to PA Vauxhalls late 50s. Mid 60s when i joined that Department we were using PB and later PBX 3.3 Vauxhalls, the latter having a fair turn of acceleration, with a reasonable top speed, but were outshone during motorway chases by the Mk 3 Zephyrs which had a slight edge. Speaking from experience. Bob. NZ.
Thanks for posting this video. Was truly nostalgic for me. My father had a Prefect.The 3 speeds were as follows 1. Too low 2 Just wrong and 3 much too high! It's funny that Ford got it so wrong with these models but the later Ford Anglia with a 4 speed box and an ohv, over square engine, was a much better proposition.
Slow by today's standards, of course, but adequate for its class. Try an early Morris Minor or a SV Hillman Minx if you want really slow. The vacuum wipers were bad - climbing or passing in the rain called for strong nerves and a good memory. And like all sidevalve engines, it was a notorious valve burner, but probably no worse than BMC's A series. Visibility was excellent, and the steering too. And, no, I don't want to go back. My wife's Mondeo estate is good, and I now commute on an R1100RT (adjustable screen and heated grips - I've got old).
Amazing ,so many tests pity they didn't test how quick these cars rusted ,I remember my Father's had rust on it after one month of use fresh from the factory.
My father had one of these and took my mother and me and my future mrs down to Devon for a holiday... what a ride (the car) it was atrocious. The cracking point was starting up that side valve, three bearing under powered thing that lurked under the bonnet. I had a 107E ohv with a four speed box, which was a slight improvement.
1172 cc side/valve, in 1952, when everyone else had gone OHV. I owned one of the original "escorts" 1959 it was still three speed, with vacuum wipers. I bought a 1600E in 1969 loved the car, but I was skint so had to sell it. In 1997 I bought a new Ford Galaxy Ghia, what a total crock of shite that was. We now have a French MPV as a daily driver, but we also own a 1971 1600E. I can fix ix it with a pair of pliers, screwdriver, hammer and a socket set.
My parents saved left right and centre to buy a Prefect in '56 . It was imported from Ireland , as they couldn't get one in England at the time : complete with IRE plates . Very basic rubbish , but that's what you got for ordinary money in Britain after the war . If memory serves , the sales tax was 52% all up . Dad didn't think much of it ( having spent years with Yanky cars in the war years ) but that was the go .
I had a job offer from Ford at Aveley in 1990, I turned it down on the basis of the company car offered and that they still didn't use computers! Why are we told here that mechanics are making prototype parts? Where are the toolroom fitters and turners? My dad got a Popular in the early 70s when the oil crisis struck. As kids we hated it. Never started, useless in the snow and even then we knew its antediluvian anaemic side valve engine and ludicrous vacuum wipers were not really Five Star Motiring at all. It only got worse with the later arrival of a Thames van. I still recall a failed Devonian hillclimb from Yelverton carrying some.bricks resulting in a major detour in search of shallower inclines. I also recall pushing the Ford Squire of my grandparents neighbour when that turned up its toes in Devonian winter and sadly we later had a Mk 1 Cortina that as a teenager I was always being sent to the Ford agent UK buy parts for or doing fibreglass body repairs. It was also a reluctant morning performer needing spark plugs heating in the cooker's grill and yet more bump start pushing duty. Ford Gives You More ? No, they sell you as little as possible.
Thanks for posting this brilliant video. We are lucky enough to own a 1958 Ford Prefect 100E, restored to complete original specification. Please put a better descriptive title on your video for people to find it easily. Sadly there is NOTHING in your video title using the 'obvious' words about 1950s Ford Prefect/Anglia models etc. Cheers (just trying to be helpful honest)!
57 Prefect followed by a 71 HC Viva. Lost the fuel cap of the Viva and went to the dealer for a replacement. Took many visits and being told they had none before someone who knew sent me down to the commercial vehicles dept to ask for a CF Bedford van fuel cap. Exactly the same cap and they had piles of them all along. 😔
These Ford models came with the basic equipment by todays standards. Yet this was met with acceptance back then unless the more expensive models were sought. Ford Motor Company was always optimistic with descriptions and capability of its range.
What about the modern vacuum wipers? Automatic high speed when your stationary then very slow as you speed up. Those were the days, holiday hard shoulder here we come. Burst hoses steaming radiators.
None of these British cars, which were exported to my country from what I can recall in the 50's and 60's lasted long in Canada. Winter separates the wheat from chaff.
When I was a very small child my family was living in Europe and my dad used to own one of these. I still have old family pics of it, but one thing has always bothered me: from the pics it obviously had the fancier Prefect grille, yet to us it was always known as the Anglia. Do any of the experts out there know if the Prefect was ever sold as the Anglia in some markets or, conversely, if the Anglia was ever sold with the Prefect grille ?
I'm no expert but I'm fairly sure that the more basic '3 Bar' grill was only fitted to the very early examples of the Anglia. The later cars were fitted with the smarter looking Prefect type, Other changes included larger rear lamps, The tiny ones shown in this video were again only fitted to very early examples of both cars
Got mine in 1971 built in 1958 cost my dad £25. My first car, hated the 3 speed box and vacuum driven wipers as I learnt to drive in a 1969 Austin 1100 which was much more refined.
It's an odd thing. Seems to have an externally-mounted spare wheel too. I wonder if it was a 'mule', where they clothe the mechanicals (to test) under the body of a different car? But I wonder (doubt) if Ford went to those lengths in those days..
Until cars were fitted with alternators , the dynamos (generator, for our USA friends), struggled to power, lights, heater fans (when fitted), and keep the engine running as well as recharge the battery. Vacuum wipers were at least capable of working without taking power from the electrical system. The MK 2 Consul and Zephyrs had a vacuum pump built in to the fuel pump which solved much of the problem. If the rubber vacuum hose perished then the wipers barley worked.
Although I can't drive and have no interest in motor vehicles generally, I must say these cars look magnificent: handsome and full of character unlike the bland looking cars of the 21st century.😎
and now we have cars from everywhere except our own countries, where every year the parts are different for the same model the electronics get more sophisticated and the average person couldn't even consider repairing it them selves and they have perfected build in obsolescence
Modern cars are dead easy to work on, but you can't use the techniques of yesteryear and need the right equipment. You need to be able to speak the cars language - if you can they are no problem.
We had 100E. It has factory I'm house defects. Carb is on top of silencer manifold and its heat evaporate fuel melting packing. Wobling of ftont tires has to stop by fiximg cross shockabsobers. Its small and hardy car.
Moggy A35 and A40s etc always started easier and better from cold than any Ford Anglia/Prefect/Popular I ever drove - the Fords needed a knack that seemed a bit different on each identical example as they got older - seemingly dependent on how they'd been used/abused - and of course serviced (if at all!). To me, everybody then seemed to want to yank the choke all over the place and pump the accelerator while churning from cold! - so they either flooded or screamed into life, stuffing the mains & big ends after a few thousand miles
Why is the film for only Anglia and Prefect.? The Ford Popular ('pop') was the same thing too and was called a pop in 2 and 4 door, deluxe and standard versions.
The Popular with this body shape came much later.. After the launch of the later 105E Anglia, which was a much more modern car, Ford continued to produce this model Anglia, rebadged as the Popular, in very basic form. It allowed them to offer a cheaper model than the new Anglia. The Popular remained as the cheapest car on the market. The105E could not compete on price with the Mini, launched the same year, but the Popular could.
Ran 100Es back in the 1970s and 80s,, cut and shut morris minor wipers electric to fit them and a morris minor fuel pump,,fitted spare wheel under boot floor more room,, Anglia 105e front brake drums and Escort rear axil perfect fit and does not show,, another thing had a 6 volt coil next to the 12 volt item used the 6 volt for starting up then on to the 12,,
This car was a big improvement on the sit up and beg Ford Pop that was a pre war design but was still being sold in the early 50s. They lifted that terrible side valve gutless engine and gearbox out of that early model an dropped it into the 100E. The 100E was lighter but the crap engine still could not pull the car uphill. With four adults aboard I can remember having to reverse up a really steep hill just so we could get to the top. They were miles behind Austin, Morris, etc small cars at the time. The 100E came good when they installed the new 105E Anglia engine and four speed box into the later models. Pretty rare now, but one of the improved later ones are worth having.
@@lesreed7943 Yes they did. I had both. Plus a couple of Prefects. "Under the bonnet the 100E still housed an antiquated, but actually new, 36 bhp side-valve engine sharing the bore and stroke of the old unit but now with larger bearings and inlet valves and pump-assisted cooling." So much the same. But if you wish to pedantic, fair enough. It was still crap. Later on they fitted the new Anglia engine and four speed box before they launched the new Anglia. There is a couple of older 100e s Ebay now. Side Valve engine and still vacuum wipers. I think they changed it to 12 volt though which was an improvement.
Am I dreaming but did the whipers work off a vacume and the faster the engine went the slower the whipers worked So the faster you drove the slower the wipers worked ?????????????????????????????????????????? Trying to recall being driven by my head mistress from home to school >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>On rainy days ????????????????????????
Malo, muy malo, en Argentina llegó en 1956 (Prefect), en los caminos de aquí fondeaba la suspensión delantera, se rajó el falso chasis en el tren trasero, al cambiar las cintas de freno nunca mas frenó bien, (de origen tenía marca Ferodo), desconocidas en estas pampas, no se conseguían neumáticos 520, al colocar la medida que seguía se rompían los extremos de dirección, no tenía filtro de aceite, la caja de velocidades en pocos kilómetros gastaba los anillos de sincronización (cantaba la caja), etc., lo enviaron sin adaptar a este país, salvo el volante a la derecha. A disposición de quién desee saber mas.
From Volvo Citroen and Land Rover, Range Rover and others inbetween. My Ford mondeo estate is the most reliable, comfortable and I always pat her on the Ford badge as I park her goodnight. I think I will buy old Ford. Until I can Afford a new Ford!
Jeff Ross ,,,,,,The gear boxes were not the best But I used to deal in used 100 spares and No one come for gear boxes , but most radiators I got in had the bottom taps twisted off so replaced with an old halfpenny soldered on to replace them, I often had to solder twopence pieces on them not really 1950s but did the job ,,
@@williamredfern2683 I once managed to rescue a peugeot 206 after a very minor accident a similar way - in an impact the mounting lugs on the radiator sheared off and left an open hole. I superglued a penny over the hole, cracked off the expansion tank cap so that it wouldn't build pressure and the car was able to be driven home.
Sadly most 1950's Fords were not much good, only three speed, vacuum wipers that slowed under acceleration, side valve engines! Standard Motor Company had 4 gears, ohv engines,
Need to add a.nd electric wipers Think the Fords had transverse front leaf springs and tapered wheel bearing so the wheels fell off when bearings failed! Fords seem on a par with Renault, Citroen, get to 100000 miles and things start going wrong? Toyota, Honda are more reliable?
Ford UK made some really drab looking cars back in the 50's and 60's. I remember them as a child in the 60's. My father sold them for a living, and they all seemed to beeither grey, black or white. When you look at Ford USA they had much better lookingcars, and they were available in bright colours. OK so they were to big for our roads,but if only Ford UK could have made scaled down versions, rather than these blandlooking designs.
My first car in high school in the very early 60's was a 1958 two door E100 and I LOVED that little car. It had the four cylinder flat head engine in it but it did everything I asked of it and with great fuel mileage. I have tried over the years to find another one but the dragster crowd in this country has all but made them as extinct as the dinosaur. They are really rare and if you do see one it's a rat rodded farce of what it once was. At my age now, 77, I don't have much time left but I still keep hoping.....that car was one of the fondest memories of my youth.
-I had the 58 Anglia. I'd give a dollar to have it back today. I loved that car. A screwdriver and a pair of pliers and I'm ready to cross the country,,
Those cars are pretty cheep and common in Sweden saw 3 for sale today 2 for about 3000$ and one for 5000$ both looked like new.
Compared to BMC products of the 50s this is an extremely modern car. Macpherson struts. Synchro. Hydraulic brakes. Integrated headlights.
I had a prefect in 1974. My dad used to call it 'the snowdrift', because it was a dirty white, sat down the side of the house and never moved. When it did, it had the acceleration of a stunned slug. It was to be a teenage passion-wagon, but got sold when the passion discovered OHV engines.
My first car was a Ford 100 E Popular two door. Great little side valve engine, three speed gearbox, happy days.
That little black Anglia looks brilliant!
My first car. Thought I was the King of the Road.
@@johnfrancis4848 What a stylish first ride! Mine was a Rover 2200SC
Great nostalgic viewing. My father had one, and they certainly weren't a super- car. The wheezing asthmatic side valve engine produced very little power, and coupled to a three speed gearbox, meant that on a long, gradual uphill stretch, you'd be constantly changing between second and third (top), so very slow indeed ! The wipers were pneumatic and seemed to slow down as the car speeded up, so in heavy rain you could hardly see. They were cheap to buy and maintain, which was their main strength.
Drove an eight-year old Anglia for two years in UK during the early sixties. Never had trouble, starting winter or summer, lively engine, brisk runner.
Fue el primer carro de mi papa modelo 1958 Ford Anglia coupe. Lo tuvo por 20 años hasta que ya no hubo repuestos en Guatemala. Buen auto y muchos recuerdos. Bonito video.
Looks like they're pulling out all the stops -- and they've almost got it to the point of the Trabant. Good show, I say!
My first car was a 57 Prefect. Always started first time, never once was a problem. The main fault was the dreadful 3 speed box. Almost any hill, and you'd be down to 2nd in no time, and if the hill was more than 200 yards long, into bottom before the top of the hill, about 10mph max. Seems daft now, but in those days it seemed pretty normal.
..and the vacuum operated wipers - an absolute joke I had a 1958 prefect.
Lovely video brings it all back thankyou.
Very pleasant design for sure. I could drive one today no problems
just bought a 1957 Ford prefect 100e yes it's slow yes the breaks need to be put on an hour before you need them...Way before we bought it some one has put in a 4 speed gear box.
I love the shape the whole style of it looks the nuts. Me and my fiance are looking forward to giving it a new lease of life with a nice two tone paint job,white walls two tone interior..It's going to be fun..It's a proper car unlike the shite of today.
we are use to breaking down and spending money as we Both own classic Vespa scooters and both are Rockabillys...it's all about having fun and enjoying life...DJ Trickster
Put in a 4 speed box? On which engine - 997 or 1172?
All 100E models were fitted with 3 speed gearboxes (bottom gear was not syncromesh but a crash 1st gear) only sync on 2nd and 3rd.
Its unusual to find a 4 speed gearbox on a side valve 100E (must be a special conversion.)?????
Towards the end of 100E production Ford produced the 107E which was in effect a 100E body with the later 105E ohv 4 speed gearbox fitted and marketed as the "Prefect".
Oh how simple cars were then.
My my what ever you do look after that girl, nothing more important life than marrying the right person.
Loved my little Ford Cortina from the 60s ! Wish Ford would bring back a modern version of this car to the USA .
They never tested starting on a cold damp morning. I grew up in East London and it was known as the Ford dawn chorus, broken only by the running down of the battery.
Yes! I had the Ford Anglia with the inward sloping rear window. It WAS a good motor. But as you say, I dreaded turning the key on a cold damp morning.
That was pretty much the case with all low cost British cars of the time - due to crappy Lucas ignition systems. Later came the BMC Mini, which had all the old vices, plus a new one - it would stop when you went through puddles. American cars back then could also be hard to start in very cold weather, until they changed to 12 volt electrics. In the 1960's when these '50's cars were still in use, and I worked in an electronics R&D lab, some of us hand-built electronic ignition systems for our cars, which significantly improved starting.
Today's cars start and run when cold beautifully, due to electronic ignition and carefully calibrated fuel injection.
Ahh…after 56 years I now know why my father’s’58 Prefect had trouble starting on a wet morning. We live in Singapore by the way.
My Dad had a 1957 Anglia with 3-speed gearbox. Lasted into the early 1970s
They didn't mention it wouldn't make 10 years before becoming a box of rust. And every ford I had had horrendous starting problems. My Mrs still brings up in company how she had to help push/bump start my cars when dating. Lol
Ah the luxury of draught free pedals !
Filled with optimism? Filled with standard marketing hype! These guys could make a dead cabbage saleable.
Called them Cabbage Patch dolls. Fuggenugly!
107E was the one to have . They only made it towards end of production. It had the overhead valve 105E Anglia engine and 4 speed box in the 4 door prefect. Plenty of scope for throwing in later more powerful ford engines. Get rid of the drum brakes and you got a good useable fun car for peanuts .
Done - thanks for the tip! (Glad you liked the video - it has a lovely warmth to it).
British passion for the quality.
Best advert for the Morris Minor ever!
thank you
How old fashioned all this seems!
My first car. A Ford prefect. It was a tough little car but that side valve engine was pretty slow. I fitted blinkers to it to make it legal. It could do 65 mph if u rocked it forward.
I like the way a Morris Minor 1000 passed them in the opposite direction. An equally great little car.
performance was tested over and over again.....to see if there was any!
It wasn't meant to be a sports car!
hahaha yes ..and the vacuum wipers would slow to a standstill going up a hill...truly awful cars
@@bluegtturbo What was your donkey's name?
@@2Truth2you It was called 'Useless Ford'
@@2Truth2you Dagenham Dustbin
wish my Prefects handled and braked like the ones in the film. although still get thumbs up everytime we take it out
My first car - does anyone remember the windscreen wipers that worked on air pressure? I remember times when it was chuckin' it down and the damn things would get slower and slower until they stopped altogether....
Ha, yes. But they worked on vacuum - the more you put your foot down, the less vacuum and the slower the wiper: no good in the piddling down with rain!
I know - what were they thinking...?
Hello, later ones supposedly had a better vacuum tank but, bleaughhhhhh. They had the same bloody useless system on the consuls, zephyrs and the bigger thames vans: as you say "what were they thinking",. Cheers, Les.
Les Reed There's something strangely satisfying about being able to look back and say 'I know, it happened to me'. People I have told recently think I'm pulling their leg..!
Ha:) Window washers? If you were lucky, someone might have fitted a set, that you had to push a rubber bulb on the floor to get to work. - and that's where the dipswitch was, too!
As you say, no-one who wasn't there has any idea: they think it's all done by magic - or worst ways just touching a little button or lever! Riding motorbikes from the 40/50/60s had just as many quirks! Cheers again, Les.
I`d pay good money for a brand new one of these.
A 4-speed gearbox would have made all the difference.
The later Anglia had four speed
@@lizichell2 Yes, it did. But that was a completely different model, with a completely different engine, that came out much later, in 1959 (the 105E). What I'm saying is that the 100E would have been so much better if it had had a 4-speed box. Its main competitors, the Austin A30, Morris Minor and Standard Eight, all had 4-speeds.
Yes I don't understand why they didn't
@@lizichell2 Cost probably, same reason they kept a sidevalve engine when BMC went OHV, the last of the Prefect 107E series had the Anglia 997 CC engine and 4 speed box in them from 1959 until replaced by the Consul Classic.
"Independant front suspension"! But how about at the rear?
What this film failed to mention is that it rains a lot in Britain and all 1950's/1960's British cars rusted like crazy! Still, I always thought the Prefect was an elegant little car. My first car was a 1965 Vauxhall Viva SL, one of the best cars I ever owned - but it rusted away.
Other factors were also at work- we had much harsher winters and acid rain from burning a lot of coal.
I found "the cracking point" in my ford pop alright. The Ford engineers missed this one. If you drove down a long hill and turned the ignition off for a few seconds, then opened the throttle fully, then turned the ignition on again, they would backfire really loud. If you pulled out the choke at the same time the bang could shatter windows. I blew the silencer off mine.
why would you do that? at least put it out of gear or something. it even says in the manual you should not do that.
I used to do that in my 1960 Minor! At night, you could see a 20 foot burst of flame at 50 mph!
Yep used to do that in my R16 when I was 18 , we thought it was so funny and was lucky it didn't split the silencer , ironically when I bought a Rover 110 and it wouldn't start we towed it and there was a loud bang and it split the silencer ! karma I suppose ! :o)
when it rained and you were going up hill the wipers stopped, so i used standard 10 wipers in mine
It's amazing that with all of its drawbacks, they used engine vacuum for so many things: wipers, power brakes, early power windows, power seats and the air conditioning dampers. I had a 1986 Dodge Lancer with the 2.2 L turbocharged engine and every time you stepped hard on the accelerator, the cold air would stop coming out of the dashboard and start blowing at your feet. It wasn't a major problem, but they should have added a vacuum reservoir when they added the turbocharger. Finally now, I believe the AC controls on my Honda are all electric.
great cars...rugged, simple, reliable...
It's a bit of a joke. It was not a bad car, but the engine was an update of the old side valve engine in pre-war Fords, whereas other car makers had moved on to more efficient overhead valve engines. It only had 3 forward gears, and was not good to drive because it felt like second gear was missing with such a small engine. It couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Compared to other makers cars with their OHV engines and 4 speed gearboxes, the Ford Anglia was an outdated sluggard. The big thing going for this Anglia was that it was the cheapest car you could buy, and that's why it sold so well. I would add that the Consul and Zephyr shown at the beginning were excellent cars, and could hold their own with other brands.
Replevideo ,,,,, BUT THE MOTORING PUBLIC LIKED THEM ENOUGH , AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS, AND PEOPLE FORGET THE 107E ANGLIA ENGINE PREFECT,,
useless information yes,,, but how many know the early 100Es on the picture had smaller rear screens than the later ones ,,
The 100E motor was flogged off by Morris (from their series MM Minor) when they joined Austin. I had the 53 delux Prefect with TWO sun visors!! You had to make sure you didnt slip your foot off the throttle pedal - the linkage would poop off at the carb and the engine would go to max revs!! Loved it though.
I had the 'Popular' version of this model. You are quite right about the 3 speed box. Hilly inclines used to crucify this car and, in particular, long winding ones. The car would quickly wind down to the annoyance of other drivers behind! And to think Ford were still flogging these cars engined with ancient sidevalves as late as '63!
Don't forget there was no motorways then. It didn't have to be fast.
I miss my 100e. Thanks for posting
8:30 "Driving pedals that cut out draughts", a reminder of how some cars' (e.g. Austin A series) pedal shafts descended through the floor rather than going to a bulkhead master cylinder. Like most cars then, 1950's Fords were very rust prone. Rubber water pipes turned to biscuit. Radiators leaked. Battery charging was inadequate. Lights were a dim yellow. Tyres were extremely skinny, of rigid cross-ply designs. Braking was poor. The cars were-basic. Even my 1960's 105E Anglia had a big rust hole in the floor to show the road flying by below!
Think about it hole in the floor early air conditioning 😃
@@donaldellis3609 Moisturising, too, on a rainy night!
They look very modern for 1952, when you consider the Austins and Morris's of the time - even 69 years later they still look good. By the way, this film was produced by Jack R. Greenwood. I guess this is the same Jack Greenwood who went on to produce the Edgar Wallace and Scotland Yard (from 1958) films at Merton Park
Makes a Trabant feel like an Audi!
I remember well the Mk 1 Zephyrs and Consuls here in NZ, there were plenty privately owned, 3 speed column change, not the best performers but ok for that era in motoring. Our Government Traffic Department used the Zephyrs as patrol cars during the 50s and changed to PA Vauxhalls late 50s.
Mid 60s when i joined that Department we were using PB and later PBX 3.3 Vauxhalls, the latter
having a fair turn of acceleration, with a reasonable top speed, but were outshone during motorway chases by the Mk 3 Zephyrs which had a slight edge. Speaking from experience. Bob. NZ.
Fantastic! I want one! Where may I buy one? Lol!
Thanks for posting this video. Was truly nostalgic for me. My father had a Prefect.The 3 speeds were as follows 1. Too low 2 Just wrong and 3 much too high! It's funny that Ford got it so wrong with these models but the later Ford Anglia with a 4 speed box and an ohv, over square engine, was a much better proposition.
Slow by today's standards, of course, but adequate for its class. Try an early Morris Minor or a SV Hillman Minx if you want really slow.
The vacuum wipers were bad - climbing or passing in the rain called for strong nerves and a good memory. And like all sidevalve engines, it was a notorious valve burner, but probably no worse than BMC's A series. Visibility was excellent, and the steering too. And, no, I don't want to go back.
My wife's Mondeo estate is good, and I now commute on an R1100RT (adjustable screen and heated grips - I've got old).
"Speed, safety and economy". I wonder.......
Nostalgia!
Amazing ,so many tests pity they didn't test how quick these cars rusted ,I remember my Father's had rust on it after one month of use fresh from the factory.
I always thought were 3 cars similar to each other. ANGLIA. PREFECT. AND THE POPULAR. ! !
First car was a prefect... never died
My father had one of these and took my mother and me and my future mrs down to Devon for a holiday... what a ride (the car) it was atrocious. The cracking point was starting up that side valve, three bearing under powered thing that lurked under the bonnet.
I had a 107E ohv with a four speed box, which was a slight improvement.
Never mind you had a nice holiday and I expect you got to use your dip stick eventually
1172 cc side/valve, in 1952, when everyone else had gone OHV. I owned one of the original "escorts" 1959 it was still three speed, with vacuum wipers.
I bought a 1600E in 1969 loved the car, but I was skint so had to sell it.
In 1997 I bought a new Ford Galaxy Ghia, what a total crock of shite that was.
We now have a French MPV as a daily driver, but we also own a 1971 1600E. I can fix ix it with a pair of pliers, screwdriver, hammer and a socket set.
My parents saved left right and centre to buy a Prefect in '56 . It was imported from Ireland , as they couldn't get one in England at the time : complete with IRE plates . Very basic rubbish , but that's what you got for ordinary money in Britain after the war . If memory serves , the sales tax was 52% all up . Dad didn't think much of it ( having spent years with Yanky cars in the war years ) but that was the go .
the good old days...
NegativeNumbers427
I had a job offer from Ford at Aveley in 1990, I turned it down on the basis of the company car offered and that they still didn't use computers! Why are we told here that mechanics are making prototype parts? Where are the toolroom fitters and turners? My dad got a Popular in the early 70s when the oil crisis struck. As kids we hated it. Never started, useless in the snow and even then we knew its antediluvian anaemic side valve engine and ludicrous vacuum wipers were not really Five Star Motiring at all. It only got worse with the later arrival of a Thames van. I still recall a failed Devonian hillclimb from Yelverton carrying some.bricks resulting in a major detour in search of shallower inclines. I also recall pushing the Ford Squire of my grandparents neighbour when that turned up its toes in Devonian winter and sadly we later had a Mk 1 Cortina that as a teenager I was always being sent to the Ford agent UK buy parts for or doing fibreglass body repairs. It was also a reluctant morning performer needing spark plugs heating in the cooker's grill and yet more bump start pushing duty. Ford Gives You More ? No, they sell you as little as possible.
I had a ford prefect and I put a Gt Cortina engine and front end in it --Those days it went.
You had yourself one hell of a car my friend
Thanks for posting this brilliant video. We are lucky enough to own a 1958 Ford Prefect 100E, restored to complete original specification. Please put a better descriptive title on your video for people to find it easily. Sadly there is NOTHING in your video title using the 'obvious' words about 1950s Ford Prefect/Anglia models etc. Cheers (just trying to be helpful honest)!
The problem with driving a Ford Prefect...you end up hitchhiking.
You can still find these running about the streets of Havana ...probably with Nissan mechanicals however.
My grandparents had one of these, a strange lime green colour, it came with plastic seat covers and my gran hated it . A Vauxhall Viva was next.
57 Prefect followed by a 71 HC Viva. Lost the fuel cap of the Viva and went to the dealer for a replacement. Took many visits and being told they had none before someone who knew sent me down to the commercial vehicles dept to ask for a CF Bedford van fuel cap. Exactly the same cap and they had piles of them all along. 😔
If only nowadays Ford built cars for the common man ,todays Fords are not cheap!
Problem is there's no class system with brands now. They all want to go upmarket it's Ford's against Audi's etc.
@@operator91210 true.Ford forget where they came from...
These Ford models came with the basic equipment by todays standards.
Yet this was met with acceptance back then unless the more expensive models were sought.
Ford Motor Company was always optimistic with descriptions and capability of its range.
Is that a laptop next to the drill @ 3:50???
That shows how advanced Ford technology was in 1952!
Yeah a laptop. Back then I think they called them a seat.
My first car was Ford Anglia was very good
great cars.
See a psychiatrist - as soon as possible.
I wonder if they did videos on the Popular
What about the modern vacuum wipers?
Automatic high speed when your stationary then very slow as you speed up.
Those were the days, holiday hard shoulder here we come.
Burst hoses steaming radiators.
None of these British cars, which were exported to my country from what I can recall in the 50's and 60's lasted long in Canada. Winter separates the wheat from chaff.
I had an Anglia, I don't remember it being anything like this film.....
I had one of these Anglias in the 1990 is.....sold it to a Ford dealership
When I was a very small child my family was living in Europe and my dad used to own one of these. I still have old family pics of it, but one thing has always bothered me: from the pics it obviously had the fancier Prefect grille, yet to us it was always known as the Anglia. Do any of the experts out there know if the Prefect was ever sold as the Anglia in some markets or, conversely, if the Anglia was ever sold with the Prefect grille ?
I'm no expert but I'm fairly sure that the more basic '3 Bar' grill was only fitted to the very early examples of the Anglia. The later cars were fitted with the smarter looking Prefect type, Other changes included larger rear lamps, The tiny ones shown in this video were again only fitted to very early examples of both cars
In a word - no. Completely different models.
5:15 not so now .. mechanics nightmare many modern engine layouts
Did these models come with park assist
+mike evans Yes.. the wife.
Yes also "Sat Nag"
No sorry.
Was there still rationing in England in 1952?
Hi Scott, food rationing continued in Britain until July 1954
Thank you, I knew that petrol was rationed until 1949 and clothing until 1952
I recall coal rationing continued until at least 1952.
ford anglia first ever car i drove 1970
Got mine in 1971 built in 1958 cost my dad £25. My first car, hated the 3 speed box and vacuum driven wipers as I learnt to drive in a 1969 Austin 1100 which was much more refined.
i can hear the cranking of one of these,trying to get it to start,better with a morris minor
Is that an Alfa Romeo at 5:37?
It's an odd thing. Seems to have an externally-mounted spare wheel too. I wonder if it was a 'mule', where they clothe the mechanicals (to test) under the body of a different car? But I wonder (doubt) if Ford went to those lengths in those days..
great stuff by the 'whiz kids' at Dagenham
guidoschol
So the only difference between the Anglia and the Prefect is the number of doors and the grill shape?!
The sat nag might be slightly different for each model.
Do you mean sat nav ? Cuz it didn't exist in 1952.
No. Sat Nag. The front seat passenger.
you evil man ;-)
They forgot to mention the side valve engine, three speed gearbox and vacuum wipers, which Austin, Vauxhall, etc had abandoned decades earlier... 🤔
Until cars were fitted with alternators , the dynamos (generator, for our USA friends), struggled to power, lights, heater fans (when fitted), and keep the engine running as well as recharge the battery. Vacuum wipers were at least capable of working without taking power from the electrical system. The MK 2 Consul and Zephyrs had a vacuum pump built in to the fuel pump which solved much of the problem. If the rubber vacuum hose perished then the wipers barley worked.
Although I can't drive and have no interest in motor vehicles generally, I must say these cars look magnificent: handsome and full of character unlike the bland looking cars of the 21st century.😎
Well quite simply they were rubbish.
and now we have cars from everywhere except our own countries, where every year the parts are different for the same model the electronics get more sophisticated and the average person couldn't even consider repairing it them selves and they have perfected build in obsolescence
Modern cars are dead easy to work on, but you can't use the techniques of yesteryear and need the right equipment. You need to be able to speak the cars language - if you can they are no problem.
We had 100E. It has factory I'm house defects. Carb is on top of silencer manifold and its heat evaporate fuel melting packing. Wobling of ftont tires has to stop by fiximg cross shockabsobers. Its small and hardy car.
I can find any car's cracking point in about ten minutes.
So can my wife
The Morris 1000 OHV was a vastly superior car
Except for the trunnions on the front suspension. So many of those failed. Including mine.
@@paulnicholls8683 and then they carried them over to the marina with only small changes, absolute madness.
Moggy A35 and A40s etc always started easier and better from cold than any Ford Anglia/Prefect/Popular I ever drove - the Fords needed a knack that seemed a bit different on each identical example as they got older - seemingly dependent on how they'd been used/abused - and of course serviced (if at all!).
To me, everybody then seemed to want to yank the choke all over the place and pump the accelerator while churning from cold! - so they either flooded or screamed into life, stuffing the mains & big ends after a few thousand miles
Why is the film for only Anglia and Prefect.? The Ford Popular ('pop') was the same thing too and was called a pop in 2 and 4 door, deluxe and standard versions.
The Popular with this body shape came much later.. After the launch of the later 105E Anglia, which was a much more modern car, Ford continued to produce this model Anglia, rebadged as the Popular, in very basic form. It allowed them to offer a cheaper model than the new Anglia. The Popular remained as the cheapest car on the market. The105E could not compete on price with the Mini, launched the same year, but the Popular could.
No 4 door 100e Pops, old chap - just the Prefect...
Rebadged? Popular/Anglia and Prefect were all different!
Ran 100Es back in the 1970s and 80s,, cut and shut morris minor wipers electric to fit them and a morris minor fuel pump,,fitted spare wheel under boot floor more room,, Anglia 105e front brake drums and Escort rear axil perfect fit and does not show,, another thing had a 6 volt coil next to the 12 volt item used the 6 volt for starting up then on to the 12,,
This car was a big improvement on the sit up and beg Ford Pop that was a pre war design but was still being sold in the early 50s. They lifted that terrible side valve gutless engine and gearbox out of that early model an dropped it into the 100E. The 100E was lighter but the crap engine still could not pull the car uphill. With four adults aboard I can remember having to reverse up a really steep hill just so we could get to the top. They were miles behind Austin, Morris, etc small cars at the time. The 100E came good when they installed the new 105E Anglia engine and four speed box into the later models. Pretty rare now, but one of the improved later ones are worth having.
No they didn't! E93A engines were not fitted to 100e models.
@@lesreed7943 Yes they did. I had both. Plus a couple of Prefects. "Under the bonnet the 100E still housed an antiquated, but actually new, 36 bhp side-valve engine sharing the bore and stroke of the old unit but now with larger bearings and inlet valves and pump-assisted cooling." So much the same. But if you wish to pedantic, fair enough. It was still crap.
Later on they fitted the new Anglia engine and four speed box before they launched the new Anglia. There is a couple of older 100e s Ebay now. Side Valve engine and still vacuum wipers. I think they changed it to 12 volt though which was an improvement.
Am I dreaming but did the whipers work off a vacume and the faster the engine went the slower the whipers worked So the faster you
drove the slower the wipers worked ?????????????????????????????????????????? Trying to recall being driven by my head mistress
from home to school >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>On rainy days ????????????????????????
Too true! Mine was a 100e popular and the wipers stopped at the crest of the hill. They went like blazes down the other side.
Malo, muy malo, en Argentina llegó en 1956 (Prefect), en los caminos de aquí fondeaba la suspensión delantera, se rajó el falso chasis en el tren trasero, al cambiar las cintas de freno nunca mas frenó bien, (de origen tenía marca Ferodo), desconocidas en estas pampas, no se conseguían neumáticos 520, al colocar la medida que seguía se rompían los extremos de dirección, no tenía filtro de aceite, la caja de velocidades en pocos kilómetros gastaba los anillos de sincronización (cantaba la caja), etc., lo enviaron sin adaptar a este país, salvo el volante a la derecha. A disposición de quién desee saber mas.
From Volvo Citroen and Land Rover, Range Rover and others inbetween. My Ford mondeo estate is the most reliable, comfortable and I always pat her on the Ford badge as I park her goodnight.
I think I will buy old Ford. Until I can Afford a new Ford!
All that work Ford does..... And they forgot about rust. 😆
This is a spot for smoking cigarettes.
No seat belt , no air bag , tin coffin
Different time then
They never said how many gearboxes the went through, they were crap and straight from the 1920s.
Jeff Ross ,,,,,,The gear boxes were not the best But I used to deal in used 100 spares and No one come for gear boxes , but most radiators I got in had the bottom taps twisted off so replaced with an old halfpenny soldered on to replace them, I often had to solder twopence pieces on them not really 1950s but did the job ,,
@@williamredfern2683 I once managed to rescue a peugeot 206 after a very minor accident a similar way - in an impact the mounting lugs on the radiator sheared off and left an open hole. I superglued a penny over the hole, cracked off the expansion tank cap so that it wouldn't build pressure and the car was able to be driven home.
Dagenham....AKA , Corned Beef City .
Nice cars but it looks that they use pieces of salami instead of wheels, so tiny.
😂🤣😂😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Sadly most 1950's Fords were not much good, only three speed, vacuum wipers that slowed under acceleration, side valve engines! Standard Motor Company had 4 gears, ohv engines,
Need to add a.nd electric wipers Think the Fords had transverse front leaf springs and tapered wheel bearing so the wheels fell off when bearings failed! Fords seem on a par with Renault, Citroen, get to 100000 miles and things start going wrong? Toyota, Honda are more reliable?
Ford UK made some really drab looking cars back in the 50's and 60's. I remember them as a child in the 60's. My father sold them for a living, and they all seemed to beeither grey, black or white. When you look at Ford USA they had much better lookingcars, and they were available in bright colours. OK so they were to big for our roads,but if only Ford UK could have made scaled down versions, rather than these blandlooking designs.
Gary Dunn ,,,,,,,IF fords were drab what about all the other lot , fords and vauxhall led the pack on modern design ,,
I think, on reflection, the Austin Morris range were the drabbest ofdesigns. From the 50's right through into the 70's and early 80's.
But the British loved drab cars!
@ Drab is the new glitz .