Fordson E83w Utilicon - a rare 50s classic Ford!
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- Опубликовано: 30 мар 2024
- Thames Utilicon
When this lovely Utilicon rolled off the production line in Dagenham in 1956, Ford probably never in a million years expected it to exist today because it was simply a workhorse for the era.
This Thames E83 would’ve marketed not as the Utilicon, but as a Fordson - the Utilicon was simply an option for which it could be supplied and in fact, the E83 was available in many forms including chassis cowl, van and in fact; the idea was to give the commercial buyer a vehicle which could be absolutely anything from ice cream van to even a fire engine.
In fact, it was so versatile, Ford marketed the Utilicon as we see here today with the strap line ‘from four seater saloon to van in 60 seconds’. If you’re wondering if that’s true or not, I’ll show you later on.
It is perhaps worth noting at this point, that the Export or Die ethos we’ve discussed in other videos concerning cars made directly after the Second World War, also applied to Ford’s plant at Dagenham.
With this policy, it essentially meant to access the steel, which was owned by the government, you had to export a high quota of vehicles overseas to help boost the country’s economy post-war.
Therefore if you’re watching this in Australia, you may know it as the Ten-Ten and some countries only received this model as cowl and chassis, relying on local coach builders in various nations to build the bodies to accompany.
Today you may not see many of these, or even any of these, at a specialist classic car show but they were made for quite some time: from 1938 until 1957. They were part of Britain’s heritage and landscape; making up the numbers on fleets from small businesses through to large commercial outfits.
However they weren’t the speediest vehicle on the road with their 1,172cc side valve engine and three speed box, so as they reached their twilight years of production and were still being used second and third hand into the 60s and 70s, it must’ve been frustrating to get stuck behind one if you were late for work because realistically, the top speed is much over 40 miles per hour.
You may be wondering what it takes to keep something like this on the road - well - it’s not the easiest of your classic Fords. This is because although the engine is shared with other Fords, many other parts are not and if you’re after a headlight? Well, they were shared with the E27N tractor and were only an optional extra, so even a light can be a tricky find.
To me, that makes this vehicle even more special for all the efforts people have gone to to keep it here today.
And if you’re wondering how this survived, well it spent a good number o years as a humble decorators van before being purchased in the mid 70s by a previous owner who decided to do a bit of tidying up and uncovered who the first owners might be: the government - because across the nearside wing it read Property of the home office.
The car is sold on a few times, pre internet it’s hard to keep a track of where things end up and then in 2008 it was purchased by John Wilson - a dear friend of current owner Simon.
John was retired and it meant he could put countless hours into the vehicle, which had arrived as a sorry shell, and he gently transformed it into a useable van which he then used until 2017 when he passed away.
Today, Simon still uses this van and sees it as a tribute to a close friend who would definitely be delighted to see the van not only used - but improved - because Simon has continued to work on the van and replaced sections of the ash framing. 
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What a fantastic vehicle!!No fancy - no shiny - no 350 just kept rolling and being useful, repaired when needed, brush painted. when faded my personal opinion is that this is more fun watching than a shined up restored one.History everywhere.Thanx for sharing !😃🙃😃
I like the way that the screws holding the id plate on the dashboard had all been tightened with the slots horizontal! All old school mechanics did this 😊. ( I still do).
right! if I do work on my BMW bike, I make sure that all the screws holding the carbs and intake tubes are aligned as they should be !
What a great ol' girl (the car!). It's so good to see some of the older cars still on the road. Well done SImon for keeping her going.
Cheers!!
What a beautiful vintage Fordson E83! My grandad on my mum’s side who owned a grocers shop owned one of these that I can just faintly remember, he traded it in mid-60s for an E307 Anglia van which being a few years older I remember well. I remember him every Saturday afternoon loading it up with Heinz cardboard boxes full of groceries to deliver to his customers who were unable to get to his little town shop. This old Thames van is a beauty and brings back happy childhood memories. Great video as always Steph, more classic vans if possible please!
My grandfather was a fish merchant and he had one in 1956 and swore by it as a load carrier . It was his last vehicle and it was great to see this video .
I will try my best!
Fair play I love Simon’s collection.
A wonderful survivor.
I especially like the repair patches and brush paint.
This is absolutely lovely! How refreshing to see one "as was" and not over-restored. As a child these and the J Type were the standard older 10 cwt vans. The 400e and J4 quickly rendered both pretty obsolete.
What a wonderful old van this Fordson E83w is. I love the fact that it has been hand painted as would often happen with such vehicles. They would also use old signs and such like to repair body panels, different times indeed. Thank you Steph for taking us on another ride in something so rare today. 👍👍
I remember getting very excited when dad's 1955 Ford Prefect just achieved 50 MPH on the Southend Arterial road ... lovely to see the Utilicon
I must have the sports version as I can get to 55mph! 😁
A teacher at my old school owned one of these,it had wooden floorboards i the back that were full of woodworm ,i helped cut some new ones in the joinery shop
Happy Easter Steph, what a lovely review of this delightful Fordson Van.
The reason the radiator grille had two starting handle holes was because the engine was offset to one side to allow for a short bonnet (it is noticably shorter than that on the equivalent Anglia or Prefect car models) and to make room for the drivers feet and the pedals. The engine on the RHD model had the engine offset to the left, LHD models being the opposite. Rather than have two grille pressings, they just made one universal one.
I never knew that. Every day a school day.
That's pretty well what Steph said in the video.
It sure is 😊
@@JFW5358but Steph didn't explain the reason as to WHY the engine and transmission was offset. I did...
@@idriveaclassicbut you didn't explain WHY the engine and transmission was offset.
What a well produced (as always) and charming video of a charming vehicle. I admire your mechanical sympathy when driving these oldies. Well done Simon for keeping her going. Have to say I'm jealous of the quiet B roads you have at your disposal. I'd be extremely nervous of driving her around here.
A lot of Fordson and Thames are imported here in Uruguay ,LHD models .regards so far away the south
The export percentage to gain access to post-war rationed steel was 70%, which is why Rover developed the Land-Rover as a "stop-gap" model never expected to be produced for more than a few years. Re: your driving style, "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast", especially with elderly vehicles. Happy Easter.
Thank you for clarification on the %. I’ve seen a few different numbers hence my caution in giving an exact figure! Happy Easter Gunnar ☺️
There is one of these e83W utes in our local town of Rangiora, New Zealand and quite a few still survive as utes and vans around our country. When I was in my early teens, my father spent two years building a plywood 14ʻ6" motor boat and he picked up a marinised version of the 1172 to power it, although it was always going to be temporary until he got a Zephyr motor - we had a succession of Zephyr cars... To help with getting a skier up on the plane after it was initially a little slow to get up to speed, he had the engine modified by a friend who was a mechanic, a well known NZ racer, giving it a planed head and bigger carb. It went so well and was so economical (1 gal / hr cruising) the 1172 never got replaced. My job at the start of the High School holidays (7 weeks in NZ at Xmas) was to grind the valves before we took it away to the Marlborough Sounds cruising and fishing. Thanks for some great memories and well done on the driving of this and the Model A - no easy task. Stand in awe of your efforts! 🙂
Vehicles like this a so much more interesting than the expensive toys some drool over. Thanks for sharing.
Vans of this type were built in Cork Ireland .vehicles were designated Fordson to identify
the factory location
Brave stuff! Navigating narrow country roads with soft grass verges is difficult at the best of times but I'd say character building with vague steering. You made it look easy!
That 5 hole switch bracket, I just had to source one of those, for my British classic Triumph, they are really hard to find now! I found mine on ebay in Greece! I had it shipped to me her in the USA!
I'm afraid I don't hold with this new fangeld technology..! (LOL). Thanks for another great review, Steph.
What an impressive, sturdy old lady that van is.
Wishing you a very happy Easter, Steph, and thank you for sharing this lovely old girl with us.
She's in amazing condition for such a utility vehicle, and has such nice details left in.
So glad to see cars like this brought back from the brink.
Well done, Steph. Beautiful car with an interesting story. Very well told histories both of the model in general ss well as this particularly lovely example. Kudos to Simon to keep the old car working.
There were lots of E83W's about when I started my apprenticeship at a Ford garage. Most were builders vans or trucks but I don't remember seeing a Utilicon. Lovely to see this one.
Fascinating old vehicle. The title photo is really lovely, you look great with the car, and I'm pleased you had the opportunity to take it out and show it to us. All credit to the owners that have kept it safe down the years although appreciate that a lot of work has been put into it more recently.
My daily drive is a Ford Prefect 107e 1961, she's nearly mint. to work or the cafe or car meets she just Flys along. Keep the classics alive cheers Steve from down under N.Z
How wonderful. It's a little beauty. You get to drive the most interesting and rare cars. Love it! 😊
I absolutely love this motor, now back to the vid
fantastic, I really want a 50's commercial and this one has ticked so many boxes. (pity about my lack of budget though 😁)
In the early sixties our village grocer used this for selling goods house by house in the outskirts of our village. It was painted in bright white and yellow. The same colours like the North State cigarette packs my mother used to buy from him. We' re talking about the rural Netherlands.
Great video Steph - loving your eclectic choice of vehicle reviews (plus I’m from Dagenham and my dad worked at Ford - albeit in the 1970s 😂)
Beautiful video Steph, here in Uruguay there are a lot, but pickups. Neve see like this. Happy Easter!!!
Happy Easter Steph!
Happy Easter! Hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend so far. I love Easter, definitely a really positive time and always fills me with hope and positivity xxx
@@idriveaclassic Aww, thank you so much. I have, and I hope you've had a wonderful weekend too! XOXO
Happy Easter steph,lovely van,well done simon.
Excellent video of a fascinating old vehicle. I remember them from my childhood days.
Yeah matching outfit.
I was especially keen to see this one, because it has special significance for me. My first trip in a motor vehicle of any kind was in a Ford Utilicon when I a newborn baby in the winter of 1963. Dad collected me and mum from hospital in a vehicle just like this!
You look like one of the land girls, what a great vehicle you should own one of these, thanks for another brilliant video x
Wow. It's crazy to think that 100 years from now someone might be making a similar video about a Ford Transit
Welcome to my part of the world Steph. Great review and i think there's a van version of this even nearer to me that is dailyed in the summer.
Now THAT is a machine❤
That’s a neat little car Steph. Looks like you had fun driving it.
Guessing the starting handle thing was about safety when starting on the road and oncoming traffic in the same way people carriers and MPV's have the side sliding door on the kerb side of their chosen market.
Well done on the left right bit of the script as I could feel you trying to sound natural and remember which way round the configuration was for LH and RH drive markets.
You suited this car looked a bit like 1950's WRVS volunteer delivering meals on wheels.
I giggled a bit for myself, joking that the two holes in the grille were for double starting cranks. Well, what do you know!! What an odd feature!
Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden
That's a lovely old thing. I've got an owner's manual for these somewhere depite not being lucky enough to own the matching car. Slow is the new fast - ask Hubnut!
Hi Steph, thanks for another great video, lovely old car, not over-restored, honest and genuine motor.
Absolutely amazing the 10-10, well done on another great video Steph
I learned to drive in a side-valve 1172 Ford Pop (1960 or 61 model, although 1973 when I was learning to drive, so not in its first flush of youth) and it was not always an easy car to drive. As a Learner driver, I can vividly remember how the trip from home to the first major junction was just as the car had heated up almost to the point of not needing the choke. If you got it wrong, the carburettor was likely to flood and you held up the traffic… And felt dreadfully embarrassed.
Excellent car Steph and an excellent video to finish my 31st birthday. Happy Easter ☺️👍
Aw Allan! Happy birthday and of course, happy Easter.
@@idriveaclassic Thanks Steph 😊👍
Nice drive steph, well done. Great interesting video x
40 mph was fast enough and if memory serves in the UK at least was the legal limit for commercial/utility vehicles at the time. That applied to early Land Rovers as well.
Nice van and review. The 1172 side valve was also in the Anglia btw
Just catching up on IDAC content, another great and informative vid Steph, thanks for producing it👍
Hi Steph I started to learn to drive in one of these about 1964 vacuum wiper 6 volt system and usually a broken electric starter so had to use the handle most of the time. Regards Peter Cheshire 😊
Great video. Reminded me of my childhood riding in the back of my mum's Ford Pop! The vacuum wiper was pretty rubbish, though.
I love your videos. I watch every one. I’m impressed you know how to drive so many vehicles.
the 1172cc engine was in the 100E Anglia and Thames 5 cwt van.
A Ford C-Max from the 1950's, great video!
What an amazing vlog
Wonderful Steph.
That was a great presentation and such a rare vehicle. Thanks Steph and Happy Easter.
A friend of my dad's had one in the 1969's and he would take our family to the coast and collect us a wek later as we did not have a car happy days
Great video Steph's. More like this please.
Left school 1956 started work for a main Ford dealership in Walsall, West Midlands i worked and cut my teeth on E83 W
all coach painted then and vanish top coat finish,,,, Ed
That really is 1930s tech.. watching you drive looks just the same as my Flying Standard from 1939 driving down the road. It's funny you talking about upgrades... at the moment I'm reversing 55 years years of 'upgrades' done to my Morris Minor, somewhat hiding the indicators which as you say are unfortunately still necessary these days. It's pretty easy however to get those Fordson trafficators working in parallel with modern indicators to keep a good authentic feel..
Hi Steph, just seen your video about the Fordson van, and would like to share a fond memory.
In 1964 I was 14 and told by my mum that I should find an after school job to earn a couple of bob of my own money! After all I was never going to uni!
Anyway next door to our home was a little one-man band furniture shop and he was looking for a lad to help after school every day. Now mum must have already arranged for me to get the job cos I did!
Sorry for long story but this is the good bit, the man owned one of these vehicles. It was really mucky brown colour but was a Luton type unusual I think but not for furniture moving. I never saw another of this Luton type in our area.
I lived in Stratford east London (Maryland Point) and the whole time I worked for him it never let him down once.
Brilliant bit of kit.
Great video. Cool choice of motor.
Great vid steph
The "Utilecon" (sic) was a registered trademark of Martin Walter Ltd of Folkestone, who devised and produced this conversion from the standard Fordson van. They published advertisements during WW2 proudly proclaiming that their entire output was for the Admiralty, Ministry of Supply and the British Red Cross, but promising that when the war was won, civilian buyers would again be able to purchase "the car of a hundred uses". Many of the cars supplied to MoS contracts went to the Army and RAF as well as to local authorities and other "essential users". Martin Walter claimed it could be converted "from a comfortable 7-seater passenger vehicle to a van, or vice-versa, in 5 seconds", so you need to sharpen up your act!
What an interesting vehicle! Has less clutch shudder than my Toyota Echo 😂
Happy Easter, Steph!
Haha I’ve not been in one of those.
Another great video
Happy Easter 🐣
I remember our log man had burgandy red one late 60s early 70s before he swapped it for an Austin a55 van
Fascinating.
It's amazing you must dress for the car all in black even your tights .lol.amazing a survivor. See its been hand painted. Happy Easter steph xx
You're a braver driver than me Gunga Din in that thing. LOL.
I was born in 1954 and don't think I've ever seen one of these. I remember seeing plenty of Ford Populars saloons around but never a van.
Great video and very informative. Thanks.
I enjoyed that! In its day it was quite flexible. 😅
The fordson and the Prefects where huge in New Zealand 🇳🇿 as well as Australia where they made a ute
Steph, Happy Easter.
Hi Steph; Happy Easter.
Wey-Hey! It's a bread van! Well, it was back in 1956 when I was 10 and our local baker bought one for his shop deliveries. It was so under-powered that he went back to his old horse-drawn van after just 3 months. He kept the Fordson though, using it for family days out with his wife, two sons and the family dog.
This Thames van station wagon has loads of character takes a steady driver to get the most out of it great review Steph
My Father owned one of these, ex Wanganui rabbit board, (New Zealand), 1967-8 ish.
I got to drive it sometimes.
Lovely to see one reviewed with interesting close ups.
Many thanks for this lovely video!.
Wonderful; watching the drive, I am transported back to 1967 and being behind the wheel of my 25-quid Ford Popular with the same engine and gearbox. It had vacuum operated wipers which were a great joke; but I learned to ease off the throttle and get them to speed up. I fitted windscreen washers (or rather a washer) with a knob on the dashboard which you had to pump to get some spray. It also fell out of second gear regularly - the passenger's job was to hold the gearlever in second when I was cornering and needed both hands on the wheel. And yes, apart from those foibles, it wasn't any more difficult to drive than my Dad's Beetle which skidded all over the place in the wet. Thank you for the video Steph, and for keeping this car alive Simon.
OMG, this is like my 1970s childhood. There were still a lot of these old cars still knocking around in the countryside. And you're right, getting stuck behind one used to drive my Dad crazy.
In my youth we used to find parts for projects from a local scrapyard and there were loads of this type of vehicle near the RAF base.
Thanks, this was very interesting, and brought back memories of growing up in rural Australia. A local house painter had one of these, in the early 1950s. It was probably locally made, as Australia had very heavy tariffs on fully-imported vehicles. Yes, it was slow, I thought the maximum speed was 30 MPH or so.
In my country these cars were used for public transport in 50s to 70s
what a truely wonderful rear classic Thames Utilion Van and it's a real shame that there are not more of them on the road in this day and age as I know that a lot of them where driven into the ground but I am really glad that you got to drive one Steph and that you enjoyed driving it and thankyou for another great video.
Happy Easter Steph, great video, very nicely done, you’re very brave lol. Rather different to the Capri 2.8i that you took out recently. Thanks for sharing, I’m still waiting for you to take a Vauxhall Ventora out for a spin 😁
Yeah nice just use it. It's a pity your not near Aberdeen as you could review my 38 prefect
Kool
The drive out footage reminded me of an old computer game, It Came From The Desert, for some reason. What a cool video though, on a vehicle I'd never heard of previously! Nice one, Steph!
You never said about the window locks
Great video Steph. I like these 30s to 50s cars, please test more. And you are getting really proficient with the old gearboxes. Not a single graunch!
Cool love the light and wiper upgrades as they make it more usable although think the trafficators should still be in use to though.
Awesome video.
There were lots of these running about when I was a kid, lovely old thing. The offset engine and gearbox allowed the drivers seat to be placed further forward to give maximum load space relative to the length of the body. I think it was known as semi-forward control.
Executing a double-clutch downshift well, gives one a great feeling of accomplishment.
Interesting vehicle Steph. These would have been regular sightings back in the day. A 1950s Transit Connect!
I had a 1959 98E as my first car in 1970! Yes, 1172 sidevalve engine, with the vacuum wipers fed off the inlet manifold! Went berserk on tickover, virtully stopped on acceleration!
A little tip, if the choke doesn’t stay out, put a clothes peg between the dash board and the choke knob. Most MG owners do this.
My husband was a Tv engineer in the winter of 63 and had one of these as his van no heater no washers one time the teles fell out as the frame was rickety and the doos flew open, a motor cyclist finished it off by riding into the back he ended up in the van and broke his arm the replacement 100e van was much better still no heater or washers but had a passenger seat.
Lovely to see an old workhorse still in use..... was the engine a predecessor or the anglia? Sure sounds familiar....
Our grocer in NZ used to do his deliveries in a grey one in the late 1970s