1957 Ford Popular 103E

In the early 1950's the Ford Popular 103E was the cheapest new car available in Britain. The 103E was essentially a stripped down Ford Anglia with the larger 1172cc engine from the dis-continued Ford Prefect. Rather than chrome, bumpers were painted and the dashboard steel rather than Bakelite. Around 155,000 103E's were manufactured and they boasted a top speed of 61mph and 30bhp at 3000 rpm.

This lovely, usable example has been driven over to us from Flamborough on the East Coast. The car was for many years dry barn stored and off the road requiring some serious restoration work. We have photographs of the Ford prior to and during restoration. The body was fully stripped down, repaired where necessary and re-painted. Bumpers were re-painted and the interior re-trimmed. Various re-wiring work was carried out along with other re-commissioning work. The engine was removed and rebuilt in 2005. The crankshaft was sent away for re-grinding along with the big ends for re-white metalling. The Ford sidevalve owners club supplied a timing chain, a main bearing set, de-coke gasket set and conversion gasket set. Several thousand miles have been covered since the restoration and the Ford proves very enjoyable to drive.