We have covered quite a few station wagons on Barn Finds but most are domestic behemoths like an Impala, Country Squire, or Fury. Across the pond, things were done quite a bit differently, mostly in terms of size, and featured today is an example of a British station wagon, circa 1960, in the form of a Ford Anglia 100E. It is located in Portland, Oregon and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $5,100, reserve not yet met. Thanks to Larry D for this discovery!
The Ford Anglia was a Ford UK product offered from 1939 through 1967. Body styles abounded including two and four-door sedans, tourers, panel trucks, a coupe utility (a small Ranchero), and station wagons known as an “Estate” model. Our subject car is one of 345K model 100E’s that were built between 1953 and 1959. Total Ford Anglia production, over its twenty-nine-year run, stands at about 1.5 M vehicles.
While the 100E ceased production in 1959, this Estate was a late U.S. import and titled as a 1960 model. It is a 19K mile example and has been in a private collection since 1987. The seller describes this Ford by stating, “Body is straight, accident-free and rust-free. Paint is excellent and shows beautifully. Excellent original chrome“. That certainly appears to be the case, nothing is out of order; the paint trim, chrome, glass, all of it, shows beautifully! The seller proclaims, “Comfortably sized with plenty of room inside. Overall length 141.5″ (less than 12 feet.) 87″ wheelbase. Overall width: 60.6” Any way you cut it, that’s small for a wagon but the upright boxy attitude of this English Ford should lend to its utility as in “less can be is more”.
Motivation is provided by a 36 HP, 71 CI, in-line, four-cylinder engine engaging a three-speed manual transmission. Here is a video of the engine in an operational mode as well as a general walk-around. It is easy to believe the mileage claim after reviewing the spotlessness of the engine. The air cleaner is notable as it displays an “AC” logo that dates back to GM’s former “Albert Champion” parts division. The only “issue” that I spied via the video is the muffler, which looks like it has developed a hole.
The interior is spotless and typical for a car of this era. The seats are showing a bit of fade, at least as their color matches that of the door cards – they look fine, they’re just showing their age. Surprising to see is the carpeting, I would have surmised rubber mats, not carpet, in a car of this stature and era. The goodness continues in the rear cargo era, a place where if there is going to be wear, it will be evident – nothing here to see. Oh for this kind of automotive simplicity again…
Well, he can’t live in the past and shouldn’t attempt to, but it’s nice to have reminders of how things once were. This Anglia would be fun to own but it’s almost too nice to drive and is certainly too clean to use for the intended purpose. It would, however, make an excellent addition to a British car collection and certainly garner plenty of attention at a car show, don’t you think?
My first thought was the Hillman Husky that Julie Harris drove in The Haunting (1963).
The Husky would be a ball of fire in comparison.
But this is the last Dodo, a preserved example of something that you just don!t see anymore.
Should find a good home.
Haven’t seen one that nice in a long time. The new owner will want to take it real easy; those engines are notoriously weak and prone to failure if abused.
Sorry cyclemikey, these engines were fitted to many competition vehicles, especially in the 1172cc version, and failure was rarely experienced. They were used by Buckler, Ginetta, Lotus, Dellow, Morgan, TVR and many others. Ken Tilly UK
Rugged engines…reliable…I had 3 of them!
very rare in the UK,
These cars were as basic as they get back in the day. Most, if not all were used as commercial delivery vans. AC air cleaners and mechanical fuel pumps were standard fare on Brit cars of the era. Incredibly rare to find a survivor in this condition.
My father drove one of these (college professor) for 20+ years. I can smell it now and hear that 3 speed whine. Push starting in the cold. Kicking the fender to get the lights working.
And when you changed from peak revs in second gear and selected third (top) gear, the engine died! if ever a car needed a 4 speed gearbox then these Fords where it.
I had a 1960 100E Estate in ’65, exactly like this one, same color inside and out, only it was in a chicken yard and smelled like it. Flat tires, no battery, but interesting. So, I put it on a trailer for $40 and towed it home to the SFV. (Took a week to clean it out and deodorize. My soon to-be-fiancee called it my chicken car.) I knew Lotus and Dellow hot rodded the 1172 flat head and Shorrocks made an accessory vane type blower to fit. The rods were long and skinny with integral rod bolts. Reground the cam to an Alfa performance grind, ported and relieved the block with Jahns popup pistons to raise the CR back. Reworked larger V8-60 valves, cut up a Sprite intake for the stock SUs (also a two-port intake) and a “sport exhaust.” (You are so right about the gear box. A VW 1600 chose me off at the base of a 1/8th mile steep hill. I held him off in first and even all the way up in second. Not daring to shift, I revved the dickens out of the engine the rest of the way to the crest. No tach (later, I didn’t have a 4-cylinder sender for the Sun). I calculated the revs by the indicated speed on the stock 13″ wheels, about 25mph, at way over 7000 rpm. It could run up to about 75mph on the level, but that high ratio rear end gearing (close to 5:1) made it happier closer to 50. It could keep up with traffic in town. I black wrinkle-painted the dash, put seat belts in front, replaced the cargo area platform and rear seat back wood with 3/8s aluminum diamond plate to use as a parts chaser. Sprayed the seats and the cardboard panels from the tomato soup color to black. You couldn’t drive with the rear window hatch open as the exhaust was sucked into the passenger compartment. I sold it to a Pendleton Marine who had to have it for $500 in ’68. I never had as much fun again until I bought and reworked my new ’72 1600 Corolla with the DOHC kit TRD had for the 2TC engine.
Rpope; since your pop had one you might be the one to know – I ask myself who the h… in 1960 USA would insist on not only a primitive Ford from the other side of the pond, but also of the obsoleted model…? When a new for 1960 Falcon wagon could probably be had for less, be far easier to find service and parts support for and almost have room for an Anglia in the back…?
I’m thinking one has to be a bit more than average Anglophile to prefer the Anglia – nevertheless it’s admirable this one has managed to survive in such condition for frickin’ 6 decades!
Lots of garages that were built to accommodate 1920-30 vintage cars make even a small modern car a really tight fit. I remember the older couple across the street in the early ’50s had a two-car garage on an alley, where they kept a postwar Ford Anglia and a Hillman Minx “Californian”. Their American car had to be parked on the street, as it wouldn’t fit the garage even if it were empty. Our neighborhood in Pasadena is zoned Historical, and any existing garage directly visible from the street has to be kept at original size and appearance.
Don’t be so harsh. It was a fun car. Mine was a barn find too, in ’63 for $50 and get it out of the yard. It was on a farm near Lancaster, California, flat tired anf filthy in a chicken yard where they also roosted and “sliced. Dead as a door nail, but all there. It was identical to the photos here including paint and upholstery. I towed it home to Sepulveda, California, cleaned out and sanitized the interior rebuilt the engine, trans, and rear end, new brakes all around over about a year. That engine had potential, having been used in the original Lotus trials car. The crankshaft was the spindliest I’d ever seen. I seem to remember hearing it described as being like a bent paper clip. The connecting rods had the bearing cap retainers as studs forged and machined as integral with the rods at a 45 degree angle to fit through the three-fingers-wide bore. In the spirit of things, I had the camshaft reground to an Alfa Gulietta specs, OHC direct-actng like the flathead valve train except adjustable followers. I ported and relieved the flat head block for better flow. I also modified an Austin Healey Sprite intake and fitted MG A 1600 SUs. Made alignment sleeves to locate the two-port inlets and manifold. Finished the dash in black crackle-finish and spray canned black the surprisingly intact and good condition, though faded, red seats and side panels. I installed a Sun tach, and an am-fm radio in the glove compartment. Good to go. On level ground with a run, I could get it up to 60 mph at 4800 rpm. That 4.875:1 rear axle ratio made 50 more sensible, 45 reasonable. Even better was in-town traffic speeds under 3000. However, I was chosen off by a 1600 VW once. He surprised me by revving up for a racing start at the green light from the bottom of very steep Woodley Avenue hill near my house. Damned if he was going to beat me. That three speed transmission was geared like a four speed missing third gear. I kept up by winding it up in second to near 7000 when we crested the four hundred yard grade with a possible front bumper length ahead of the VW. WE both grinned and went on our way. That was when I went hunting for a 105E drive train. The resultant 1600 and four speed made all the difference. The taller rear axle swap also pulled the revs down so you could cruise at 65 with a little over 3200 rpm on the clock at 65. With the later model disc brakes in front, it ran and stopped well. I never realized how stiff the springs were until after I picked up my to-be-future wife from her student teaching session for lunch. I went sailing through a dip in the street with my usual flair and bounced her about four inches off the seat (no seat belts then). When I realized what I had done, I looked over to see this gorgeous young woman, business suit, nylons and pumps, airborne with the darnedest expression on her face. We laughed about that a lot much later. I sold the car to a Pendleton Marine who just had to have it for about what I put into the car, $400 cash. Did I, do I miss it? Ah nostalgia. One bad thing! With the back window open while driving, it sucked the exhaust fumes into the cabin and gassed the folks inside. Never, never open when driving.
Very veryvery slooow. Nice enough, though.
same, thought it wuz a Hillman.
The few anglia models I saw were motor swapped and taken to the drags – Norwood Arena (1966 in MA) due to the small sz/lightness. Looked like a ’32 ford, same as the wolwo pv444 copied. Basically a human inside a lill DOM-tube-built-cage w/a BBC or BBF strapped on it. (“Gasser”)~
8^ 0
My dad had one as did my aunt , the latter was in our garage for years and we would play in it as kids , seats 7! Not comfortably. Then he moved on to a hillman husky I would love this one debating if its too far or not
Correction, the hillman had jump seats in the back
What’s the difference between a ‘shooting brake’ and an ‘estate’?
If I recall correctly, a shooting brake had a large vent-type opening in the roof where a shooter would put his head, shoulders and chest through and shoot at rabbits etc whilst being driven through fields and woods. They were, though, usually larger vehicles than the humble 100E
“Shooting brake” has upscale connotations, is usually coachbuilt, always has two doors and generally doesn’t have a post where the rear door pillar would be.
I remember the Ford Anglia from my pump jockey days back in Ireland during the late ’60s. I gassed up plenty of them and remember them well. The sedans were a popular car but even back then, the Estates were scarce. This one is a real beauty and extremely rare today. It’s a great find for the serious Brit car collector.
I had a four door Ford Prefect as my first car back I the UKwhich I purchased for UK pounds 40.00 back in 1967. The wipers were vacuum driven which meant that at 65mph on a stretch of the UK motorway , in the rain, the wipers would halt in the middle of their sweep. Only easing the pressure on the accelerator restored their very rapid functioning, until the next hill! Exciting times!
I think that the vacuum wipers were the reason that my dad never had a Ford; he told me of overtaking wagons in the rain on the then 3-lane A1 going south – you accelerated and the wipers stopped (hired Consul Classic) so you couldn’t see what you were about to hit…
Derek, the several ’30s and ’40s American Fords my dad drove while we were growing up had that same “feature”. Lucky us, we lived in a mostly flat part of the American Midwest, and if it was raining hard enough for the wipers to be basically underwater – not infrequently – we were running at a walking pace anyway. I think my first car, a Fiat 500, was the first one I knew with electric wipers; even the more expensive Americans were late to that game.
Bought my 1952 Prefect in 1964….$10.00 Canadian, almost sight unseen, as it was buried in 5 feet of snow.
Dug it out, towed it home, had it running in 2 hours.
Loved it!
I was in New Zealand in the early eighties and these were common and there as well late forties American pickups and English cars I had never seen at the time a 71 HQ Holden was bringing $21000 in used car yards
Today with so many short boards around, this would make a great surf wagon. Us longboard dude’s have to stick with the bigger wagons! A longboard on the roof would make this a sailplane!
I had one of these, I think a ’57 or’58, when I was going to school in Columbia CA and living up in Long Barn. I’d paid something like $150 for it from a Sonora lot. Its worst problem was a leak at the exhaust/downpipe junction, which blew hot gases onto the fuel pump. The proper gasket was not to be found locally, nor could I find a mechanic wanting to have anything to do with it, so I had to contend with vapor lock on any uphill run, which is to say half of my daily journeys …
Aside from that, it was a truly pleasant little thing, nice to drive downhill or on the flat, and remarkably capable in the snow, even on its “all-weather” tires. Its only real vice was locking up the ring gear, owing to wear I assume; I would free that by giving the crank a backward yank with the “starting handle. That eventually led to the car’s death, when one day a good hard pull led to a sudden “PING!” as the crankshaft broke. So when, many years later, I read a “Classic and Sports Car” outline of these cars that gave their expected life expectancy at well under 100K miles, I was not at all surprised.
I miss Long Barn! FIL has a couple of cabins up there but now we are 10 hours away.
I’m as close now – Pasadena – as I’ve been in a long time, and keep wanting a good excuse to get up to Tuolumne County. It’s all gorgeous country, and great driving, too. Long Barn, Twain Harte and Sonora were where I lived; after the Anglia died I repaired my old Mini and brought it to the area.
It should be fairly easy to re-power an Anglia, if it’s just the body and chassis you want to run. The engine compartment was not really overcrowded – very much unlike my Minis! – and I’d think a 105E drivetrain would be appropriate. Just guessing, of course …
I had one in high school.Bought from McGowen Motors in Sonora. Dated a girl from Tuolumne. Best time was going over Sonora pass. Had to pull over about 15 times to let traffic go by. Lived on Wards Ferry Rd. by the river.
Had 2 Anglias and a Prefect, well over 100k on all of them….then bought a new 62 Anglia, traded it at 65K.
Loved those Limey Fords!
Oddly proportioned because this bodyshell was optimized as a van which is why it’s a two-door but uses the front doors from the four-door Prefect sedan rather than the longer Anglia 2-door sedan ones. Beginning with the next generation they did separate van and wagon bodies and eventually came full circle; this is the direct antecedent of and same concept as the Transit Connect wagon.
Had a 59 2 door which I purchased for about $300 at a gas station in 1964 near Kenmore Square in Boston. Had just graduated from BU and needed to graduate from my Vespa to 4 wheels. This car seemed to actually have less power than the Vespa! I would have to down shift into 2nd gear just to make it (crawl) up the hills on the Taconic Parkway in eastern NY. Having started working in July, was able to move up to an Alfa Sprint and my parents used the little Anglia for a while. It was a solid little car but needed a larger engine and 4 speed which occurred with the new model in 1961.
There have been several references to the Hillman Husky. I have had three of the “Ajax”-body ones, the car on whose platform the ’60s Alpines were based, and if anyone puts one of THOSE on this form I could be in deep trouble … very enjoyable cars, with a few well-known weaknesses that are easy to fix.
My attachment to those was what really impelled me to buy that Anglia.
The big appeal here was ECONOMY. Gas milage…
Post war British cars were designed to offer utility and economy.
Same in Italy, France, Germany etc…putt, putt, putt. Speed / performance was not the emphasis here.
Oh my. This is the exact car, green instead, I learned to drive in. 1965, Clinton, MD, Surrattsville HS parking lot. Dad had replaced his 1949 Anglia with this beauty for commuting to Andrews AFB. I was on top of the world. Went on from this to a $40 1959 Morris Minor convertible. Great MPG.
Any one hear about the TR 10 ? My Dad bought one in the sixties and it was a small wagon like this and had 4 doors i think and was a 1957 made by Triumph supposedly .It was in the same class of vehicle small and economical
Never heard of a Ford TR 10. I think you might mean the Standard Ten.
If anyone’s wondering why this was called an “estate” – it’s short for estate car, meaning the landed gentry or their help would employ it to take people dogs and materials around the estate. It’s sort of the opposite end of station wagon, which American would use to pick up
guests at the train station.
Dear Solosolo It wasnt a Ford It was made by Triumph methinks TR10 was what we called it A !957
This is a nice looking one. It is a 101e and not a 100e. When they made them for the US and put the wheel on the left side the called them a 101e so one know it was made for the US with the wheel on the left. I have a 1958 101e Anglia Deluxe, it is all original except someone took of the wheel and put on a small wheel. In doing that the lost the blinkers that where mounted on top of the wheel. It does not have the original radio, back then they had tubed radios and were big and heavy. I would like to have a Thomas, they where the vans.
I owned one in 1960’s and used to drive it to Pinkham Notch to go hiking. Was in first gear all the way up into the notch. Then drive back to Boston with minimal heat and no defroster. Great gas mileage.
Mine was a 1959 …purchased used in 1961.
This car was known as an Escort….while in England they commonly were called Estate.
These were sold in limited numbers by Mercury dealerships in the Great Lakes area. One of the most rugged Fords ever, easy to work on and cheap to maintain. Love ’em, I do!
I traded it for a new 105E Anglia, slightly smaller engine, with Overhead valves…. frankly, I preferred the older L Head design with it’s simple 3 speed transmission.
Today, I drive a Ford Fiesta…. as basic as I prefer!
Our first car, as a married couple….great fun….reliable and cheap to operate. Loved our Escort!
Big English Ford fan, am I.