Lot Ended
Description
Much recent expenditure; interior retrimmed with new leather
seat covers; underside restored; front disc brakes; stainless steel exhaust;
recent service; driven 30 miles to the sale; ready to Rock 'n
Roll
Launched in 1956, the Zodiac MkII was Ford’s
flagship car of the time with sharper, more trans-Atlantic styling than its
bulbous MkI predecessor. More luxurious and with more brightwork than the
otherwise similar Zephyr, it shared the same 2,553cc straight-six mated to a
column-change 3-speed manual gearbox which gave it a top speed of 88mph. It got
even better from 1959 with the launch of the ‘Lowline’ model which had a lower
and sleeker roof, front disc brakes and a more elegant horizontal speedometer.
It was replaced by the much plainer looking MkIII in 1962.
First registered in May 1962, this Zodiac MkII Lowline was acquired
by our vendor as an unfinished project in January last year. A previous owner
had already spent £9,980 on the car in 2011 which had included restoring the
floors/underside; full interior retrim with blue leather seat covers, new door
cards and carpets (all via Aldridge Trim); new door rubbers and windscreen
rubber; wheels sandblasted and painted; four new tyres; stainless steel exhaust;
new twin choke carburettor; door handles and headlight bezels rechromed
etc.
Our vendor has spent a further £3,300+ on
the car including a partial respray in Trafalgar Blue over Ford Ivory; new
chrome Zodiac badges; new rear windscreen and seal; tracking adjusted; tappets
adjusted; water pump rebuilt; new sump gasket; new heater matrix; full service
etc.
Documentation includes a good file of
restoration invoices and photos; original owner’s handbook; Autopress workshop
manual; Zodiac MkII Club magazines plus a copy of a Feb 2010 issue of Classic
Car Weekly which featured this car in the ‘One you can buy’ column when it was
for sale with the late (and much lamented) Bob Adams of Knowle. A check of the
MOT history online shows that it was last MOT'd in January 2010 with no
advisories recorded and it has only covered some 600 miles since. Recorded as a
Historic Vehicle on the V5C, it is now MOT-exempt.
As you can see in the photos, the car now looks very smart with a
nice interior although we did note that the paint finish, while acceptable,
could be improved in places. Driven some 30 miles to the sale, it has been
starting promptly and running well as we have moved it around on
site.
Although Ford sold around 30,000 Zodiac MkIIs per year, the
attrition rate has been high and it seems that there are now only around 90
still UK registered today, 30 of them on SORN, so you are unlikely to find
another for sale any time soon...
For more information
contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]
* All charges are subject to VAT