Lot Ended
Description
Two owners
from new, the current since 1978; only 22,300 miles; affectionately known as
Pop; highly original and absolutely gorgeous
The Ford 103E is best known to enthusiasts as the ‘sit up and beg’
Popular. Launched in 1953 as a budget addition to the Anglia and Prefect
range, it hit the market at the perfect time as second-hand cars were virtually
unobtainable. For sale alongside the more modern three-box monocoque
Prefect/Anglia it won many friends for its unpretentious basic design which,
despite a lack of such luxuries as a heater or passenger windscreen
wiper, performed sterling service with considerable
charm.
This delightful Pop was bought new in
June 1957 by a Gladys Truss of Marlow from Ford dealer Norman Reeves of Slough.
She kept the car until she gave up driving in 1978. A friend of our vendor then
acquired the car with the intention of turning it into a V8 hot-rod.
Fortunately, our vendor managed to wrest the car off him before the butchery
commenced!
The mileage in 1978 was 19,261 and
over the last 45 years our vendor has only added another 3,000 miles so the
22,300 miles displayed is absolutely genuine.
“My interest in acquiring Pop was twofold,” says our vendor.
“Firstly, I had to save the car from being hot-rodded. Secondly, when I left
school I joined a Ford dealership in Hampstead, North London. We were still
selling new Ford Populars at the time and each one had to be road tested before
delivery. The highlight was rolling downhill in neutral from the top of
Hampstead Heath to the Old Bull and Bush, passing the front door of the pub at
60mph – 10mph faster than its maximum speed in top gear. Happy days!” [We
won’t tell the cops if you don’t – Ed].
“I worked at a Ford main dealer for many years and accumulated many
new stock parts,” says the vendor. “From memory, the kingpins and bushes,
brake shoes all round, fuel pump, track rod ends and exhaust assembly have all
been replaced. Not because they were necessarily required, but because I
had the parts to do it.
"The rear wings and the boot lid were repainted
in the Eighties due to over-polishing which meant the red oxide
undercoat was starting to show through. Parts of the bulkhead were
also repainted where the battery sits, no rust, just to make it presentable. The
rest of the paint is original, as is the interior. The floor boards were
replaced in 1978 due to woodworm."
Pop
comes with a delightful history folder containing the original handbooks and
warranty, a fuel ration book, original buff logbook, various historic photos,
invoices and tax discs, plus 11 old MOTs from 1974 – 2006. Sundry useful spares
are also present including new front and rear screen rubbers which have never
been fitted because the originals still seem to be watertight and the car has
spent much of its recent life at the vendor's second home in the South of France
where rain is not an issue!
As you can see in
the photos, Pop is in wonderfully original condition throughout and has
been starting promptly and running beautifully as we have moved him around on
site. You would be hard pressed to find a better example anywhere. What a find!
For more information contact James on
07970 309907 or email [email protected]