The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the

Ford Popular The Ford Popular, often called the Ford Pop, is a car from Ford UK that was built in England between 1953 and 1962. When launched, it was Britain's lowest priced car. The name Popular was also used by Ford to describe its 1930s Y Type model. The ...

and

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...

small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until 1941. Returning to the market in 1945, it was offered until 1961. The car progressed in 1953 from its original perpendicular or "sit-up-and-beg" style to a more modern

three-box The configuration of a car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting pillar (car), pillars, design ...

structure. Some versions were also built and sold by

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor C ...

. Like its siblings, the car became a popular basis for a

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

, especially in Britain, where its lightweight structure and four-cylinder engines appealed to builders. __TOC__

E93A (1938–49)

The Ford Prefect was introduced in October 1938 and built by the Ford plant in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fore ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. The original Ford Prefect was a slight reworking of the previous year's 7W, the first Ford car designed outside of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. It was designed specifically for the British market. It had a side-valve engine with thermosiphon cooling system (no pump) and with many other cars of the period, the ability to be started by a crank handle should the battery not have sufficient energy to turn the 6-volt starter motor. The windscreen wipers were powered by the vacuum ported from the engine intake manifold — as the car laboured uphill the wipers would slow to a standstill due to the intake manifold vacuum dropping to near nil, only to start working again as the top was reached and the intake vacuum increased. The windscreen opened forward pivoting on hinges on the top edge; two flaps either side of the scuttle also let air into the car. The car has a durable four-cylinder motor. The most common body styles were two- and four-door saloons, but pre-war a few

tourer Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

s and

drophead coupé A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving exp ...

s were made. Post-war, only four-door saloons were available on the home market, but two-door models were made for export. 41,486 were made up to 1941 and a further 158,007 between 1945 and 1948. File:Ford Prefect tourer 1939 Woodhorn 2013 crop.jpg, 1939 Ford Prefect E93A Tourer

Australian production

The E93A was also produced in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

with the Australian-built four-door saloon having an all-steel roof. Two-door saloon,Bill Ballard, Small Fords English and Australian : Recognition and Restoration, 2003, pages 133-134

, 5cwt

panel van A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van (United Kingdom) or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the B-pillar. ...

coupé utility A coupé utility is a vehicle with a passenger compartment at the front and an integrated cargo tray at the rear, with the front of the cargo bed doubling as the rear of the passenger compartment. The term originated in the 1930s, where it wa ...

and roadster utility models were also produced. In late 1939 the Australian Prefect models were recoded to E03A.

E03A (Australia: 1939–45)

The E03A replaced the E93A in Australian production in 1939. The E03A saloon differed from the English E93A saloon in having an all-steel roof and stainless steel waistline trim.

A53A (Australia: 1946-48)

The A53A replaced the E03A in Australian production in 1946 with 4-door saloon,

and 5cwt delivery

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

versions produced. The A53A saloon differed from the E03A saloon in having an extended boot. From October 1947 the grille slates were chrome-plated.

E493A (1949–53)

Post war, the Prefect design changed little until replaced in 1952. The headlamps moved into the wings and

trafficators Trafficators are semaphore signals which, when operated, protrude from the bodywork of a motor vehicle to indicate its intention to turn in the direction indicated by the pointing signal. Trafficators are often located at the door pillar. Histo ...

were fitted (internally lit semaphores springing out from the door pillars to signal left and right turns), though due to space restrictions these were left out on the Australian-built Ute. Only four-door saloons were available on the home market, the two-door sector being left to the Anglia but some were made for export. The brakes remained mechanically operated using the Girling rod system with drums and the chassis still had transverse leaf springs front and rear. A Prefect tested by the British magazine

The Motor ''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903 and published by Temple Press. It was initially launched as ''Motorcycling and Motoring'' in 1902 before the title was shortened. From the 14 ...

in 1948 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 22.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car which had the optional leather upholstery cost £412 including taxes. In standard form, they commented that it was the cheapest 4-door car on the British market. 192,229 were made. 1953 Ford Prefect E493A 1

A493A (Australia: 1949-1953)

The A493A was an Australian produced variant of the English E493A which was offered in 4-door saloon and coupe utility variants. The A493A saloon differs from the E493A saloon in having a solid roof, an extended boot and a

swage Swaging () is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using dies into which the item is forced. Swaging is usually a cold working process, but also may be hot worked. The term swage may apply to the process (verb) or ...

line on the front doors. File:Ford Prefect (A493A).JPG, Ford Prefect A493A Saloon. This image shows the solid roof, extended boot and swage line on the front doors. File:Ford Prefect Coupe Utility (A493A).jpg, Ford Prefect Coupe Utility (A493A)

100E (1953–59)

In 1953 a much redesigned Ford Prefect was introduced alongside the similar

and remained in production until 1959. Externally, the Prefect can be distinguished from the Anglia by having vertical bars on the radiator grille and four doors. The old separate chassis had gone, replaced by integral construction, and coil independent front suspension supplanted the transverse leaf spring. Girling hydraulic brakes were fitted, initially drums but quickly increased to A new side-valve engine of 1172 cc engine was fitted having the same bore, stroke and layout of the previous engine, but in all other respects completely different - changes included adjustable tappets, raising the compression ratio from 6.3:1 to 7:1 and larger inlet valves, resulting in the power output increasing by 20% to 36 bhp. Inside there were separate front seats trimmed in PVC with leather as an option and two circular instruments in front of the driver one containing the speedometer and the other, fuel and water temperature gauges. De Luxe models from the second dashboard update in 1959 included glove box locks. The gear change was floor-mounted. The heater was an optional extra. The windscreen wipers were powered by the inlet manifold vacuum; when the engine was working hard, the vacuum fell away and the wipers slowed or stopped. The dashboard was revised twice; the binnacle surrounding the steering column was replaced by a central panel with twin dials towards the driver's side in 1956; the last from 1959 had twin dials in a binnacle in front of the driver and AC 'Vivid Arc' speedo similar to the 1957 E-series Vauxhall Velox/Cresta and '58/'59 PA models plus FB and EK Holdens. In 1955 an

estate car A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

version was introduced, marketed as the

Ford Squire The Ford Squire is a car that was produced by Ford of Britain, Ford UK from 1955 to 1959. It was a two-door, four-seat Station wagon, estate design, related to the Ford_Prefect_(car)#100E (1953–59), Ford Prefect 100E four-door sedan (car), sal ...

and mechanically identical to the contemporary Escort, an estate car version of the Ford Anglia 100E, but with wooden strakes and a higher trim level. The Motor magazine tested a de-luxe 100E in 1957 and recorded a top speed of and acceleration from 0- in 32.2 seconds. A "touring" fuel consumption of 33.1 miles per gallon (imperial) was recorded. On the home market it cost £658 including taxes of £220. 100,554 were made. Ford Prefect road test (15967334454)

107E (1959–61)

The Prefect 107E utilized a reworked 100E body with the then-new overhead valve engine, four-speed gearbox and 'banjo' style rear end from the Anglia 105E, produced to offer a four-door model until replaced by the

Ford Consul Classic The Ford Consul Classic is a mid-sized car that was launched in May 1961 and built by Ford UK from 1961 to 1963. It was available in two or four door saloon form, in Standard or De Luxe versions, and with floor or column gearshift. The name F ...

. 38,154 were made, most of them (in UK production) in a two-tone colour scheme and deluxe trim. Deluxe versions assembled in New Zealand had a rare 'factory fitted' recirculating heater (dealer fit was almost universal at the time) and plush carpet. Drum brakes of diameter were fitted, hydraulically operated, and the suspension was independent at the front using

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...

s. The rear driven axle used semi elliptic leaf springs. The steering mechanism used a worm and peg system. On test, ''

'' magazine recorded a top speed of and acceleration from 0- in 27.2 seconds. A "touring" fuel consumption of 36 miles per gallon (imperial) was recorded. On the home market, it cost £621, including taxes of £183. Optional extras included a heater, windscreen washers, radio and leather upholstery to replace the standard PVC.

Exports and foreign production

In addition to the United Kingdom and Australia, Ford Prefects were also sold in the US, New Zealand (where they were locally assembled), Argentina and Canada. The Canadian model was left-hand drive. The Prefect was also license-built in Latvia by

Ford-Vairogs Ford-Vairogs ("Vairogs" meaning "Shield") (earlier called "Fenikss") was the name of a car factory in Riga, Latvia, that produced license built Ford cars between September 1937 and 1940 when it was expropriated as the property of the Soviet go ...

as the Ford-Vairogs Junior. In Ireland, the Prefect was assembled at the Ford Cork plant until 1962. In South Africa, they were assembled locally at the Ford Struandale plant in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

-based Ford of Malaya had also built the Prefect 100E with imported

CKD kits A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...

In popular culture

In the radio series ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

'' by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

and its novelization, one of the main characters - an extra-terrestrial alien seeking to pose as a human - named himself "

Ford Prefect The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until 19 ...

" after the car, not realizing the name would be an unusual one for a person.

References

External links

Documented Restoration Diary of a 1957 Ford 100E Anglia Deluxe

Ford Sidevalve Owners' Club
{{FordEurope

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Cars introduced in 1938 1940s cars 1950s cars 1960s cars Cars of England Sedans Rear-wheel-drive vehicles