1951 Ford Prefect Utility

Description

Ford's Prefect, codenamed the E93A, featured a four-cylinder engine of 1172cc and made its debut in 1938. Both the Prefect and its lower priced Anglia sibling proved incredibly popular in Britain in the years leading up to the outbreak of war and again when production resumed in 1945, with only minor changes to the basic specification. Ford did a more extensive update of the Prefect in 1949, modernising the styling by incorporating the headlights into the front wings and the adding trafficators, but underneath the car remained unessentially unchanged, retaining the original side-valve engine, three-speed manual gearbox, Girling mechanical drum brakes and transverse leaf spring suspension. The engine produced 32 horsepower at 4000 rpm, enough to push the little Ford to a top speed of 100 km/h when conditions allowed, although acceleration was leisurely at best. Production of the E493A Prefect continued until the all-new 100E model was introduced in 1953, with just under 200,000 made, both in four-door guise and - for Australia only - as a two-door coupe utility. Indeed, Ford's Australian operation assembled Prefects alongside several other models in the early post-war years, using locally made coachwork and the saloon differed from its English counterpart in having a solid roof, longer boot and a swage line on the front doors. Built in Ford's Geelong plant, Prefect utilities were popular tradesman's vehicles in the immediate post-war period, also seeing service with automobile associations like the RACV. With plenty of support from local specialists and a thriving club scene, the Prefect owner is well catered for in Australia and interest in the model, particularly the rare utility version, remains high.