post-war Ford Prefect

 

The Ford Prefect 1949-53 version was another dinky car from British Ford often seen on NZ streets until well into the 1960s. The model was introduced before the war in 1938, and like other British cars changed little until 1949 when designs generally were given a revamp. However, the basic Prefect design didn't significantly change until 1953 when it was reshaped into the more modern auto form, and then resembled the similar Ford Anglia revamp.

The headlamps that were on the wings of the pre-war model moved into the wings and trafficators were fitted (internally lit semaphores springing out from the door pillars to signal left and right turns). Only four door saloons were available in the UK market, the two-door sector being allocated to the Ford Anglia, but some were made for export.

Cars from that era were fitted with a crank handle that was inserted into a hole left in the centre of the front bumper in the event that the ignition motor wasn't strong enough to start the motor, and these were often used - driving cars was a more physical experience in every respect than today!

A Prefect tested by a British motoring magazine at the time had a top speed of 61 mph (98 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 22.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of 33.2 miles per imperial gallon (8.51 litres per 100 km or 27.6 miles per US gallon) was recorded. The test car, which had the optional leather upholstery, cost £412 including taxes and the magazine commented that it was the cheapest 4-door car on the British market - 192,229 were made. As far as our NZ directors can remember, the normal colour was black or navy blue, but the fawn livery shown below appeared too. We don't know the basis for the 10 hp shown in the Australian advert as the actual hp is stated at 32.

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