Ford 103E Popular.
Well into the 1950s there was still a demand for back-to-basics motoring, one that enabled families on regular incomes to afford a new car. Despite being based on archaic pre-war undergarments, the 103E Pop, ultimate development of the pre-war 8/10hp sidevalve Fords (such as the 7W Ten and 7Y), still found many eager buyers in the Ford showrooms. Ease of maintenance, excellent (and cheap) spares availability, and decent reliability meant that these old stagers were regular sights on Britain's roads throughout the 50s and into the 60s, as old examples were kept running thanks to their owner's ingenuity and indifference to newer car designs.
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The engine fitted in the Pop was a 4 cylinder 1172cc unit, rated at 10hp (RAC), driving the rear axle via a 3 speed gearbox. Prior to the launch of the Pop in 1953, there was a slightly plusher car, known as the E494A Anglia, which looked quite similar at first glance. However the car shown here is definitely a Pop, thanks to the small Butler headlamps fitted to the front wings. The dash was a basic metal affair, and even the front bumper is painted rather than chrome plated. Alongside the Pop is another identical model, but finished in a darker colour - probably black! To the other side, and nearest the camera, is an early P4 series Rover, with a roof-rack fitted.
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Ford Pops have a loyal following today, with survivors being split between original-spec examples, and those heavily modified by the hot rod brigade. Many customised Pops have V8s squeezed under fibreglass flip fronts, bolted down onto specially-built chassis, leaving little of the original Ford bar it's basic body profile in place. I suppose we'll never know what happened to the Ford Popular shown in these photos - where is 228 CHK now? |
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This photograph turned up recently, apparently taken in Sidmouth sometime during the 1950s. As it features a Pop, parked on the right of this view, it seemed appropriate to drop it on this page! also in shot, a single-decker omnibus with a Castol sign on the back, and a handful of classics parked in the distance, amongst them an Austin A40 Devon in black.
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A modified Pop and other Fords at Lydden Hill in Kent.
David emailed this photo over a while back, he took it at the Lydden Hill circuit in Kent, circa 1967. At first I thought the car (LFN 565) on the left was a Ford E04A Anglia, as the grille and bonnet are from that model, but the rest of the car looks 103E to me. The E04A's grille was more angular than the standard Pop item, and had removable side bonnet panels, unlike the later car. However the wings, single screen wiper, and painted bumper on the car below all suggest 103E. The centre of the grille has been heavily modified, and leather straps hold the bonnet top in place.
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The bonnet side panels have been removed, presumably for cooling - I wonder what engine was under there!?!? Of course it could be powered by a standard 1172cc engine, and the panels simply removed to cure fuel vaporisation, a common gripe with the upright Ford 8s and 10s. Whitewall tyres, domed hubcaps, and non-Ford headlamps have also been fitted. Lurking in the background of the photo are various other classic Fords - namely a very modified 105E Anglia (648 BGH), a four door Cortina Mk1, and a beige 100E. BMC is represented by a Mk2 A40, and Bedford by a late model CA.
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One of the last Pops ever built.
Paul dropped me a line, with his memories and a photo of a 1959 Ford 103E that he bought in 1963.
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"In about 1963, while living in Norwood, I bought a one-owner 1959 Ford
Popular from Bill Hatswell of West End Garage, Woking. It was recently
traded-in, in beautiful condition, and very low mileage. The only departures
from standard were seat belts and flashing indicators.
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When I was preparing the papers to transfer ownership, one thing caught my
eye: I recognised the chassis number! I had seen one like it many times. I
worked for the Ford Motor Company at that time and the factory parts list,
which I often used, contained parts for all Ford 10hp models made from the
1930s, and it showed the part number by chassis-number range. I forget what
the final chassis number was (the chassis number of the last Ford 10 ever
built) but it appeared on every page, and my new car had a number just three
digits away! So I realised that my car, 563 LPC, was the third-last 103E
Pop ever. Built on the last day of production of the Ford 10, in the last
hours of that day! They'd been making cars like my Popular since the early
1930s.
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In late 1958, I worked in London's West End, at the 88 Regent Street Ford
showroom, and we usually had a humble Pop in there, looking out of place
among the Zodiacs all dressed up in two-tone paint, chrome wheel covers and
white-walled tyres. The showroom cars had plastic price tickets in the
windscreens, and I think the Pop was £443, plus tax. That was really cheap,
even then, but the BMC Mini knocked it for six when it came out shortly
after, at about £500.
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It was quite good fun to drive and it was great in city traffic. I used it
every day to drive from Norwood to Cheapside, and I also went on long trips
to Wales and other places, although it wouldn't go over 60. Because of that,
I kept to the B-roads, and that brought its own benefits. It was dangerous
in the wet, however, because of the wipers stopping when you put your foot
down to overtake a long truck on a grey, drizzly day. When under full power
in the rain, Pop drivers developed a technique of snapping the throttle shut
for a split second every few seconds.
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The only thing that ever went wrong with it was when it suddenly cut out
completely one day. I had a voltmeter with me. It was so easy to reach the
parts that sat under the bonnet. They all stuck up in front of you, and
there was nothing hiding and nothing that was hard to get at. I connected
one voltmeter lead to a battery terminal and simply ran the probe around the
primary circuit. There was current going into the distributor but none
coming out. I removed the cap and put the probe on both sides of the contact
points, and this found the problem. There was a tiny rubber washer to
insulate the sprung contact from the distributor base, and by tightening it
too much the last time the points were changed, someone had caused the
spring to just bite through, ever so slightly, so that the spring contacted
the base on occasions. I put a new fibre washer under, and never again did I
have any trouble. That taught me how important it is for cars to be simple
and easily accessible. If the same thing happened on a modern car, I
probably wouldn't even be able to find the bonnet catch.
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In 1965 I sold it to my friend Norman Green, in part-exchange for his MGA. He
used it from his house in Annerley and, after he married, he and his wife
used it at their house in Bishops Stortford. I think his wife took it to
Chagford, Devon after Norman died, although I can't be sure."
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Due to their popularity, I have a number of Pop items on the site now, including the screensaver and a regalia section.
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Return to the Old Photographs of Cars - Page 4.
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