1. A pre-war V8 Ford saloon with Mr & Mrs Green.
Firstly, this old Ford V8 photo from my own collection. The picture is un-dated, but probably shows the V8 when it was a few years old, post-WW2. The only note on the rear says "Mr and Mrs Green". It looks like they were enjoying a picnic somewhere, note the young doggie on Mrs Green's lap, and the portable wireless just visible to the left of shot. The Ford has the very distinctive, almost streamlined, pre-war type of radiator grille, with separate headlamp assemblies and small V8 grilles either side of the rad. Perhaps the Union Flags attached to the top of the grille signify that the Queen's Coronation in 1953 was taking place at the time of the photograph? Visible to the left, just, is a smaller British Ford, probably an Anglia judging by the 2 door bodyshell and half-stainless, half painted, hubcap visible (Pop hubcaps were painted all-over body colour).
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2. A circa 1937 Ford V8 sedan.
Secondly, another V8 Ford four door saloon, this time with the enclosed, teardrop headlamps, which I believe was first seen in 1937 on both the Standard and DeLuxe trim versions of the Vee-Eight. This photo was kindly sent over by Les from his own collection. The Ford was sold in the 1930s by J Hollingsworth, a Ford sales agency based in Hastings.
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3. A 1938 V8 Ford in Australia.
Brian sent the next photo in from his home in Australia, it shows a 1938 V8 Ford that belonged to his father. Brian remembers the following: "This was the car he traded an Oldsmobile in on, and it was his first sedan. The photograph was taken outside our house in Kempsey in the early fifties. It was royal blue in colour and you will note the broken rear window. The opening of the doors was also an unusual arrangement. We had a little problem with this car. The man dad bought the car from still owed money on it, and the finance company kept wanting to re-possess the car from dad. However, the law said that they could not re-possess the car while someone was in it. So while dad was trying to sort the mess out, my sister always had to stay in the car whenever dad parked the vehicle. This was a pain in the proverbial but it worked, and eventually the manager of the National Bank in Kempsey overcame the problem. However, dad was sick of the situation by then and he traded the car in on a Ford Pilot V8."
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4. A 1936 V8 Ford.
Herb sent the fourth photograph over from his home in Australia. His early life was spent living in South Africa, which is where this photo of this father's V8 Ford was taken. Herb describes it as his ".. father's Q car, a 1936 Ford V8 with a 1949 Mercury 4 litre V8 engine fitted, Allard heads, twin carbs and exhausts .. "
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Thanks to Herb for sending this and various other old photographs over :-)
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5. Ian's V8 Ford from 1939.
Ian sent over the following photographs of the 1939 Ford V8 he once owned. He has fond memories of this car, bought for 15 pounds in 1958. He ran it for a few years, but sadly it was no match for the new MOT of the early 1960s, or 10 Year Test as it was initially known, and sadly this classic Ford was consigned to the breaker's yard. At least these photographs, and the old-style continuation logbook, survive as a reminder of JPB 73.
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6. A 1937 V8 registered in New York.
Next, a super head-on view of a circa 1937 Ford V8 sedan with a gent behind the wheel, and his wife and child stood to the side of the car. A note on the rear of the photo reads: "Susan turned round to look at John just as I took this. Do you think the car looks a good buy." By the time of this photograph the car was already ten or eleven years old, judging by the New York 1948 licence plate, or tag.
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What makes this example unusual is the style of headlamp. Gone are the original teardrop-type lamps, as fitted to similar cars further up this page, to be replaced by housings that incorporate (cheaper?) circular lamps. Was this a Ford fitment, or an aftermarket conversion?
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7. Deluxe Convertible in Aden.
Adrian sent a number of his father's old photographs over, taken while serving with the RAF in Aden. Amongst them was this shot, which features an impressive convertible with two locals sat inside it. The wheel looked like Ford V8 pattern, and further research suggests that the car is a Model 91A De Luxe Convertible Coupe, circa 1939 in date judging by the bonnet side trims. Thanks for sending it over!
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8. In New Zealand.
The next photograph winged its way over from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia recently. Peter, the sender, was hoping that the car could be identified. This c1938/9 Ford V8 was bought new by his father, William Dixon, who lived in Christchurch, New Zealand, and he kept it for the rest of his life. Peter adds:
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"This car belonged to my Pop - William Dixon ... He bought it new and looked after it with love and care to the end of his days, from whence it went I knew not where! I was overseas at the time and loved it as much as he did, I must've done - for he allowed me to sit in it when I went to visit most weekends. He was a carpenter, the car smelled of leather, walnut, musk and time (not thyme, although maybe that too!) Happy for you to use the picture, Pop has been gone 46 years - he'd be happy also."
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Thanks for the photo Peter, does anyone know more of this car's fate? It was registered 60,513. The picture was taken in about 1955 at Hororata, in Canterbury NZ.
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Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 7.
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To see how the first V8 Fords looked, based on the Model B of 1932, please visit this page of the site. A German-language factory poster for the 1938 V8 Ford has also been added in, and will be found here.
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