There are now two pages featuring period images of the Ford Model Y. This is page 1, page 2 can now be found here.
Seen in the first photograph below is a basic Y-Type Ford 8 saloon of the early 1930s. This particular Ford looks like it was being used
for a camping trip, if all the luggage piled on is anything to go by!
Note the very period looking roofrack, will all manner of goodies
stashed beneath a cover, tied securely to the frame. The open windscreen, and the trees in the background, suggest that this
Ford Model Y was photographed on a hot day, probably in summer. Mounted on the rear luggage rack is a massive storage trunk, which
appears to have been tied to the spare wheel which is bolted to the back of the car. A young lady is perched on the nearside
running board, inspecting her shoe! The 8hp Ford Y Type was Ford's most affordable car of the 1930s, powered by a diminutive 4 cylinder sidevalve engine of 933cc. Two main versions were offered during the Ford's production run, the long rad, and short rad, available as either a 2 door (Tudor) or 4 door (Fordor) saloon. A 5cwt van could also be ordered at the local Ford agents. The 'shortrad' Model Y was produced from 1932-1933 and is the rarest of the Model Y saloons now in preservation. The 'longrad' was produced from 1933 to 1937 and featured some detail differences to the earlier car, primarily a taller radiator grille. In 1937 the Model Y was replaced as Ford's cheapest car by the 7Y Eight. I'm not 100% sure which version of the 'Y' is shown here, but the shape of the rear wings makes me think that it is probably a 'longrad'.
2. Ford Model Y with its owner.
Second photograph in this section, shows a chap (is that RAF clothing he's wearing?) leaning jauntily against the side of his Model Y Ford. Again this is a 2 door, or 'Tudor', version of the Y Type. The main body of the car looks to be very well polished, with the lamps and running boards reflected in the bonnet side panels, yet the wings themselves look quite muddy, with a few minor dings visible too.
3. A Model Y parked with a lady stood alongside.
The third picture shows a woman stood next to a Model Y, obviously during the war judging by the blackout covers fitted to the car's headlamps. This photo came in the same batch as the picture shown above, but I do not know if it is the same car shown or not. The car below is registered DPE 691, I wonder what happened to it? The nearside headlamp has the familiar headlamp cover fitted to it, yet the offside has a cover of a type I've not seen before, with a tiny hole letting a tiny beam of light through.
4. A Model Y parked outside a grand country property.
Again a 2 door Ford Model Y is shown, parked off to one side.
Update. Within days of posting the Model Y Ford photo above, Peter, formerly of the UK and now living in Winnipeg, dropped me an email, identifying the location for this photograph: "The photo of the Ford Model Y outside of a Tudor Style building was taken at Thornton Manor, Thornton Hough, Wirral, Cheshire. It is now a hotel and is used for functions such as wedding etc. My Mum and Dad were avid visitors to old houses, and we went there sometime back in the late 1950's, I remembered the gate house and the name Thornton". Thanks Peter! More info on Thornton Manor can be found on their site.
5. A four door Model Y saloon.
Paul sent this old photo in. For a change, it shows the four door ("Fordor") version of the Model Y Ford. This one is registered BU 8054, a series used for cars registered in the Oldham area of Manchester. Four door versions of the Model Y seem to be much scarcer than the two door variant.
6. Another "Fordor" Model Y.
I bought this Ford photo with some other old pics in 2009. It shows another of the four-door (Fordor) Model Ys, this one captured dangling in mid-air as it was loaded onto a car ferry. Just visible in the lower left corner, and beneath the Model Y, are two other cars that have already been loaded aboard. Unfortunately there are notes with the photo suggesting the location or date.
7. A 2-door Model Y.
This photo shows a two-door Model Y, stopped as if waiting to join a road. Note the lack of road markings, and a pair of cyclists wobbling down the road towards the car.
Nowadays, the Model Y is a great way to sample pre-war motoring at an affordable cost, with support from clubs such as the Ford Y & C Register to make the experience a little less daunting. Cars competing at the same level of the new-car market included the Austin 7 & 8, and the original '30s Morris Minor. I had a Model Y briefly, although as you'll see on this page, it was far from a good example! A look around the site will turn up some other Model Y information too, for example this fine photo of a van-based Model Y woodie.
Return to Classic Motoring Photographs - Page 4, or to visit the second page of Model Y Fords, click here. The video compilation below features a huge assortment of in-period photographs of the classic sidevalve Fords, including many examples of the Model Y.
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Old Classic Car (C) R. Jones 2023. Content not to be reproduced elsewhere.
