Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

The 105E Ford Anglia has for long time held a place as one of the nicest cars I have owned.
I bought mine in June 1988 from a local scrapyard where it was about to be cut up and even had it's original registration number - 902 ACA. A May 1964 registered DeLux in light blue, it was due for the cutter's torch because it was then deemed beyond economic repair due to a worn engine.
I had other ideas and quickly found a replacement engine from a 1965 example which had failed it's MOT. Once installed it proved to be a super little car until rust in the floor panels caused it's demise in June 1993.
Even after it's last run it proved to be a surprisingly sought after because other local owners were glad of the opportunity to buy most of the panels, engine, gearbox and interior. The steering box was the subject of many offers, I recall.
The one I had was a delight to drive and own and I wondered if there are any other past and current owners who share my admiration for the Ford Anglia 105E.
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[andycars]

I have some Anglias in various states from on-road to projects. I agree, 105e/123e's are practical to own - economical and easy to work on. Prices are on the up though, as with lots of other Fords; not sure that's a good thing.

[Ellis]

[poodge]

I inherited a very early 105e with the painted grille from my mother in the 80's.It was well passed is sell-by date,but the engine and gearbox must have been reconditioned some time before,as it was a spirited performer.Unfortunately,the same couldn't be said for the bodywork.The drivers door never fitted properly,and my father was prone to slamming it hard in an effort to close it.this must have upset the locking mechanism too,'cause I couldn't lock it.The floor was also quite sad,my brother riveting a piece of aluminium over the holes in the back footwell.(You could still get away with that in 70's nz).I still got several years use out of it,running it instead of my vw kombi,which was quite heavy on petrol.
The "anglebox",as they were known locally.had skinny little 5.20 tires,which always made it feel like it was going to roll over in a corner.
that didn't deter me though,I drove it like it was stolen .Great days!

[peter scott]

My cousin and I bought one in the early '70s for touring Norway. At that time the Norwegian roads were pretty demanding of the suspension and I doubted that my Sunbeam Alpine would survive the trip.

The Anglia was great fun. Engine was smooth and rev'ed very freely. The gearbox was delightful and the car handled pretty well too. We were very impressed. We bought it for the trade-in price from my (our) uncle who was replacing it with a new Mark I Escort. We were very impressed with how it drove too.

We sold the Anglia for a small profit on our return and it left both of us with a lot of respect for Fords, later compounded with experience of Mark I GT Cortinas.

Peter


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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[3xpendable]

Hi EWG,

HUGE fellow Anglia fan here. My Father had a 105E (more on that below) which spurned my interested in classic cars. My very first classic was when I was 21 and got a 997 Deluxe that had been done in Harry Potter colours. We paid £450 for it and got it home to find the front end rotten and badly repaired. After a few months welding it was roadworthy and I used it for 2 years before selling it, taking a year off and then getting an MGB GT (which I still have).

Now the Anglia I mentioned above was my dads and he has now given it to me. This car is amazing in terms of history. It was owned by a local doctor as a second car and in the late sixties got crashed into. It was then reshelled using one of the last original anglia shells from Ford and my dad bought it not long after and basically used and abused it for many years (along with family members) and it was upgraded to 1500GT Cortina running gear. I've seen photos of it looking pretty decrepid and with the wing mirrors rusted off! My brother was nearly born in the back of it and its covered 168,000 miles. Anyway in the early 80's it was retired and as a kid I remember it sitting in the garage and only coming out occasionally every few years as a back up car. Its unfortunately now been off the road since the mid 90's though its not rotten and I want to restore it just as soon as my MGB is done



Finally, the 1200 engine was only a 3 bearing crank, so was not as reliable as the less stressed 997 unit. The 1500 crossflow had a 5 bearing crank and was hence more reliable.
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2013 Dodge Durango R/T Hemi
1965 Ford Anglia 106e Estate (LHD)
1964 Ford Anglia 105E 1500 GT (Dad)
1980 Porsche 911 SC Targa (Uncle)
1971 MGB GT (V8 project) -SOLD 2016
2005 MINI Cooper S JCW - SOLD 2016

[RotaryBri]

My dad bought one new in 1960 - yellow with a white roof and white wall tyres!

It was a nice car with a very revvy 997cc engine compared with his previous Morris 1000. The only problem with it was a very bad flat spot just after starting off and he came home one day and said to me 'get your Norton out and take me over to the Stratford Road now'. I asked why and he said that the damned flat spot had nearly caused him to have a bad crash and he would not suffer it any longer. So off we went and he bought a freeflow exhaust/inlet manifold with twin SU carburettors, tied it over his shoulders and we went home.

This transformed the car and allowed the engine to really perform better and without a flat spot. He kept it for 9 years and no toubles at all after that.
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Keep Torqueing,

RotaryBri

1976 NSU Ro80

[Peter_L]

My father had two 105e Anglias. The first, a 997, insisted in rotting itself to pieces regradless of the time he spent cleaning and painting.

The second was the 1200 Super. After it ran the center bearing, we fitted a 1500 engine and grafted on a 1.5 inch SU carb.

It was great for towing the caravan and the SU carb gave much better starting than the original.

The cross flow engine (1600cc) didn't make its first appearance until the MkII Cortina.

I never really liked the Anglia that much, it had a penchant to swap ends when pushed through tight corners.

[52classic]

Fond memories of the 105e here. My first 4 wheeled car (after a Berkeley T60) YLA434 was direct from the Danish Bacon company and seemed amazingly cheap at 50 quid.

Later found that there was little in the way of a floor! Problem solved with youthful exuberance... Some plywood shuttering and a strong mix of concrete!

Underseal below, a carpet offcut on top and who would know?

A DIY respray using my mum's vacuum cleaner and I recall a 'time line' putting it all back together in the early hours after watching the moon landing.

[bob2]

105e's
Have some fond memories of one owned by mum's uncle from new, was a 997cc dressed up to look like a super and he kept it till he died not so long ago, it was immaculate and had all factory paint (apart from where it had been resprayed to look like a super). Was sold by his son to an enthusiast who had a small collection of classics, would have loved to take it on myself but he was asking a bit too much for me at the time!!
Then I have a friend who has had one for years now, been fitted with a 2 litre pinto and some nice goodies like camshaft, webers, well the lot actually, here it is;

[andycars]