Two Anglias

This is a picture I took back in December 2018 of two British-built Ford Anglias - a 1962 Anglia 105E Deluxe Saloon “727 EPX” painted in “Windsor Grey”/”Ermine White”, and a 1967 Anglia 307E 7-CWT Van “WPU 715F”, painted in “Lagoon Blue”. Both cars were owned by my friend Mark Ellis, an Anglia enthusiast from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. He kindly let me and my partner have a drive in each of these (on private land). This was an awesome experience, and I cannot wait until I am able to fully realise the purchase and ownership of my own Anglia! (That day is getting closer and closer!)

 

The 1962 Deluxe Saloon - complete W/ six-character March 1962 Sussex black plate registration “727 EPX” and all-original 997cc (60.8-CD, 0.9-Litre) OHV Inline-4-cylinder “Kent” engine, was a car Mark had just bought from the famous Mathewson’s classic car auction house in Thornton-Le-Dale, costing him around £6,000 at auction. I was there with him that day, and a camera crew for the now-immensely popular series ‘Bangers and Cash’ were there and interviewed Mark on his winning bid. “727 EPX” was in fantastic condition throughout, having had two or three previous keepers, with just under a genuine 66K miles, plus factory headlining and red vinyl interior upholstery. The car had received some previous bodywork repairs at some point, including new welded sheet metal along the sills and front fenders/wings, but the work was quite good, and new metalwork is to be expected in an Anglia of this age. The car also came with lots of historic documentation, including the original owner’s handbook from 1962 (in fantastic condition), and several service reports dating back to when the car was new. Driving this car was a real experience! - a complete world of difference from my modern-day Fiesta! It was cool, crazy, fun, fascinating, exciting, scary, thrilling, and dangerous all in-one! The car had been sitting for a while, so it did feel a bit jumpy at first, but cruised and steered quite nicely once the engine had been ran-in for over 10 minutes or so. It was surreal to be driving a car without any power steering, no seatbelts and an early “Semi-Synchro” gearbox with drum brakes. Mark still owns this fine example and has named it “Emily”.

 

The 1967 307E Van - complete W/ August 1967 Essex black plate registration “WPU 715F” also had an original 997cc engine and was another vehicle Mark had purchased from Mathewson’s some months prior in 2018 (close-ups of this van can be seen briefly in the first series of Bangers and Cash). The van was driven and maintained a lot more frequently by Mark, and as such - ran and drove much smoother and even faster than the saloon, this example also had a push-button ignition on the dash. Another very fun experience! Mark has since sold this van, but still has the saloon.

 

On the day me and Mark picked up his 1962 Deluxe on a trailer from Thronton-Le-Dale, we drove to the site of an abandoned 1962 Thames (Anglia) Van, so Mark could strip + salvage a few pieces of trim including the rear windows to use as spares for his own van (with the landowner’s permission), pictures here: flic.kr/s/aHsmWm1S25

 

Done