Anyone who recalls the Ford Anglia of the early 1950s will see the strong resemblance to this Ford Model Y which was commonly called the Ford 8. Despite it’s English appearance and the use of the ‘8‘ it is neither a British design, nor does it have a V8 or straight 8 under the bonnet. It was one of the most influential cars in Ford history.

So the Ford designers at Dearborn started on a design in the midst of the Great Depression that would see Ford in Britain and Europe have a car for the hard times. As British as the Ford 8 appears, the design came out of Ford HQ in the U.S. as did the chassis and small side-valve engine and gearbox. This ‘control’ was part of Ford being ‘Dearborn central’. It was not thinkable that Ford in Britain should or could design or engineer their own small car.

We found our featured car at the All British Museum just south of Napier on New Zealand’s North Island east coast. The one thing British about the Ford 8 is that it was made in Britain at Dagenham in Essex. In engineering terms the Ford 8 was a simple car. It had a chassis sub-frame, front transverse leaf-spring suspension and rear beam axles. The 933 cc four cylinder side valve 23 bhp engine ran through a three speed gearbox to drive the rear wheels ... somewhat slowly. It produced 8 HP, hence the car was commonly known as the ‘Ford 8‘.

As our image shows the first Ford 8 came out as a two door with front bucket seats that allowed rear seat passengers to gain entry to the car from either side. There are three styling highlights: The upright grille typical of the 1930‘s era with vertical lines matched with horizontal vents along either side of the bonnet, the slight dip in the front bumper that allows a crank handle access to get the vehicle started and lastly, the spare wheel impression on the boot. This is a second-generation car produced in 1938.

We suspect if the car had been British-designed the boot may well have been a more simple design. Having said that we like it and believe it adds character to the Ford 8. It’s also worth noting the Ford 8 was not the only British Ford to carry an impression on the boot. The British-built six and V8 Ford Pilot of the post WW2 era also carried this design.

Ford learned many lessons the Model-T not the least of which was that if you produce a solid car and price it for the masses, it will sell. The car did not have to be perfect, but it should be reliable and affordable. The Ford 8 hit showrooms in 1932 and was an immediate hit with pricing at around 122 British pounds. In a short time the little Ford carved out a 40 per cent share of the market, with the other players being two genuine British classics, the original Morris Minor and the Austin Seven.

The car soon developed a reputation for being dreadfully slow with a tendency to ‘wander’ across Britain’s roads, but was reliable and had low running costs. Owners forgave the car’s nuances and more than 157,000 were produced over the car’s five year model run. Ford soon released a four door version and by the end of the Model Y it boasted a 1172cc engine with 36 bhp.

Applying further pressure to rivals in 1935 Ford took the car down market by producing a bare-bones basic variant called the ‘Popular’ and priced it at just 100 pounds. In later years Ford would keep the ‘Popular’ name for its entry-level variants of it’s small British cars.The Model Y really found its niche as an affordable family car - mum and dad in the front and two or three kids in the back. Top speed was 59 mph - or around 100 km/h. It was not going to set any speed records. What it did achieve was set Ford of Britain on a path of success. When production of the first generation Ford 8 or Y came to an end in 1937 it was replaced by the slightly larger-bodied Ford 7Y that had a shelf life of 1938-39. It was still badged as the ‘8‘.

What happened next will be remembered by just about all WW2 baby-boomers. The replacement car was called the Ford Anglia and later again came the Ford Prefect, well into the early 1950s. The significant point is the basic shape that hit the streets in 1932 barely changed until production of the Prefect and Anglia ceased in 1953. The upright grille endured as did the side vents on the bonnet but the front bumper lost its kink and the boot lid lost the spare wheel cover. The vehicle was also developed as a van and a utility and was highly successful in these roles in Britain and the colonies including Australia and New Zealand. The Ford Y or 8 played a significant role in Ford’s development of what we now know as the small car ... our featured vehicle being the first ever small Ford.