Built by Ford in Great Britain, the Anglia was sold in the US for a time. Sales numbers were decent, but not spectacular. Ford sold around 17,000 British Fords - including Anglias, Prefects, Consuls and Zephyrs - in the US in 1957. (To put that in perspective, in 1957 US sales for VW were just over 64,000. Renault, then the #2 import, sold 22,000 cars. Opel, GM's captive import, managed to sell only 1000 cars that year.)
In the US market, the Anglia was pitched as an alternative to the VW. Like the VW, it was a basic, slow car. 60 MPH came in just over 29 seconds and it had a top speed of 70MPH.
Rust and poor parts and repair support by Ford took their toll on most of the Anglias in this country. They were popular cars to turn into hot rods, and many of the survivors fell to that fate.
This car is a rare find. According to the seller, it's a "solid" car with a rebuilt engine. He says it runs perfectly. Best of all, it is basically unmodified.It still needs some work; the interior is shot and it needs a windshield, but given the condition of the rest of the car, it would be well worth hunting down a windshield and repairing the interior. The seller mentions that "there are many new parts in boxes that go with the car".
Like many 1950s and early 1960s imports, this would not be a great choice as an everyday classic. It's just too slow and too old fashioned. But, given how few of these cars there are left in this country - especially unmodified ones - this would be a great car to finish restoring and bring to car shows.
Located in Laurel,Montana, click here to see the Craigslist ad.A big thanks to Clint, for sending me the link to this car!
