1953 Ford Gasser

Built in England and originally designed for the Europeans, Ford began production of these vehicles in the 1930s. They began exporting them to the United States in 1948. They were not popular here, but drag racers noticed them in the 1960s, where they were immediately a hit.

The Kohler Brothers were successful right out of the gate and they won national events in 1964-1965. By 1966 they had shattered the AA/GS record with a world record elapsed time of 9.23. During the 'Gasser Wars' time period 1966-1967 this car was a top draw along the match race circuit.

Located in 1979 by Carlos & Mary Cedeno, they perfectly restored the Anglia to its original as-raced condition. In 2010 the King Kong Anglia was recognized by the National Hot Rod Association as being one of the 33 most historic gasser cars in the nation.

The British-based Ford Anglia was manufactured by Ford in the United Kingdom. Production of the Ford Anglia began in 1939 and continued until 1967 with 1,594,486 examples produced before it was replaced by the new Ford Escort.

Just after declaring war on Germany, Ford introduced the Anglia in early September of 1939. The internal model code for the car was E04A. Most of the cars were painted Ford black and they were available in either Standard or Deluxe trim. The Deluxe versions had better instrumentation and running boards (on pre-war models).

Powering the domestic-based Anglia's was the 933cc straight-4 side-valve engine. Some export markets received the 1172cc straight-4 engine from the Ford Ten.

An updated version of the Anglia was introduced in 1949 and was given the code E494A. The styling was updated, but it remained to be a minimalistic vehicle and was Britain's lowest-priced four-wheel car. Production of this model continued until 1953 with 108,878 examples produced.

In 1953, the 100E example was introduced. More than just a styling update, it was a completely new car with a modern three-box design. It was available as a two-door Anglia and a four-door Prefect. Power was from a side-valve engine that offered 36 horsepower and was mated to a three-speed gearbox. Some models were given a semi-automatic 'Manumatic' gearbox. A second windshield wiper was now available at no extra cost. The wheelbase was 87 inches and was the shortest of any Anglia.

Production of the 100E continued until 1959 with 345,841 examples produced. The final version, the Anglia 105E was introduced in 1959 and remained in production until 1968. The design was American-influenced and included a sweeping nose line, and on deluxe versions, a full-width slanted chrome grille in between 'eye'-like headlamps. Body styles included a two-door saloon, a 3-door estate car, and a 2-door panel van. Power was from a 997cc overhead-valve straight-4 with an oversquare cylinder bore, that became known by its 'Kent' code name. Also new was a four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh on the top three forward ratios.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2011