The Motor YEAR BOOK, 1954     BRITISH CARS OF 1953     FORD ZODIAC

Mechanically identical with the well-established Ford Zephyr, the Zodiac is marketed to give substantially greater comfort and superior fittings for a moderate increase in price. Externally, the Zodiac is distinguished by two-tone colour schemes and the fitting of white-walled tyres, and internally leather upholstery is standardized, this also being in two colours. At the front of the car a fog lamp and long-range lamp are mounted, and at the back there is a reversing light and reflectors. Standardized equipment includes heater, windscreen washers, two exterior mirrors, two sun visors, cigar lighters, and a clock.

The Motor YEAR BOOK, 1954     BRITISH CARS OF 1953     FORD ANGLIA AND PREFECT

The new Ford Anglia and Prefect models give every promise of being extremely versatile cars, and should accordingly be even more successful than have been their well-known predecessors.
Mechanically, there are now no differences whatever between the Prefect and the Anglia. Bodies of identical dimensions have two large doors on the Anglia, whereas there are four rather smaller doors on the Prefect, and the Prefect is rather more comprehensively equipped as well as having a different exterior finish incorporating more chromium plating, and a different radiator grille, these modifications making the Prefect the heavier car of the two by approximately 50 lb. Four colour schemes are offered on the Anglia and five on the Prefect, some of the additional features standardized on the latter model (such as an interior lamp, a second sun visor and a second windscreen wiper) being available as optional extras on the former - car radio and a heater may be had on either model if desired.
The full-width body is welded up from steel pressings, and the power unit and front and rear suspensions are rubber-mounted directly on to this structure without the interposition of any separate chassis frame. The absence of a chassis has contributed to the lowering of the cars by approximately 5 in., the steel floor, which is below the door sills, being almost the lowest part of the car: a reasonably prominent hump over the transmission is unobjectionable on cars which do not claim to seat more than four passengers. An important detail is that the front mudwings and the lower part of each rear mudwing, as the components most liable to damage in any minor accident, are separate parts bolted on to the main body shell. No attempt is made to conceal every joint between panels, but these joints are part of the lines of the car, and it will be noted that the design includes swaged-out edges to the mudwings and rainwater gutters.
Individual front seats are provided, the nearside seat fixed in a position which allows a reasonably tall man to be comfortable either in it or behind it, and the offside driving seat provided with the usual fore-and-aft adjustment. On the Anglia two-door saloon, the nearside seat only is pivoted to tip forwards bodily, allowing quite easy access to the rear seats. Different instruments are provided on the two models, the Anglia having three circular dials for speedometer, fuel contents gauge, and ammeter, whereas the Prefect has a quadrant speedometer incorporating the fuel contents gauge and a coolant thermometer: in each case, the instruments are grouped in a nacelle above the steering column and two warning lights are provided on the same panel. A most useful parcel shelf extends right across the full width of the scuttle on both models, direction indicators of the flashing type are controlled from a self-cancelling switch on the steering wheel hub, and two items exclusive to the Prefect are a horn ring and an interior lamp above the windscreen. At the rear of the car, a large and sensibly-shaped luggage locker has a lift-up external lid, location of the spare wheel at one side leaving a useful area of flat floor: the seven-gallon fuel tank, located inside one rear wing, has a short filler pipe positioned in sensible conformity with the laws of gravitation!
For the front suspension of the two cars, the new layout which was evolved for the Consul and Zephyr Six models has been adopted, this layout now being backed by three years of service experience. Briefly, the steering swivel of each front wheel extends upwards to form the lower section of a telescopic hydraulic shock absorber, the upper part of which is surrounded by a coil spring, the reaction of this direct supporting unit coming on to the main structure of the steel body. The base of each telescopic suspension "leg" is ball jointed to a pair of radius arms, a transverse one to resist cornering side-thrust and a fore-and-aft one which transmits braking drag and also links an antiroll torsion bar to the suspension system. As on the larger cars, excellent steering geometry is provided by a three-piece track rod, the steering box being a Burman unit of improved design which is matched by an idler unit on the opposite side of the car. The two-spoke steering wheel gives light and quick steering, and the turning circle of the new models is usefully compact at 32¼ ft. diameter between kerbs.
Orthodoxy characterizes the rear suspension, which is by seven-leaf semi-elliptic springs and a rigid rear axle. Damping of the springs is by double-acting telescopic shock absorbers, which are splayed outwards at their lower ends so that they can check body sway or axle tramp as well as preventing unwanted bouncing of the body. No lubrication is required by the shackles of the springs, this being one of the various details by which the number of nipples requiring grease-gun attention every 1,000 miles has been cut down from 20 on the 1953 Anglia to only 13 on its successor.
A completely fresh Girling braking system has been evolved for the new cars, adoption of two leading shoes for the front brakes and of direct hydraulic actuation having permitted the size and (unsprung) weight of the brakes to be reduced below what was necessary with mechanical braking. The new 7-in. brakes give a total of 94 sq. in. of lining area per ton of unladen car weight, on the heavier of the two models, and the new brakes should have excellent performance characteristics. A pull-up handbrake is located between the two front seats.
At first glance, the figure "1,172 c.c." in the engine specification will give many people the impression that the new cars incorporate engines of existing design. This is in fact a false impression, it being stated that virtually no parts of the 1953 and 1954 engines are interchangeable. The new engine has, however, been designed to take full advantage of 20 years' experience of 8-h.p. and 10-h.p. Ford engines, and to be made at a competitive price with the aid of a proportion of already-existing machine tools.
Thus, the bore and stroke of the previous engine have been retained, together with the spacing of the cylinder centres. Around these basic dimensions, however, a new cylinder block casting has been designed incorporating such changes as enlarged inlet ports, enlarged main bearings, an inbuilt water pump and cooling water ducts to the exhaust valve seatings.
As hitherto, a crankshaft with four counter-balanced weights is cast in alloy steel, but the three main bearings have been enlarged from 1 5/8 in. to 2 in. diameter, and the crankpins have been enlarged from 1.5-in. to 1.7-in. diameter. These dimensions, giving greater crankshaft stiffness and larger bearing areas, should contribute to extended engine life despite the new engine having a power output of 36 b.h.p. at 4,400 r.p.m. and a maximum torque of 54 lb.-ft. whereas the former 10 h.p. engine developed 30.1 b.h.p. at 4,000 r.p.m. and a maximum torque of 46.4 lb.-ft. A significant contribution to increased power is a step-up in compression ratio from 6.3 : 1 to 7.0 : 1, but there has also been a 4 per cent. increase in inlet valve diameter (accompanied by a corresponding reduction in exhaust valve size) and an increase of inlet port diameter.
In contrast to the hitherto-favoured split valve-guides and non-adjustable mushroom tappets, this latest Ford engine has conventional screw-adjustment tappets for its side-by-side valves. A water pump is now built into the front of the cylinder block, driven by the triangulated V-belt which also drives the dynamo and fan: the cylinder block incorporates a duct to concentrate the flow of cooling water around the exhaust valve seatings, and there is a thermostat in the water outlet from the cylinder head. Another thermostat is incorporated in the exhaust manifold, to give maximum flow of exhaust gas around the induction manifold hot-spot during the warming-up period but a much reduced circulation of hot gas when full power is required from a hot engine. Another new item in the specification is a Solex downdraught carburettor.
A single dry plate clutch transmits power to a new three-speed gearbox, the baulk-ring synchromesh on second and top gears giving smoother yet more positive synchronization than did the old design. The gear lever continues to be mounted directly on the top of the gearbox. An open propeller shaft with two needle-roller universal joints replaces the former torque-tube layout, and a splined coupling is enclosed in the extended rear casting of the gearbox.
Twelve-volt electrical equipment is a feature which has not been seen previously on the smaller Ford cars, and will provide for more powerful headlamps as well as for more certain engine starting in extremely cold climates. The 12-volt, 40-amp.-hr. battery is located alongside the engine, and stores 27 per cent. more energy than the 6-volt, 63-amp.-hr. unit hitherto used on 10-h.p. Ford cars.

The Motor YEAR BOOK, 1954     BRITISH CARS OF 1953     FORD POPULAR

The new Popular model is barely to be distinguished externally from the Anglia of the 1953 season, and its low price results to a large extent from the fact that it can be built and serviced with existing equipment. In full production in four different colours, it can be recognized by such details as smaller diameter 24-watt headlamps, and aluminium-painted bumpers without over-riders; external plated parts are few but not non-existent. Boldly, however, the Ford Motor Co., have endowed it with the lively top-gear acceleration which enables a car to travel briskly along Britain's congested roads by installing the 10-h.p., 1,172-c.c. engine which was used only in export models of the "old" Anglia.
No mechanical details have been skimped or simplified in the transformation from 1953 Anglia to 1954 Popular, the transverse leaf front and rear springs continuing to be controlled by Armstrong hydraulic shock absorbers, and the Girling mechanical brakes being of more-than-generous 10-in. size. Rugged and reliable rather than especially refined, the engine, gearbox, chassis and body which are being offered at this new low price have long since proved their ability to withstand difficult conditions of service.
Simplification and improvement can both be observed inside the two-door, fourseater saloon body, which is narrower internally than are some more recent designs but offers notably ample headroom and kneeroom for rear-seat passengers. The bucket-type front seats, one of which tips to facilitate access to the back of the car, are more comfortable than hitherto; in the back of the car, removal of a shelf from above the spare wheel has left more luggage space available in a locker, the lid of which lets down to accommodate bulky loads. Conventional winding windows are retained, but the plain facia panel which carries speedometer, fuel gauge, and ammeter, has no parcel locker or shelf, and there are no map pockets on the doors. A single windscreen wiper without a vacuum reservoir is fitted as standard, but a duplicate can be installed by any Ford agent, as can many other "extras" which are already stocked for past Anglia and Prefect models.