October 2024
The Ford Prefect

 My family owned a Ford Prefect in the 1950s   It felt like it could take our family anywhere  and I loved riding in my Father's Ford Prefect. 
My Sister and I had plenty of room to stretch our legs, play games, and even nap.  

Today when I look at the car, I realize that the car was a very small sedan that would have barely fitted us all.  Childhood memories are wonderful, but they are not always true.

It turns out the Ford Prefect was based on the pre-war British Prefect E93A model, but with some unique features and modifications for the Australian market. The sedan was a four-door, five-passenger saloon with a 1,172cc side-valve four-cylinder engine that produced 32 bhp and 46 lbs-ft of torque and a top speed of 73 mph. The sedan was available in a two-door version, that proved to be very popular. 

The Australian sedan also had a solid roof, an extended boot and a swage line on the front doors, whereas the UK sedan which had a fabric roof insert, a shorter boot and no swage line.

The Ute was a coupe that combined the front end of the sedan with a 5½-foot cargo box and a rumble seat-like tailgate. Both the sedan and the Ute had a three-speed gearbox, six-volt electrics, vacuum-operated wipers, transverse leaf springs, rod-activated drum brakes, and 500 x 16 tyres and got an economical 27 mpg.

The Ford Prefect sedan and Ute were among the first cars to be assembled in Australia after World War II and paved the way for the development of the local car industry.  

The Ute was designed and built by Ford Australia at its Geelong plant and was popular among farmers and tradesmen who wanted a cheap and versatile vehicle. The Ute also had a military history, as some were used by the RAAF police for perimeter patrols around air bases.

They were followed by the 100E series Prefects in the mid-1950s and then Mainline name was applied to a locally developed 2-door coupé utility version of the Ford Customline sedan from 1952. before Ford started producing the Falcon and Falcon Utes in 1960.

The sedan was a popular and economical choice for many families, until it was replaced by the more modern Consul Classic in 1961.

The Ford Prefect sedan and Utility are rare and collectible today. They are truly Australian icons that deserve to be celebrated and preserved.