The Ford Popular, often called the Ford Pop, was built by Ford UK between 1953 and 1962 and was Britain’s lowest-priced car when it was launched. Ford had used the name before for its 1930s Y Type, and later used it on basic versions of the Escort and Fiesta.
Ford Popular at a glance
| Maker | Ford UK, Dagenham |
|---|---|
| Production | 1953–1962 |
| Model | Popular 103E |
| Base | pre-war Anglia E494A |
| Engine | 1,172 cc side-valve four, 30 bhp |
| Built | 155,340 |
| 1954 road test | 60.3 mph, 0–50 mph in 24.1 seconds, £390 |
| Fuel consumption | 36.4 miles per imperial gallon |
| Electrics | 6-volt, with starting handle |
| Brakes | rod-operated drums |
| Cooling | thermosyphon, no water pump |
| Later use | the classic British hot rod |
This page is based on English Wikipedia only.
History of the Ford Popular
A pre-war car for post-war Britain
When production of the older Ford Anglia and Prefect stopped in 1953, Ford developed the Popular as a budget alternative based on the pre-war E494A Anglia. That car was itself a facelift of the E04A Anglia, a facelifted 7Y, which was a rebodied Model Y, so a design going back to 1932 was produced by Ford for 27 years. It used the 1,172 cc Ford side-valve four of 30 bhp and was extremely basic: a single vacuum-powered wiper, no heater, vinyl trim and very little chrome, with even the bumpers painted and a flat steel panel instead of the Anglia’s Bakelite dashboard. The 103E had smaller headlights than the E494A and no trim on the side of the bonnet, early cars kept the three-spoke banjo steering wheel while stocks lasted, and the single central tail lamp later became a pair mounted on the mudguards.
Why it sold
The Popular succeeded because there were no clean late-model used cars in post-war Britain after six years of wartime production stoppage, and strict export quotas plus covenants forbidding new-car buyers from reselling for up to three years made new cars hard to obtain. Unless a buyer could pay about £100 more for an Anglia 100E, Austin A30 or Morris Minor, the choice was the Popular or a pre-war car. Life with one was austere: 6-volt electrics with a starting handle often needed, rod-operated brakes, synchromesh on second and top only, a boot opened with a coach key, no heater or demister, semaphore indicators, a pull-wire starter, a manual choke and thermosyphon cooling without a water pump.
Test figures and a second life
A car tested by The Motor in 1954 reached 60.3 mph, accelerated from 0 to 50 mph in 24.1 seconds and returned 36.4 miles per imperial gallon, at £390 including taxes. In total 155,340 Popular 103Es were built. From the late 1950s the type became a favourite for drag racing and hot rodding because of its light construction, following the American example of the 1932 Ford, and the “Pop” became the definitive British hot rod, a role it still plays today.
Design and features
- Cheapest in Britain: the lowest-priced new car on the market at launch.
- Pre-war engineering: side-valve engine, rod brakes and thermosyphon cooling.
- No frills at all: no heater, painted bumpers and a single wiper.
- Hot rod basis: light and simple, the classic British drag racing car.
Ford Popular versions
- Popular 103E (1953–1959): the original model.
- Later Populars: the basic versions of the 100E and later cars.
- Hot rod versions: stripped and re-engined cars from the late 1950s.
The Popular was a simplified Anglia and shared its engine family with the Prefect. More Ford vehicles are in the Ford collection.
Sources
- Ford Popular, English Wikipedia: origins, equipment, road test, hot rod use
