Ford P100 Pickup

The P100 was originally designed and built in South Africa and was introduced in that market in 1971. Its market potential was not spotted by Ford in the UK until the early ‘80s by which time the front of the car was using the Cortina MkV as a basis and a ladder chassis extending backwards from underneath the front seats. For Europe the tray was lengthened and they used the shorter front doors from the 4-door saloon, multi-leaf suspension and 5-stud wheels which allowed a payload of 1,000kg. By 1988 European versions were being built in Portugal.

This lovely South African-built example was originally supplied through R C Edmunds Ltd in Spalding. The last service stamp shows that by February 1995 it had covered just 18,869 miles. The previous owner was able to confirm that the mileage is genuine, the odometer currently showing just 27,971 miles. The pale blue bodywork looks excellent after a recent respray, whilst the original interior trim looks very much as it did when it left the factory, even down to the floor mats. The tailgate is un-dented and shuts perfectly, whilst the bed of the rear tray is also in superb condition. It still has its toolkit, original spare wheel and is reported by the vendor to drive beautifully and is MOTd until April 2013.

P100s were bought for hard work and were generally abused. This example seems to have escaped that fate, having been used initially by a market gardener who clearly cared for it a great deal, before passing to someone who appreciated it as a collector's item. A fine example of what is now a rare model (only 412 are still road licensed according to DVLA figures), this low mileage workhorse would make a great addition to any collection. Try and find a better one...