Ford Popular Coupe Utility

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In 1925, a group of Canadian investors obtained the rights from Henry Ford to manufacture Ford cars under licence across the Commonwealth, with the sole exception of the UK itself.

As part of the programme, an assembly plant was set up in Geelong, a sizeable city to the west of Melbourne in Australia. Initially assembling Model Ts from CKD kits, they soon progressed to using Ford’s massive global parts-bin to develop their own cars specifically designed to appeal to the local market.

The Ford 103E is best known to most UK enthusiasts as the 'sit up and beg' Popular and was launched in our market in 1953 as a budget addition to the Anglia and Prefect range. It hit the market at the perfect time as second-hand cars were virtually unobtainable in the UK, a situation mirrored in Australia at the time and so tooling was produced to manufacture the model in Geelong. 

It won many friends for its unpretentious basic design which, despite a lack of such luxuries as a heater or passenger windscreen wiper, performed sterling service with considerable charm. Further developed by Ford Australia, their range, which consisted of the regular saloon familiar to UK customers, was complemented by a basic truck, a small van and the stylish Coupe Ute. One of the first such ‘Utility’ vehicles ever made, the concept of the Coupe Ute went on to become one of Australia’s most significant cultural icons – the ‘beaut-ute’ becoming all things to all Australians.

This lovely example was imported into the UK directly from Australia where it had clearly enjoyed the warm and dry climate. The paint had suffered under the strong ultra violet light, but the tin worm had stayed away and the panel work was in very good condition. Upon arriving on these shores it was given a £14,000+ restoration which, according to the vendor did not include any welding! It was professionally painted from bare metal, the underside exhibiting the correct body colour as it would have done when new.

The vendor used vinyl graphics to sign-write the car which can be easily removed should the new owner wish to put their own business or family name on the side and is offered for sale only due to a lack of storage space. It requires no MOT being made prior to 1960 and is of course tax exempt.

This rare and pretty Coupe Utility causes a stir wherever it goes, is in lovely condition and is reputed to run and drive exceptionally well. Very seldom offered on this side of the planet, you are unlikely to see another one for a very long while so make the most of this opportunity!