Jowett Bradford Utility Estate

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The Jowett Bradford was a British light van that was produced from 1946 to 1953 by Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, near Bradford.

It was one of the most popular light commercial vehicles of the post-war period and similar to those made by Ford and Morris. The vehicle was also available as an estate car, the Utility (in effect, little more than the van with side windows and rear seats) from 1947 to 1953. Based on the pre-war Jowett Eight, the 10cwt van was the first Jowett to be re-introduced after the Second World War. In spite of being very basic, the Bradford appealed to the post-war market because of its economy and availability, plus its strength and reliability. The Bradford was also manufactured as a light lorry, otherwise known as a pickup truck.

The Jowett Bradford chassis featured half-elliptic leaf springs front and rear supporting beam axles. The vehicle was powered by a 1,007cc front-mounted side valve flat-twin engine delivering 19bhp (the origins of this engine dated from as far back as 1906) and drove the rear wheels through a three-speed non-synchromesh gearbox.

The 10in drum brakes were operated mechanically using a Girling system. In 1950 the engine was updated to give 25bhp and synchromesh was fitted to the top ratio. This improved the top speed to 53mph. A De-Luxe specification was also available which consisted of trafficators, dual windscreen wipers, running boards, a rear bumper and some chromium plating, adding £38 to the total cost. It remained in production until 1953 and during the relatively short seven year production run, 38,241 examples were made. Sadly, after years of lying empty, the Jowett Bradford works was demolished in 1983.

This Utility estate was originally registered as NEV 706 in 1948 to its first keeper in Essex and subsequently passed on to its next two owners until it reached the Stondon Museum some time prior to 1992. One old MOT survives from 1987 when it was on its original plate and living in Dorset. This appears to have also been when Collectors Autos Ltd of Bournemouth did some work on the car, including rebuilding the engine, replacing the exhaust and a number of jobs that needed doing to the interior.

For a short time it was registered as AOR 535A but was re-registered as NSK 358 in 1992 according to a confirmation letter from the Vehicle Registration Office. By this time it was already in the hands of the Saunders family so it has certainly been with the Stondon Collection for some time.