1959 Ford Anglia 100E Retro Gasser

In an attempt to recapture our youth (see pictures of the Anglia we had in 1968 on Our Past Cars page), we acquired a 1959 Anglia 100E in June, 2006.  This one was already modified to be a street/drag car, but we have started the process of going through it completely and upgrading it.  

Here is some information on the stock British Ford Anglia 100E

The Ford Anglia was a British car from Ford in the UK.   The 100E,  designed by Lacuesta Automotive,  was modern for its time, available in a 2-door version (Anglia) and a 4-door version (Prefect) from 1953-1959.  The popularity of this car was due to the fact that for a while it was considered to be the cheapest car in the world. When production ended in 1959, the car had sold in 345,841 units. With limited features and moderate performances for a car its size, the Anglia managed to hold its own against other competitors on the market.

The Anglia in the picture is Darren Byrne's.

Internally there were individual front seats trimmed in PVC, hinged to allow access to the rear. The instruments (speedometer, fuel gauge and ammeter) were placed in a cluster around the steering column and the gear change was floor mounted. A heater and radio were optional extras.

Dimensions

Length:  151.75 in

Wheelbase:  87 in

Width:  60.5 in

Height:  57.25 in

Under the bonnet the 100E still housed an antiquated, but actually new, 36 bhp side-valve engine sharing the bore and stroke of the old unit but now with larger bearings and inlet valves and pump-assisted cooling. The three speed gearbox was retained. 

Weight:  1,624 lb

Engine

Configuration: in-line four

Displacement:  1172 cc

Aspiration:  normal

Bore & Stroke:  2.5 x 3.64 in

Compression Ratio:  7.01:1

Fuel:  gasoline

Fuel Delivery: carburetor

The vacuum operated windscreen wipers were notorious for slowing down when driving up steep hills, or coming to a complete rest when trying to overtake. The separate chassis construction of the previous models was replaced by unit construction and the front suspension used Macpherson struts, with anti-roll bar and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. 

Chassis

Drive Train:  front engine,  rear wheel drive

Body Frame:  metal uni-body

Transmission:  3-speed manual

Front Suspension:  independent, MacPherson strut

A rare option for 1957 and 1958 was the Newton drive clutchless gear change. The electrical system became 12 volt.

Rear Suspension:  live rear axle, half elliptic leaf springs

The Tropic Zone Racing "HP Edition" Anglia

As you may have already guessed, our Anglia will be just a little modified from the original specifications.  We plan on playing with this car at test 'n tune nights and will keep it street legal so we can attend cruise-ins around the area.  It will probably get a new paint job...the lime green chassis has to go.  

Here are some pictures of the car when we first brought it home.

From the outside the car didn't look too bad, but when you opened the doors the lime green chassis just didn't do it for us. 

As Dave started inspecting the car more closely, he discovered that there were many problems in the fabrication of the original chassis.  First of all, it wasn't square.  Also, the rear tires rubbed.  I won't go into the whole list of problems.

Once again, we trashed everything except the body and started over. (Feb. 07)

We didn't have the proper equipment to build a new chassis, so we took the car to someone who did.  After the old chassis was removed, the body went on the building fixture.  We were starting from scratch.

Due to its small size, this car would present some  challenges.  We wanted an NHRA legal chassis.

For one, the rear axle housing needed to be shortened before it was fitted into place.

By August '07 we were ready to fit the rear tubs.

It was time to take the body off to make welding the cage easier.

With the body off, it is easy to see the cage structure.  This also allowed the finish welding to take place.  

Then it was time to bring the car back home and begin the engine and suspension setup.

Our American Torque Thrust wheels arrived.  We wanted a retro looking wheel.

For fun, we lined up the mounted drag tires next to the road race slicks.

We started assembling components and doing mock-up assemblies to ensure everything would fit before coating the chassis.

In Sept. '07, we were ready  to make patterns for the interior using light-weight cardboard.

The brake pedal needed to be moved forward, so a pattern was made for a pedal box.

We did our first draft of the aluminum pedal box.  It was redone later on to include space for the gas pedal.

(Dec. '07) The brakes are installed

(Jan. '08) We took the car up to Jim Britts to have the headers fabricated.

Jim also did some fabricating of the interior panels.

It was obvious that it would be necessary to fabricate a custom gas tank

Jim did a great job fabricating the transmission cover.

The gas tank, which holds 9.3 gallons, sits neatly between the frame with the tubs on either side.

Fitting the wheelie bars into such a small space was a challenge.  Later on, we shortened the wheelie bars.

We needed to set the body back on the chassis so we could see how to mount the front bodywork.

(Mar. '08) The front fenders are mounted on the body.

Jim also fabricated a battery box.

The trunk is getting full!

We took the car back home and worked on brake lines and interior pieces. 

In the next picture you can see the "hatch" we fabricated to have access to the tranny. (May '08)

We fabricated a front spoiler to help keep the car on the ground and played around with hood scoop ideas.

We shortened up the wheelie bars. (June, '08)

We are undecided on using the Powerglide or the Jericho transmission, so we're setting the car up for either.

To the left is the trunk with the fuel tank & battery box.

It is time to disassemble the car and powder coat the chassis. (May, '09)

While waiting for the chassis, we fabricated a rear window deck.

The powder coating is complete!  We powder coated the chassis a satin black.

These are the powder coated interior pieces.

Here is the rear diff with the wheelie bar mount.  (June, 09)

Finally, we could start the  re-assembly!

We fabricated some door panels out of aluminum. 

We're still undecided on how to finish them.

The firewall panels and brake lines were installed.

Then the floor pans and transmission tunnel were put in place.

The wheelie bars were put on.

The gas tank and battery box were fitted into place.

We installed the shifter, the power glide transmission and started running the gas line and electrical wiring.

We put together an old engine block and parts to use as a mockup, so we could run the engine compartment wiring.

The radiator was mounted in place.

The transmission cooler was mounted under the car along-side a frame rail.  Later in the build, we installed a "real" cooler instead.

To the right is a picture of the Strange strut front suspension.

Our switch panel located in front of the steering wheel.

Sue made a cool Anglia decal to put on the steering wheel.

The next step was to paint the interior of the body and get the headliner in it.  Then we could get the body back on the chassis.  We wanted to keep the color as close to our first Anglia as possible and went with Ford Screaming Yellow.

To the right are some painted interior trim pieces.

With the instruments temporarily set in place, the aluminum gage panel looks great!

The interior rear deck looks good too.

Time to paint!  We taped the windows on the body and put it on some plastic in the front yard. (Sept., '09)

Allen Armstrong came out to the house to paint.  The first coat was a gray primer.

The second coat was a white base coat to give the yellow a nice clean color.

Then Alan started spraying the Screaming Yellow as we watched on.

The front edges won't show, but we put on a coat of yellow to keep them from rusting.

These next pictures were taken after the clear coat was on.

The next day, Allen came back and sprayed the interior of the trunk and rear quarter panels with black.

Most of the black will be covered by panels and the wheel tubs.  Very little will show once the body is on the chassis.

Once everything was dry, we pulled the tape and paper off.  The fluorescent shop lighting makes the yellow look a little funny.

Dan Moon came out to the house and installed the headliner in the Anglia body.  Headliners in old cars, like this one, are vinyl held in place by metal bows and glue.  (Sept., '09)

Since we are missing some original trim pieces, we made some custom ones out of aluminum sheet.  We'll take them back off and do some "fine tuning" to the pieces and paint them to match.  The wrinkles will work out with some heat.

We fabricated a couple of trim strips for the rear quarter panel area.

The painted window trim is installed.  The window will go in after the body is back on the frame.

J. T. Barron, the NHRA inspector, came out to certify the chassis. The Sportsman class certification is good for a quickest permitted E.T. of 8.50 (qtr mile).

After our inspection, we relocated the fuel regulator and re-routed the fuel line under the car.

We had a custom window net made.  The brackets for the top bar needed to be welded on before the body went on the frame. (Oct., '09)

Our son, Mark, rounded up some help and we got the body back on the chassis. (Nov. '09)

The old gassers had windows tinted to match their paint.  We tinted the rear side windows yellow.

We put the doors on before welding the body in place, to make sure they were aligned properly.

Finally, the frame and the body are one piece again!  Welded and ready to to move the project along.

The wheel tubs are the first to be fitted in.

Just in case we decide to put the 4-speed back in, we installed our retro Sun Super Tach.  We wired and installed the instrument panel in the Anglia.

The instrument panel was fabricated from sheet metal and painted.

The wheel tubs were rolled and riveted.  The next step was to secure the wheel tub edges to the inside of the fender.

We wanted the front fenders mounted in a way that they could be removed easily.  We fabricated some 90 degree flanges for the rear edges of the fenders and secured the front with a sub-frame.

The original hood had a cut-out in it that didn't line up with the new engine placement.  Once the front bodywork was attached we fitted our replacement hood.  Thanks Terry.

Sub-frame support for hood and front bodywork.

A snapshot of the differential and trans.

Looking in the end of the exhaust collector.

Since the car is street legal we installed the original vacuum wiper motor and wiper mechanism.  Later on we converted to an electric motor.

Santa brought an Anglia key fob for Christmas!

We took a couple of pictures of the car.  A little more prep and we'll be ready to paint the exterior.

The last thing to do before we paint the exterior was to prep the wing vents and install new seals.

Before painting, we decided to convert the wiper motor from the original vacuum one to an electric motor.  We used a Bosch motor out of a late 70's Mercury Capri.

To fit the motor on, we pulled the knurled wiper knob off and trimmed it to fit in the stock triangular plate.  We used a dzus fastener plate, trimmed round on one end, as a bracket fitted around the output shaft.  It goes between the two hold-down nuts.  For the other end, I made a simple sheet metal bracket.  In the pictures below, you can see where they are welded to the original mounting arm.  The end bracket is held to the Bosch bracket by a button-head screw and nut. 

Here you can see the wiper motor mounted for a trial fit.

Here are a couple pictures of the exhaust pipes.  The flange will get welded onto the end of the header.  The muffler can be easily unbolted for use at the strip.

The exhaust is back from being ceramic coated.  (Feb. 2010)

The body is getting prepped for painting - the engine mockup removed and bodywork patched.

We painted the underside of the fenders, hood and trunk lid black.

We sanded the doors.

We taped the car to paint the door and trunk edges.

Allen Armstrong sprayed the doors. (March, 2010)

We painted the door edges, so we could paint the exterior of the car with the doors on.

After the paint dried, we removed the tape & paper.  Then we could put the trunk lid and doors back on.

We have a few trim pieces to paint before the car goes to the paint booth.

Due to the curvature of the body, we had to fabricate a trim piece to bridge the gap between the floor pan and the car body.

We welded a short piece of round stock to the frame to use as a jack point.

The car is ready and waiting for its turn in the paint booth.

Bob Eubanks, the owner of Rusty Acres (Ford replacement parts), let us use his paint booth.  We dropped the car off and Allen stayed to tape it up.  The next day, he sprayed the car.

The first look at the new paint.  It's definitely brighter in the paint booth now!

We took the car home and parked it in the sun for a couple of pictures.  It's definitely Screaming Yellow. (April, 2010)

We cleaned the Anglia, put the wheels & wheelie bar back on, then the trunk handle, rear bumper, script and battery connectors.

The stainless steel trim is held on with "buttons" riveted to the car.

The picture on the left shows the buttons in the holes and on the right you can see the buttons riveted on...ready for the trim.

Time to install the yellow tinted windows.  The window lace is stapled to the window trim for the rollup windows.

The rear quarter windows went in first and then the side wing vents and rollup windows.  The yellow tint looks good!

The picture on the left shows the door before installing the aluminum interior panel.  On the right the panel is complete with hardware.

While waiting on the rear window seals, Dave put the fan on the radiator.

The Anglia is starting to look like a car again!  Finally, all the glass is back in.  The windshield is the only glass we didn't tint yellow.

After the windows were installed, we put on the tail light bezels and lenses. (May, 2010)

We put in a multi-panel rear view mirror.

Here is Dave and the Anglia with the full body.

The picture to the right shows the clutch setup for the Jericho (in case we decide to use it).

The wiring in the left picture is waiting for the motor.  The front lighting & fan wiring connectors (right) are finished.

Our new Anglia motor arrived.  It's a 396ci small block Chevy.  Approx 500hp (July, 2010)

August, 2010 the motor is ready to put in the Anglia.

We installed the headers. Everything is fitting together pretty good.

We hooked up the throttle linkage and started on the accessory drives.

The next few pictures show the accessory drives.

Then it was time to put the fenders back on...hopefully, for the last time.

We found out that the trans cooler we had installed was inadequate, so we mounted a B&M plate style cooler under the car...the only place with space.

We finished the radiator hoses and wiring odds & ends.  Then we primed the oil system and went for start!

The motor started right up!  We topped off the trans fluid and radiator; checked for leaks (tightened the trans cooler fittings), and set the timing.  All the electrical systems worked.  No over-heating problems.  The Anglia sounds great!  A great day...after 3 years of hard work. (Aug. 27, 2010)

With smiles, we buttoned up the trans cover and installed the seats and seat belts.

Sept. 04, 2010 we took the Anglia for it's 1st drive and it passed with flying colors!  There is plenty of torque and the motor sounds great.  We're going to change out the springs and tweak a few things, but we are VERY pleased with the HP Edition Anglia.

The builder, Dave, after his first mile!

See our Video Gallery page for video of the 1st drive.

To make the car more period correct, we replaced the laser etched valve covers with vintage Corvette ones. (Oct., 2010)