1954 Ford Zephyr Zodiac Saloon

• Ford of Britain's top-of-the range model in its day
• Present ownership since 1991
• Maintained by the family's in-house mechanic
• Requires re-commissioning

"... the Consul/Zephyr range launched at the 1950 Olympia Motor Show by Ford of Britain was one of the most advanced designs of popular car then produced anywhere in the world, for it combined monocoque construction and an over-square overhead-valve engine (the first use of upstairs valves by Ford) with the first appearance of an ingenious independent front suspension system designed by Ford's vice president of engineering, Earle MacPherson." - David Burgess-Wise, Complete Catalogue of Ford Cars in Britain.
Other advances shared by these new Fords were 12-volt electrics and 13" wheels, while different front-end styling and the six-cylinder Zephyr's 4" longer wheelbase distinguished it from the four-cylinder Consul. Only four-door models were available at first before the range was expanded for 1953 by the Zephyr Six two-door convertible (built by Carbodies of Coventry) while at the 1954 Motor Show coachbuilder E D Abbott of Farham launched its estate car version. Although it had not been designed with competition in mind, a mildly modified Zephyr driven by the experienced Dutchman Maurice Gatsonides won the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally outright.
For 1954 both the Consul and Zephyr were face-lifted and the range expanded to include the Zephyr Zodiac (the Zodiac, of course,would later become a model in its own right). Ford of Britain's top-of-the-range model, the Zephyr Zodiac featured two-tone paintwork, leather upholstery, a heater/demister, screen washer, whitewall tyres, and a slightly more powerful (71bhp) engine. Strangely, the radio remained an extra-cost option. In this form the Zephyr Zodiac remained in production until replaced by the Mark II version in 1956.
First registered on 10th April 1954, this Zephyr Zodiac comes with its original old-style buff logbook listing the first owner as a Mr Passingham of Kirkham and subsequently stamped up to 1967. The car been has been maintained by the family's in-house mechanic since acquisition in 2007 (there are no bills on file). Finished in two-tone grey/green, the car is offered with an original Zephyr Six instruction book; a number of old MoTs (last dated July 2012); various old photographs of the car; and a UK V5C Registration Certificate. Unused for a number of years, this rare survivor of a 1950s Ford will require re-commissioning before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed.