SOTW: Ford Prefect

Shed travels back to the 50s for a spot of bargain motoring from yesteryear

Today's SOTW is unquestionably a left-field choice, but bear with us while we try to explain the merits of a 55-year-old car with less horsepower than your average moped...

True, the Prefect's 71 mph top speed and 0-60mph time of 32.2 seconds (as tested by The Motor magazine in 1957) is not exactly going to win you any drag races at the traffic lights. In fact, you might even struggle to keep up with modern traffic with only 1,172cc of side-valve engine to keep you bimbling along.

But classic motoring isn't about supercar acceleration (unless you own a Mercedes 300 SL, we suppose), or scraping the door handles on bends as you tear down your favourite B-road. As our vendor says, the '57 Ford has "so much more character than all this new rubbish," explaining no doubt accurately - if only semi-literately - that "its a wicked car n gets looks wereva it goes".

There's even (just about) a performance angle to the Prefect - its lightweight (and unitary, everybody say 'ooh') construction made it a popular choice for the hot-rodding set.

This one's got a whiff of Bonneville chic about it, too, with matt paint and whitewall tyres. Surely the perfect inspiration to stick a big six- or eight-cylinder drivetrain in?

Our cheery vendor also has a curious sales technique. Although he's popped the ad up for £950, he says he's willing to take £800 - nothing like haggling yourself down a bit before negotiations have even started. Even more curiously, one of the pics shows 3p-worth of coins lurking somewhere in the car, which is presumably some sort of cashback incentive...but we digress.

Okay, so all that text-speak means reading the advert is going to make your eyes and brain hurt rather a lot, and a car that can barely breech the national speed limit might not appeal to all, but it's got tax and ticket until June, VED won't cost you a penny anyway and it's surely yours for 800 quid if you want it. If you fancy a spot of seriously retro action and a rolling restoration to get stuck into, this could be the perfect car...,

Advert is reproduced below

Ford Prefect (Tax Exempt) 1957 - £950

ford prefect 1957. it has been matt blacked tinted windows white wall tyres 2inch lowering blocks new exhaust. i am regetingly having to sell my baby as my nipper cant get in it as it has no seat belts, its a wicked car n gets looks wereva it goes its not fast bt its got so much more character than all this new rubbish. under the engine bay is mint with te origional engine still there its my daily runner and hasent missed a beat yet but thats bearing in mind i havent driven long journeys. the front,rear and boot floor pans are mint except for a bit of rust the size ov a 50p which isnt bad for a 55yr old car. the body is strait as strait and again the only bad thing is the bottom of both rear doors has been fibreglassed but u cant c this unless u open the doors. it is motd n taxd untill june and all i no it needs is 1 brake pipe on the back and it shud fly thru. i really dnt want to sell this but its jst not practical im not going to except silly offers of 500 cuz i n wat its worth anything over 800 and its urs so unless you expect to pay that then plz dnt mke silly fonecalls. thanks dion