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When David Brooks takes his Ford Prefect 107E for a spin it inevitably attracts a great deal of attention – ‘it’s amazing the interest it gets. Quite often it’ is “my Dad had one” or “my Grandad had one”’. He also finds that ‘nearly everyone thinks it’s a 100E’, which, of course, is not quite the case.

When Dagenham introduced the 105E in late 1959, this did not mean the complete demise of its predecessor and as the “All New Anglia” was never available in four-door guise; it was a logical step to upgrade the existing Prefect as the 107E.

The latest Prefect combined the familiar 1953-vintage bodyshell with the 997cc OHV engine and the four-speed gearbox of the 105E; most, but not all, could also be distinguished from the earlier models by their “dog’s leg” chrome trim. The top speed was 72 mph with 0-60 in 27 seconds, which made the 107E slightly more suited to the rigours of the new M1 motorway than the outgoing 100E.

In 1960 Motor thought the 107E offered ‘remarkably good value for money’ at just £621 12s 6d and the brochures promised ‘A power of difference – at no extra cost!’.  And that was not all, as your Prefect offered ‘two-tone PVC door trim in bright colour combinations’, ‘fitted carpets front and rear’ plus ‘additional ashtrays in the rear compartment’. There was no longer a “Standard” version for with the 107E you enjoyed “De Luxe” motoring at all times

Production ceased in June 1961 after just 38,154 units with the introduction of the larger and definitely more flamboyant Consul Classic saloon and numbers of the 107E were in marked decline by the 1970s.  

David has owned his Ford ‘since 1^st December 2017. I bought it from a dealer near Nottingham. It had a quite extensive restoration the previous year. I covered approximately 3000 miles last year’. As for future jobs, ‘I’m waiting to get a small rust spot on the bonnet cut out and repaired plus a couple of blemishes on the nearside rear wheel arch. While this is being done I will take the engine out and replace the rear main oil seal as it is leaking quite heavily’.

One aspect of the Brooks Prefect that ‘everyone without fail mentions’ is the wipers - the Anglia 105E was the first British Ford to be fitted with an electric set-up, but the 107E retained the vacuum system.

David points out that his car has ‘the usual inlet manifold suction but the slight improvement is the vacuum pump built into the underside of the petrol pump which ensures the wipers never actually stop going up hills, but they still go like the clappers when you’re decelerating’.

Above all, David enjoys every aspect of his 107E, not least the fact that ‘I had a 100E Anglia in 1967 when I was 21 and can still drive a very similar car 51 years later now that I’m 72 and we’re both still going strong. Not a bad record do you think?’ We could not agree more!