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MID-BEDS VEHICLE RESTORATION AND THE SWEENEY FORD CONSUL GT

27th March, 2020

The 2nd January 1975 saw the first episode of a new police series entitled The Sweeney and the major automotive star was a Ford Consul GT.

It was provided to Euston Films by Dagenham and as a press car it was fitted with power steering and a sliding roof.

And today, thanks to the dedicated work of Mid-Beds Vehicle Restoration, it is once again ready to catch any blagger with a taste for second-hand Jaguar S-Types and beige flared trousers.

To look at NHK 295 M it is almost impossible to believe that it was off the road from 1989 until 2019 when it was MOT'd again – and that 2004 was when the restoration actually started.

When production of the first series of The Sweeney commenced in 1974 Dagenham was keen to promote the Consul GT.

The series stunt arranger Peter Brayham arranged for NHK and a number of Ford cars to appear on screen, but the factory decreed that they were not to be damaged.

The press office was equally keen that villains did not favour cars bearing a blue oval badge.

The show was famous for its extensive location work and the Consul sometimes had cameras attached to its front wings on padded jogs when it was on patrol in Battersea or Hammersmith.

Mid-Beds observes ‘The car was also fitted with a full sump shield; fuel tank guard, bulkhead brace & engine stabiliser in addition to the standard GT equipment’.

There was also a radio for communicating with the crew but the Winkworth bell was post-synched.

When the Granada 3.0S succeeded the Consul GT in late 1975 NHK was retired from the squad, and thirteen years later it was acquired by its current owner.

By then the Ford had changed hands six times and was suffering from ‘very bad structural corrosion’.

Worse, it had recently been involved in ‘a front-end accident in its recent past’. This had been ‘repaired quickly and quite badly’.

1990 saw ‘NHK stripped, and it was off the road until 2004’.

This Facebook page gives an impression of the sheer volume of work involved – a ‘journey through three different Restoration companies to get where it is today. https://www.facebook.com/pg/mrshiftersconsulgt/photos/?tab=album&album_id=159375362104084&ref=page_internal.

A further challenge was that while Mid-Beds did have access to a large number of spare parts, ‘a set of wheel arch trims and wheel centre caps’ proved very hard to find.

However, the restoration was finally completed in August 2019, and NHK went on to cause a sensation at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show.

At the end of the year, the Consul was even reunited with Billy Murray, the Sweeney guest star who pursued an S-Type at 60 mph in Stoppo Driver. Cue the famous line – ‘who taught you to drive? Evel Knievel?’ -

With Thanks To: Mid-Beds Vehicle Restoration - https://www.mbvr.co.uk/

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