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Several of our blogs have covered cars that were once as familiar as listening to Alan Freeman announce Pick of The Pops – and possibly none less so than Terry’s 1965 Anglia Estate.

He came by it ‘on Facebook Marketplace; and purchased after inspection’.

The condition was ‘minor fettling required’ and the Ford was a natural choice of classic as ‘I served my apprenticeship on 105Es’.

The Anglia also marked a genuine Ford of Great Britain milestone – their first purpose-built station wagon. The 105E saloon made its bow in 1959 and the Estate two years later.

The outgoing Escort 100E was clearly derived from the Thames 300E van but the new model boasted a ‘New Shape of Excitement’.

Furthermore, ‘you never saw an estate car so exciting good looking’ and one with a floor that was ‘neatly linoleum-covered’.

At £674 15s 3d the Estate cost £60 more than the De Luxe saloon; naturally you would wish to invest a further £16 10s in a heater.

And one of the major sales features of the Anglia Estate was its bodywork did not resemble the Thames 307E van which also debuted in 1961.

Unlike the Ford Consul/Zephyr/Zodiac it was designed in-house as opposed by E D Abbott of Farnham. The coachwork was rather stylish, although some enthusiasts mourned the loss of the distinctive 105E tail fins.

The Anglia was also fitted with larger tyres, stronger rear springs and lower gearing. Autocar thought it ‘a sturdy and practically designed car’ which was what most customers demanded.

In terms of rivals the Austin A35 Countryman was approaching the end of its production run and visibly dated back to the early 1950s; it was the last British car with trafficators as standard.

It was also a clearly a modified van. At the same time, its BMC stablemate, the Morris Minor 1000 Traveller, was aimed at a slightly different market sector – less suburbia and more “Hampshire Pony Club”.

There would be no Luton competitor until the Bedford Beagle in 1964 while the Hillman Husky was almost determinedly utilitarian.

In fact, the potential Anglia Estate buyer of 59 years ago would probably have considered three Ford competitors – two British and one from France.

The Austin A40 “Farina” Countryman was undeniably good-looking but smaller than the 105E while the Triumph Herald Estate – another new model for 1961 – was somewhat more expensive.

That left the Renault R4 which had the advantage of four side-doors and the disadvantages of being front-wheel-drive and unorthodox in general.

By contrast, the Ford offered a winning combination of smart lines and conventional engineering.

Sales of the 105E ceased in 1968 with the introduction of the Escort Mk. I and today the Temlett Anglia provokes much interest from the public.

Such a response is quite understandable for, as the brochure put it, ‘there aren’t many cars that can be pounding the country lanes in the afternoon laden to the roof with crates and sacks, yet be a perfect host for a night in town that same day’.

Not to mention the motorway, as this Estate has been fitted with the Cortina 1500GT engine…

WITH THANKS TO – TERRY TEMLETT

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