(first posted in 2011) That tag line comes from the Squire’s ad, which I’ll show you shortly. But It’s not what was on my mind when Stephanie and I dropped by The Sports Car Shop the other day. Actually, it’s interesting to compare what the two of us did have on our minds after first seeing this cute little English Ford Anglia Squire wagon.
Given that Stephanie’s maiden name is Squires, and she’s an Anglophile who loves little vintage British wagons, she flipped over this one. “Why can’t they make cars just like this, but with a few modern accoutrements? Like an automatic transmission, and air conditioning?” Why not indeed!
And a peep into the Squire’s nice redone interior only increased her desire. “Look at that cute little leather door pull!”
I peeped into the Squire’s engine compartment. The 1172cc flathead four was almost lost, even in that small space. Originally rated at 36 hp, this has non-stock twin SU carbs. 42 hp, perhaps. So much for adding an automatic and A/C to that. Never mind hauling that load.
So here’s that ad. These little wagons were similar to the Hillman Husky, and were shorter than average, and almost more sort of a precursor to the modern hatchback than a genuine estate car. The load on the man’s mind better not be too big of one.
Well, as I said, that wasn’t on my mind. As soon as I saw the Squire’s distinctive vertical grille, unique to it, and unlike the cross-hatched Anglia’s grille, something else popped into my head. How about you?
The Hongqi Red Flag, China’s first passenger car, which premiered in 1958, just three years after the Squire? Hmmm.
The look is so identified with China’s top brass, that the neo-Red Flag dropped its RR-like grille and went with the retro look too. So I’ve gotten that load off my mind now.
The new Red Flag does indeed look like a Wowes Woyce with its regular grille:
the van version
That is kind of the point Paul makes. You show the concept car. For the final product they preferred the fantastic retro look.
Cool little 100E those cars used to abound here in my youth but the sidevalve usually got dumped for the later Anglia/Cortina kent OHV power plant. Theres quite a pile of aftermarket speed equipment for those flatheads but its easier to swap in a kent. Actually the Squire and its van brother the Thames are rare but the Prefect/Anglia sedans were common Great find Paul I didnt realise these went to the US.
There is a Squire panel that tools around here painted flat black
So did the Squire predate the Country Squire? (Not sure when that name started to be used.)
I believe that the name first showed up on the 1950 U.S. models as the top-level Ford wagon.
“Why can’t they make cars just like this, but with a few modern accoutrements? Like an automatic transmission, and air conditioning?”
Transit Connect?
Sort of, except this thing is tiny compared to a TC.
I agree…it would almost fit into one.
I would like to know what Ms “why dont they make cars like this” drives as a daily driver?
Why dont they make cars like this?
Well for the most part because people didn’t even want them then? I dont recall English Fords setting the world on fire sales wise in the US.
Size? New crash standards have made even economy cars as heavy as old midsize cars
Equipment? Dont you know everyone needs bluetooth heated power rear head rests with WIFI on their $12,000 Korean econobox?
A Subaru Forester. It’s the cuteness factor, not the practicalities she’s after. If Fiat makes the wagon version of the 500, that would undoubtedly appeal to her.
I have often thought that a neo-retro Nash Metropolitan would be a hit, especially if the cuteness is dialed up to 11 and its offered in all sorts of ice cream 2 tone colors
But who would sell it? Nash–>AMC–>Chrysler?
Nissan did, for a while.
I have often thought that a neo-retro Nash Metropolitan would be a hit,
Some of the AMC Styling Department guys show up at the local AMC meet each year. They have a tent set up with some of their memorabilia, and a model of an updated Metro that they have been playing with. I don’t see much improvement vs the original.
You mean a late version of this Paul? a rare little beasty I spotted at a show recently
They do make cars like this as a daily driver. They call it Peugeot 207 SW (soon to be abandoned, however), or Mini Clubman.
What about a Chevrolet HHR?
They do-kinda. The VW bug, Fiat 500 and Mini spring to mind.
Yes, I think the Mini Clubman is as close as you can get. And with those adorable teeny rear double doors like I think the Anglia van.
Of course, modern cute on purpose is never as good as old cute by mistake.
The new Mini isn’t quite as cute, and I think it doesn’t have the rear side suicide half doors.
My Element with two rear seats removed is pretty much the modern version of the Squire. Yes, I took out the seats because I have loads on my mind.
It has been quite a week. First, we had the Karmann Ghia, and now we have the Anglia. During my parents’ brief foreign car fling around 1959-60, they may have been the only people in the midwest with both a Ghia and an Anglia at the same time.
They remembered the little red Ghia fondly. The Anglia? Not so much.
But it hauls things in English pounds, and they’re lighter, right?
I think these were rated at about 5 CWT not a big load but they were wagons the vans were very spartan and Anglia based not upscale Prefect like this one.
That little Sports Car Shop definitely had some interesting cars as I peered through the window the last time I was in Eugene.
I have a similarly interesting (but totally different cars) shop just down the street from me in Vancouver… http://www.intermeccanica.com/tour.html
I love having those kind of places to peer in the window as I walk by.
Nice tour havent anything that clever locally
Do this thing ever sold in the U.S.? Or is it Ford Europe only?
I too wonder what is the modern equivalent of this? Ford Transit Connect has all the basic attributes, but utterly lacking in charm, a bit too utilitarian. Maybe the Mini Clubman?
Anglias were sold in the US, in modest numbers. This one is left hand drive, so it might be an original US import, or not. I could ask. BTW: asking price: $17K
There was a Squire for sale here on trademe recently from memory $7500 and theres been a thames van for sale for a while at $5k Id imagine a greater rarity value in the US though Anglias and Prefects were a big seller here even my trailer has 100E hubs and wheels Im changing those to Hillman/Citroen stud pattern.
Wow, I think $17k is rather ambitious a price for that little fella, especially since it can’t really be used as daily drivers, I doubt it can keep up with modern day traffic with such a feeble engine. Though it probably is quite uncommon and it’s probably hard to find another in such condition. Though I just saw on TV they ask $30k for a Fiat Multipla (the original, rear-engined one with suicide front doors), albeit in very nice condition, so maybe the price is fair.
It’s not the greatest condition, with that resale-red repaint and seats (and door panels?) from a ’78-80 Fiesta. Not to mention incorrect black wheel paint (should be silver) and narrow whitewalls (*through gritted teeth* British cars and whitewalls Do. Not. Mix.)
actually, before the Hong Qui there were Great Leaps Forward like the Shanghai Phoenix (and a Ponton Mercedes copy too)
It’s indeed first, and it’s so first that they had hard time making too many of it, as the mass production wasn’t even so ready for this model. Sometimes the first could be even too spartan to remember.
That thing looks like a 1956 Plymouth nose on a Studebaker body.
Yes, they admitted the Plymouth part: 参考了美国顺风牌汽车。 ( take some inspiration from American Plymouth sedan )
http://www.chexun.com/2012-04-22/100726991_2.html
I always feel funny about how they emphasize the origin of the country though, since the car was supposed for the communism nation to show off their industry.
感叹词
Isn’t a Scion XB or a Cube the modern equivalent, or even a Kia Soul?
The Squire was actually a Prefect wagon – the Anglia wagon had a cheaper grill and trim ( no “wood”), and went by the name of Escort.
These wagons were quite rare in England , but the saloons were common, and were the first small Fords with strut front suspension. They look tiny when I see them now.The flathead engine had been re-worked to acheive that 36bhp, with a standard full-flow oil filter and shell bearings – very modern.
I have a Hillman Husky, actually 2 of them, and one of them
has a modern (Nissan) 4 cyl and an automatic transmission,
but not air. It’s a fun little car and I think, better looking than the Squire :))
There were quite a few of these left hand drive Hillmans sold out here on the west coast from about 1959 to 1962.
I had a Commer Cob years ago a stripper version of the Husky a 61 but now have a 59 Minx 3A once very common in NZ but now getting rare
That’s a sharp Hillman Bryce. Was it just painted?
Yeah one coat so I can reassemble it and use it a proper paint job will occur later.
I love that you say that! I’m looking at a decent 1960 Husky ($8K) and this little Squire ($17k I hear?!), and it’s good to read that the Husky is working for people. Taking on the british engine scares me off a little bit, as it’s only running at 50mph and will probably need work. As a newbie I’m always happy to read these threads and everybody’s input 🙂
Hillman engines were pretty tough the secret to daily use is to change the diff head to a later version as the early models like mine were not designed for motorways but later ones were and the axle ratio is the main difference I use an Arrow Hunter diff centre 3:89, the Prefects and Anglias need a full Cortina Escort powertrain transplant for modern use the flat heads were always very slow.
My father, mother, and brother spent almost 2 years wandering Turkey in a Hillman Husky when my father was doing his doctorate research. I guess it worked well for them then and there. Returning to America with it as their car, the little engine couldn’t handle a two-times-a-week commute to NYC from Philadelphia (and maybe my father’s unforgiving driving?). On one
of the trips the block cracked and that was the end of the Husky.
It was replaced with a ’61 Rambler American with a poorly vented and structurally insufficient gas-tank. Twice on that commute, the tank deflated as fuel was pulled out on the hiway and without an adequate supply of air to replace it. That’s the first car I remember being in — on the trip to trade it in for a Valiant!
The sellers were trying to cash in on the high prices “micro-cars” are getting these days. This car is unusual enough to fit that ticket….
Its funny — we thought a $30,000 investment in a Rolls Royce back in the 80’s was sound — instead it was that $5,000 investment in a nice, clean Goggolmobil, Isetta or Messerschmitt that would have brought the real return, while the Rolls’ haven’t appreciated at all…..
What a great looking Squire
Neat-looking little car.
I’ve always wondered, re: “why can’t they make cars like this anymore?” is that why haven’t we seen another run of cars like Nissan did a few years back with the Fiagro, Pao, Be-1, and S-Cargo. Retro or just funky designs on small cars that don’t sell for a fortune, but sell on charm. Use the proven mechanicals of another small car and just dress it up a bit, but with modern driveability and convenience. The retro styling craze of the early 00’s may have passed, but I think there would still be a market for something like those Nissans in a similarly small size.
I didn’t know the UK had their own Squire wagon. I bet the U.S. Country Squire wagon would blow it away !! Wonder what they’d think if they saw the U.S. version and were told it was next year’s model. Go out and buy one !! But how will I drive that big clumsy thing on our small country lanes ?
Also “how will I pay the road tax on such a huge engine”, and “how will I afford to fuel such a huge engine”.
Too bad this car missed the pre-1965 era when UK motorways didn’t have a speed limit – ironically it was another Ford (the GT40) that was instrumental in bring the limits in.
You want its modern equivalent ? Fiat Fiorino Qubo.
Good call Johannes
Another one, Renault Kangoo Family.
Peugeot Partner Tepee.
This one is a regular sight by Fitzroy Beach in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Sorry the car in the shade, I’ll try to find a better image.
Charming “centerfold” from a 1956 brochure (eBay):
Page fold make it look like a Dali. Hehehe
^^+1, Don A!
Wow, that’s a beautiful painting in a style unknown in car brochures in the US but I think European brochures of the time went in more artistic directions.
I really like the looks of the Anglia Squire .
I imagine the dual S.U.’s wake it up enough to not get run over in City traffic but FlatHeads don’t breathe well enough for Highway use , too bad .
I used to have a ’59 Hillman Husky , wretched or maybe it was just too beat up and neglected ? . $175. and the ring gear was chewed up so we had to push start it most of the time .
-Nate
Re: “Squire’s distinctive vertical grille, unique to it, and unlike the cross-hatched Anglia’s grille” … It wasn’t unique, it was also fitted to the Prefect, the 4-door version of the 100E Anglia. .. There was also a cheaper version of the Squire, called the Escort, which used the Anglia’s grille along with much more basic trim.
Find it fascinating Ford UK did not follow Ford Germany’s lead in converting the Sidevalve engine to OHVs as on the Taunus P1 and P3.
The closest thing the UK versions of the Sidevalve engine received were aftermarket Inlet-Overhead Exhaust / IOE (or Overhead Inlet Valve / OHIV) conversions by the likes of Willment (e.g. Willment Powermaster by Bob Yeats), Elva, Aquaplane, Speedex and V.W. Derrington, etc.
However it does not appear any UK aftermarket specialists / tuners ever developed proper OHV conversions of the Sidevalve engine, Alta might have been one potential candidate given their OHV head conversions were used on the original 918cc Morris Minor Sidevalve engine that (along with the related 918cc Wolseley OHV) was itself said to be a copied/reverse-engineered Ford Sidevalve engine.