History of Ford in Australia

[Old Col]

.....did someone say "sports coupe?".....here's one I prepared earlier ( much earlier)...



....I have some other pics of it that I'll chase up a bit later,plus there's a few others of Fords peculiar to Oz.....regards,Col.

[Old Col]

I know this is slightly o/t, not being a V8....but we also had "little Fords" and I thought that it might be interesting to someone on here to see.....



....here's the other Sports Coupe pics ,quality is a bit poor as they are old pics from when I restored the car and then later on they were scanned on to Photobucket....







....the car is factory original and was restored for owner Ian Watson about 20 years ago ,and is one of two that he owns....the other is a stock bodied car he's had since about'58 , runs a 289 and C4, dropped axle with discs and a 9" rear axle.....built that one for him as well, about 35 years ago.....he keeps things These cars were built on a full timber frame unlike their US counterparts , so no steel floor or body structure at all. Makes the resto a bit of a challenge at times.....

...hope it's OK with Mercman to add this stuff here ,if it's problem just let me know,cheers, Colin.

[66miles]

What is the little white coupe in the first photo? Beautiful looking car.

[FlatheadTed]

David G You would know more than I would ,but did Canada did a panel stamping plaint in 1934 ,and were panels sourced across the river ,

Originally Posted by DavidG

I seriously doubt if any of the body panels or any other part of these unique vehicles came from the U.S. Throughout the early V-8 era Ford Australia (like Ford New Zealand and all other Ford operations in Commonwealth countries except the United Kingdom) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford of Canada and therefore the supplier of whatever components were imported by Ford Australia (with the exception of four-cylinder engines which were imported from Ford of Britain).

[mercman from oz]

This 33 Sports Coupe attended the 12th Australian Early Ford V8 Nationals in South Australia in 2010. They are very rare cars.
Classic Carlectables did make a lovely model of these cars in 1/43rd Scale.

[mercman from oz]

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Col, Please add extra your great photos to this Thread. The more the better.
all very interesting.
Regards Mercman <><

[mercman from oz]

Here are some pictures of Classic Carlectables 1933 Ford Sports Coupe. It is a delightful model in 1/43rd Scale. It was released during 2003 to celebrate 100 Years of the Ford Motor Company. They are also available in Blue. They are all Numbered & come in a nice Box, & are still available at reasonable prices on Australian eBay.

[Old Col]

Hi Mercman, they scaled that model from Ian's Sports Coupe

.....and the little white Coupe is an CX model Ford , same running gear as Prefect /Anglia....

[66miles]

JEES that coupe looks good! thanks for the pic. Just goes to show. The "baby" fords could be good lookin cars. My wife is a fan of those 4 banger Fords, and especially loves the early 50's Zephyrs!

[mercman from oz]

Hi TUDORTOMNZ, can you please add a picture of the cover of the Ford Book that you recommended entitled "Ford Ahead, Ford in NZ" by R. Gardiner.
I tried to Google this Book but it came up blank?

[mrtexas]

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...d+in+Australia

[Bick in New Zealand]

Here is a link to the book Ford Ahead by Roger Gardner :http://www.allteams.co.nz/motor-pioneers/for-sale/

[Bick in New Zealand]

I photographed this '36 ute at the Marrickville railway station, Sydney, in 1975. It was parked there most days.

[mercman from oz]

Thanks Bick from NZ for the Link & the Picture. I have contacted Roger.

[DavidG]

Ted,

Yes, Ford of Canada had its own stamping capability, but like Ford U.S., it would be devoted to the closed body types in the '33-'34 model years. The stamping work for most, if not all, of the requirements for the three North American open car body types was outsourced.

[HamerAuto]

I have been told that the roadster and phatean bodies were imported from the us the 3 window and cabriolet were outsourced in canada and the rest were built in canada by ford.

[mercman from oz]

The only body styles that Ford Australia offered in 1933/1934 were the Sedan, (4 door only) Sports Coupe in early 1933 (refer to great pictures of these rare Sports Coupes earlier in this Post) These Sports Coupes were replaced by the Coupe, (5 window body). We also had Roadsters, Phaetons, Roadster & Coupe Utes in Straight Side or Wellside.
While the Cowls were imported, Australia built their own bodies matching up with these imported Cowls. All Australian 33/34 Ford are built on a Wooden Floor. The only part of the Floor that is Metal is under the rear seat. Because of this Wooden Floor, you don't sit down as low as you would in an car with the full steel floor.
Because of this extra height, Ford Australia added Spears beneath the "D" Mold under the Doors & above the Running Boards. The Utes didn't get these "Spears", so the Chassis was painted Body Colour. (however, some photos of these Utes when they were near new have surfaced showing some Utes with these Spears?)
As this "D" Mold at the bottom of the Cowl takes a different direction on Australian models because of the Wooden Floor, Ford Australia had the "pie-cut" the sides of the Cowl, so that the "D" Mold could follow the higher route of the relocated "D" Molds under the doors.
It is believed that the Rear Quarters on the Roadster & Coupe were fully imported. These Roadster Rear Quarter Panels were lengthened when used on the coupe, to fit the Coupe with their shorter doors.

[Old Col]

Originally Posted by HamerAuto

I have been told that the roadster and phatean bodies were imported from the us the 3 window and cabriolet were outsourced in canada and the rest were built in canada by ford.

...then they told you wrong,my friend . All the chassis ,engines and driveline as well as fenders,grilles,and some other items were imported into Australia through Ford Canada ,then the bodies were pressed and assembled here at the Geelong plant. The reason for this was that Canada was part of the British Empire , as were we here, and import tariffs favoured British Empire countries. We didn't have the full model range that was available to the USA ,possibly this had much to do with our smaller population. Aussie bodies are often easily distinguished from the US counterparts , like on all '33/34,we have an separate sill panel that runs below the body and fits between the running boards and the body itself....as if they messed up the dimensions and made this as a filler panel. Model 40 Coupes and Sports Coupes were totally different to US cars, particularly in the roof line and windshield shape....the model 40 sedans used '32 pressings around the rear quarter window area....the list goes on and on. Most signifigantly, all of our local cars are built on a full timber platform with all the body framing done in "coach built style"......this was the case until the all steel '35 year, excepting for the 28/29 Tudors which were on the US steel platform for some unknown reason....and we did not have Tudors from 28/9 until 1939, or any 3 window Coupes of any year ( though you could argue the Sports Coupe we had from A thru early'33 only have 3w......)....but we did have some unusual models that were available nowhere else in the world , like the Utes and Panel Vans , '39 and '40 Slopers ( Tudors) , the '33 Sports Coupe, plus a few oddities made during the War like the open topped Pickup cabs and the 1/2 door pickups , and r'h'drive '41 Woodies ( like mine)......so we missed out on some good stuff, but also we have some other good stuff to offset that ....

[mercman from oz]

Old Col, I think that you Post is in reference to Hamer Auto's Post, not the one that I added just before your Post?

[mercman from oz]

As all these 1933 & 1934 Ford Bodies had Wooden Frames, For Australia issued new Owners with an "Instruction on Care & Maintenance of Ford Car Bodies.
Attached are some pages from this little Booklet.