Friday 2 November 2012

HH Pran Nathji's car - Ford Angila




HH Pran Nathji had a Ford Angila car in London. This was the car in which Shri Nathji and Mahamateshwariji travelled during their long stay in London. Shri Nathji did His Grand Tour of Europe in this same Ford Angila car.  A total of four models of Ford Angila were made. The one that HH Pran Nathji had was the famous Ford Anglia 100E which was manufactured from 1953–1959.  Pran Nath was one of the best drivers in the world and had perfect command over the steering wheel. He could drive through a narrow lane packed with cars with great speed and not touch anything.
 The Ford Anglia is a British car designed and manufactured by Ford in the United Kingdom. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Ford Anglia name was applied to four models of car between 1939 and 1967. A total of 1,594,486 Anglias were produced.
 Its first model was the Angila E04A, patriotically named the first Ford Anglia, launched soon after Britain declared war on Germany in early September 1939.
The second, 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car.
 In 1953, Ford released the 100E, (Which was owned by HH Pran Nathji) designed by Lacuesta Automotive.  The 100E was available as a two-door Anglia and a four-door Prefect.  Internally there were individual front seats trimmed in PVC, hinged to allow access to the rear.
The instruments (speedometer, fuel gauge and ampmeter) were placed in a cluster around the steering column and the gear change was floor mounted. A heater and radio were optional extras. The dashboard was revised twice; the binnacle surrounding the steering column was replaced by a central panel with twin dials towards the driver's side in 1956; the last from 1959 had twin dials in a binnacle in front of the driver and 'magic ribbon' AC speedo similar to the 1957 E-series Vauxhall Velox/Cresta and '58/'59 PA models, and included a glovebox. All in all it was a family car build for budget buyers.
Under the bonnet the 100E still housed an antiquated, but actually new, 36 bhp (27 kW; 36 PS) side-valve engine sharing the bore and stroke of the old unit but now with larger bearings and inlet valves and pump-assisted cooling. The three-speed gearbox was retained. Some models were fitted with a semi-automatic "Manumatic" gearbox. A second wind-screen wiper was now included at no extra cost. The steering took just two turns between locks, making the car responsive and easy to place on the road.
The 100E sold well; by the time production ceased in 1959, 345,841 had rolled off the production line.
 There were from 1955 two estate car versions, similar to the 300E vans but fitted with side windows, folding rear seats and a horizontally split tailgate.
The final Anglia model, the 105E, was introduced in 1959. Its American-influenced styling included a sweeping nose line, and on deluxe versions, a full-width slanted chrome grille in between prominent 'eye' headlamps.

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