Ford Anglia 105E

Then & Now

A whole Ford tuning industry was created after the 105E appeared. Some of the top names are still with us today, others long gone! We’ve already mentioned Broadspeed. Ralph Broad’s Banbury based company (Touring Car ace driver Andy Rouse was one of its engineers) was many times the Ford privateer of choice, taking John Fitzpatrick – supported by pin up racer Anita Taylor – to that 1966 touring car title. But whilst Broadspeed was the team to beat on the race track they were not alone. Superspeed was another, with its boss John Young taking many honours on the track plus it also made converted Cortina GT-powered models for road use. On rally stages, early Ford experts were (confusingly) Supersport, whilst Sydney Allard (and son Alan) built their own 1500GT engine Anglia, the Allardette which achieved recognition as a production car for international rallies. Some versions even boasted a Shorrock supercharger. Top engine builders were, of course, Cosworth Engineering (who developed a whole range of racing engines based on the 105E and its successors) and Holbay Racing Engines. Piper, run by George Henrotte and Bob Gayler, was also a pioneer Ford specialist. Another top Ford tuner of the day – one still with us I’m pleased to say – was Burton Power who took hot rod racer Barry Lee to fame.

Model In Depth...

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  Ford Anglia 105E

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Which classics still have the potential to get up and go today? Paul Davies remembers the cars, the people and how to make a classic hot car!

There had been Anglias before, but when the 105E appeared in 1959 it caused a sensation. That reverseangle rear window set it apart from everything else on the road, and – more importantly – it wasn’t long before Britain’s infant go-faster industry realised just what they’d got under that front-hinged bonnet. The new Anglia was much more than the previous model of the same name in modern clothes. Until then side-valve power had been the norm for small Fords, but with overhead valves for the short stroke 997cc, four-cylinder, power unit, coupled to a four-speed gearbox, the latest offering was up with, and in many respects ahead of, the competition. The 105E also inherited the good things from its predecessors, the unit body construction of the 100E (side-valve) was strong and relatively light, and the McPherson strut coil-spring independent front suspension, balanced by a leaf sprung live rear axle ensured nimble handling and rock-steady roadholding for its day. All the ingredients were there for a road or track hot rod with attitude; the only thing missing was rack and pinion steering. Pretty soon Ford helped out. The need for more power was recognised by the introduction of the Anglia Super with a 1198cc engine and, doubtless spurred on by the early success of the car on rally stages and race tracks, it wasn’t long before the factory started to offer performance parts for motorsport use. More importantly, there was a big FoMoCo parts bin that promised endless in-house possibilities – see anon! But the same year Dagenham announced its’ new small car arch rivals BMC weighed in with the revolutionary Mini. Suddenly the Ford was old fashioned, and the Anglebox struggled to stay up with the diminutive front-wheel drive wonder on both track and rally stage. The Anglia’s fi nest sporting moment came late in its life, in 1966, when John Fitzpatrick took his Broadspeed car to victory in the British Touring Car Championship, by virtue of his domination of the one-litre class. Yet in motorsport Ford neglected the Anglia in favour of the Cortina, announced in 1963, which offered a more competitive mix of power to weight. When Anglia production ended in 1968 the replacement Escort had already been seen with Twin Cam power, for example.

Get One Now

They’re still out there, Ford 105E Anglias you know. Check the classifi eds and you’ll probably spot a few rusty versions (and boy they do rust!) going for the price of a pub steak and chips. The better examples will be the cosseted and cared cars in Classic Cars For Sale, the Ford one-make publications, and on e-bay. Price check: pay £200 for a rolling restoration project and up to £4250 for a 2.1-litre Pinto power hot rod.

Hotting One Up

The best bit of the Anglia 105E was under the bonnet. The basic 997cc engine with over-square dimensions (this means bore greater than the stroke) proved to be a tough, high revving, unit that would take a lot more than the basic 39bhp it initially yielded. With its cast iron block and cylinder head, and the inlet and exhaust ports on the same side of the cylinder head it wasn’t revolutionary even for the 1950s, but before long Keith Duckworth, of Cosworth fame, got his hands on the unit and Formula 3 versions were producing over 100bhp at 9000 rpm. It was also possible to increase the capacity of the three-bearing crankshaft unit by the simple expedient of lengthening the stroke – changing the crank and its connecting rods. The engine grew to 1340cc for the first (109E) Classic in 1961 and then an in-between 1198cc version powered the (123E) Anglia Super and, ultimately, the replacement Cortina 1200 for ‘62. But, whilst the 1200 unit is good and strong, the larger 1340cc engine quickly gained a reputation for unreliability if taken over about 5500rpm (although special strengthening plates bolted to the main bearings helped). Apart from this foible the little engine is extremely tuneable. Taking a leaf from Ford the single downdraught, twin-choke, Weber 28/36 DCD carburettor fitted to the MK1 1500cc Cortina GT is a sure and easy way to up the power (if you can fi nd one at a sane price), whilst the (noncross flow) cylinder head responds well to the usual re-shaping of the combustion chambers and smoothing of the inlet por ts. Larger 1500cc inlet and exhaust valves can also be fi tted – or get a head from that engine. Machining up to 0.080ins from the head face can raise compression ratios, and, with the three bearing engines, it’s also possible to swap around. A 997cc head on a 1200 motor ups the CR to a handy 10:1 (approx) and a 1200 head on a 1340 has the same sort of effect. Along with a suitable camshaft and fourbranch exhaust manifold (again the Cortina GT ones are as good as any to start with) around 65bhp is possible from the 997cc engine – add 10bhp if you’ve got a 1200 – and in the light Anglia body it means quite a lively lick. If you’re after more, with higher compression ratio, twin DCOE Webers and a race cam, around 90bhp is on the cards for the one-litre. But, why bother? The real joy of the Anglia is that there’s room inside that engine compartment for a whole pile of bigger Ford lumps, such as the 1500cc and 1600cc (cross-fl ow) GT engines, not to mention the Lotus Twin Cam or the later BDA unit. The single overhead camshaft ‘Pinto’ engine found in the RS2000 and umpteen later Cortinas is also a possibility but harder work. Why even the lusty Zodiac V6 has found its way under the bonnet and now Cosworth YB turbos are common.

Handling The Power

Trick for the engine swap is the use of the correct front cross-member, plus the bell housing and clutch that mates to a strong-enough gearbox. Fortunately (for us) Ford has produced a vast number of gearboxes and bell housings that would fi t each other for the past 50 years, allowing more or less any combination you can imagine – even a modern Zetec engine will bolt on to an Anglia gearbox, in theory anyway. The golden rule is, use the housing that goes with the block – and usually your chosen ‘box will fi t, too. Sometimes the pilot bush or bearing in the crankshaft will have to be changed to accept the spigot shaft from the gearbox. For some ‘boxes, the transmission tunnel will have to be modifi ed to allow proper clearance. If you don’t mind modern mechanicals then the Zetec engine is becoming a very popular fi t. Mostly found in Mondeos you can pick up a unit for a couple of hundred that with Weber carbs can slaughter a Twink plus give reliability and economy. Dedicated fi tting kits are produced to make the conversion a virtual nut and bolt operation. Years ago before fi ve-speeds became almost mandatory, the lovely Corsair 2000E box (and the equivalent fi tted to numerous other Fords) was the cog box to covet; now it’s the Sierra Type 9 and Milton has produced a kit that enables the stock bell housing to be retained along with the clutch arm (£175) although as on most old Fords, to use the ‘box itself a larger transmission tunnel needs to be fabricated. Anglias only ever had drum brakes all round, and Classic disc braked front struts were the way to go back in the 1960 and 70s but naturally these are becoming rare finds. Happily there are companies still producing Anglia tuning gear such as Burton Power of Essex, Milton, Aldon, Specialised Engines (who even produced off the shelf reconditioned, tuned engines going right back to Kent units), Kent Cams and Mongoose. Back to the brakes… Capri struts and discs seem the accepted route now, modifi ed to fi t. The more adventurous can fi t Fiesta front discs to the rear (a kit from Milton is available) but for mild tuning such as a 1500 GT engine, the standard 1200 drums suffi ce. Milton produces a suspension kit for the front plus later Ford designs – such as the MK2 Escort can be grafted on with adjustable track control arms. Also this outfi t sells a DIY kit to fi t rack and pinion steering but it’s not cheap. At the rear Milton again sells an A frame (not unlike the Lotus Cortina design) to tie the axle down. Other mods include turrets to enable modern telescopic dampers to be fi tted. For the latest in Anglia advances go to 150Speed.com; a great club and website that’s dedicated to the Anglia.