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1958 English Ford Consul Mark II 4-door Sedan
Dave Wiggins
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Owner Dave Wiggins provides LOVEfords' visitors with a good amount of
historical and technical information about the English Ford Consul. You
may want to open a new window
and have it handy as you enjoy this Gallery page. |
Dave
Wiggins says: I was 15 years old in the summer of 1977
and made two major purchases with the money I earned washing dishes at a
restaurant in Greenport, Long Island. I bought a new Minolta XE-7 SLR
camera, which cost me exactly $350.01, and I also bought my first car--a
Corfu Gray 1956 EnFo Consul Mk 2 4-door saloon, which cost me slightly
less--$350.00. My older brother's college friend wanted to get rid of
the car. It looked rather cartoonish on its 13" wheels, had a huge dent
in the driver's door from a hit and run accident in a parking lot, and
at the time was running on three cylinders.
I pulled the head, re-ground
the valves, replaced a piston on the number 1 cylinder--which had a hole
burned through it, and taught myself all about rebuilding Girling
hydraulic brakes. I drove the car for three years and then put it up on
blocks when I went to college. The car hibernated until 1991 when I got
it running again, and now married, my wife and I used it as our only car
for another three years when we lived in Providence, Rhode Island.
During the time I was
getting the Consul back on the road I became friends with Bob Pare of
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Bob had owned English Fords off and on over
the years and started the North American English Ford Registry. After a
time, I took the club over from Bob for several years, and then in turn
handed it off to Michael MacSems of Olympia, Washington--who now runs
the former NAEFR as the North American European Ford
Registry--incorporating Fords from Britain, France, and Germany.
In 1994 Mr. Pare saw an ad
in Hemmings Motor News for a 1958 English Ford. The car had been
purchased from an estate sale in Bismarck, North Dakota by a man who was
told it was a Studebaker. When he took possession of the car and
determined it was not a Studebaker, he didn't want it and was looking to
sell it. Bob travelled to North Dakota, looked at the car, and then
bought it. He had it shipped back to Pennsylvania and discovered that
is was quite a unique little car.
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It was purchased new
from Continental Imports of Minneapolis, Minnesota by a Miss Edla D. of
Bismarck, North Dakota. The car was probably shipped to North Dakota
where it was fitted with seat-belts and then registered to Miss. D. She
drove the car a total of 8,480 miles over a period of 30 years--from
1958 to 1988 when it was last registered in North Dakota. Bob purchased
the car in 1994 and was the second registered owner. (That's not a typo
on the mileage reading--it read eight thousand, four hundred eighty when
Bob got it!)
When Mr. Pare took
possession of the car it still had its original tires, fan belt, and
radiator and heater hoses. The original tires and other rubber parts
were replaced due to age and dry-rot. And since the paint had faded
considerably over the years, the car was repainted its original Durham
Beige color in 1996. Bob left the interior and all the chrome on the
car original and untouched.
He traveled to England on
several occasions to attend auto shows and jumbles. During these trips
he purchased a number of original Ford period-accessories for the car,
including the bonnet (hood) ornament, wheel trim rings, Ford Consul key
fob, and a very rare set of four Ford crest hubcap medallions. I
purchased the car from Bob in July 2002, it having been driven a total
of 11,804 miles from new.
As of this writing in
January 2005, total miles covered: 13,210
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