Projects 1961 Ford Anglia van dug out of its home for the past 20+ years

Welcome to my latest project. The subject is a 1961 Ford Anglia van that has been stored in my stepdads painting company warehouse since the early 80s. It was literally buried with scaffolding and ladders, and you could have looked right at it and never even known it was there. It was even filled with aluminum tubing and sections of unused wallpaper. This vehicle was bought by my stepdad when he was in highschool, which would be somewhere around 1965-1966. He at one point had a SBC 327 under the hood, but kept twisting/cracking the original frame, so that was replaced with a tubular steel frame built by a local hot rodder. He began to do another motor swap, relocating the motor down and forward a few inches, and thats where it sits right now. It now has a SBC 283 under the hood that he was just using as a mock up motor for fitment purposes. It has I believe a turbo 350 trans, but I didn't really get to check it out. My plans for it are to build me a fun little street rod and finish what he started when I was just a little guy. It will likely recieve a mildly built SBC 350 with a very lumpy bumpstick good for turning a lot of heads. I will post updates as the project progresses.

 

Those flares are friggin' crazy!
So, are you going to leave those on and do some lace paint? How about that squiggly Qix lines and gold leaf?

 

Haha! The flares are definitely comin off! And the ladder rack has already been removed.

 

If I had to keep one or the other I would of choose to keep the ladders.

 

Haha, me too. I made sure to not damage them when I removed them, just incase I decide I really do like em...

 

COOL project!
I love those little things...

BTW...Eddie Paul called...he wants his flares back!

 

chevypoweredanglia Got a buddy in Masury Ohio that found an 59 Anglia in Wisconsin last year .It has a 327 / 350 set back in the frame about 10 to 15 % . Used to be a drag car around Chicago area in the 60s&70s .Now he runs it on the street in the original trim. he is trying to find out the history of the car now. It is painted green with an old set of mags on it.Its crazy popular because it is so different. He attends a lot of the nostalgia drag races in Ohio with it. Good luck with your project

 

Those aren't ladder racks....Those are surfboard racks !!!!!!!!!!!

 

just replace the ladder with a surfboard and your good to go!

 

Don't be a dick ,
That looks like a fun project, I woukd love to have that to play with. I think that would be great build when finished.

 

I believe you will find out your van is a 1957-8-9. The 1961 was a completely different body style. The panel (van) is called a Thames. Anglia is a 2 door sedan. I'm attaching some pictures of my 1959 wagon (Escort). The first picture is from 1973, when it had a straight axle in front. It was stored from 1981 to 2006. In 2006 I put a 1976 Capri front suspension in it, & chopped it 4 1/2 ". It has a 215" aluminum Buick, T-10 four speed, & a narrowed 9" Ford rear end. Bob

 

Dude I think he understood that I was talking about the ladders or the flares.

 

Ya know, I was doing some research last night and was having trouble finding any "61 Anglia" pictures that looked like what I have. I however did find a bunch of late 50s Thames' that very closely resembled what I have. I know so little about the English Fords its rediculous. Do you know of any websites detailing all of the English models? Also, where would the vin tags or any useful numbers be found on these vehicles? Thanks in advance for any info!

 

Thanks a lot man! I'm real excited to first find out exactly what I have, and even more excited to start the project. I can't wait til its on the road, I think its gonna be a real head turner because of how rare it is!

 

By the way Bob3757, your 59 looks awesome!

 

Yours isn't a 61 Anglia as said previously, you have the 300E which is the van version of the 100E sedan's

The 61 would be a 105E which looks like

 

Cool little truck! Think I would leave the ladder rack on, they are pretty handy!

 

This is a 60 Thymes we installed a carbed 2.9 into.

 

Man! I miss my Anglia!
Good luck w/it!

 

The vin # tag should be on the right side inner fender panel, about 6-8" behind the core support.

 

Does anybody know if the side windows on the rear section of the van are factory? My stepdad said they are, which is what makes it the van and not the panel truck, but I have found no other info out there to support that. They just don't look right to me, and if theyre not factory, I will be welding in patch panels to fill the holes.

 

check this thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=231948&highlight=thames
You can also go to www.wiki.com for more Thames info.
Tom - restorit

 

That is wild / insane................could sell food out of it at the shows?

 

Those are NOT factory windows...The van didn't have side windows IIRC.

The blue one pictured above is the station wagon version....a van with windows and a back seat.

 

Correct me if my fuzzy memory is wrong but wasn't there also a Squire Estate with wood down the side as well as windows?