Description
This is a rare 1936 Ford CX Tourer with convertible vinyl roof. Built at the Ford Dagenham plant, she was sold to a Doctor up in Dundee and was originally a rare white colour. She stayed up in Scotland for much of her life until being being purchased some years ago for the number plate, hence that's why she now sports this number.
She is a wonderful little car and looks fantastic. Recently had a fresh oil change, complete coolant system flush refreshing with proper coolant, has a nearly new battery purchased last year, a reconditioned starter plus a new coil and fuel gauge.
She runs on 6v and everything works. She has a false oil gauge put in to fill a hole in the dashboard but I have put a fob watch over the glass which you will also get.
No need to double clutch but slow right down to change down.
Audible indicator switch, working wiper, although as vintage car people know, not really that effective, 2 spare wheels of which one is attached to the car.
The exhaust silencer is on it's last legs with being patched up over the years so I recently purchased a complete exhaust system for this car from Ford Spares who can supply all sorts of things for the car. I haven't had time to fit it so it comes as a kit.
She can be a slow getting started, even with the reconditioned starter and the new battery and as the fuel has a long way to come, she can take a few goes to start her. You get used to it and when she's warmed up drives really well. I can drive her at a steady 40mph and even had her at 50mph for short trips. Being a small, old car she takes a bit of getting used to with handling but it's all part of the enjoyment of driving these old cars. She always gets a lot of attention when I take her to shows and have done 25 mile journeys with no issues.
Last autumn, I and the car were involved in filming of a new movie called Goodtime Charlie, about a Lancaster crew filmed at The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, which is in post production and I've seen film clips and we're both in those.
Comes with some original paperwork from her first purchase as well.
When Chris Penny created the car's look as it stands, the car was white but as he sanded back the paint he noticed it was OD green then white underneath so at some point it might be right to say she was in military service, likely Scotland in WWII, then re-painted white after the war.
She is 90 years old this year so she does have the odd mark and dink in the bodywork but on the whole she's very solid - except for the aforementioned silencer.
The glass does have some significant scratches, how, I don't know and the gasket under the windscreen is a bit hard so you can't fold the screen down with that there, but if changed the screen does fold down.
At some point she has had a different nose put on her and I understand the front seats aren't original. There is a stain on the canvas of the rear seat but you will also get the chequered cover as shown.
You will also get the 2 wing flags and the RAF Ensign with the stick/ pole if you wish.
Fully road legal, I can't find my V5 but will apply for another.
The following picks up the story of how she came to look like this.
The previous owner Mr Chris Penny, a Bud Flanagan performer on the 40’s scene and RAF re-enactor, has given me the following interesting snippets. It also explained why the number plate you see on her now differed from the original registration number of AFS 184.
I wondered about the numbers and if there was any significance behind them. The long one was Chris’s Dad’s RAF service No., and the shorter one a fictional re-enactor RAF Sqn. Number.
“I don’t mind you mentioning my name and the story of my dad’s serial number RAF John Penny he served in Africa / India.
How I came to purchase the car was not planned, A good friend asked if I would go with him to Anstey as he was buying a motorcycle (Velocette) that Donald Sutherland rode in the film Eye of the Needle. Whilst we were there, I noticed the car and asked if it was for sale? Turned out he was number plate dealer and had only acquired the car for the plates! I fell in love with it and bought it there and then.”I wanted a British car as I live in Bomber county, Lincolnshire, and am involved with several museums and in the Military Vehicle trust and as I'd recently sold my American truck I was looking for something a bit more practical. I saw this online, went down to see hr and bought her there and then to be delivered later that week. It was only through my curiosity about the numbers on the car that I stumbled on the previous owner who'd done the transformation and we have become friends.
There are few CX Tourer's about and probably none as an RAF car so quite a unique look at either military events or classic car events.
