Ford of Britain 1939 to 1983 Trivia Quiz

The Ford Anglia was a two-door, small family car that was manufactured between 1939 and 1967. Over the years, various models were produced. The Ford Anglia 105E was probably the best of the bunch, but that's my personal opinion. The 105E had a production run between 1959 and 1968.

The original car was powered by a 997-cc overhead valve engine. A three-door estate and van were also available.

The Consul was the entry-level, four-cylinder model of the Ford Zephyr series, which included the Consul, Zephyr, and Zephyr Zodiac, from 1951 to 1962. The models were redesigned in 1956. The Zephyr 4 replaced the Consul in 1962, the Zephyr 6 replaced the mid-range model, and the Zephyr Zodiac, the top-of-the-line model, was simply referred to as the Zodiac.

Between 1953 and 1962, Ford UK produced the Ford Popular, sometimes known as the Ford Pop and the "Sit Up and Beg." It was the cheapest car in Britain when it was first introduced. The first models were very basic, to say the least. There was no heater fitted, and the window wipers had a single sweep. On the outside, the bumper and headlights were painted, and the chrome work was very sparse. Performance was OK for the day. Top speed was 60 mph, and the acceleration was 0-50 mph in 38.2 secs. The basic price in 1953 was £390.

What a great family car back in the day. The MK1 came out in 1962 and had a run of four years before it was replaced by the MK2. The best MK 1 was the Ford Lotus Cortina, which was a joint effort between Ford and Lotus. Ford provided the 2-door Cortina bodyshells, and lotus fitted the 1600 twin Cam engine and all the upgraded mechanical parts, including the suspension. Performance was brisk with the engine producing 105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS). The Cortina range was in production between 1962 and 1982.

My first car was the Mk1 1300L Ford Escort. The Escort was a replacement for the Ford Anglia. The car was a rear-wheel drive and had the 1.3 engine. These engines were of the crossflow type and came with a four-speed gearbox or a three-speed automatic. When they designed the Escort, they decided to fit rack and pinion steering with MacPherson struts at the front and a basic live axle with leaf springs. The result was a well-mannered car and a comfy ride. Over the production run, which was just over 30 years, six generations were built. The Escort was well known for its racing pedigree in various motorsports.

Two of the Escorts that stood out were the Ford Escort RS2000 Mark I and the fifth-generation Ford Escort RS Cosworth.

There were three different series of the Ford Capri: MK1, MK2, and MK3. The MK3 was put together in Cologne, Germany, while the first two versions were put together at the Halewood plant in the United Kingdom. The Capri was manufactured from 1969 until 1986.

All the body styles were coupé/fastback models. Engines ranged from the 1.3 up to the 3.1 V6 Essex (RS3100). The MK1 had a boot, while the MK2 and MK3 were hatchbacks. Just under two million Capris were sold between 1969 and 1986.

The Ford Capri MK3 (3.0S) featured on the UK TV program "The Professionals" in most of the episodes that aired in the 1980s. The program was a police series.

Due to a possible lawsuit from the Granada Group, the early cars were introduced in 1972 and were dubbed the Consul. The lower-spec version of the Mk1 Granada family was referred to as Consul until 1975. Ford eventually registered the name Granada as a trademark.

At the time of the launch, the Granada was fitted with the Essex 2.0 V4, Essex V6 engine, and the 2.5 and 3.0 L V6 engines. There was a four-door saloon and estate version to choose from. The Mark II was launched in September 1977, and later, in 1981, it was upgraded with the driver and passengers in mind.

The Mark III was the third-generation car and was produced from 1985 until 1994. In essence, it was really a Ford Scorpio but was badged as a Granada in the UK and Ireland. It was at the higher spec.
In 1991 an upmarket Ford Scorpio was produced with a 24-valve engine and four camshafts that were reworked by Cosworth Engineering. In the UK, the Ford Granada was a very popular car that graced our roads between 1972 and 1994.

Just over 22 million Ford Fiestas were sold between 1976 and 2023, making this little car one of the best-selling Fords in history. In total, seven generations of this supermini were produced. The Fiesta was sold worldwide, including in China, India, Thailand, and South Africa.

Over the years there was a range of body styles with the 3- and 5-door hatchbacks, four-door saloons, and a van! All the Fiestas were front-engine and front-wheel drive. Throughout its lifetime, engines were from the basic 1.0L right up to the high-performance 2.0L.

The success of the Fiesta was down to price, choice of models, and changes in the market.

Ford produced the MK1 Sierra from 1982 to 1987, the MK11 from 1987 to 1990, and the MK II facelifted Ford Sierra from 1990 to 1993. The Ford Sierra Sapphire was introduced to the UK market in 1988. It was a saloon with four doors and a boot!

Several variations of the engine were available, ranging from a 1.3 Pinto engine right up to a 2.9i V6. Top of the range was the Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, which had the DOHC 16V Turbo engine; only 500 of these cars were made, hence the name RS500. The more common Ford Sierra RS Cosworth still used the same engine but only had 204 PS (150 kW; 201 hp) compared to the RS500 with 227 PS (167 kW; 224 hp). These cars could be tuned quite easily to get over 400 bhp.

The Ford Orion was basically a Ford Escort with a boot. This model had a ten-year run from 1983 until 1993. Just over three and a half million cars were sold in its history. There were three versions of the Orion: the Mark I (1983-1986), the MK2 (1986-1990), and finally the Mark III (1990-1993).
At its launch, only two models were available, the GL and Ghia, fitted with the 1.3 or 1.6 CVH engine. The "CVH" stood for Compound Valve-angle Hemispherical or Canted Valve Hemispherical. 1984 saw the basic L added to the range. Top of the range was the Orion Ghia Si (sports injection), which made its debut in late 1992. This was the fastest Orion, with 130 bhp (97 kW) from its 1.8 DOHC Zetec engine. Ford claimed a top speed of 126 mph.

All throughout the range, all the cars were front-engine and front-wheel drive.