The Ford Consul was a car manufactured by Ford in Britain.
Between 1951 and 1962 the Consul was the stablemate of the bigger Ford Zephyr. It was replaced in 1962 by a new 4-cylinder Zephyr, and the new Ford Cortina. The Consul name reappeared from 1972 to 1975 as a replacement to the Zephyr range and shared a body with the more luxurious Ford Granada Mk I.
The Ford Classic and the Mk I Cortina were originally named the 'Ford Consul Classic' and the 'Ford Consul Cortina'.
[] Ford Consul (1950-1956)
The Consul was the start of Ford of Britain's successful attack on the family saloon car market and replaced the large engined V-8 Pilot which had only been made in small numbers. It was given the Ford code of EOTA. Most cars were 4 door saloons with body design by George Walker of the parent United States Ford company but a few estate cars were made by the coachbuilder Abbott. From 1953 a convertible conversion by Carbodies became available. The body was reinforced by welding in a large X-frame to the floor pan. Unlike the larger Zephyr the hood had to be put up and down manually.
It was also the first car they built with up to date technology. The new 1508 cc 47 bhp engine had overhead valves and hydraulic brakes were used but a three speed gearbox was retained. They were also the first to use the now-common MacPherson strut independent front suspension, and was the first British Ford with modern unibody construction.
The car could reach 75 mph and achieve 24 mpg (imperial).
[] Ford Consul II (1956-1962)
In 1962 a new Consul appeared with the Ford code of 204E. Compared with the original it had a longer wheelbase, larger 1703 cc, 59 bhp engine and a complete restyle. One thing not updated was the windscreen wipers which were still vacuum operated.The roof profile was lowered in 1959 on the Mk2 version which also had re-designed rear lights and much of the external bright work in stainless steel. Front disc brakes with vacuum servo appeared as an option in 1960 and were made standard in 1961. The name became the Consul 375 in mid 1961.
The convertible version made by Carbodies continued and the Australian market had a pick-up. A De-luxe version with contrasting roof colour and higher equipment specification was added in 1957.
The car could now reach 80 mph but the fuel consumption had increased to 22 mpg (imperial).The 0-60 mph time came down to 25 seconds.
[] Ford Consul (Granada) (1972-1975)
The Consul name was revived for the small engined Granada with either 1996 cc vee four (V - 4) or 2495 cc vee six (V - 6) power units. The name was dropped in late 1975 and all the cars became Granadas.
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