THE SPECIALIST: Yester ford
Australia’s finest old Ford parts emporium profiled.
Here in the UK there are a number of iconic classic Ford workshops. Travel south of the equator, and head down under to Australia, and there is one name most of our southern Ford cousins know and love — Yesterford.
From Escorts to Anglias, Cortinas to Capris, no matter the part, chances are Yesterford has it or at the very least knows where to find it. When you drop passed their small Ford emporium you will be surprised at how much the shop feels like the ones in the UK. A pile of Crossflow heads on the bench, a sweet Mk1 Cortina on the lift, a stack of 13 inch tyres over there. There is something very reassuring that comes from familiar surroundings — minus the funny accents, of course.
The Yesterford story is a great one, and it all started back in the mid ’80s when a young Mike Kirkpatrick’s was offered the established business by the original owner. “At the time I was mad keen on early Anglia parts, and was a regular customer,” explains Mike “I used to sell the parts to the boss too, and one day he said I would make a good owner, and next thing you know I was running the place. I have never looked back, because this place is a great place to work and the customers are fantastic.”
Worldwide
Fast forward 29 years and Yesterford has gone from strength to strength, and is now servicing customers throughout Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
“PARTS ARE OFTEN HANDMADE AND PUT TOGETHER WITH INCREDIBLE ATTENTION TO DETAIL”
Yesterford like many classic Ford workshops has a speciality, and there is without a doubt their ability to supply hard-to-get engine components. They are also well-known for rebuilding tricky parts like water pumps, alternators and starter motors. Parts are often handmade, hand fabricated and put together with the incredible attention to detail.
So good are the parts and service, there is a very good chance that if you have built a car or are in the process of building a classic Ford in Australia that you have used Yesterford in one way of another. It’s not all about off-the-shelf parts though, because when the phone rings it’s quite often or not Mike’s decades of Blue Oval experience that is imparted to that guy rebuilding a GT-spec Weber or Escort window winding mechanism in some remote part of this wide brown land.
When we dropped past, Mike had a number of things of the go. There was a cool Mk1 Cortina in for a service; he was putting together a sidevalve Anglia motor; there were parts being cleaned; parts being shipped; and parts ready to be dismantled. It was a hub of activity, and one that we could have stayed and studied for hours. Yesterford is one of those cool workshops that is made up of a rich tapestry of highly-desirable Ford parts, the smell of engine machine oil, new old stock boxes, and decades of mechanical expertise.
Skills ’n’ thrills
Yesterford has been responsible for keeping thousands of classic Fords ticking over on Aussie roads for many many years. Their well-developed skills, dedication and commitment to the small Ford brigade is the stuff of legend, and their loyal legions of repeat customers pay testimony to this little ’shop’s huge impact on the scene down under.
Rare and valuable is the best way to describe our classic Fords, and after decades of operation it’s also the same, very fitting description for the business as well.