Magnificent Mk1 alive and well
THE MK1 WAS WHAT ALL THE BOYS WANTED — SOME STILL HAVE THEM
Laurie Swan bought this remarkably original 1955 Ford Mk1 Zephyr around 2010, from the South Island, and drove it to his home north of Auckland.
“Wehad a Zephyr when we were young, most of us young guys did. Hooning around the North Shore . . . I could never afford a convertible — they were the sought- after vehicles,” he says. “When I was a young guy you’d see a convertible and oh, the drool, but only the rich guys could afford them.”
Life had got in the way of that early dream and his later ownership – he owned one for about four years, selling it six months ago.
“You get married and you can’t afford toys. I did have a Mk1 — I was a panelbeater and used to buy written- off cars in the preVIN days. Do it up, drive it for six months and sell it when the next one is ready — you end up with free motoring.”
He’s had a few older cars, “I’ve had a few Chevs, would you believe, I had a 37 and a 39 coupe, we used to go down to the Art Deco weekend in Napier, for about 10 years. We used to leave home at 5am, meet the others at Bombay for breakfast and it would take the rest of the day, even cruising at 90, 95km/ h.”
What prompted him to buy this Zephyr? Laurie reckons he’s trying to relive his youth — his wife, Carol, has a good giggle at that. “You try to remember what you had when you were young,” Laurie says, “though my first car was a Morris 8 and that was my first classic, too, but I quickly realised it wasn’t me, so I went to the Chevs.”
But back to this Zephyr, and it was basically in this wonderful condition when
modern traffic you have to be more careful,” he admits.
“They were the first of the vehicles without a separate
WE’RE JUST GUARDIANS OF THE CAR. YOU JUST KEEP IT TIDY FOR THE NEXT PERSON
chassis. They were the family car, for mum, dad and the three kids, but you put it next to a Honda Civic now and it looks tiny.”
Laurie does all the maintenance on it, and “We’re lucky that the Zephyr club has a big used parts store, so if anything happens, there’s good access to parts.” He already has the original manual, a great read as it describes such cutting- edge fitments as the “new wrap- around bumpers” and the “mechanically magnificent” powertrain . . .
Perhaps that was what prompted the police to order this model for a while. “They had a bloody big radar on the back, about the size of a washing machine bowl.”
Our short drive proved how comfy the Zephyr is: the seats are nicely sprung, the engine emitting a pleasant, understated burble, and it’s immaculate, so much so it’s hard to believe how much of it is original — even the 62- year- old carpets under the mats still look good.
“We’re just guardians of the car. You just keep it tidy for the next person,” Laurie says, before Carol corrects him —“I thought you wanted to be buried in it!”
Looking at how solid it still is, I think it might outlive us all.