Ford’s Pilot V8 positively reeks of Forties Americana, yet it was made in Dagenham. Cool and interesting to own – if you know how to pick a good one
Fancy some Forties Americana Dagenham-style? Act before they all get hot-rodded...
Ford’s Pilot, the first car to emerge from the Dagenham factory, is terrific value for such an evocative machine. A thumping great American V8 from a time when most British cars sported plodding long- stroke fours gave them a generous helping of glamour, and their performance attracted the kind of driver who didn’t need to worry about running costs – wealthy executives, the police, bank robbers...
They offer a combination of bench- seated roominess and big-headlight, flowing-winged Forties panache. Unlike most other British cars of this era, though, they have power in abundance. They may not be performance cars by modern or even late-fifties standards, but they don’t feel breathless in modern motoring conditions. And of course there’s the vibrant aftermarket scene.
The Pilot’s attributes have equated to an unusual existence. While the arrival of BRISCA stock- car racing in 1954 led to many being written off on oval dirt-tracks or plundered for their engines, the American-inspired hot-rod scene breathed new life into Pilot ownership. A hot rod may not be your thing, but the expertise of the people involved in the scene mean they’re often the go-to source for obscure parts and engine rebuilds, even if you’re keeping yours standard. To this end, we’ve taken advice from across the Pilot spectrum to bring you this buyers’ guide: the Early Ford V8 Club of America UK, classic Ford specialist restorer Barry Smith (barrysmithcars.co.uk), and Gary Miller of engine specialist Belcher Engineering (belcherengineering.co.uk).
Which one to choose?
The Pilot was a bitsa from the start. As with many British cars released in the late Forties, it was built on pre-war leftovers, but the global reach of the Ford empire meant Dagenham had access to American engines. As a result the Pilot was a rebodied pre-war Ford Model 62 with its underpowered 2.2-litre sidevalve engine replaced with a 3.6-litre V8 with 150lb ft of torque.
Saloon – The vast majority of Pilots, built 1947- 51, were four- door saloons. Unlike many of the British cars of its era, its body was all- steel, eschewing the wooden supporting frame of many of its rivals. It sported built-in jacks and hydraulic front brakes, although the rears were
cable- operated. All cars featured a column-mounted three- speed gearbox and a single Solex carburettor. Replacement Zephyr came in 1950; last Pilot built in 1951.
Pick-up – The Dagenham factory produced only the saloon onsite. However, Ford did offer a pick-up truck for export only, mainly to Australia. Bodies were cut at the B-pillar and the incomplete cars were sent to local Essex coachbuilder Wilcox – founded in 1948 and eager for new work – for completion as trucks.
‘ Woody’ – As well as the pick-up, Ford sold its chopped coachbuilt bodies to coachbuilders to offer wood-panelled estate cars and shooting brakes. Coachbuilt Pilot customers included King George VI, and prices of these desirable variants have been consistently higher than the saloons ever since.
Bodywork While the Pilot’s construction may sound like the recipe for an easy ownership experience – all the outer body panels including the wings are simply bolted to the bodyshell – it’s not that simple. The fixings are notorious water traps, especially around the wings, so it’s often the mountings themselves that are most heavily corroded. Wherever two pieces of metal meet, they form a rust trap.
All Pilot saloons had a canvas roof panel, and a split roof seal will let water in. If this has rusted, it will cost about £450 to put right, as the headlining must be removed. If the boot seals break, water collects in the boot and rots the double- skinned floor out, both inner and outer skin replacement will cost as much as £600.
Rust can spread along the bumper bar and its support brackets as well as along the seams of the front wings. If it’s rusted here, the three to four days’ labour costs for remedial work can add up to £1500 per side. A badly corroded car, suffering in all potential rot spots, could cost £25,000-£30,000 for a full body restoration including respray – more than the saloon’s market value. The paint alone costs in excess of £2000.
Body panel supply isn’t too bad. The owners’ clubs will point you in the direction of secondhand and new - old- stock parts, but it’s worth pointing out that nothing is available new, and as a result the replacement panels themselves will often need a degree of restoration to remove surface rust and old paint before fitting.
The pick-ups and ‘ Woody’ estates come with their own problems. The wooden structure of the estate will rot as expected, but you also need to pay careful
‘The hot-rodders are the go-to source for parts, even if you’re keeping yours standard’
attention to the B-pillars. They mark the point where the back of the standard saloon bodywork was cut away at the factory, and this can let water into the structure that results in the B-pillars rusting through completely.
Replacing the rear bodywork on a Woody isn’t a straightforward job. Unlike a Morris Minor Traveller they were individually handbuilt to bespoke designs, so you’ll need to employ the services of a master carpenter, plus the woodwork is structural and will need strapping-up during the rebuild. Restoring this rear bodywork section alone will cost £10,000-£15,000.
Engine Although popular and used in Ford cars worldwide for 40 years, the Ford ‘flathead’ V8 is troublesome and was famously plagued by design flaws.
It was simplified in order to bring V8 power to the masses and, as a result, corners were cut – there are three main bearings rather than the usual five, for example. The exhaust ports exit through the engine block itself, and as there isn’t really enough coolant capacity to cope with the temperatures generated, rust and blockages in the exhaust manifolds are enough to cause overheating and ultimately crack the block around the ports. The engine also has a habit of stretching conrods, so the cylinder heads need regular removal to check piston height.
The good news is that the flathead’s cult status among hot- rodders means engine parts supply is very good regardless of its flaws. An engine rebuild will cost up to £5250. Parts for the original Solex carburettors are rare, to the point where most owners have fitted a Stromberg 97 in its place. Upgrading the six-volt electrics to 12-volt and fitting upgraded distributor, electric fuel pump and ceramic-sealed water pump is also recommended.
Brightwork Getting hold of the Pilot’s chromed parts is increasingly tricky, especially the bumpers, sidelights and rear light units. Again, the owners’ club is the best place to start your search, but you may also have to resort to combing through small- ads or going to autojumbles. A bumper will typically cost at least £ 100, but will usually have some rust around the bolt holes and overriders. Old bumpers will usually need stripping, inspecting, potentially some new metal welding in if the areas around the overriders have rusted through, and rechroming. By the time all this has been done, that £ 100 bumper will have cost you more like £300.
Interior Interiors are fairly simple, usually with leather seats, straightforward cloth panels and a tough, hardwearing dashboard with minimal instrumentation. If
‘The Pilot was always a bitsa, but the flathead V8’s cult status means parts supply is very good’
you need a complete interior retrim you’re best off sourcing fabrics via America – Lebaron Bonney (lebaronbonney.com) is a good place to start because its range of period Ford fabrics is fairly comprehensive.
The rubber interior parts – panel and screen seals, bump stops, pedal rubbers and so on – are thankfully easy to come by, because Scott’s Old Auto Rubber in Australia ( scottsoldautorubber.com. au) has a comprehensive supply available via mail- order at helpfully low prices, ranging from £2.12 for a door strap buffer to £44.73 for an underbonnet insulation panel.
Dashboard instrumentation rarely gives trouble, but the capilliary tube has a habit of breaking off the temperature gauge, rendering it inoperative – so don’t trust its reading when evaluating a Pilot. Speedograph Richfield in Nottingham (speedograph-richfield.com) will recondition Pilot dashboard gauges for £90 apiece.
Transmission Gearbox parts are rare, and gear ratios themselves are best sourced from the US, where the Pilot’s engine and transmission package was more common. Listen out for a repeated knocking sound with the engine running – it’s often the sign of a collapsed layshaft bearing. Gearbox rebuilds are typically £ 1500 using secondhand parts, or £2000-plus using new ratios.