NOVEMBER: 1961 FORD CONSUL MKII

It’s hard to imagine that Mick Staddon’s concours condition Château Grey MkII Consul was purchased back in 1974 for £85 and used as a daily driver until entering semi retirement a few years later. Buying a modern replacement as the family’s main set of wheels could have meant the end of the road for the big Ford but by then the Consul had firmly established itself as a family friend. As the new family car wasn’t powerful enough to tow a caravan, the Consul was brought out of retirement and pressed into service for a few more years as very capable tow car. However, by 1987 time was starting to catch up with the Consul, so it was taken off the road once more and Mick embarked on what was originally planned to be a brief ‘tidy up’. From stripping out and painting the engine bay, work progressed into a full-blown nut and bolt mechanical restoration and a bare metal respray, with all the work, including overhauling the car’s 1703cc inline four being undertaken in the owner’s single garage.