Our favourite 70 year old classics

This year’s Platinum Jubilee got us thinking about some of the cars that would have been seen on the road back in 1952, when HM Queen Elizabeth II took the throne.

And, scouting back through the annals of motoring history, we find that there were some frankly splendid vehicles leaving showrooms around this period.

This was, after all, a watershed time in motor manufacture. The Second World War was at last beginning to fade in the memory, and normal life (and our motoring industry) was getting moving again.

The end of rationing was just two years away.

This sense of optimism, of a better life returning, was reflected in the car designs of the time. In particular, the year 1948 saw debuts for a collection of cars that would prove important throughout the 1950s and beyond.

Here are some of our favourite cars that you would have seen on the road in 1952. These would all make treasurable classics now, and should be protected with some specialist classic car insurance for young drivers or older hands alike.

Morris Minor

Perhaps the iconic ‘50s car, the Morris Minor had in fact been in existence (like a few of the cars we’ll be mentioning) since late 1948. In fact, development work on the car had begun in the early 1940s under the project name Mosquito – a reference to the de Havilland fighter/bomber plane that was doing such sterling service at the time.

Late 1940s Britain was still feeling the effects of the war – rationing was still in place, many cities and factories were still in tatters, and there was relatively little innovation or excitement on the horizon.

So you can imagine that, when the Minor emerged on the scene that year, its cheeky bubble-shaped looks must have caused quite a stir.

The 1950s, however, were the decade in which the car came into its own. And indeed, 1952 was a key year for the Minor. This, after all, was the year when Morris joined up with Austin to form the British Motor Corporation. This merger precipitated a new design for Morris’ much-loved small family car.

The slightly stern looks of the original ‘MM’ Minor were updated, the front headlights rising up above the grille to give the car a friendlier face. The Minor also got the benefit of the efficient 803cc engine from its rival-turned, stablemate, the Austin A30.

The new Minor instantly won a place in the hearts of the British motoring public – and was set for a long and relatively unchanged lifespan. Indeed, even when Morris launched a new model for the sector in 1959 – a certain Mini – the Minor wasn’t put off its stride, and continued in production for another for another 12 years.

The car is now credited as a major factor in getting Brits back on the road after the privations of the Second World War.

Its huge popularity means that the Minor is one of the few cars on this list that you’ll still see in decent numbers today. This, plus its affordability and relative mechanical simplicity, would make it an ideal starter car for a young classics fan.

Remember to team up your Minor with some classic car insurance for young drivers.

Here at Lancaster, we’re proud to provide Morris Minor insurance to drivers of all ages.

Austin A30

The Morris Minor may have looked set to sweep all before it in the 1950s small car stakes. However, Morris’ rivals (and later partners) Austin had their own answer, in the form of the compact little A30.

The Austin A30 made an attractive choice for many ‘50s motorists. For one thing, it undercut the Morris on price by around £60. But savings weren’t all the A30 had up its sleeve. Its freshly designed ‘A-Series’ four-cylinder engine returned around 42 miles per gallon, while also hurling the little car along at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour – more than adequate in these pre-motorway days.

Other innovations included the hybrid braking setup, consisting of hydraulic drum brakes at the front and a single cylinder controlling the rods that braked the rear wheels. Those bumpy 1950s roads were also dealt with reasonably well, by a suspension system consisting of independent coil springs at the front end and semi-elliptical leaf springs behind.

Optional extras included a radio (£43) and a heater, at £9 extra.

We’re particularly fond of the A30’s trafficators – semaphore turn signals that popped out from the B pillar when the driver pressed a button on the dashboard.

The car’s successor, the A35, went cutting-edge with proper flashing lights, but the trafficators are just one of the A30’s many period charms.

Ford Zephyr

There were, in fact, two Ford Consuls. Yes, the name was revived for a base-level version of the Ford Granada produced during the early 1970s. Elsewhere on this blog, you can read our reminiscences of that handsome Seventies Consul.

We’re talking here, however, about another base model – the entry level car for the 1950s Ford Zephyr range. This postwar Consul was the car of choice for those who wanted a solid, reliable family saloon; buyers could then venture upmarket with the Zephyr itself and, right at the top of the range, the prestigious Zodiac.

First shown at the 1950s London Motor Show, the Consul was effectively the start of many decades of domination in the family saloon market for the Blue Oval. It was also – along with its Zephyr companion – the first British Ford to feature modern unibody construction, in which the body, floor plan and chassis together formed one unified structure.

This all-in-one construction brought benefits, including weight savings and greater rigidity.

The Consul left the Ford factory in saloon form only: however, a few cars were converted into estates by Abbott Coachbuilders of Farnham, Surrey. On top of this, Coventry’s Carbodies would do you a convertible, if you so desired.

Fords have always been well-engineered cars, and the Consul got the benefit of the latest technology. This included a 1.5-litre, overhead-valve engine and hydraulic clutch system – the later fairly avant-garde for 1950.

The Consul was also Britain’s first production car to use the MacPherson strut system to provide independent front suspension.

Jaguar XK120

Boy, we would give a lot to have been present at the 1948 British Motor Show. This was the first instalment of the popular car show since the War, while 1948 itself was a hugely important year for motoring.

Iconic cars introduced that year included the Citroen 2CV and the Porsche 356, the precursor to the seminal 911.

However, the Earls Court show also saw the unveiling of three giants of British motoring. These were the Land Rover and Morris Minor, soon to become such familiar figures on and off our roads; and the impossibly glamorous Jaguar XK120.

The fast, svelte Jaguar has a well-known backstory. It was originally intended merely as a test car for the firm’s latest XK engine. To add to the car’s under-the-radar status, the XK20 was not intended to be at that year’s Motor Show at all.

The plan had been to exhibit the MkVII, Jaguar’s latest luxury saloon: however, the latter car wasn’t yet ready for the viewing public. Jaguar had to have something to show at the first postwar Motor Show, however, and the XK120 ‘test car’ was duly called up.

The firm had originally planned to build just 200 of these beautiful sports cars. However, the rapturous response from public and press alike indicated that a larger production run was going to be required.

The XK120 was soon available in either convertible or fixed-head form. The first production drop-top XK120 was owned by actor Clark Gable: indeed, the car would prove a great success in the US and elsewhere overseas.

Around 80% of XK120s were produced as left-hand drive for the overseas market.

Drivers who are of an age to remember these cars in their heyday would surely treasure the chance to own one again. For younger drivers, meanwhile, there could hardly be a more ‘statement’ car with which to begin your classic car journey.

In either case, make sure to protect any XK120 with some classic car insurance for young drivers or more experienced owners alike.

Vauxhall Velox

Ford and Vauxhall have enjoyed a healthy rivalry for decades. Indeed, we discussed their absorbing sales wars of the 1970s and 1980s in a separate feature. Back in the 1950s, however, the battleground was chiefly centred on the big executive cars: the Zephyr and Zodiac for Ford, and the Velox and later Cresta from Vauxhall.

Taking its name from the Latin for ‘rapid’, the Velox was a six-cylinder executive express produced across four generations, from 1948 to 1965, at Vauxhall’s Luton plant. From 1948 to 1957, across its first two generations, the Velox shared a platform with the four-cylinder Vauxhall Wyvern.

Later, it shared underpinnings with the new, luxurious Vauxhall Cresta.

The second-generation Velox that arrived in 1951 was notable for scrapping the upright, prewar bodystyle of its predecessor for a more modern, ‘three box’ shape.

It also had, with its lashings of chrome, thick front bumpers and curvaceous styling, more than a hint of contemporary American vehicles such as the Chevrolet Bel Air. And, with Vauxhall and Chevrolet now companion brands under the wider General Motors umbrella, this should have come as no surprise.

The car’s looks were handsome: its performance perhaps less than scintillating. The Velox’s 2.3-litre engine could muster somewhere near to 80 miles per hour, but the Wyvern topped out at around 62mph.

So it was that 1952 became a significant year in the Velox / Wyvern story: both cars gained new engines, and a corresponding uplift in performance.

Citroen 2CV

With a production life spanning an incredible 41 years from 1949 to 1990, the 2CV can class itself as an iconic car across several decades. But it was arguably in the 1950s, as a fresh new addition to the economy car landscape, that the little French runabout made its biggest impact.

The first 2CVs of 1949 onwards virtually defined the word ‘basic’. Their 375 cc engine delivered 9 horsepower, and could reach a nerve-shredding top speed of 40mph. For a short while, this rather sparse and functional vehicle came in for criticism from the press, and was also the butt of many a French comedian’s joke.

Critics and comics could think what they like, though: the great French public, desperate for some affordable transport after the hardships of war, went out and bought the perky little 2CV in their droves. Within months of the car going on sale, it was the subject of a three-year waiting list, which soon grew to five years.

It also produced the near-unthinkable situation where, for a while, a second-hand 2CV was more expensive than a new one – because it wouldn’t involve a lengthy wait.

With all this demand, Citroen decided to take a moral stance on who got priority. This was given to those whose work obliged them to travel by car, and who couldn’t afford the other cars on the market at the time. Preference was given to country vets, doctors, midwives, priests and small farmers – pillars of the rural community, in short.

No such restrictions apply now, of course, and owning a 2CV simply depends on finding one in good condition.

They’re another car that would make a great starter classic, what with their affordability, simplicity, and a thriving UK owners’ club. Among other benefits, membership of the latter could bring discounts on classic car insurance for young drivers.

Final fun fact: for seven years from 1953 to 1960, the 2CV was also produced in Slough.

Standard Vanguard

Founded in 1903 in Coventry (that engine room of British motor manufacture, as we discussed elsewhere), Standard produced some handsome cars until they were purchased by the Leyland Motor Company in 1960, and eventually subsumed into British Leyland eight years later.

Among the most elegant of these vehicles was the Vanguard, produced across four generations (and several special editions) from 1947 until 1963. An imposing large saloon, we can imagine the Vanguard being purchased by bank managers and company directors, who would be wafted around the 1950s road network in supreme comfort.

The name was a patriotic, postwar choice. Many of the car’s potential customers would recently have seen action in the Second World War, and Standard decided to name their new car after the HMS Vanguard, the last of the British Navy's battleships, launched in 1944 amid considerable press and public attention.

As with some other cars of this time, it was the early ‘50s, second generation Vanguard that first got the ‘three box’ design that would become so familiar in saloon cars for the next four decades.

Humber Hawk

Another of those evocative names from our motoring past, Humber started out – like Triumph – manufacturing bicycles, before diversifying into motor cars. The firm was later acquired by the Rootes Brothers, becoming part of the same stable as Hillman, producers of the legendary Imp.

Humber produced their Hawk saloon across several generations from 1948 to 1967. The new, postwar Hawks (there had also been a car of this name before the war) were designed by France’s Loewy Studio. That’s something in which Humber could take considerable pride, as the studio founder Raymond Loewy was a titan in the design world.

Spending most of his professional career in the US, Loewy’s designs included logos for Shell and BP, plus vending machines and a bottle redesign for Coca-Cola. He also designed the Studebaker Avanti, one of the most fabulously extrovert American cars of any generation.

You’ll be pleased to know that there’s a busy and friendly owners’ club for drivers of all Humber models from 1931 to 1976. These include the Hawk and its posher sibling, the imposing Super Snipe executive car (one example of this was a recent winner of our annual Pride of Ownership awards).

If you own or are hoping to own a Humber, you should definitely join the club.

Membership will bring a host of benefits including access to a community of knowledgeable experts, plus likely discounts on your classic car insurance for young drivers and older hands alike.

Jowett Javelin

Continuing our roll call of car marques from yesteryear, we come to Jowett Cars of Idle, near Bradford.

Founded at the dawn of the 20th century, Jowett made the move from bicycles and motors into car production after the First World War. One of their most fondly remembered production cars was the Javelin, an executive car built from 1947 to 1953.

As seemed to be the way back then, the car went through generations quickly – no fewer than five in its six-year history.

Each series had both a standard and a ‘de luxe’ variant.

Interestingly, the Javelin was first revealed to the public on Saturday, July 27, 1946, as part of a grand parade to celebrate 60 years of the British motor industry.

The event was organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which is still going strong to this day. Opened by King George VI, the parade started in Regent’s Park and travelled via Marble Arch to the West End and Piccadilly Circus, finishing back at the Park.

The Javelin was fairly cutting-edge for a late ‘40s / early ’50s automobile. It was aerodynamic – the headlights were now embedded in the side wings, rather than protruding out on metal stalks like those of many a prewar automobile. The windscreen was curved and steeply sloped.

The suspension was advanced, too, featuring torsion bars on all wheels. Brakes were hydraulic (front) and mechanical at the rear, with later generations going all-hydraulic. Yes, the Jowett Javelin displayed the best that early ‘50s engineering had to offer.

It had sporting credentials too: a Javelin took the class crown at 1949’s Monte Carlo Rally, while another won the International Tulip Rally in 1953.

Rover P4

The difference between the Rover P3 of 1948-49 and its P4 successor, which emerged later in ’49, must be one of the most striking contrasts between two consecutive models in the whole of motoring history.

The P3, with its ‘two box’ shape, large vertical front grille and protruding headlights, still looked like a prewar car. The P4, for its part, took on board new trends in car design, specifically the ‘three box’ shape and the headlights buried within the front wings.

The new Rover was designed by one Gordon Bashford, who was also busying himself on an even more iconic Rover, the all-terrain Land Rover, at the time. Bashford would later go on to work on the P6 and SD1 executive cars.

His design for the P4 had something of an American look to it. It seemed to draw most closely from the Studebaker Champion, whose third generation had launched a year previously.

In fact, the top brass at Rover went so far as to purchase a pair of Studebakers, fitting the body from one of these onto a prototype P4 chassis to create a development car. This intriguing US/UK hybrid was affectionately known as the 'Roverbaker'.

For the first four years of its life, from 1949 to 1953, the P4 was available with a 2.1-litre, six-cylinder engine, and was known as the Rover 75 (not to be confused with the late, great Rover of the same name). A two-litre, four-cylinder engine soon followed, and later there was a potent 2.6-litre straight-six, too.

The P4 looked good in an imposing sort of way; it handled well; and it was well kitted out inside. Small wonder that the car won itself an army of fans, including such illustrious owners as Jordan’s King Hussein and the actress Grace Kelly.

Indeed, the big Rover performed so well that – notwithstanding the P5’s arrival in 1958 – it was able to soldier on beyond the launch of the Rover P6 in 1963.

Classic car insurance for young drivers

If you’re a younger classics fan, these cars will all have been doing the rounds long before you were born. But that’s no reason, in our book, not to want to own one of these beautiful cars from yesteryear.

Contact us today for your quote