Ford cars and service
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Sir,
Having driven in the official Ford works’ competition team for nearly four pre-war years, and having owned a Ford of some description for the last twenty years I shall, unlike Mr. W. D. Kearns, probably buy many a Dagenham product in the years to come. But he has my sympathies in respect of the Zephyr, as I have also had trouble with wheelspin and skidding; have had two replacement clutch units; found it almost impossible to make a quiet change down from second to bottom gear.
Wheelspin can be greatly overcome by having the tyres “Wyresoled,” and by having all four wheels so treated road adhesion is much improved on wet surfaces.
I do not think that the transmission judder at low speeds, nor the savage clonks from the transmission when reversing (and in my case when going forward in bottom gear as well) can be attributed to rear engine-mounting bushes, but is due to the clutch unit itself. Replacement Ford units had little effect, but, coupled with attention to the rear dampers, a 95 per cent. cure was effected by some main Ford dealers who fitted non-Ford parts in the clutch unit.
My 1952 (late) model has never suffered with transmission vibration, but I know of one fairly new model which vibrates like mad at .60 m.p.h., and the only advice forthcoming from the Ford dealer from whom the car was purchased was “to accelerate to over 70 when the vibration would vanish !” This advice, although proving perfectly correct, was rather impracticable, and even a replacement balanced propeller shaft had no good effect. Could it be due to some misalignment somewhere ?
I think most Ford enthusiasts will agree with me when I say that, generally speaking, and forgetting the odd black sheep here and there, Ford products from the inception of the V8 to 1939 were trouble-free, both from the design angle and the turned out car, whereas the Pilot, Consul, Zephyr and the latest Anglia and Prefect cars are not free from design faults. One must except the pre-war 22-hp. V8 as this was not one of Dagenham’s best efforts.
I am, Yours, etc.,
London, N.14. “Fordite”.