Battle of the barge!
With WW2 still fresh in the memory, and 14 years of rationing not long ended, these cars were the domestic barges of the mid-1950s that most people could only dream of.
They offered six-cylinder refinement, modern styling and amenities that bordered on the decadent.
So, tear up your ration books, break out the Spam and splash out on a gallon or two of pool petrol as we explore the lost world of the early post-war British barge.
1. Ford Zephyr Mk1
These Zephyrs were the first monocoque Fords. They had relatively light, short-stroke, overhead-valve engines, innovative MacPherson-strut front suspension and fully hydraulic brakes when such things were a big deal.
They were also the first large English Fords to be designed in-house at Dagenham, with an identity separate from the Dearborn-designed Pilot.
It’s a neat, simple car cast in the mould of the 1949 American Fords, and its two-tone cream-and-blue paint scheme gives me a flashback to my first Ladybird books.
Ford Zephyr Mk1 (cont.)
What first strikes you about the Mk1 Zephyr is how small it is; this ‘big’ 1950s Ford is about the size of a Focus.
It almost lacks the bulk to qualify as a true barge, yet there is room for five in its unadorned cabin comprising twin bench seats and that unyielding metal fascia.
Such basic instruments and controls as it has are mostly grouped around the steering column in a cluster that is shaped like a sectioned flying saucer.
Ford Zephyr Mk1 (cont.)
These cars were popular with tuners and had a very respectable competition pedigree.
With its rare aftermarket ‘Ace Garage’ triple-SU set-up, the Zephyr sounds like a 1970s BMW as it whips up to 50mph in its useful second gear.
The Ford is light and easy to drive, its three quiet ratios arranged so that you use them as little as possible, its gently understeering handling demanding as little skill as possible.
2. Wolseley 6/80
Ford, Vauxhall and Austin may have signalled the future of British barges, but the Wolseley 6/80 seemed to have at least two wheels stuck in the past.
This 1954 car, complete with bell, radio and ‘POLICE’ signage, must be one of the last built.
Its rounded Packard-meets-Morris Minor styling seems more colonial than Commonwealth, and its image was as stuffy as the Ford and Vauxhall would have been seen as parvenu by the more buttoned-up elements from this decade of National Service and pea-soupers.
Wolseley 6/80 (cont.)
The wooden dashboard and door cappings, plus leather seats and cream instruments, give the 6/80 cabin a pre-war feel that is ‘a cut above’.
Beneath its impressively lengthy bonnet, the overhead-camshaft 2.2-litre straight-six engine sounds quite lusty, but it’s fussier than the whisper-quiet Ford and Vauxhall units.
The Met is thought have had more than 1000 of them, usually as ‘area cars’ with low-ratio back axles to improve acceleration.
Wolseley 6/80 (cont.)
Without actually being pokey, the Wolseley has a sense of purpose that is lacking in the other cars.
The gearchange doesn’t achieve the slick standards of the American-influenced vehicles, but the low-geared steering gives you a mental image of burly traffic cops ‘feeding the wheel’ in the regulation manner.
The 6/80’s role with the force gives it a profile in popular culture that is out of all proportion to the 25,000 that were built. Yet it’s the most fascinating of these cars, and the one I would take home.
3. Vauxhall Cresta
Although heavily influenced by the shapes of the first new post-war Chevrolets, the E-series range was designed at Luton by Vauxhall’s David Jones.
The shape arrived in 1951 and ran through to 1957, by which time the Wyvern (four cylinders) and the Velox (six cylinders) had been joined by the more luxurious Cresta.
It boasted triple-tone paint, rear wheel spats and a lockable fuel-filler cap. Inside, there was a standard heater, clock and a choice of natty nylon trim or leather.
Vauxhall Cresta (cont.)
The unitary-body Cresta is a consummate high-torque ‘top gear’ cruiser that rarely invites its effortless three-speed column gearchange.
That said, you have to put its soft ride, its light, disengaged controls and its cheerful, chrome-encrusted detailing – the dashboard talks the styling language of a kitchen appliance rather than a car – in the context of its time.
This was a 1950s world where to own even a pre-war jalopy was a privilege, never mind this mid-Atlantic symbol of easy living.
Vauxhall Cresta (cont.)
The Vauxhall Cresta E-series went nose-to-nose with the Ford Zodiac, the jazzier higher-compression sister to the Zephyr.
Its 2.2-litre straight-six is even softer and smoother in character than the Ford engine, and you loll around somewhat on the shapeless bench seat, hanging on to the big red steering wheel for support.
Interestingly, the Cresta was said to have more urge through the gears than the 1949 3.8-litre Chevrolet that inspired it, yet the Vauxhall somehow lacks the charm of its period rival from Dagenham.
4. Humber Super Snipe
The MkIV Super Snipes were the last body-on-frame Humbers and the first Snipes to have an overhead-valve engine – a 4.1-litre ‘Blue Riband’ straight-six from a Commer truck.
They were a bigger, heftier species of barge, weighing in at 4000lb and nearly £1500.
In fact, the big Humbers were good value for those who regarded them as a poor man’s Bentley, but most were probably put off by their size and 14mpg thirst.
Humber Super Snipe (cont.)
Perhaps the Humber is better to ride in than to drive. It is roomier than the other cars here and mixes British veneer and American styling cues in slightly uneasy manner.
You can see how Stirling Moss’s record-breaking exploits across Europe in a works example must have been reasonably civilised if nothing else, what with the expanses of leather and a lavish look to the interior.
It also feels nicely made in the way Rootes cars of the 1950s and ’60s always were.
Humber Super Snipe (cont.)
Enthusiastic contemporary road test reports in The Autocar bear no relation to the modern experience of the Snipe’s barge-tastic handling.
It is almost the very definition of ponderous; all manoeuvres need to be anticipated well in advance, such is its state of total understeer when asked to negotiate the most modest of curves.
On a straight road, however, the Super Snipe bowls along quietly and rather magnificently with an effortlessness feel that none of the others can match.
5. Austin A90 Westminster
This handsome ‘short boot’ A90 Westminster trumps the Cresta and Zephyr in its use of a bigger 2.6-litre engine and four gears.
That gives it a top speed in the mid-to-high 80s and the ability to cruise effortlessly at 70mph.
Launched in 1955, the A90 shared only doors with the superficially identical four-cylinder A55 Cambridge.
It is a good car in barge terms: it has a more square-jawed appearance and a grittier character than the ‘soft’ Ford and Vauxhall, with their jazzy colour schemes and jukebox dashboards.
Austin A90 Westminster (cont.)
Inside, the upright seats and unpretentious pressed-metal dashboard continue the ‘no nonsense’ theme.
It has individual vinyl front seats (you got leather and a heater in the Deluxe) with four armrests to hold you in place, as if its maker expected it to be driven fast on occasion.
There is adequate rather than exceptional space in the rear, and the luggage area is not huge, either, hence the later ‘long boot’ A95 and A105.
Austin A90 Westminster (cont.)
With the lights in the tops of the wings and the ‘Flying A’ on the prow, there’s a good view along the bonnet and pleasing noises from beneath it as the C-series eases the A90 forward on a smooth seam of torque.
The brakes are strong and, while the steering is hefty – complete with the usual understeer – it is perhaps less vague than that of the Zephyr and Cresta.
The Austin’s Achilles’ heel is its column change. It’s almost as if BMC couldn’t garner the enthusiasm for this Americanism.