Two cars, one running gear — and the spotting point is the front wings, not the badge.
The Prefect E93A arrived in 1938 on the 1172cc side-valve, built through to 1941, stopped for the war and resumed 1945–48. 41,486 pre-war cars and 158,007 post-war. Brakes are Girling rod-operated with 10in drums, suspension is transverse leaf front and rear on a separate chassis. The E493A that followed from 1948/49 to 1953 — 192,229 built — kept all of that. What changed is the front of the car: a new bonnet and grille, and front wings with the headlamps built into them. Separate headlamps on stalks means E93A; headlamps in the wings means E493A. That is the reliable tell.
Worth knowing before you order: the 7W Ten of 1937–38 is the Prefect’s direct predecessor and 7W owners routinely shop the Prefect listings — the chassis was stiffened and the Girling mechanical brakes improved for it, and a good deal carries across. In the other direction, the Prefect name was reused twice more and neither car belongs here. The Prefect 100E of January 1954 is a unitary-construction, hydraulic-braked, 12-volt car with MacPherson struts — a completely different machine. The Prefect 107E of October 1959 is stranger again: the 100E four-door body with the 997cc overhead-valve Kent and the four-speed box out of the 105E Anglia. Both are on the 100E page, not this one. In New Zealand the Prefect was assembled at Seaview, Lower Hutt, from March 1939.
Ford Prefect — specification & changes within the model
- Brakes
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Girling rod system, 10in drums, both models, whole run. Never hydraulic from the factory.
- E93A or E493A
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Headlamps separate, on stalks = E93A (1938–41, 1945–48). Headlamps built into the front wings, new bonnet and grille = E493A (1948/49–53). Running gear is the same; the front panels are not.
- Engine
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1172cc side-valve, the ten-horse unit, on both. Pre-1953 engines are thermosiphon — no water pump.
- Do not buy 100E parts for this car
- The 100E engine is a redesign, not a carry-over: same bore and stroke, 20 per cent more power at 36bhp, and a water pump. Few specifications are identical between the early and later series.
- The 7W connection
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Ford 7W Ten, 1937–38, 41,665 built — stiffened chassis, improved Girling mechanical brakes, and the car the Prefect badge replaced. If you have a 7W, ask us; a lot of this listing suits it.
- Numbers
- E93A 41,486 pre-war + 158,007 post-war. E493A 192,229. Some sources publish 158,007 and 192,229 as the two model totals, depending on whether the pre-war cars are counted.
- Not claimed
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Earth polarity. No source we found states positive or negative for a pre-100E Ford. Check the car.
