One of the Three Graces, with a 2553cc six that won the Safari Rally and went on to power AC, Allard and Reliant sports cars.
Ford New Zealand assembled the Mk2 Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac from CKD kits at Seaview in Lower Hutt from 1956, and they were the backbone of the range here. The Zephyr’s 2553cc overhead-valve six is the heart of it — same bore and stroke as the Consul four, with two more cylinders — good for 86bhp and a genuine 88mph, and tough enough that specialist makers queued up for it. AC put it in the Ace and the Greyhound; Allard, Britannia and Reliant all used it too. T. Brooke and Peter Hughes won the 1958 East African Safari Rally in a Mk2, following a Mk1 win on the 1953 Monte Carlo.
The one distinction that matters most when you are ordering rubber is Highline or Lowline. Cars built up to February 1959 are Highline: taller roof, round instrument cluster. From February 1959 Ford dropped the roof panel about an inch and a half, deepened the glass and fitted a rectangular instrument panel — so the screen and rear screen rubbers are not the same part. Overall height falls from 59.5in to 58.2in, which is the quickest way to settle an argument about an unknown car. Worth knowing too: front discs were optional from September 1960 and standard from June 1961 in Britain, but Australian-built cars stayed on four-wheel drums, and the Australian wagons and utes use their own panels rather than the English Abbott estate’s.
Ford Zephyr Mk2 — specification & changes within the model
- Built
- 1956–1962. Highline 1956 to February 1959 · Lowline February 1959 to 1962. Model code 206E.
- Engine
- 2553cc overhead-valve straight six, 82.55 × 79.5mm, 86bhp @ 4250rpm, 132lb ft @ 2000rpm. Zodiac Mk2 uses the same engine in slightly higher tune; Consul Mk2 is a 1703cc four.
- Gearbox
- Three-speed manual, column change, synchromesh on second and top only. Borg-Warner overdrive optional from 1956; Borg-Warner DG three-speed automatic also available (from 1959 in Australia).
- Brakes
- Drums all round at launch. Front discs with vacuum servo optional from September 1960, standard from June 1961. Australian-built cars remained four-wheel drum.
- Highline vs Lowline
- Roof lowered roughly 1.5in, deeper glass, rectangular instrument panel in place of the round cluster, chrome headlamp bezels, new trim. Height 59.5in → 58.2in.
- Running gear
- Unitary body, 107in wheelbase, 13in wheels on 5.90-13 tyres. 12 volt, dynamo.
- Bodies
- Four-door saloon · Carbodies two-door convertible with power hood · Abbott of Farnham five-door estate from October 1956 (5,643 built) · Australia-only coupé utility and station wagon.
- Built here
- CKD assembly at Ford NZ, Seaview, Lower Hutt from 1956. Also Geelong in Australia and Port Elizabeth in South Africa.
