Ford 300E Thames Van – Gates Ford Dealers
After the success of Ford’s first European-designed monocoque bodyshell, the 1951 Consul/Zephyr, the company followed the same route with their next car which was the smaller 100E, arriving in 1953. The following year it sired a van variant, the 300E, which remained in production until 1961. It was initially only offered as a 5cwt payload van, but a subsequent 7cwt version accounted for 57,618 of the 139,267 300Es produced; both offered 66-cubic-feet of load space. This example was first registered in Essex in 1961 and was restored by Frank G Gates Ltd in the late 1980s in the distinctive Purbeck Grey over Ambassador Blue livery they used from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Frank G Gates Ltd, one of Ford’s first UK Main Dealers, was established in 1920 by its eponymous founder and celebrate their centenary in 2020. Although floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1959, the company returned to private ownership in 1996 and is still very much a family business, being owned currently by Frank’s great-grandson, Mr. Heath Greenall, who is also Chairman Managing Director. Although started from modest premises in Woodford, Essex, the Gates Group now consists of eight Ford dealerships throughout Essex, Hertfordshire and Middlesex, and the company had also built up an impressive collection of historic Fords. The 300E van is modelled here as it looked after being extensively restored in Gates’ workshops for this collection.
Engine: 1172cc 4IL SV; Power: 36bhp@4,500rpm; Torque: 46lb.ft@3000rpm; 0-60mph: 39 seconds; Max Speed: 70mph; Weight: 1,676lbs
Ford Motors Company Trademarks and Trade Dress used under license to Hornby Hobbies. Manufactured by Hornby Hobbies Ltd.
