Ford Anglia driven by classic car event staff
The classic car event “Giro di Mikawa-Enshu” was held in Aichi Prefecture. We spotted a Ford “Anglia” standing cutely in the staff parking lot, separate from the participating cars. Yes, this is the same car that is featured in the “Harry Potter” movie series as the “flying car” that accentuates the movie. We immediately spoke with the owner.
He gave up his Roadster one year after purchasing it new to get the Anglia
“A friend of mine is on the organizing committee of this event, and I have been involved as a staff member since the first event in 2022.”
Mr. Masanori Morizuka is the owner of this Ford Anglia.
“I’ve had this Anglia for 30 years now, and when I first started driving it, I didn’t think I’d have it this long,”
he laughs.
At the time, Mr. Morizuka, who was working as a mechanic at an import car dealership, bought a restored base MG “1100 Mk.1” from a car store he met through his work. He planned to fix it up and drive it on his days off, but the MG 1100 had several missing parts.
“I knew I couldn’t fix it properly without seeing it in perfect condition and studying it, and then I conveniently found the same MG 1100 at a car shop near my house. Then I met Anglia at that store.”
The Anglia stood as a rival to the Mini in British saloon car racing in the early 1960s. Compared to the popularity of the Mini in Japan, the Anglia was a minor player, but when Mr. Morizuka saw it for the first time, his interest was piqued.
“I had just bought a restored MG 1100, and I thought about giving up on it, but the car shop’s ‘push’ got the better of me, and I gave up on the Eunos Roadster, which I had bought new only a year earlier.”
The engine replaced with a 1500 cc Consul Capri engine
The maintenance records that came with the car indicate that Mr. Morizuka’s Anglia, which he purchased in April 1994, was a one-owner car, manufactured not in England but in New Zealand in the southern hemisphere, where the knockdown plant was located. The mileage was approximately 30,000 miles (48,000 km) and the car was fully stock.
“When I first started riding, I didn’t think I would ride it for very long, but it was relatively easy to get parts and I had no trouble maintaining it, and the eyebrow-like molding over the headlights is also designed to look kind of human. People who saw it would say it was cute, so it made me feel good. Then I realized that we had been together for exactly 30 years.”
Mr. Morizuka, who was a mechanic until he was 30 years old, used his experience to re-pipe the brakes, replace the wiring harness, change the front brakes to discs, and replace the engine and transmission with a 1500cc Ford Consultant Capri. The engine and transmission were replaced with a 1500cc Ford Consul Capri.
“Ford’s power system components are newer than Anglia’s, such as the Cortina and Escort, and can be installed with almost no modification. The exterior remains stock, but I think the updates make it a more comfortable Anglia.”
Mr. Morizuka, who has experience as a mechanic, says his car has only stopped on the road twice so far.
“I enjoy these events because I get to see a wide variety of cars from Japan and overseas up close, and it’s a valuable experience to talk with the owners who maintain these cars. I will be on staff again next year, so please come and enjoy the Mikawa-Enshu Road in spring.”
