A European Woodie.(Escape Roads)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: BOB TOMAINE

Names such as Capri and Cortina are what you'd typically associate with European Fords. Only later might V8 Pilot come up.

V8 Pilot production began in 1947 at Ford's Dagenham, Essex, plant, which opened in 1932 with the launch of Ford's 8-hp Model Y. The Y, with its 933-cc flathead four, was designed for England, the first Ford to make that claim. The Y would be joined in 1935 by the 1172-cc Model C Ten, and as the Anglia and Prefect, respectively, the models would return after World War II.

Ford being Ford, a V8-powered car was in the picture around the same time. Introduced in 1936 by Ford's French operation as the 2.2-liter Matford V8-60, Dagenham used it as the basis for a 1937-39 line of 22-hp cars. When Dagenham resumed auto production after the war, the Mat-ford V8-60 showed up in modified form as the Pilot. A new grille and front end provided visual change, but under the skin was a 3.6-liter V8. Its important specs-221 cubic inches, 85 hp at 3500 rpm, 3.0625-inch bore by 3.75-inch stroke-tell the story. The Ford flathead, in a 3300-pound car riding a nine-foot wheelbase, was a fine package.

A June 4, 1948 report in The Autocar observed: "This is an engine known throughout the world for its trusty service and for the power which it so readily provides without becoming at all stressed mechanically.'' The car reached 60 mph in 20.5 seconds and topped out at 82.5 mph. At least as importantly, Autocar clearly approved of the Pilot. The report cited the engine's easy starting and flexibility, its smooth shifting and low-effort steering, just as it praised the four-door's comfort, visibility and "clean contours.''

So what went wrong?

England's postwar period was not a good time for cars that rose much above the level of basic. In the Pilot, Ford offered a high-quality product that was simply out of touch with the realities of the country-fuel consumption, for example, was estimated at 17 to 20 mpg-and by 1952 the car was finished. Sources vary, but most place total Pilot ...