LIFETIME COMPANION

Zack Stiling tracks down a relative rarity in the shape of a 1932 Ford Model 18 Victoria that might even have a royal connection, but has been in one man’s possession for more than 40 years!

- Zack Stiling

When a man changes cars pretty often, it takes something quite special for him to hold on to it for over 40 years, but that’s been the case with John Llewellyn and his 1932 Ford Model 18 Victoria. John’s lifelong love of old cars started in the Fifties when he would go grass-track racing with stripped Austin Sevens. In the Seventies, he entered the world of stock cars with old Ford Pops and Model Ys, but by the end of the decade his appreciation of older cars saw him turn to restoration, and the Vicky is now one of many predominantly prewar classics to have been rejuvenated by John and his late wife, Jen.

The Vicky’s story begins around 1979, when John collected it from a seller called Richard (possibly Reeves), who had it in a barn in Godstone, Surrey, in a largely dismantled state, although it was first registered in Britain in December 1932. John knows that Richard is still alive, but is not totally sure of his surname and does not possess any contact details, but he hopes a reader may have some information on him, as he is probably the only person to possess any knowledge of the Ford’s earlier history.

Victoria bodies were never made at Dagenham; this right-hand-drive example was made in Canada for export. The serial number indicates that it was relatively late among Canadian-made V8s, probably built in July 1932. John had been good friends with Bert Thomas, the prominent early Ford expert, and heard about the sale through him: “He’d been like a dad to me and taught me to weld. He knew everyone with an old Ford and everyone with an old Ford knew him.”