Is this Barn Find bargain the Cheapest Classic Car in Britain? In this episode of The Late Brake Show Jonny Smith meets a chap called Murray who, back in 1975, bought a 1953 Ford Popular for £15. He drove it regularly for 5 years or so, but upon relocating and buying a new house, he put it away and never drove the car again. That was 1982. Ford Pops were Britain’s cheapest cars, and could be purchased new for some £300.
Thanks for stopping by The Late Brake Show.
This Barn Find episode is proudly supported by www.carandclassic.com, the biggest marketplace in Europe for classic cars with over 35,000 vehicles on sale via online auction and classifieds.
CarandClassic is giving Late Brake viewers a free photo and editorial package worth £250 when they sell a car by auction. Simply submit your request to sell a car in auction and quote “The Late Brake Show” to the consignor once they get in contact.
Click this link for more:
To watch episodes like this early become a Patreon of the channel by clicking this link:
DO YOU KNOW OF A CAR THAT MIGHT BE WORTHY OF JONNY HELPING TO UNEARTH ON VIDEO? DO YOU OWN A CAR IN A BARN/HEDGE/GARAGE THAT MIGHT JUST RUN OR NEED A NEW HOME? Email the Late Brake Show via contact@thelatebrakeshow.com
***********
Merch shop:
******
Become a Patreon supporter:
******
Website:
******
SUBSCRIBE for a broad-church of automotive appreciation spanning EV, classic, modified and future tech.
********
Filmed and edited by: Matty Graham
Thumbnail by: Matt Tarrant
****************
Jonny Smith
Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since ’98
Website:
Instagram:
Twitter:
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:10 Meet the owner
2:20 Original receipt
3:30 Opening the garage
4:00 Clearing garage
6:00 Secret new tyres
6:45 Ford Popular history
7:15 Crank handle
7:27 MOVING OUT OF GARAGE
8:04 Wooden floors
8:58 Engine bay
10:02 VIN plate
10:40 Engine blown
11:55 Engine checks
15:27 Interior
16:25 Boot
18:43 LAMBRETTA SCOOTERS!
22:30 Radiator coolant
24:10 FIRST START ATTEMPT
26:02 SECOND START ATTEMPT
27:40 Crank handle
29:13 Finish
#barnfind #classicford #thelatebrakeshow
Watch more new videos about Car | Synthesized by Mindovermetal English
What I love about this series is how warm and honest it is. It is so cleverly done, it genuinely feels like I am just there, enjoying a chat and a cuppa whilst tinkering – the production and editing required to make it feel that way can't be underestimated. Consistently charmed by the situations and the stories – Thank you Jonny.
I have a Ford Pop in my barn, was my dad’s retirement project but he never managed to do it so it’s now my challenge to get it done before the grim reaper comes calling. One of many projects. Probably not run for 40+ years and engine doesn’t turn now 😢
The fella in the red jumper is mint.
Murray is a legend, please consider getting him back on the show for another video! Really enjoyed this episode, in fact I think this is one of my favourite barn finds! Lovely stuff guys
That was some very, very low compression. Maybe it should have had a shot of thick oil in the cylinders. Then after settling for a bit a drop of petrol directly in cylinders, put in plugs and try. What a shame, I really wanted to see it run. Good luck fella. Please update us if or when it goes 🙏.
I can't believe it wasn't mentioned that Murray is a Top Gear star!! He was one of the poor chaps on the "Sports Train" on the car to train conversion episode.
Hi about 50 years ago I found a Ford Pop for sale@£15 After a haggle I got it down to £12.50 when I came to pay nether of us had 50p so the seller sold it to me for £12 😂
Really good to two young men interested in a 1950s car .and what a lovely old pop it is to . well worth restoring .👍👍👍👍👍
Mr JAY 295 may have got it working 🙂
I ended up parking next to a restored one of these yesterday. Really simple car
What a gem Murray is, so comfortable on camera, and a proper Yorkshireman.
Sad he kept it preserved so long..secretly
This is the same garage as the black cortina. Staged & fake
ID. Buzz company car?
I think we can all agree Greg needs to feature in these more often 🙂
if i was a brit i'd be very proud of this car and what it represents.
What a great chap and a lovely car, being into drag racing I’m used to seeing them with V8’s there’s actually going to be 3 of them at Santa Pod this year that have ran into the 6’s and near on 200mph with that tiny wheelbase!
The world needs more people like Murray.
Lived round the corner from these guys! Weird hearing starbeck on here 🤣
you can tell that guy loves that car 🙂
Murray deserves his own channel – what a wonderful character !
judging by the colour of the beard, i would think Greg is your younger brother?
I had a Lambretta Li 150 series 1, just like that one, save a different colour. That would have been back in about 1971. I got given it for free when I was 16, and it was a few years younger than me. I got it going and passed my motorcycle test on it. It caused much amusement at school, although we had, in retrospect, some interesting bikes and three wheelers between us in the sixth form. These included a Bond Minicar, a BMW bubble car, an Ariel Arrow, BSA Bantam, BSA 250, a Velocette "Noddy" ex-police bike and a few others.
Forgot how tiny those cars were …would not fit in one now
Can I have the Lambrettas, please?
And let's hope that Murray's wife will like the Pop after all.
The owner should sayed in the 60s can see he likes those times, when life & cars wore more basic…
In the late 80’s I bought a 1954 Ford pop with 32k genuine miles, one owner that had tartan seat covers on from new , it was only driven to the shops on Tuesdays.
I poured a drop of petrol into the carb and put a 6v battery on it and it fired up first spin.
I paid £100 for it, the old chap wouldn’t take any more for it.
The car was pristine apart from a damaged wing which was a result of the old chap doing a U turn and getting hit, that is when he stopped driving 20 years before.
The owner fought in the battle of Jutland.
He also had all the original papers, service record !
I remained friends with him until he died from liver failure.
about a year after I bought the car.
The gentleman was named James Cook.
[ The Ford Popular is not “ Pre war” it was first sold in 1953 ]
What a great episode. Think you need a part 2 with Murray. Be good to see it running
I'd love to tag along with Jonny and just be an observer and try to start well, anything! Even a lawnmower haha
The world needs more Murrays.
We need Murray back again on the Late Lambretta show! Also good to see Jonny's legendary brother. Great episode, thanks.
What a find – owner a character, not phased by being on camera and winding the car out on the starter. We live in a very different age technology wise now
A guy I knew rodded one of these, V8 enginge, Jag back axle in shiny black. He went on to have the bodywork turned into a 3 window coupe! It was done so well you'd have thought the body came out of the factory like it. I think I may still have a picture of it somewhere.
A guy I knew rodded one of these, V8 enginge, Jag back axle in shiny black. He went on to have the bodywork turned into a 3 window coupe! It was done so well you'd have thought the body came out of the factory like it. I think I may still have a picture of it somewhere.
To help put the true value of this Ford Popular into context, when I started working at Rolls Royce as an apprentice in July 1974, I was on £13.50 per week. In 1975 I was on £15.00 per week. So that’s probably £400 – £500 today. Is it worth £500 today? No, way more. So it was still a bargain. Thank you for sharing.
Johnny keep up the great work, watching your show makes me feel like I’m there, the detail and knowledge you put in makes it special. Plus the story behind the cars are fantastic.
Best episode yet. What a chap Murray is.
Awe Too Bad. The score is dropping gents! Is that three in a row now? With actually four vehicles that have not run. Oh I think you're slacking a bit perhaps. LOL. Thank you love the Channel!
Wow what a blast from the past for me, my first car I had was a 1953 Ford Anglia E93A (luxury ford popular) two wipers from the bottom of the screen still vacuum driven and also a heater in the cabin bloody luxury!
I was sad she didn’t start. My dad always told of the 600 km trip he did in his 49 Prefect, from Durban to Johannesburg. She wasn’t pulling so well on hills, so he opened the engine to find one of the valves was broken in half.
What a lovely chap Murray is. Great video Jonny.