1950 Ford Prefect utility owned and restored by Steve Ford.

Unique to Australia the utility variant of the engish sidevalve 8 & 10 hp Fords was produced by Ford Australia at its Geelong plant and was in its day a cheap and popular tradesmans or farm vehicle.

Previously owned by a work aquaintance it was destined for the crushers when Steve aquired it in 2006 to practice some bodywork and welding techneiques to aid in his Hupmobile restoration.

Severely rusted, it has undergone major surgery to replace the damaged sections some extending to the roofline. The entire metal inner skin cargo liners have been replicated and replaced, the lower portions of the tailgate, rear quarters and doors replaced plus sections of the roof above the doors.

What started as a patch up and get rid of it progressed to a full restoration mechanically as well with everything being stripped and overhauled where needed.

Surprisingly all that was needed on the motor was a head gasket.

During the restoration markings under layers of paint indicated that this vehicle may have had a military history. Steve thru the previous owner he obtained it from managed to contact the owner of the farm at Mt Pleasant where he had obtained it. This revealed that he believed it had in fact been a RAAF police vehicle spending much of its time doing perimeter patrols around fencelines at RAAF Edinburgh. The farmers father had then purchased it and when second gear gave out making it undrivable in 1967 it was parked under a tree and forgotten about until retrieved by Steve's aquaintance who had intended to Hot Rod it but gave up on discovering the extent of its rust.

The ute was awarded "Best 8 & 10" at the 2009 All Ford Day.