Ex-New Zealand; imported to the UK in 2019; recent engine rebuild and new set of tyres; stars in the upcoming Narnia film; driven 50 miles to the sale; one of only around 40 E83W pickups thought to survive in UKLaunched in 1938, the Fordson E83W was a 10 cwt (half-ton) light commercial van or pickup aimed at the light haulage market.

Powered by Ford’s 10hp 1,172cc side-valve engine producing 30bhp and mated to a three-speed gearbox, it had heavy duty suspension and axles, the rear axle being geared down for maximum pulling power which restricted the top speed to not much over 40mph.

A peculiarity of the vehicle was that the engine was off-set to the nearside of the stubby engine bay which gave much more legroom for the driver but precious little for the passenger.   Simple, slow and sturdy, the E83W remained in production until 1957, being rebadged as the Thames 10 cwt in late 1952, by which time around 188,000 had been sold, the vast majority of them closed panel vans.

This particu...