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Jowett Bradford

The Jowett Bradford was a British light van, also available as an estate car from 1947, that was produced from 1946 to 1953 by Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, near Bradford, England.

The vehicle was based on the pre war Jowett Eight and was the first Jowett to be re-introduced after the Second World War and in spite of being very basic appealed to the post war market because of its economy and availability.

Design features[]

The chassis featured half elliptic leaf springs front and rear with beam axles and the flat twin cylinder engine produced 19 bhp (14 kW) and drove the rear wheels through a three speed non-synchromesh gearbox. In 1950 the engine was updated to give 25 bhp (19 kW) and synchromesh was fitted to the top ratio. This improved the top speed to 53 mph (85 km/h). The 10 in (254 mm) drum brakes were operated mechanically using a Girling system.

Body variants[]

Initially only a van version was made but in 1947 it was joined by an estate car, the Utility, but this was little more than the van with side windows and rear seats. It was also manufactured in pickup form, and driveaway-chassis and cab-chassis versions were made for outside coachbuilders in which form it sold in large numbers both at home and abroad.

Performance[]

A Utility de-luxe tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1952 had a top speed of 53.4 mph (85.9 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 47.6 seconds. A fuel consumption of 34.5 miles per imperial gallon (8.19 L/100 km; 28.7 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £740 including taxes. The de-luxe specification had added £38 to the total for which you got trafficators, dual windscreen wipers, running boards, a rear bumper and some chromium plating.

Gallery[]

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