Ford Zephyr MKIV V4 shows its true capabilities on the motorway, a real underestimated classic car.

My dad had V4 Corsair
Remember it having a different engine sound to the mk1 cortina it replaced
Great car for fishing & holidays
Huge boot it seemed at the time
First car he had I really liked

Sorry should have said the police had one ..we were in a hillman imp van..a red one.

Beautiful motor eh ...Brings back fond memories of the police chasing me dad in one

Good honest old British motoring, greetings from down under!

Great old zephyr

You poor devils in UK what with your petrol prices thru the years .In 1974 I had a drive of a friends car ,on a private road of course,3 plus driver.The Zodiac had a Ford 302 ci V8 fitted,mated up to the original 4 speed manual.The torque rowed that beast up to 120 mph dead easy with more on tap.The main deficiency was the need to counter the vehicle’s tendency to swerve from side to side.Perhaps the aerodynamics left something to be desired.Great times in a fine old chassis.

i had a v6 Zodiac bronze in colour great car

Always in awe of these as a child and deep joy in my early teens participating in a V4 engine rebuild when I earned pocket money in our neighbour's moonlight part time garage operation. What a contrast to the usual diet of inaccessible knackered Austin 1100 engine bay access - the V4 has the benefit of room to stand in the engine bay if it broke down. I was a bit shocked however discovering the fibre resin timing gear instead of an Austin chain. Sadly the extra oil pressure after the crank regrind job exposed an oil pump shaft crack and it all had to be done a second time after it went pear shaped on its drive home and the oil pump drive failed. Five Star Motoring nevertheless.

He didn't sell it cos the ashtray was full, did he???

If I recall correctly, an Autocar road test of a manual V4 Deluxe recorded a maximum speed of 99mph. With 3.7 to 1 final drive ratio, 19.7mph per 1000 revs, 70mph is well within the car's ability.

My first time on your channel, I absolutely love it , I’m 62 and born in 1962 my dad was a lover of cars All sorts and my older brother he loved his jaguars and American cars I have so many memories of dad and the one stunning zodiac executive, to me it was like a Rolls Royce, my first car at age of 16 was a dreg zephyr 4 that I paid £130 for in 1978, but 4 weeks after I got it my girlfriend told me she was pregnant it broke my hart but had to sell it back to the guy I had it off, to pay for wedding ring, your video brings back sitting in dad’s zodiac and lining the cross sites on bonnet with cars in front and pretending to shoot them out of our way 😂😂 thanks for video all though a v4 not v6 like dads but takes me back my dad was only 53 when he passed I was 21 and you have brought me so much joy like being with dad in his executive that he thought he was the king of the road in ❤

Think side view they'd look better if rear wing was a bit longer and front a bit shorter 2/half 3 inches either end

A young rep came into the garage I were I was working in 1968 he had a company Corsair with the V4 engine and he said the petrol economy was not good he reckoned he was only do 17 mpg.

Beautiful a real classical motor always wanted one she's a real car .

I do this exact same run every Saturday morning (early doors,) down the Sheffield Parkway to Jct 33, south down the M1, turn off onto the M18 and go northeast as far as DS Robin Hood Airport, turn off the motorway, and then get back on to the M18 and back southwest towards Sheffield, rejoining the M1 southbound and immediately leaving the motorway at Jct 31 and head back into Sheffield. I do it because I drive a diesel and it doesn't get a proper run around during the week, so I take it on the motorway to give it a prolonged high speed run to clean the DPF out. I used to join the M1 at Jct 33 and drive down to Jct 30 (Barlborough) and head back into Sheffield, but when they started with these roadworks last year (and are expected to last until next year) a blanket 50mph limit all the way isn't enough to get the exhaust up to a hot enough temperature.

Like it.

What they're doing is constructing extra break-down lay-bys, as an answer to the criticisms that have been received following the removal of the hard shoulder in to-to. And it obviously solves the problem and calms the fears of the motorist.... I don't think.

It's a crime how many of these MK IVs were used for banger racing. Nice car, glad you're enjoying it.

We had one of these new in 1966 - a huge car at the time - followed by a V4 Corsair - a lovely car.

Nice. Pity about the looks of these Mk4's. Utterly appalling with that stubby, chopped off rear end. At least when the designers chopped the a*se of HMS Nelson..., they didn't do it to improve the looks. What on earth were Ford thinking ?

They used to fit them engines into the NSU RO80, it was the only thing small enough to replace the notoriously unreliable Wankel engine. The purists would say "oh what a ghastly Ford thing to put in there" But the V4 gave the NSU something it never had before... torque/reasonable fuel and oil consumption/reliability.

Lovely thank you and I love the V4 engine my dad's old Capri had it with auto box just subscribed 😀

Fantastic. The view over the bonnet of my first car in 1978. Also a Zephyr IV V4 in Silver Fox. Used to take it from Surrey to Yorkshire every month up the M1 and drive it as fast as I could. Eventually resulting in a blown head gasket. It had the floor change which gradually got stiffer until I nearly needed two hands to change gear. I never found out why that happened as I wasn't too mechanically adept at that age.

Jeremy Clarkson once drove a Mk4 for Top Gear but it was a Zodiac with the bigger 2.5 or 3 litre engine. Short boot, long bonnet where the spare wheel is. I have never travelled in one, but remember going in my grandad's Mk2 Cortina that was the Zephyr's small brother. How many Mk4s are left?

Speed limits are lower now than in the 1960s, so something like a Zephyr/Zodiac, particularly if equipped with overdrive, is more than capable of dealing with any requirements, with the added bonus that you do not need a computer to maintain it!

sounds sporty :-) is that 92HP ? an essex v4 ?

Just sat down with a beer and watched this. Brilliant, just waiting for the music from Auf Widersehen Pet to start with Oz at the wheel. 😆

I enjoyed that, thank you. It's a very capable cruiser.

I have always like the long sleek shape. That V4 sings :)

Just love how nothing bothers you so laid back brilliant

my dad's zephyr with a 2.5 V6 motor was poor, it is lovely now with a 3ltr + a towing camshaft
ziebarted from new, still in damned good condition [paintwork is scratched + thin in places]
i have lost my dad, so it needs to be sold, what do you think it is worth? 1972 on a k

I didn't think Zephyr 4s had the bonnet mascot - I thought that was just a Zodiac thing? Fine motor car though, most impressed. It's interesting that you mentioned the V4 was better of fuel than the Pinto engine - my father replaced his Zodiac with a 2 litre Cortina 80 and he noticed it was worse on fuel than the Zodiac.

I had a van that was column change and thought it was so much better ! Can’t understand why more never went that way perhaps it was the linkage ?