Spooky to drive but fun to watch, the Anglia gassers contributed more than their fair share of excitement to the glory days of drag racing. Here’s a quick look back at the colorful little devils. 

In its early years, the sport of drag racing was based largely on a simple principle: Jam the biggest engine possible into the lightest and smallest vehicle available. In the gas coupe and sedan classes in the early ’60s, this approach was validated when the Willys and other small, light passenger cars quickly dominated the category. Never leaving well enough alone, drag racers then seized upon an even smaller and lighter package for competition use: the tiny 1948-53 Anglia, manufactured by Ford of England.

With its stubby wheelbase, tall center of gravity, and brick-like aerodynamics, the Anglia produced plenty of excitement, both for the spectators in the grandstands and for the drivers in the cockpit. Thanks to their wild and unpredictable on-track antics, the Anglias became fan favorites, and they remain memorable today. Here’s a fond look back at some colorful race cars.

Just for reference, here’s what a totally stock Ford Anglia looked before the hot rodders got their grubby hands on it. Imported into the USA from Ford of England, the 1948-1953 Anglia Model E494 A was built on a 90-inch wheelbase and weighed all of 1,665 lbs. in factory trim. The stock powerplant, a 933 cc (57 CID) sidevalve four, was rated at 8 taxable horsepower. Remarkably unsuited for American highway use, the dinky Anglia found its popularity in the USA among hot rodders and drag racers. The Thames panel delivery version of the Anglia and the four-door Ford Prefect also found some use on the drag strip.

With its front end removed for between-rounds service, this Anglia gasser shows the essence of the package for drag racing use, with a big V8 (in this case, a Hilborn-injected small-block Chevy) crammed in between the frame rails. This example happens to use the flimsy stock front axle, brakes, and wheels, but stronger aftermarket components were more often employed. Fiberglass replacement body panels and plexiglass windows reduced weight even further, allowing racers to plant ballast in the rear for increased traction.

Here’s an Anglia in a familiar pose, front wheels a foot in the air. Richard Titsworth of Seaport Automotive, shown here at the 1968 Springnationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, campaigned this stout Anglia with 426 Chrysler hemi power, setting an NHRA national record or two.

Moonlighting General Motors engineer Tom Langdon and crew terrorized the six-cylinder gasser category with this Anglia known as the Hole Shot 6. Originally powered by an early-style Chevy stovebolt six, the Anglia later picked up sponsorship from Royal Automotive in suburban Detroit and ran a screaming Pontiac overhead-cam six. Langdon continues to offer inline-six parts and expertise from his company, Langdon’s Stovebolt. 

The Kohler brothers originally raced their Anglia gasser with a small-block Chevy under the hood, but when the big-block Chevy became available, they swapped in a supercharged porcupine V8 and moved up to the A/Gas Supercharged ranks, where the little monster soon picked up the name King Kong. Technically not eligible for the blown supercharged categories due to its short wheelbase, King Kong typically ran in the Altered classes or in unsanctioned match races.   -Tom West photo

Chuck Finders of Cleveland, Ohio was a prolific constructor and racer of Willys-based gassers, but he also built at least one Anglia, Fire-Brewed. With its one-piece Anderson fiberglass body, scratch-built chassis, and nitro-guzzling 392 Chrysler, this Anglia was far from legal for NHRA national event racing, but it found plenty of competition on the outlaw gasser match racing circuit against the Prock & Howell F Troop Willys and others.