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Chassis and running gear The car used a conventional chassis on which was mounted the slab sided body. The chassis members were made up of pressed-steel channel sections welded into a box chassis with cruciform bracing. Suspension was independent at the front with coil springs, and a live axle and leaf springs at the rear. Front and rear
anti-roll bars were fitted. The brakes were hydraulic with 9-inch (228 mm) drums all round, and to make the most of the interior space a column gear change was used initially on the right of the steering wheel then later on the left.
Engine The same
wet liner engine was used throughout the range until the advent of the Six model in 1960, and was an overhead-valve unit of bore and stroke with single Solex downdraught
carburettor. The
compression ratio was 6.7:1, maximum power . Wet cylinder liners were fitted. The engine was essentially the same as that made by Standard for the
Ferguson TE20 tractor, with some changes for automobile use.
Transmission At first, the transmission included a three-speed gearbox with
synchromesh on all forward ratios, controlled using a column-mounted lever. The option of
Laycock-de-Normanville overdrive was announced at the end of 1949 and became available in June 1950, priced for UK buyers at slightly under £45 including
purchase tax. Laycock overdrives were cable operated on top gear until 1954 when an electric solenoid was added; from now on the overdrive operated on the top two gears.
Broadening the range of available bodies An
estate car joined the range in 1950. There was also a
panel van, capable of a payload, and a pickup version. These three models were used extensively by the
RAF, with the 12-cwt van being the most common variant.
Commercial In line with the post-war British export drive, virtually the total output was exported for the first two years of production and only in 1950 did significant home market deliveries start. The Vanguard was intended to achieve export sales, with a particular focus on Australia. During the immediate post-war period, cars were in short supply, creating a "seller's market". Restricted availability of the Vanguard helped attract willing buyers. Closer to home, in the slowly recovering West German market the Standard Vanguard recorded 405 sales in 1950, making it the country's third most popular imported automobile, in a list otherwise featuring much smaller cars from French and Italian manufacturers. In fact, the Vanguard sales in 1950 accounted for more than 70% of the British cars sold in West Germany that year, customers of other UK manufacturers having reportedly been caught out in the late 1940s by the lack of a dealer network and difficulties in obtaining replacement parts. File:Standard Vanguard Saloon 1951 (7902270400).jpg|Standard Vanguard Phase I Saloon File:1952 Standard Vanguard Phase l estate.jpg|Standard Vanguard Phase I Estate File:1950 Vanguard Phase I Pick up (14109848297).jpg|Standard Vanguard Phase I Coupe Utility File:Standard Vanguard Phase I van with weak pun on roof.JPG|Standard Vanguard Phase I Van File:Imperia Standard Vanguard Convertible (16519977122).jpg| Standard Vanguard Phase I Convertible by Imperia of Belgium
Phase IA - 1952 facelift The body was updated in 1952 with a lowered bonnet line, a wider rear window and a new grille featuring a wide horizontal chrome bar in place of the narrow, more closely packed slats of the original grille. This became known as the Phase 1A. File:Standard Vanguard Phase IA 1952 rear.jpg|Standard Vanguard Phase 1A Saloon File:Standard Vanguard Estate - Flickr - mick - Lumix.jpg|Standard Vanguard Phase 1A Estate File:Standard Vanguard Phase 1A Pick-Up pic2.JPG|Standard Vanguard Phase 1A Pickup ==Vanguard Phase II==