Huge thanks to Stephen Wickham for contacting the site, as editor of Classic Capri Review, magazine of the Ford Classic and Capri Owners Club and whose car was used by JJ in the film.

He had written a few articles for the club about the film including this one (a pdf) in April - May 2008, which includes fantastic behind the scenes photographs of JJ with the car. The car is an English built Ford Consul Capri from 1962 (designed in the clay by Colin Neale in 1957, and built 1961-1964)

The car gets four scenes, two of them sequential in 1963, one in 1964 and the last in 1965, which is where this photo arises on the second day of use...

For a Nick Moran east London image focus its a Ford (Consul) Capri built by Londoners (and Essex girls) from Dagenham at the time the film is set, but fitting the star billing its also the second most expensive Ford in the range in its day. It has five chrome  stars across the front grill.

At the time they were built , (rather than ten years later), these Capri's found very strong feminine appeal and may well have been driven by wives, mistresses and daughters of the wealthy as well as some males seeking female attention  in the professional classes. Seen from 2007,
Its a very plausible device for the film makers to have chosen as Meeks "gift" to Heinz, as he builds up his girl-pulling-image, but seemingly all on hire-purchase as it turns out. The other band members would have been justifiably envious in 1963!

Meek aficionados will tell you Heinz had an estate car, but that's not going to tell quite the same story in two-seconds on screen....

In addition I doubt they could find a survivor for the shooting dates, as there was remarkably little notice. The whole family (and a friend) got involved in preparing it, not having been told about the egg & flour fight! (which is reported speech in the play script.....words are cheap!)

 

The article was written, photographed, edited by Stephen Wickham, copyrights retained..... Contact Stephen via the website for details of how to obtain the magazine.