1976 Ford

Due to a lack of garage space I am reluctantly having to sell this car which I have only owned for a few months. The car was completely rebuilt to a very high spec a few years ago and has been used very little since - it can almost be considered a new build. It has been detailed to a high standard by me in the last couple of months and is in immaculate condition.

During the rebuild the car was stripped to a bare shell and all the corrosion was replaced with good metal. This however only amounted to some patches to the floor, the chassis rails over the axle and the a-posts. The underseal was stripped to reveal a very solid floorpan and original sills. The front panel and wings were replaced to make a flat front using Hadrian panels. The wing mounting rails were cleaned up at this time as was the heater bowl. Note that neither of the inner wings needed to be replaced and although they are not original they are to RS spec.

Then the shell was strengthened by seam welding and was fitted with a four-link kit, a round turret kit, gussets and all the normal body mods associated with building a competition car. The cage is a bolt in Safety Devices that ties in to the turrets and the arches are from Ralloy, as are all the other alloy components.

After the engine had been fitted and the car was dry-built it was all stripped down again and sent off for painting to Kartec of Pickering. It was now media blasted to bare metal, which revealed only a couple of areas missed before to be repaired, and primed in a zinc phosphate primer. It was painted in graphite grey to the interior and underside including the boot interior and engine bay. Stone chip was used to protect the vulnerable areas. Seam sealer was applied to all the body seams. The exterior is painted the original diamond white and a stripe added in post office red.

The suspension and steering is all brand new. Bilstein wedged coil overs with tarmac inserts, adjustable tca’s, twin cam anti roll bar, double width brackets. 2.5 turn quick rack on a lowered rack mount world cup crossmember. At the rear tarmac slipper springs and turreted bilsteins. Axle location is by four links and watts linkage. Alloy roller bearing top mounts, alloy group 4 hubs. Wheels are Compomotive ML and there are 2 sets which are 13 and 15 inches in diameter (the larger wheels have just been refurbished in light metallic anthracite and are shown in the last picture below).

Brakes are also brand new. AP Racing radial 4 piston callipers, alloy bells, AP vented discs. AP callipers and solid discs at the rear. Braided flexible hoses. Bias pedal box, no servo.

The rear axles is a new narrowed atlas axle with fully floating half shafts. Cover for watts linkage. Custom 2 piece propshaft. 4.6 limited slip differential.

The engine is from a low mileage Honda S2000 and revs to 9000rpm, about the same as a BDA, and will do 100000 miles (unlike a BDA!). It was fitted with the original plenum and exhaust. It runs on a programmable ECU by MSD for which the software is running on a laptop. The only mods made to the engine, clutch or gearbox are for the dry sump. This was also purchased from MSD and is a beautiful alloy casting. Has been mapped on a rolling road and makes 230bhp. The gearbox is also standard Honda S2000.

The electrical system features a modified wiring loom. Battery relocated to boot, fuse box to centre console. Battery master and cut out switch. Fuel pump located in boot. Electric cooling fan. All gauges replaced and extra gauges located in centre console. Warning lights for indicators, charging, main beam, low oil pressure, fuel pump, cooling fan and spot lights. Relays for cooling fan, spot lights, ECU and fuel pump.

The interior is painted in graphite grey. Fitted with rubber mats in place of carpets but most other trim still in place eg door cards, headlining. Heating and ventilation all as standard. Suede dished rally style steering wheel (with spare leather 4 spoke RS steering wheel). Seats are brand new Recaro leather. They are solidly mounted to seat rails welded into the shell and could easily be replaced by alloy mounts and FIA spec buckets. Also the harnesses are not to FIA spec but can easily be unclipped and replaced. In the space previously occupied by the rear seat is a helmet/luggage net. Windows are green tinted, windscreen also has a top tint.

The car is very fast and fantastic fun to drive. Because the engine is standard it drives like a standard road car – until the revs reach 6000 rpm when it takes on a different character. The suspension is not unduly stiff for the road nor too soft for the track. It has tax and MOT and a large paperwork history file.

I live in Tring in Herts (10 minutes from the northwest corner of the M25).