Ultra rare mk 1 Escort at upcoming auction

[Ken P]

Touring442 said:

My Escort days are over. It's all about rivet counting, Facebook bhing and 911 money for a simple rear drive Ford.

Aaaahm oot!

Indeed. Glad I still have my old road rally car - not a genuine AVO car sadly, but to all intents and purposes at least as good. Would love another proper Mex, but not at today's silly prices!

[rossb]

Ken P said:

Indeed. Glad I still have my old road rally car - not a genuine AVO car sadly, but to all intents and purposes at least as good. Would love another proper Mex, but not at today's silly prices!

That sounds like fun - i.e a car you have actually driven and enjoyed. When I was a kid - driving my mk2 4 door 1300 with a twin choke weber and a cherry bomb exhaust - I had some fond memories - even of the time it it met it's demise on its roof after "my ambition outweighed my talent" one time too many. Fast forward 30 years later - prices for a cooking standard RS1600 road car with an AVO plate held no interest for me - I wanted something fun to drive on track with a full race alloy BD/atlas/watts linkage etc - and exactly a week ago this arrived at Southampton docks after a long journey from other side of the world. It has been raced for over 20 years - had a number of colour schemes in its time and was rebuilt a few times. It came with a straight through exhaust - so a new one was hastily fabricated at BTB at weekend working all hours and took it to Donington GP track day on Monday to see what it was like. Did not really have time to do a proper spanner check - 2 litre sleeved down to 1660 cc for class regs - has 48's jetted to run on avgas somewhere much hotter with it's 12.:1 CR - has wild cams which make the L1's in the BDG in the 7 I normally run seem very tractable....in fact driving through the paddock to the pitlane exit to go on to a wet greasy track with what is more or less a locked diff and the engine coughing and spitting - I thought - what the fk have I bought this for?! A few gentle shakedown laps later - you could not wipe the grin off my face - I'm still smiling. Even on pump fuel and running quite rough - it's an animal - looking forward to fettling it over the winter and getting it properly set up so that next time it's out i can experience what it will rev to at full chat - guy said it used to pull 10k in top...Bring on 2021! - pics courtesy of Jakob Ebrey

Edited by rossb on Thursday 17th December 20:40

[aeropilot]

[Ken P]

Very nice

Mine nowhere near as developed as yours but always put a smile on my face, even just taking it for a "run" round the block. You really can't beat a Mk1 for grin factor.

Needs a bit of TLC and not been used in anger for a good few years. Doesn't like being sat with modern fuel either. Whether I ever compete again is open to question but do want to sort it out properly and get it out for a play now and then.

rossb said:

That sounds like fun - i.e a car you have actually driven and enjoyed. When I was a kid - driving my mk2 4 door 1300 with a twin choke weber and a cherry bomb exhaust - I had some fond memories - even of the time it it met it's demise on its roof after "my ambition outweighed my talent" one time too many. Fast forward 30 years later - prices for a cooking standard RS1600 road car with an AVO plate held no interest for me - I wanted something fun to drive on track with a full race alloy BD/atlas/watts linkage etc - and exactly a week ago this arrived at Southampton docks after a long journey from other side of the world. It has been raced for over 20 years - had a number of colour schemes in its time and was rebuilt a few times. It came with a straight through exhaust - so a new one was hastily fabricated at BTB at weekend working all hours and took it to Donington GP track day on Monday to see what it was like. Did not really have time to do a proper spanner check - 2 litre sleeved down to 1660 cc for class regs - has 48's jetted to run on avgas somewhere much hotter with it's 12.:1 CR - has wild cams which make the L1's in the BDG in the 7 I normally run seem very tractable....in fact driving through the paddock to the pitlane exit to go on to a wet greasy track with what is more or less a locked diff and the engine coughing and spitting - I thought - what the fk have I bought this for?! A few gentle shakedown laps later - you could not wipe the grin off my face - I'm still smiling. Even on pump fuel and running quite rough - it's an animal - looking forward to fettling it over the winter and getting it properly set up so that next time it's out i can experience what it will rev to at full chat - guy said it used to pull 10k in top...Bring on 2021! - pics courtesy of Jakob Ebrey

Edited by rossb on Thursday 17th December 20:40

[Mark A S]

[quote=rossb]




Excellent, i remember seeing this car advertised down under a while ago, glad its here and that your using it as intended. A lairy cam BD Escort demands that you "give it death"
My Mk 1 RS2 has a race spec Harris [ Ron ] built 2.1 pinto, even now at you youthful age of 60 it makes me feel like I'm in my 20's again, it needs to be driven

[aeropilot]

Mark A S said:

My Mk 1 RS2 has a race spec Harris [ Ron ] built 2.1 pinto, even now at you youthful age of 60 it makes me feel like I'm in my 20's again, it needs to be driven

Last weekend when I sat in that RS1600 at that classic car dealers, I felt like that again, even without driving it. (couldn't believe how small it felt though, being able to put my left arm out and touch the pass door without really stretching across )
It had been 30 years since I'd last sat in a Mk.1, which was also the last time I'd driven a Mk.1 as well, which by co-incidence was also a Sebring Red RS1600.

[Mark A S]

The smallness is wonderful on the roads these days with so many lardy arsed cars around, so nimble compared with new stuff. I understand why cars are huge these days, but i still dislike it.

[generationx]

Until recently my brother had a Mk1 Fiesta (XR2 for the win) and I too had forgotten just how small cars from this time were. When we were both in it we definitely had to be good friends! When my last Mk2 Escort was parked amongst moderns it always looked so narrow.

[Hol]

Touring442 said:

My Escort days are over. It's all about rivet counting, Facebook bhing and 911 money for a simple rear drive Ford.

Aaaahm oot!

I have only just gotten back in after a 25year sabbatical with my non AVO barn find.

Live is still not rosy actually owning the car as the place I had it pre booked in for the bubble arches and bare metal paint has let me down.
Too much work apparently, which surprised me somewhat..

[Hol]

aeropilot said:

Mark A S said:

aeropilot said:

A book needs to be written about Mick while there's still enough people around to recount the huge volume of stories.

Great idea, there would be lots of expletives though

Love the stories about expletives being directed in person at Ford Vice-Presidents as well - no one was spared

He was bemused to find out from his daughter-in-law I believe, that he was indeed a legend, and she told him to Google himself and so he found out he was....

This I believe was what followed

That's cool.tp see.

I think I still have my 'Sports Seen' videos in the loft, some of which capture him at the time, doing stuff like directing the highly paid drivers on how to change shocks through a fence during a rest break in the London-Mexico rally.

[aeropilot]

Hol said:

That's cool.tp see.

I think I still have my 'Sports Seen' videos in the loft, some of which capture him at the time, doing stuff like directing the highly paid drivers on how to change shocks through a fence during a rest break in the London-Mexico rally.

And with no expletives either
Although, it was only one highly paid driver as the other one was a football player

[Hol]

aeropilot said:

Hol said:

That's cool.tp see.

I think I still have my 'Sports Seen' videos in the loft, some of which capture him at the time, doing stuff like directing the highly paid drivers on how to change shocks through a fence during a rest break in the London-Mexico rally.

And with no expletives either
Although, it was only one highly paid driver as the other one was a football player

I was going to say one of them was Greavesy, but I wasn't sure.

I wonder is Stuart Turner had told him not to swear?

[aeropilot]

Hol said:

I wonder is Stuart Turner had told him not to swear?

I doubt ST would have bothered, as Mick would have probably replied with an expletive back in his direction

[Mark A S]

I read that Greavesy bought the London to Mexico Mk 1 he was in after the event, i wonder if he still has it ?

[aeropilot]

Mark A S said:

I read that Greavesy bought the London to Mexico Mk 1 he was in after the event, i wonder if he still has it ?

Yes, I was surprised to read that in GR's book as well. I'd be surprised if he did tbh, although he does seem to have disappeared quite quickly afterwards.
The poor old bugger is wheelchair bound now isn't he and in very poor health, probably can't even remember now even if you were about to contact his family to find out.

[AL5026]

Unusual colour scheme but what’s it going to sell for.....

https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2021-0...

[aeropilot]

AL5026 said:

Unusual colour scheme but what’s it going to sell for.....

https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2021-0...

The supposed ex-Hannu Twin Cam shown listed is far more interesting than that RS16, and will probably go for more than the RS16, although I have my doubts that the Ex-Hannu car is the original shell?

[Mark A S]

The surface rust on the RS16 looks like its been left somewhere damp recently, probably needs a dam good run.

I thought works Twinks from that period had the rear upright turrets for the long travel shocks ?
Found this car in GR's book, one of the few with no photos,,,,,,,,,,,,,, pity.

Anyone else notice the sagging rear part of the exhaust system and think, "why did you not tuck that up" for the photos!

Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy

[aeropilot]

Mark A S said:

I thought works Twinks from that period had the rear upright turrets for the long travel shocks ?

And I would also expect it to have had a fireproof rear bulkhead as well, even then?

More telling, and why I suspect that its not the original shell (original anything other than V5) is the fact that GR's book indicated it was sold to Cal Withers in 1972..........

[Mark A S]

aeropilot said:

And I would also expect it to have had a fireproof rear bulkhead as well, even then?

More telling, and why I suspect that its not the original shell (original anything other than V5) is the fact that GR's book indicated it was sold to Cal Withers in 1972..........

Yes, good point, most definitely would have required the bulkhead. Who is Cal withers ?