Highlights
- Genuine BDA engine
- GCAT code car
- Extensively rebuilt
- Ready to race and rally
- Numerous motorsport enhancements
The Appeal
Few cars have the racing pedigree of the Mk2 Ford Escort. They remain a perennial favourite in motorsport – particularly in rallying. The balanced, rear-wheel drive chassis, wide parts availability and wealth of knowledge and expertise available make it a great choice for a race car.
Here we have a genuine GCAT code car, complete with the desirable BDA engine, that has been comprehensively restored and rebuilt. The end result is the kind of rally machine that many of us have always dreamt of owning. Vast sums of money and time have been spent poring over every nook and cranny of this Escort, with the end result clear for all to see.
If you’re the kind of person that likes to collect bugs on the side windows and you’ve been looking to add a true motorsport legend to your garage, one that should be genuinely competitive on any rally stage you care to mention, then look no further.
The History and Paperwork
- First registered in 1977
- Imported to the UK
- Purchased by the current owner in December 2021
- One former owner
- V5C present and correct
- Racing history
- Extensively restored to its current condition
- New rally logbook included
- Numerous invoices for maintenance and new parts
- Fully built race car, ready to go
The Interior
- Stripped interior with race-spec roll cage
- New Sparco bucket seats and harnesses
- FIA approved mechanical extinguisher
- Coralba C-Mini motorsport tripmeter
- Full new weather seal kit
As you’d expect from a race car, the interior has been fully stripped, with the sound deadening and any extraneous trim removed. The Sparco seats and six-point ‘Endurance’ race harnesses are also newly installed in 2022 and a Sparco sports steering wheel adorns the dash. In the passenger / navigator footwell, a new OMP foot brace has been fitted, ensuring that whoever is reading the pace-notes can stay as comfortable as possible.
Making sure that you’re absolutely hitting your times and keeping ahead of the pack, a Coralba C-Mini tripmeter has been fitted to the dash on the passenger side, ensuring the navigator can keep an eye on every last hundredth.
Obviously, safety is a priority in motorsport, and that’s clear in this build. A full FIA-spec roll cage has been installed in colour-matched white, along with a fully plumbed in, FIA-approved Fire Marshall mechanical extinguisher. There is also a smaller fire extinguisher mounted in the passenger footwell, along with the fuel and electricity cut-offs in the centre console.
While much of the trim has been removed, what has been put back in has been finished to a fine standard. So the door cards have been replaced with aluminium panels, while auxiliary oil pressure and water temperature gauges have been installed in the centre console, so you can keep an eye on those all important read-outs.
The Exterior
- Recently repainted
- Classic ‘Rothmans’ livery
- Underside stonechip protected and painted white
- Laminated front screen and new Plexi-glass
- Front-mounted Cibie spotlights
- Front and rear tow eyes fitted
- Quick release boot and bonnet catches
- Scuttle mounted battery cut-off and extinguisher control
As you can see from the pictures, the exterior finish of the car is excellent, with the shell having been fully resprayed in white – the underside stonechip protected first – before having a classic Rothmans livery applied. With the work having been completed just three months ago and the car not used since, it remains in very good order.
The bodywork itself is straight and clean, with Group 4 alloy arches fitted to fully enclose the wheels, taking into account the widened stance. All of the external trim similarly presents in very good order, with most elements being refreshed or newly fitted and therefore showing little to no signs of wear. At the front, four huge Cibie spotlights have been fitted – more than enough to illuminate the deepest, darkest forestry tracks.
Naturally, the wheels are pure motorsport items: 15-inch, six-spoke Revolution items. A brand relied upon by Colin McRae and Stig Blomqvist, you can be sure that they’re the perfect solution for this Escort. They’ve been fitted with chunky Kumho Ecsta R800R wheels and present in very fine fettle.
As this car has yet to be raced or rallied, the underside is as spic and span as the rest of the car. It’s clearly been very well finished, with no cut corners as far as we can see.
The Mechanics
- Genuine BDA engine
- Numerous motorsport upgrades and enhancements
- Rear ZF floating axle and differential brake
- AP Racing brakes and Bilstein adjustable dampers
Of course, when it comes to a race car, it’s the oily bits that really count. And this fabulous little Escort has some truly excellent mechanicals.
Starting with the engine, it’s a genuine BDA unit (aka “the Big One” in rally circles), which is basically a period detuned Formula 3 unit. It features the later, stronger castings, square main caps, flat head face and big followers – making it ideal for motorsport applications. Other modifications have been made, and these include: power-assisted quick rack, a ‘big wing’ sump, 12-bolt forged steel crankshaft, H-profile rod, steel flywheel, twin-plate AP clutch, Acralite forged pistons, Burton F1 camshafts, twin Weber 45s with performance filters, a 711 block and Samco silicone hose package.
As you can imagine, this all makes the Escort something of a performance behemoth. All of this grunt is being delivered to the rear wheels via a Selholm M4500 transmission with straight cut gears.
But it’s not just about speed, there is also lots of work that’s been carried out to ensure the car handles and stops as well as it goes. At the rear there is a ZF floating axle with ZF differential brake and a 5.38 ratio, four-link and Watts linkage. A thick front strut brace keeps the nose under control. AP performance brakes bring everything neatly to a halt when necessary, while Bilstein adjustable dampers ensure excellent and consistent contact. Completing the mechanical package at the rear is a Group 4 alloy fuel tank.
The vendor tells us that the car starts, stops and drives just as it should, with no mechanical worries or issues they are aware of.
Summary
Beautifully finished and ready to race, this fabulous rally car is ideal for anyone that loves the judicious and enthusiastic application of power-oversteer.
We can’t think of many better ways to go racing.
We can’t think of many better ways to go racing.
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