Description
Description
A super rare Escort RS1600i in Caspian blue, is there another for sale like this in the UK??Registered in 1983 this car has had 6 owners and only covered a low mileage of 30k and is fitted with the Optional factory fitted tilt and slide sunroof. Everything is original apart from the exhaust, importantly the twin coils are present and working. Fresh from a light restoration this car looks stunning and drives great. Rarer than the RS Turbo and arguably more desirable this model is in great demand and prices are rising fast as demand is far greater than supply. At the time of writing this I could only find 1 other for sale. This car is HPi clear and the chassis number is still present and correct in the floor.
RS1600i Facts
Produced : 1981-83
Engine cc : 1597
Engine bhp : 115
Top Speed : 119mph
0-60mph : 8. 7
Escort RS1600i was the first RS Escort since 1980. It was introduced in September 1981, and production ceased in July 1983. Ford planned to build only 5000 for homologation requirements, but it sold so well that 8659 cars were made (2600 sold in the uk)
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1597cc CVH engine was fitted with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and unique AFT twin coil electronic ignition. The engine also used solid tappets and different camshaft, these allowed the engine to rev much beyond its limited 6500 rpm in racing trim. RS1600i engine had great tuning potential, and Group A racing Escorts produced over 160hp.
The transmission was a 5-speed B5-gearbox with a different fifth gear ratio of 0. 83:1, all other Escorts used 0. 76:1 ratio. Front suspension was very different from other Escorts, it used two longitudinally mounted supporting arms with separate anti-roll bar. These provided the castor angle to be adjusted, which was required for racing purposes. It also reduced torque-steer effect, which is the problem in powerful front wheel drive cars. Outside the car was fitted with front and rear spoilers, these were unique to RS1600i. Up to 9 optional extras could be added to the spec including tilt/ slide glass sunroof, electric windows, central locking, tinted glass, opening rear ¼ windows, different radios and rear seat belts combinations. The Executive Pack option combined the sunroof, electric aerial and RST 21P Radio/ Stereo cassette.
Engine
CVH, iron block, alloy cylinder head SOHC, 8 valves, solid tappets.
Bore and stroke 79, 96 x 79, 52mm , 1597cc, compression ratio 9, 9:1.
Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, AFT twin coil distributor less ignition.
Max power 115hp at 6000rpm, max torque 145Nm at 5250rpm.
Transmission
Front wheel drive.
200mm single plate clutch.
5-speed gearbox, 3, 84:1 final drive ratio.
Suspension
Independent front suspension, McPherson struts, anti-roll bar, individual TCA tie-rods.
Independent rear suspension, transverse arms, separate coil springs and dampers, longitunal tie-bars.
Brakes
240mm ventilated front discs.
180 x 36mm rear drums. Servo-assisted
No. Built
The original numbers quoted by Ford
Sunburst Red-560
Caspian Blue-290
Strato Silver-250
Diamond White-530
Black-820
Graphite Grey-250
The striped bonnet graphic, deep front spoiler, seven-spoke alloys and biplane rear wing all mark it out as the very special RS1600i.
History
First registered in Scotland on the 14/ 01/ 1983 the first owner was the registered keeper until 24/ 04/ 2010, 27 years. The story is that the car spent much of this time in storage as it was subject to a lengthy probate. I cannot verify this but it would explain the low miles and lack of early service history as often when owners die the documentation goes missing.
The second owner Mr Strachan also in Scotland kept the car nearly two years until 02/ 01/ 2002 until he sold it on. When Mr Shek, still in Scotland purchased it and became the third owner he put his private plate 90BVP on. There is an MOT in the history file from November 2002 showing the Mileage to be 25784. After some initial use about 1500 miles the car was clearly taken off the road again and not mot’d again until the 24/ 04/ 2010 with 27097 miles. The price plate was removed in October 2010 which is most likely when Mr Shek sold it after his 8 year ownership.
4th owner from 2010-2011, don’t have the details of the 4th owner but he didn’t keep it long.
The 5th owner Mr Rumley purchased it on the 2nd April 2011, this saw the car moving into the Manchester area in the North west of England. Mr Romily is an RS1600i enthusiast and bought it for his daily car. I have spoken to Mr Romily and to quote he says it was the best driving RS1600i he has owned. At this point the door bottoms were starting to corrode and Mr Romily realised that it probably wasn’t right to keep using as a daily driver and increase the mileage so he sold it to its 6th owner Mr Wright in Stockport in May 2012. Mr Wright started to restore it dismantling the interior, removing wings etc but then as often happens stalled and didn’t carry on.
This leads to the point I Purchased the car. Partially stripped with the interior in boxes I saw an opportunity to save a special car and bought and commissioned its restoration.
Condition
So TSD 859Y is fresh from a light restoration and is in fine shape looking a million dollars. The restoration was a full glass out respray with new wings and doors fitted. The original interior, engine etc was refitted new tyres put on the the refurbished wheels, and a new MOT applied. Although expensive this was not a full restoration as I did not think that was necessary given its low mileage and originality I decided to keep it an honest car to use rather than create a show piece. With that in mind it does still have faults commensurate with age and storage. Common to escorts the dash has some small splits and has warped slightly, you can tell this because the glovebox sits proud in the corners. The radio is not wired in and the speakers are missing behind the speaker covers, the seat release handle and trim for the drivers seat is missing and One of the wheel centre caps is wrong as it does not have an RS logo on, also the steering wheel has some damage from storage. These are small faults that can be easily rectified and do not detract from the quality of the car. I could do them but I want to sell all my classic cars to purchase my dream car a Porsche 911.
The car drives really great, the hard revving engine is strong and healthy commensurate with the 30k miles. Gear selection is fine with no untoward noises and the car feels really solid on the road. The brakes stop the car as they should, you have to but quite a bit of pressure on and there is fair bit of travel in the pedal but this is all normal for a RS1600i.
I have priced the car with the small faults in mind and for a quick sale. It could easily be a 20k plus car so represents an excellent opportunity for it next owner.
