Description
For sale is my 1969 Escort Twincam, in superb, original specification and condition. The car was fully professionally restored in the late 1990s / early 2000s, is well known in the AVO club having won ‘Best Twincam’ and ‘Highly Commended’ awards in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Before I went to buy the car, I had a discussion with the AVO Twincam registrar who knew the car, and pointed to all the areas to photograph so that he could see if there were any issues with it. Upon examining the photos he concluded that he could find no reason to doubt the authenticity of the car, and looking over the car at the National shows and at my home has the same conclusion.
The car was built in January 1969, one of the first of the round headlamp cars to be made, after two Boreham rally cars were built with the round lights for homologation in October 1968. It’s had 4 previous owners, and in December 1988 it was bought by Mr Terry Nichols (2nd owner), who used to rally an RS1600. He kept the Twincam ‘for best’, and decided to restore the car about 25 years ago.
He was good friends with Vince Woodman who ran VMW Motors in North Bristol, an RS dealer, and had access to the last of the new-old-stock to complete the restoration. Sadly he died shortly after the restoration was complete, and the car was sold on to a friend of the family in August 2003. He didn’t use it much, and sold it to a chap in June 2006, from whom I bought it in October 2012.
An HPI check was completed on the car when I bought it, and there were no issues of outstanding finance etc., and registration number has never been changed for a private number. That is to say that the registration number ENO300G has always been associated with the same (Twincam Escort) chassis number. I took the car up to Paul Matty to get it checked over as a ‘new’ restoration, and they found a few bits and pieces that needed fettling after the restoration.
The car has completed very few miles since it was rebuilt. The car had done 63055 miles in 1985, when it was taken off the road. In 2002, after the restoration (and engine re-build) the car had done 64230 miles, and it now has 67600 miles on the clock.
The Restoration
A complete, bare shell restoration was completed on the car, with all mechanical and trim assemblies restored functionally and cosmetically to a very high standard. I took the seats and carpet out a couple of years ago and the floor is like new, the same as the engine bay and boot.. Underneath, the car has been under-sealed in a ‘Raptor’ product.
The car is in very original specification, having all the unique and rare Twincam features.
These include the engine stabiliser bar, the big wing sump, the correct rubber-top dipstick and plenum chamber drain pipe, the correct air filter setup, along with the correct oil cooler and pipe work, servo and pipe work and big header radiator. The pedal box and master cylinders are all present and correct, as is the original ‘cheese wedge’ washer bottle. The instrument cluster is correct and un-restored, and the seats are the Contour Microcell RallySport accessories, which most cars had in the day.
The car also comes with a pair of correct original seats and original steering wheel. These are now quite sought after as they are very rare, as most folks threw them out when they bought the RallySport bits and pieces.
The interior was restored to original specification, with a Lodestar headlining, new carpet set and door cards. The original Wipec rear view mirror is in place, and the sun visors are like new.
The engine was built by Nick Stagg, and is the smoothest Twincam I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many Elans and Lotus Cortinas. It is painted in the original grey paint as used by Lotus, with the big-wing sump and unpainted cam cover. The gearbox is painted in the original green with black bellhousing. To many that’s an irrelevant detail, but to some, it shows the attention to detail that went into the restoration, even for assemblies that could not normally be seen.
It is built to Sprint specification (from Nick’s recollections) which gives about 130 bhp.
The suspension, back axle and steering assemblies were all overhauled and re-painted in satin black when the car was restored, and there are no known faults in these areas The cosmetics have held up very well with all these assemblies, and it all still looks superb under there. There are a few stone-chips that have a little rust on the track control arms and track rod ends, but very few other signs that this restoration is over 20 years old.*
Current Condition
The bodyworks looks superb as you can see in the photos. The paintwork has no micro-blisters or sinkage, and again shows up the quality of the restoration very well.
There are a few stone chips and a little rust on the very front of the drivers and passengers front wing, and a couple of chips on the inside of the wheel arches, which are obviously in the way of flying stones! But having these areas rectified professionally would not be a big job.
The interior is largely like new, with a perfect Lodestar headlining, carpet set and door cards.
The engine starts easily, hot or cold, and as said above, is a very smooth running unit. It has superb oil pressure with no smoking. The carburettors do spit back occasionally on a very light throttle, although that is getting less the more I drive it.
The gearbox is just superb, with easy and accurate selection and unbeatable synchromesh. There is no whining from the back axle.
The brakes work fine, and there are no clonks or bangs coming from the suspension.
In all, the car needs driving and using. I haven’t used it much over the past 6 years or so, but as I’ve taken it out for more runs ‘around the block’, it is just getting better.
I’m only selling the car as it’s not getting used enough. Last year I stripped and cleaned the Webers to get it running properly, and had the front callipers overhauled (Bigg Red) as they were a bit sticky. The brake servo was overhauled by Past Parts, who are the only brake restoration guys who insert a stainless steel liner in the piston bore. More expensive, but it should last a long time.
The brake fluid was of course changed at the same time.
This year (Sep 2025) I have changed the oil and filter, along with the coolant.
The car is well known to the AVO club, having attended a few shows, and in 2014 it won the ‘Best Twincam’ award, selected by the fellow Twincam owners.
That’s about it. Study the photos, which were all taken in September 2025, except for the photos showing the car at a couple of AVO shows.
I’m looking for offers around the advertised price, but remember that this is an original, authentic British built Twincam with all the right bits, reduced down to allow for the small amount of bodywork required.
I’m near Gloucester (UK); send me a message or call if you want to have a chat about the car.
