Description
The car has been stored in a dry residential garage for 23 years.. Its dry to point the discs have just light surface corrosion.
It is an original matching numbers unrestored car, although it likely had a paint blow over late 90s before my ownership.
The shell whilst it does have a few scabs in the usual places is very solid I strongly believe.
The car will need complete recommissioning as it has not run since 2003. So this would be ideally suited to someone who wants a rewarding project, has some spare time and is handy with spanners.
I love the car to be honest, but time is trucking forward and I am not sure I will ever get to it. I've owned it for 27 years incredibly..
The best aspect of this car is that its not been restored, its totally original warts, scabs and all. And because of this it probably even smells and feels like the 1980s!
When I drove this car, towards the end of the 90s very early 00s these cars were being hacked about, modified and broken for spares on a regular basis because in that moment they were just an 'old car', so I believe its a rare beast as a 'time warp' unmodified example perhaps
Another great feature of this car is that it is a late single bolt revised suspension car which handle a lot better than the earlier 'twin bolt' front suspension cars I believe. Basically a chap called Richard Longman was drafted in to run the Escort RS1600i in British touring car racing I believe, and the modification to suspension geometry he put in place ended up on all production Escorts from late 1983 onward until the end of the MK4 Escort I believe.
The car comes with a treasure trove of what must now be very rare parts that I collected over the years ready to restore it one day... The parts include:-
- NOS front wings
- NOS front and rear bumper set (the metal substructure, not the plastic parts).
- NOS spare rebuilt gear linkage set (new OEM parts, apart from case, and stick which are fine).
- Excellent used passenger and driver doors
- x2 MK3 boot lids - one XR3 with wiper hole & spoiler, the other without
- Spare set of single stamp RS1600i wheels
- A few period radio cassette players
- RS1600i owners supplemental manual
Sorry but I will * not* sell any of the parts separately in case I end up hanging onto it - they would be cost prohibitive for me to replace now or in the future.
I would like it to go to someone settled in life with some spare time, inclination and with the aspiration to get it road worthy again and enjoy it at classic car shows or a Sunday drive to a pub for lunch etc. Someone who perhaps as a 17 year old back in 1983 aspired to have one of these, and is finally about to put it right.
I think the car has strong potential to be a really good example in my view.
