1969 Ford Escort Mk1 – Auction Car of the Week

Cars are, by their very nature, for driving. This is a given. But sometimes, you want to drive that little bit harder, don’t you? You want the noise to be a bit louder, the experience to be more full-on, the speed to be even more. Sometimes, you just want to take a car out and give it a damn good thrashing. The thing is though, a lot of classic cars wouldn’t respond positively to that. You know, unless that’s exactly what they have been built for. Like this utterly amazing 1969 Mk1 Ford Escort. All killer, no filler.

Click here to view the 1969 Ford Escort auction listing

It’s a Ford Escort, Jim, but not as we know it. This Ermine White wonder has been, shall we say, breathed on. Heavy, long, lingering breaths, mind. This is no case of a set of wheels and a noisy exhaust. Oh no, this is a full on fast road, track or even rally warrior. It’s been built to take whatever is thrown at it. If you buy this, you’re going to make the Joker look like he’s frowning. It’s loud, it’s in your face and thanks to the inclusion of a rebuilt and modified Lotus twin-cam engine with an alleged 165bhp, it’s chuffin’ fast, too.

Of course, speed is one thing. Really, you need a lot more kit if you’re going to control it. Happily, this Ford Escort has been done properly. There’s the engine, naturally. Then we have the Wilwood four-pot stoppers up front with bigger 9-inch drums out back. There are Lotus rear leaves, with GAZ shocks all-round (coilovers at the front), the rear differential offers a limited-slip situation, for ultimate control. Oh, and there is a rebuilt four-speed manual transmission, too. This is analogue, human and machine stuff. No computers, no wizardry, no fancy aids, just you and 165 very angry ponies.

Outside, it’s an unassuming little beast. The two-door Ford Escort shell is as pretty today as it ever was, the Ermine White paint has a rich gloss, and the cheeky 13-inch alloys look right at home. Step inside though, and it’s a very different story. The interior has been stripped and repainted, there is a deep-dish rally wheel, Motamec bucket seats, harnesses, a fire suppression system, a bespoke dash centre console, motorsport cooling vents, new dash gauges and of course, a full roll cage. In the boot, there is an aluminium rally fuel tank, complete with Facet fuel pump. This car is, make no mistake, a snarling little terrier of a machine. An angry, shouty, ankle-biter. And we bloody love it.

If you want a classic car that you can truly, truly push to the limits, this is the one. Maybe you want a serious track car with some classic flavour, or maybe you want to get down and dirty on the stages of a rally. Whatever it is, the groundwork has been done here. This Ford Escort is ready to be enjoyed ‘as is’ or could be tweaked and adjusted to turn its hand to any number of fuel-spitting disciplines. That’s up to you.

Buy this 1969 Ford Escort and you won’t regret it. It’s the kind of car that will make you love driving again, it will make you smile and laugh and it’ll probably scare you from time to time, too. But that’s fine. Because all those things raise the pulse, they make you feel alive, and you don’t get that from a 2022 Ford Focus.