ADE BRANNAN
CONTRIBUTOR
Ade’s been crosscrossing the UK again, this time catching up with Calvin South and his Fast Road-spec Escort.
It’s no secret or surprise that the values of Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts are at an all-time high. We’re seeing original survivors selling for eye-watering sums at high-end auction houses, vying for kudos with Ferraris and Maseratis and whatnot, destined for a life of stasis in a hermetically-sealed collection somewhere. This scenario is a long way removed from the old 1980s/1990s way of doing things, picking up a cheap and knocked-about rear-drive Escort for beer money, throwing in a hot cam and a set of Billies and chucking it about down some country lanes.
Thankfully — and you’ll of course be well aware of this yourself, being an aficionado of old Fords — this passion for financial speculation hasn’t permeated every corner of the Escort world. There’s still a hardcore of fans who see these cars for what they are; simple pleasures, uncomplicated engineering that’s easily tweakable for fast road thrills. The idea of breathing a bit of extra power into one of these cars, upgrading the chassis, and then going off on some open-road adventures is as alive today as it ever was.
Calvin South’s 1978 Mk2 is a case in point. When this car came into his life, it was already together in a solid body and ready for action.
“I bought it from a guy named Craig Humphrey two years ago, and drove it home from Surrey to Cumbria,” he recalls. “That was a journey of 350 miles; it took seven hours!”
“THE CAR WAS IN GREAT SHAPE WHEN I BOUGHT IT, BUT I NEEDED TO PUT MY OWN TOUCHES TO IT”
This was a real baptism of fire for Calvin’s relationship with the Mk2. When you buy a car, there are numerous ways of getting to know it; giving it a good wash is often the first job, as you can quickly learn all of its little foibles and idiosyncrasies, while others prefer job one to be to get it up on a ramp for a good poke around.
But it’s often the first road trip that really cements the relationship — it builds up that vital bond of trust, meaning that you know how the car behaves in traffic, on a variety of different roads, what noises it makes, how it idles when it’s hot and cold, all of these little details. So ticking off the road trip box on day one is a solid move!
Making his mark
This, however, is not a story of one man buying another’s car and simply taking it on some adventures. No, Calvin’s getting-to-know-you introduction had highlighted a few areas of the car that he wanted to address, and he was very keen to make the car his own.
“It was in really good condition when I bought it, but I needed to put my own touches on it,” he reasons, and that’s totally understandable. After all, Calvin has a long and distinguished history of playing with classic Fords, stretching back to the 1980s when they weren’t yet all that classic. “My first car was a 1300E,” he explains, “followed by a 1600 Sport. That was written off just before I passed my test by a friend who borrowed it to go to college! I followed that with an XR2 which was bored and stroked to 1800cc with a high-lift cam on twin 40s, then I had four Series 2 RS Turbos, and in the last seven years I’ve had a Mk1 Focus RS, and another mint Series 2.” So why another Mk2? Quite simply because he couldn’t shake the memories of that 1600 Sport, he wanted to exorcise some demons and get a fast road Mk2 in his life. Spying this particular car for sale, it flicked a switch in Calvin’s brain. He couldn’t resist.
“One thing I noticed on that first long journey was that the engine wasn’t running 100 per cent,” he says. “After doing a compression test, we could see that it was down on pot three, so a good friend, Lawrence Date and I set about stripping the motor and rebuilding it.” It’s a keen spec, the 2.1 Pinto housing V6 pistons within its 205 block, and enjoying a Stage 3 big-valve unleaded head, Newman 475 sprint cam and followers, and twin 45 DCOEs. A Bestek kit takes care of the ignition, and the power’s all channelled via a Type-9 to an RS prop, back to an English axle with LSD. Old-school through and through, and positively brimming with get-up-and-go.
Inside job
With the running gear all singing to the same hymn sheet, Calvin then began addressing the interior. “I stripped the standard rear shelf and door cards out and stored them away safely, so I could make and cover my own and fit speakers without having to cut the originals,” he says. “I then changed the grubby white trims and headlining for fresh black ones, recovered the rear seat with Aldridge Trimming covers, and stripped the dash in order to refresh it inside and out with new LEDs, so I can see the dials at
night!” Calvin also saw fit to add in a new three-spoke RS steering wheel and a new set of seatbelts, including retro-fitting belts to the rear. After all, this was a car built to be used, regularly and enthusiastically, so he saw it as vital to take care of the belt-and-braces stuff.
Naturally, this led to his keen eye roving through the chassis and identifying further requisite refreshment:
“All of the suspension and braking components were stripped out,” he continues, “and I fitted new dampers, callipers, discs, pads, drums, braided brake lines, and roller-bearing top mounts.”
Then to top it all off (because it’s nice to have a bit more of a visible change to look at after you’ve been so busy behind the scenes), he fitted a fresh set of JBW Superlights, along with a pair of crystal VW Golf headlights, LED bulbs, and the classic early FORD grille.
Plan A
The plan from day one was to build something to be used, an Escort in the traditional style for fast road hi-jinks and creating memories on road trips. Starting out with the best possible base, Calvin’s made it his own by renewing and/or modding everything possible to make it fit for purpose, and the end result is a thoroughly usable Mk2 with a spec to die for. Not overembellished, simply just right, and ready to do what it was always meant to do.
“Oh yes, the car really gets used, and driven hard,” he assures us. “It gets a lot of attention and compliments, and is photographed everywhere it goes.” As well you’d expect. This car was built with purpose, and that purposes oozes out of every pore.
“THIS ESCORT WAS BUILT WITH A PURPOSE, AND THAT PURPOSE OOZES OUT OF EVERY PORE”