Ford Escort Mk1
An Escort Sport is restored to look just like the one his dad owned in the ’70s.
Ford Escort Mk1s had two distinct characters – on the one hand they were cheap and dependable family transport, but on the other they were highly desirable and sporty models. Bob Weir went to Lanarkshire to meet David Kane and YDO 984L, a car that combines both family memories and sporting heritage.
When Ford of Europe unveiled the Escort to the public at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968, the all-new model was an instant success. Cleverly marketed as ‘ The small car that isn’t,’ the Escort hit the ground running. The early models were available as two- door saloons in De Luxe, Super and GT format. These were equipped with either 1098cc (1.1-litre) or 1298cc (1.3-litre) Kent crossflow engines. An automatic gearbox was made available as an option, and a four- door saloon and estate were introduced the following year.
As production of the latest Ford gathered pace, buyers were tempted by the low prices and a variety of body specs and engine options. It did not matter whether your preference was for a 1.1-litre runabout or a snarling high-revving twin- cam, Ford made sure there was an Escort for you and during seven years of production, more than two million Mk1s were snapped up by an eager public.
For petrol heads whose insurance companies baulked at the prospect of the Lotuspowered Escort Twin Cam, the cheaper Sport made a tempting alternative. The Sport model was launched in 1971 and was basically a lower-spec 1300GT. The new model was equipped with an XL interior, GT running gear and RS body styling. This included a Weber carburettor and uprated suspension. The engine produced a maximum power of 82bhp at 6500rpm, a maximum torque of 75.2lb.ft and a top speed of 98mph.
The car’s front suspension was equipped with MacPherson struts, coil springs and an anti-roll bar, while the rear utilized semi- elliptic leaf springs. Stopping power was provided by discs at the front and drums at the rear, and the car featured flared front wings courtesy of the company’s AVO (Advanced Vehicle Operations) factory.
Unlike the front wheel drive craze that dominated the small car market from the 1960s onwards, the Escort was equipped with conventional rear wheel drive and was the first small Ford to use rack and pinion steering. The Mk1 also took design cues from its American cousins with the so- called Coke bottle waistline and dog bone front grille. Road manners were straightforward, and some rally schools still use early Escorts to teach the basics of mastering rear wheel drive. The sportier versions of the saloons offered a stiffer challenge, and could often be seen going sideways, either in a quiet car park or in a Welsh forest at night with spotlights blazing. Fortunately for drivers, even at speed the cars were reassuringly easy to control.
The sportier versions of the Escort were fitted with close ratio gearboxes, which were a doddle to use. Thanks to the company’s years of motorsport experience, even the more basic models were good around corners, switching from safe understeer to predictable
oversteer. Always assuming, of course, that you weren’t driving on wet roads!
Cruising was less fun, especially at motorway speeds, and stopping power was adequate rather than awesome. Notwithstanding these minor grouches, getting behind the wheel of a Mk1 was always an enjoyable experience, especially when compared to some of its late 1960s rivals.
'The car is great fun to drive, especially around some of the back roads where I live,' explained owner David Kane of the car in our pictures. He bought his 1972 Mk1 in 2005, and the car has been rebuilt from the bottom up. 'Ford Escort Mk1s suffered from similar problems to other 1960s cars, including the bugbear of most vehicles from that era which is rust,' he explained. 'The MacPherson strut top mountings were particularly vulnerable, along with the inner wings, scuttle and outer panels. Fortunately, most parts are still readily available at a reasonable cost. You also have to keep an eye on the transfer leaf spring hangars, sills, rear wheelarches and floor pan. The windscreen surround and boot floor can also be vulnerable.'
That's a long list, but it's not because Escorts were poorly made, but because manufacturers in the 1960s were not particularly bothered in making car bodies that lasted much over ten years. The same applied to most of the mechanical components.
'The Kent engine had a reputation for suffering from worn cam followers, and the rubber timing belt could also be an issue,' David said. 'The four-speed manual gearbox was fairly reliable though, and replacement parts are quite cheap. A whining noise coming from the rear usually indicates a worn differential, or possibly dodgy wheel bearings. If you hear any knocking from the front suspension, this usually means that the bushes need replacing. The Escort’s electrics can be unreliable too, as the contacts oxidise over time and the plastic insulators within the rocker switches start to deteriorate. Some exterior trim items can also be hard to find.'
Despite these little foibles, early Escorts are more than holding their value. At a recent Morris Leslie classics auction, a Ford Escort Mk1 Mexico fetched double the asking price of a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo less
The Sport model was launched in 1971 and was basically a lowerspec 1300GT
than half its age and with fewer miles on the clock, an indication if one was needed that you can’t keep a good boy racer down.
'I was fortunate because I got my first Ford as a present for passing my driving test in 1987 when I was just 17 years old,' said David, who is a highway engineer by profession. 'This was a 1979 1.1-litre Fiesta which was already in the family. All our clan are Ford daft and have been driving Escorts and other models for years.'
David recalls that during this period he was also a big fan of various motorsports. 'There was this program on TV called World of Sport hosted by Dickie Davies, which used to feature rallies and other events,' he said. 'It was a good way of passing a Saturday afternoon when it was chucking it down with rain and I used to love watching the Ford Escorts being driven almost sideways around the bends. I used to go to a few rallies, and I'm still friends with a couple of the drivers. I’ve also done a few circuits round Scotland’s race track at Knockhill in my time.'
According to David, YDO 984L has had several owners and was originally registered in Boston, Lincolnshire. 'The car’s history is a bit of a grey area,' he explained. 'I do know that the paint colour has been altered on more than one occasion. The car eventually ended up in Scotland, and I bought it through word of mouth. It seemed in reasonable shape and came with a valid MoT, but I soon discovered that there were a few issues, particularly with the bodywork. There was also some vibration with the steering, and the brakes were a bit spongy.'
Fortunately, David has picked up some mechanical skills over the years and does a lot of his own maintenance. 'I started to learn when I was a teenager,' he said. 'Owning your first car isn’t cheap, and you want to avoid having to take it to a garage as much as you can. Once I started working on my cars, I picked things up as I went along. My dad also liked working on his cars, which helped.'
Now that he had acquired his dream car, David started driving the Sport on a regular basis. As he got used to the Escort, he realised there were plenty more problems that he hadn't spotted previously. 'By the time of the car’s next MoT, I had discovered a lot of fibreglass, which is never a good sign,' he recalls. 'I also noticed some of the paint was starting to blister by the back quarter on the driver’s side. I decided I would have to investigate, and picked up my trusty screwdriver. Next thing I
knew, the implement had gone right through the metalwork up to its handle. It turned out that there was a fair bit of rot right under the arch.'
It did not take David long to put two and two together and realise that the problem with the rot was unlikely to be an isolated incident. He decided to bite the bullet and strip the bodywork down to the bare bones.
'The job took the best part of the summer of 2007, but the effort was certainly worth it,' he said. ' While I was about it, I decided to return most of the car to factory specification. A few alterations had been made by previous owners over the years, with mixed results. For example, a pair of bucket seats had been fitted, and they had to go. The parcel shelf was missing too, and there were also a few problems with the headlining and trim.'
David certainly had a picture in mind of what he wanted to achieve, as his late father Thomas had owned a Mk1 Sport back in the 1970s. 'That car was an identical model even down to the yellow paint,' he explained. 'I decided it would be a good thing if I restored YDO 984L to a similar condition. My dad was still around back then and did a lot of the welding and sorting out the floorpans. My wife Kay also deserves a mention, as she helped out with the suspension.
'A good mate, Ronnie Thorpe, owns a local vehicle paint shop business, and he offered me some space to carry out the prep work. He then took over and sprayed the Escort in a sealed booth. This was ideal as it avoided any impurities in the finish. The rest of the work I carried out mostly at home.'
David was also unwittingly given a helping hand by one of his neighbours. 'My neighbours had decided to throw out a pair of old beds,' he related, 'so I sneaked out one night and borrowed the two mattresses. I made a half moon with one of the mattresses and rolled the car onto its side, which made it much easier to work on.'
One important non-standard item fitted to the car is a 1600cc engine. 'The Sport would originally have been fitted with a 1300cc engine, but I replaced this unit during the rebuild,' said David. 'I was scouring the internet for parts in 2008 and came across this reconditioned 1600cc crossflow for sale in the Isle of Man. The owner had been planning to use the engine in a refurbished Cortina, but the project had stalled and the engine was now surplus to requirements. I arranged to have the unit shipped over to the mainland, and it seemed to be in good condition. Cost-wise, it was also a real bargain.'
David took the engine to Autopoint Larkhall Ltd to be checked over by his two friends and owners, Chris and Gary. 'Chris and Gary have been rallying for years, and specialise in performance parts,' he said. 'They got the engine going, but initially I was disappointed because it seemed to run like a bag of nails. Fortunately, they checked the timing and told me there was nothing to worry about as the unit was fitted with a fast road cam. This just means that the engine likes to be warmed up properly before it is put through its paces.'
David also decided to make a few additions to the instrumental panel and dashboard. ' When I bought the car it was already fitted with an optional pack,' he recalls. 'I basically just finished it off. One of my contacts has a business renovating old houses in Glasgow. I took him a sample from my dashboard, and he put together a reproduction. The work wasn’t cheap as it was a custom job, but he made me four examples, one for the Sport
The engine likes to be warmed up properly before it is put through its paces
and three to sell on. That way I was able to recoup some of the cost. I put them on eBay, and they went like hot cakes.'
As far as David is aware, the rest of the car is 1972 standard specification. 'The Ford still has its original RS parts and twin choke Weber,' he said. 'The rest of the car is as it should be, a replica of my dad’s Escort Sport from the 1970s.'
When asked about teething troubles, David said: 'I did have one particular problem with a P14 caliper. When the caliper seized up a couple of years ago, I had to order a replacement. When the part arrived, much to my surprise it would not fit properly. What I didn’t realise was that Girling supplied similar calipers for the Triumph Herald and Spitfire, but I got the problem sorted in the end.'
Which brought us nicely to the most important question in our little chat: what is the car like to drive? 'Ten minutes behind the steering wheel of the Sport shows you how much fun they must have been back in their heyday,' he said. 'The Escort is not a car you would necessarily want to take on a long- distance holiday, but for sheer excitement and nostalgia it is hard to beat. The car is at its best driving along country lanes, and motorways are best avoided – technology has moved on since the 1960s and modern cars can cruise on the motorway all day long barely ticking over, whereas older cars like the Escort are chasing their tail on the rev counter trying to sit at 70mph. Move to B-roads though, and the Mk1 is in its element. This is what driving is all about, and the Escort is tailor-made for the job.'
David has also had his fair share of tricky situations driving the Sport, and remembers one hairy moment in the Lake District. 'I was negotiating a series of bends at Honister Pass up by the old slate mine,' he recalls. 'You had to keep your wits about you because apart from the walkers, a cycle race was also taking place that day. Then it started to rain. I was approaching a downhill hairpin when half a dozen sheep suddenly strayed onto the road, pushing me into the oncoming traffic. I managed to avoid hitting another car, but it was a close thing.'
Apart from the Escort, David also has another project up his sleeve. His late uncle owned a Ford Granada for many years, and David is just getting round to restoring it. Needless to say though, whatever else the future holds, David will be hanging on to his iconic family favourite. After all, not only is the Escort a great car in its own right, it also brings back so many memories of his dad. Truly if any car deserves the tag of family favourite, it is this one.