MK1 Ford Escort.

[artie]

So it seams that a British company will be producing MK1 ford Escorts under license from Ford very similar to the original highest performing ones.

I was quite looking forward to today's launch but once I heard the base price I immediately came down to Earth wit a bump.

 

[Amplidyne]

Read something about it a week or so back.
As you say the price is steep.
Still I suppose it's the old thing, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it"

 

[flying haggis]

or you could have a model of one....

made from gold, silver and diamonds

 

[Spectric]

At least you can keep that one indoors and dry so it will not turn into iron oxide in front of your eyes. On the other hand many a person cut there teeth welding them back together.

 

[Distinterior]

or you could have a model of one....
View attachment 194174
made from gold, silver and diamonds

....Sorry to split hairs with you,....But, that's a model of a Mk2 Escort, not a Mk1..!

 

[Chris152]

How long do you think this interest in/ value of Escorts/ Sierras will last? Not just the petrol/ electric thing, but how interested are youngsters in the cars? Us old farts remember watching them succeed in rallies and all that, but younger people won't remember that. Once our clogs have popped, I reckon prices will tank. Regular Escort Mks 1 and 2 fetch loadsamoney these days, but I remember we had them as kids and they were very ordinary cars (except the ones Ford made for competition/ marketing). Nostalgia.

 

[Distinterior]

I had a 1973 Mk1 RS2000 ( Sebring Red, original AVO colour) that I did a full restoration on back in the late 1980's.....Even back then, the parts were difficult to get, and if you could eventually find the parts, they were expensive. I eventually sold it for about £4k, but I regret it now as they go for serious money nowadays.....

I think there is still a large following & appreciation of those 1960's & 1970's cars......very simple in comparison to the modern cars of today.
Hence, why they are being offered & made again today......If you can afford to pay the price...

In the early 1990's I bought a 1989 Sierra Sapphire Cosworth......An absolutely fantastic car and I regret selling that more than I do selling the
MK1 RS 2000....

 

[Terry - Somerset]

How long do you think this interest in/ value of Escorts/ Sierras will last? Not just the petrol/ electric thing, but how interested are youngsters in the cars? Us old farts remember watching them succeed in rallies and all that, but younger people won't remember that. Once our clogs have popped, I reckon prices will tank. Regular Escort Mks 1 and 2 fetch loadsamoney these days, but I remember we had them as kids and they were very ordinary cars (except the ones Ford made for competition/ marketing). Nostalgia.

You are absolutely right.

The classic car movement tends to salivate over those cars which formed part of their childhood - owned by dad, or aspirational objects.

Classic car ownership (often) relies on (some) spare cash, space to store and work on it. This happy circumstance typically arrives as folk approach middle age (say 50 ish) with close to maximum earning power and property.

It is no surprise that cars dating from the 1970s are now fashionable. Being a little older my interest would be more late 1950s and 1960s - Mk II Jag, Austin Healey, E-type, TR4.

Older still - cars before 1950 are at best static in value and more difficult to sell - owners are now in their 70s and 80s and off-loading them. They are too slow and compromised to be driven safely in modern traffic (brakes, no power steering, etc). Spares are increasingly a problem.

 

[Spectric]

We are also facing a massive skills shortage in keeping these vehicles going because the modern motor technician is just a parts fitter and not an engineer, many will remember when garages advertised their services as being motor engineers . It was not really that long ago that people did repair cars, they changed brake seals and such wheras now it is a whole new unit.

 

[Inspector]

Not a car I would even recognize if it went by me. They weren't looked upon as anything more than cheap transportation here.

What I am curious about is won't they have to meet solution requirements making them a machine that will need modern diagnostic equipment to work on? Make it kind of hard for the old style mechanic car lover to keep up?

Pete

 

[artie]

Not a car I would even recognize if it went by me. They weren't looked upon as anything more than cheap transportation here.

Around 1976 I attended a rally enthusiast club in Guelph Ontario.
Where they sat around and got all excited about videos of rally escorts etc in the auld country.
Since I had actually driven them it wasn't exciting enough for me to go back.

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/ford/365361/ford-escort-mk1-rs-back-296bhp-and-ps295k-price-tag

 

[Fergie 307]

Bonkers when you can buy a real one for a fraction of the money. And looking at the spec it doesn't really have any more than a superficial resemblance to the original car anyway.
Much rather have a real one with the BDA engine.
Or if you don't care about originality then there are loads of highly modded ones about, cosworth engine with far more power etc. Still far less money.

 

[Jameshow]

Bonkers when you can buy a real one for a fraction of the money. And looking at the spec it doesn't really have any more than a superficial resemblance to the original car anyway.
Much rather have a real one with the BDA engine.
Or if you don't care about originality then there are loads of highly modded ones about, cosworth engine with far more power etc. Still far less money.

But your not a banker!

 

[throbscottle]

Slightly OT, this reminds me I saw a billboard ad for an electric Capri. It looks like an SUV! Tragedy, travesty and trauma, despair and wailing.... Suicidal thoughts may follow...

 

[Agent_zed]

How long do you think this interest in/ value of Escorts/ Sierras will last? Not just the petrol/ electric thing, but how interested are youngsters in the cars? Us old farts remember watching them succeed in rallies and all that, but younger people won't remember that. Once our clogs have popped, I reckon prices will tank. Regular Escort Mks 1 and 2 fetch loadsamoney these days, but I remember we had them as kids and they were very ordinary cars (except the ones Ford made for competition/ marketing). Nostalgia.

My kitcar used a sierra for the main components. Bought a 1991 sierra lazer in 2003-ish for £50. Even the cheapest sierra's now go for around £1000 it's crazy.

I've got the type 9 gearbox which by itself is over £500 from what I've seen others going for.

 

[Chris152]

My kitcar used a sierra for the main components. Bought a 1991 sierra lazer in 2003-ish for £50. Even the cheapest sierra's now go for around £1000 it's crazy.

I've got the type 9 gearbox which by itself is over £500 from what I've seen others going for.

Do you still have the kitcar? We're looking to start a Locost (Lotus 7 copy) build in the near future, probably using an MX5 for parts as they're now so cheap and common.

 

[Ozi]

As we all agree no one wants a car from before their time if anyone has an old blower Bentley cluttering up the garage I could probably take it off your hands if you pay my petrol.

 

[selectortone]

Slightly OT, this reminds me I saw a billboard ad for an electric Capri. It looks like an SUV! Tragedy, travesty and trauma, despair and wailing.... Suicidal thoughts may follow...

I saw one the other day. What a travesty. My Dad was a long-time Capri fan, ran a Mk1 and then a Mk2 for many years, both from new. He'd be turning in his grave.

 

[TomGW]

I have a friend who has 25+ Escorts, mostly MK2 RS2000, but with 3 or 4 RS1800, including a Works RS1800 from day 1 of production. The collection has a few MK1s too.