1975 Ford Escort Rally Car
Built to left-hand drive specification and prepared for rally specification in Finland

Registration No: Unregistered
Chassis No: BBATRY78856
MOT: Exempt

• A left-hand drive market car understood to have been campaigned in a number of Finnish rallies
• Fitted with a 1600 Crossflow with twin Weber Carburettors, Close Ratio Gearbox and Limited Slip Differential
• A running, driving car that should prove to be a rewarding project

When the Escort was re-launched as the 'Mk2' for 1975. The RS1800 model made its winning debut as a works Group 2 car on the Granite Rally in April 1975, victory going to Roger Clark. In that year's Lombard-RAC Rally, Timo Makinen brought his RS1800 home ahead of the field to score the car's first major international success. It would be the first of five consecutive Lombard-RAC victories for the RS1800 and its Escort RS Group 4 derivative. In 1979 the Escort brought Ford its first World Rally Championship for Makes while works driver Björn Waldegård became the first official World Rally Champion.

Built during 1975, chassis BBATRY78856 is an early example of a two-door Mk2 Escort and was delivered in left-hand drive form. Little is known about the early history, however, the Finnish documents on file show known ownership since 1997. It is understood that it underwent its rally preparations during this period, which included the fitment of a 1600cc crossflow engine, twin choke Weber carburettors, a close-ratio gearbox and limited-slip differential. The interior was fitted with a full roll cage and OMP bucket seats. The car would go onto be rallied in Finland until 2013, before being laid up.

Acquired by the vendor a few years ago and imported to the UK, he wished to get the car out on rally stages again, so got the car running and driving ready for further improvement. Unfortunately, his advancing years now mean that he has decided to sell the car on. Upon inspection, the Escort fired into life readily and it is evident that with some work it would be a fast machine. The vendor advises that ‘the car will need improvement’ to both the mechanicals and updates to fulfil competition regulations but is a ‘good starting point’. The shell appears to be relatively solid, but the vendor advises it could be ‘further improved'. Unregistered for UK roads, a Finnish logbook and sundry documentation is provided. Prospective buyers should be aware that they will need to register the car with the DVLA etc, should they wish to use it on UK roads.

For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430