We are counting down to the start of the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show and every day this week will be bringing you details of each of the Ford Escorts that we are reuniting for the first time in 55 years Stand 595, Hall 3 at the Show. Our theme is set around the 1970 Daily Mirror World Cup Rally that saw 96 cars leave London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday 19th April 1970 and crossing Continents and oceans before arriving more than 16,000 miles and 39 days later at Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium.
Ford of Britain entered seven identical ‘Works’ Escorts, each the product of a year’s testing and development. Fitted with 1834cc Cortina-derived Kent Crossflow engines and ZF 5 speed gearboxes, the relative simplicity and durability of the cars saw Ford take five places in the top ten by the time the rally was over.
Car 85, a ‘works’ Escort built by British Vita to Ford Boreham’s specification was driven by Colin Malkin and co-driven by well-known journalist, rally man and today auction house specialist valuer, assessor and arbitrator Richard Hudson-Evans, and is one of the four stars of our show at the NEC.
Join us at the show and marvel at the achievements of all four Escorts, including a diminutive 1300GT that made it to Mexico City on 27th May 1970. More details of that car and crew will appear here this week!
Meantime, enjoy the fact that Car 85’s co-driver Richard Hudson-Evans will himself be reunited with his ‘old’ car and its private owners today, Simon Spinks and Jim Grayson, over the coming weekend. He hasn’t seen the car since a huge head-on crash with a truck in Yugoslavia ended his and Colin’s World Cup Rally entry after just three days on the event.
Here’s some more details of the car as it is today.
We look forward to seeing you from 7-9 November at the NEC!