Lot 269 - 1982 Ford Escort Mk. II Group 4 Rally Car

The squarer-styled Escort Mk. II appeared in January 1975 with the first production models having rolled off the production lines on 2nd December 1974. Unlike the first Escort (which was developed by Ford of Britain), the second generation was developed jointly between the UK and Ford of Germany. Codenamed ‘Brenda’ during its development, it had the same mechanical configuration as its predecessor; the estate and van versions even used the same panel-work as the Mk. I but with the Mk. II front end and interior. The car used a revised underbody which had, in fact, been introduced as a running change during the last six months of the life of the Mk. I. The car was a success with just four body styles competing in a variation of market niches where rival manufacturers had multiple models. The ‘L’ and ‘GL’ models were mainly purchased by the private sector; the ‘Sport’, ‘RS Mexico’ and ‘RS2000’ in the performance market; the ‘Ghia’ for an untapped small car luxury sector and ‘base’ models for the fleet market. The Escort continued to prove hugely popular with buyers in Britain during the second half of the 1970s, but production slowed and after an incredibly popular model run, ended in Britain in August 1980 with other countries following soon after.

This Mk. II is a particularly interesting example, because it was registered in 1982, two years after production ended, and has been a rally car since day one. The vendor believes the car was built by Gartrac, who were famous for supplying the works Escorts to Ford during the mid 1970’s though to the early 1980’s, which would make sense of the ‘LPX’ registration. Our vendor reports that the shell has been stitch-welded from front to back on the chassis and all window surrounds, braze-welded in many areas and the installation of the rear firewall and five-link have been done to such a high standard that it is very unlikely this was a home-brew build. It would appear as though the car hasn’t done much rallying it its lifetime, the shell appears to be remarkably solid and our vendor reports the chassis rails are strong and solid. All of the panels are steels, with aluminium arches and no fibreglass panels to speak of. The general appearance of the body is excellent for a forty year old rally car and the period Rothmans livery suits the car perfectly.

Mechanically, the car is powered by a two-litre Pinto built by Mathwall Engineering with a ported and flowed head and rally cam. The engine is fed by recently rebuilt original twin 45 Dellorto side draft carburettors. The engine also has an aluminium RS style sump. Power is fed through an RS four-speed gearbox and sent to a limited-slip-differential. In the handling department, the car has Bilstein front struts with roller top mounts and a five-link rear axles with slipper springs and upright dampers. The car has a quicker steering rack, and genuine 8” wide Revolution alloy wheels, with disc brakes fitted to the rear. Moving inside, the car is fitted with period rally timing equipment and very period correct Cobra seats. In short, this would make an excellent historic rally car, or could just be enjoyed as a lovely fast-road spec Mk. II Escort, which has been built correctly.