I
had been looking around for a solid Lotus Cortina to buy, something with a good
shell, needing some mechanical work, and not too expensive. I discovered that
Lotus Cortinas come in two flavors: rusty and expensive (and then there were the
rusty, expensive ones….).
Thinking
back on cars I had owned in my native Australia, my Mk 1 and Mk 2 Escort
RS2000’s stood out as fun cars. But rather than mass production Pinto power, I
knew that I wanted a real homologated version, the kind of car that every
teenager wanted in 1968, and every rally or race team needed order to win.
Ironically,
one of the first cars I saw on the Internet, was this car, being sold by David
Banes in Sydney, Australia. The car looked very clean, and had won 1st
place of the Mk 1’s at the Ford RS Owner’s Club Australian meet. Several
months went by as I decided what I was really looking for. It turns out English
Escort Twin Cams are like Lotus Cortinas in America – rusty, expensive or
both. After a while, I realized that David’s car was a great deal, relatively
original and in good condition.
A
deal was struck; David knowing the car would be given the best of care in its
new home. I had the car inspected by a mutual acquaintance, Brett Middleton
(Australian rally champ and MRT rally prep shop owner). It revealed some minor
issues, but nothing fatal. I shipped the car over in a 20’ container aboard
the Russian freighter Mechanik Moldovanov. The trip took less than two
weeks!
It
arrived in August 2000, cleared customs quickly (being over 25 years old!) and I
had it registered within 2 days.
I
obtained a personalized license plate – “LVX 942 J” being Roger Clark’s
famous “Esso Blue” rally car registration, as something of a tribute to the
late rally driver and his trusty steed. Though Clark’s “Esso Blue” won
many rallies as an RS1600 in 1972, it started life as a Twin Cam.
Since
I’ve owned this car, I’ve resurrected the original factory airbox/silencer
(the thing that looks like a muffler), changed the rear axle ratio from 4.1 to
3.9 to make cruising comfortable, rebuilt the entire front suspension, fitted
new wheel bearings, brake rotors, new wheels and tires, installed the original
brake booster (not yet connected), new radiator, rebuilt driveshaft, carbs, new
plugs, fuel line, sender gasket, filler neck hose, new gas pedal, headlights….
well you get the idea! Next items: rebuilt gearbox, new clutch and fit the LSD.
The
car has been repainted at least once, but still in the original “Yellow
Fire” color (and you thought it was orange!), there are a few small rust
bubbles, and someone has slotted the strut mounting holes, but other than that
the shell is very clean, solid and original, and the interior is almost perfect,
except for the RS1600/RS2000 steering wheel (which I prefer) and the Mk II
“RS” center logo (soon to be replaced). The blacked out panel on the rear
was a 1972 Australian affectation, and the rear Lotus badge was not fitted by
the factory, but probably the first thing any new owner fitted after driving
their Twin Cam home.
How
rare is it? The fate of most Twin Cams was either rust, rallying or racing
destruction or being converted into an RS1600 or Mexico (Kent pushrod 1600).
There are probably 6 Mk 1 Escorts in the US, none of them in as close to
original road trim as this car. The AVO Owner’s Club registrar in the UK says
there are 9 or 10 Twin Cams in this condition in the UK, and approximately
another 90 in not quite as good condition. There is probably double that number
in Australia, in varying conditions.
Say "ahhh".....
