1974 | Ford Escort Mexico

Has participating in the most beautiful historic rallies been on your wish list for a long time? Enjoy motorsport, good hotels, good food and a good time together with good friends. Many car enthusiasts we meet think this is great. Making memories, so to speak. And that is always nice to do.

But… it all starts with a good car. Building one yourself is often too ambitious. On the one hand, there is often no time for this, and on the other hand, you are guaranteed to encounter the biggest problem: the lack of experience. And you really need that to build a reliable and suitable car. Nothing is worse than having to deal with clumsy defects that could have been prevented. Experience is the best teacher, they say. But it is also often expensive and annoying. Our advice is to leave that to others. Buy a car that has proven itself and was built by people with experience. And not in general “car experience”. No, one must have actually driven many rallies and serviced cars under difficult circumstances to know what they are talking about. How a car should be put together and, above all, what not to do. And then of course there must have been a generous budget for the car in question. People are often mistaken about how much such a rally project costs. You can safely buy from the people who have experienced everything before, paid the tuition fee, and ultimately built a beautiful car.

That’s the general story regarding the purchase. But now which car..? This of course largely depends on your personal preference in terms of brand or model, but from our point of view it should be a historically certified car, easy to maintain and repair, good availability of parts, and there must be the necessary experience in major competitions with this type of car, there must be some comfort, not to forget safety, but above all, very good handling must be the deciding factor. See here: the Ford Escort 1600 GT Mexico.

Plenty of honors in terms of results of this brand and type, and you can easily tick off all the “requirements” just mentioned. The basis for the Escort that we now offer is an original AVO body, which means that the car comes from the special series of vehicles produced between 1968 and 1975 by “Advanced Vehicle Operations” (A.V.O) of Ford Motor Company. These are the Twin Cam, RS1600, MEXICO and RS2000 versions of the MK1 Escort, along with the RS3100 Capri. An AVO body is a must for the enthusiast and purist.

This original 1600 GT Mexico comes from the country where the greatest rally drivers had their cradle: Finland. The car was registered here on July 8, 1974 and has always had a very good life there. Bought by a Dutchman who knows the ins and outs of cars very well, the car was completely overhauled in 2020, improved and made suitable for historic rallies. At first the intention was to make the car drive well in a simply way, but as described earlier, the wishes quickly went out of control, and the entire list was ticked off during the construction process. An extra engine (the original one is included) was purchased and the 1600 cc, 4-cylinder was prepared by the well-known specialist Zomer Motorsport from Holten to produce more than 100 hp. Not much? You have to see this in relation to the very low weight of the car of only 950 kg. And that results in a fantastic handling of the car. Teh suspension is improved in the best way possible by chassis specialist Madeno Racing. Using their shock absorber brand Ohlins and specifically adapted for this Escort, it results in a handling that we have not often encountered. You can really drive the car with an inch accuracy and you really don’t need a lot of horsepower for this. What a joy to drive!

The interior also exudes the necessary rally experience. No small and hard bucket seats, but real Recaros, custom made and completely in style with the color of the car, in black and yellow tartan upholstery. Perfect fitting, and very comfortable for many kilometers. The driver has a great position behind the original RS steering wheel and by dropping his right hand he lands exactly on the gear lever of a smooth shifting 5-speed gearbox. The horsepower is transferred to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential.

The co-driver has in front of him (or her) a set of perfectly arranged instruments fitted in an extra dashboard and can rest his feet firmly on the aluminum footrest. A safety roll cage protects the occupants from harm, just like the 4-point seat belts.

The list of extra’s is long, everything is very well documented and all invoices are present. All adjustments are serious matters that have emerged from practice and are of real benefit to you. Is’nt that perfect? Because it is a car that has now proven its reliability in a number of rallies and tours and which, apart from perhaps a few personal preferences, cannot be improved upon. This Ford Escort MK1 1600 GT Mexico offers an excellent opportunity to get in and drive immediately. Oh yes, maybe first register for some high-profile competitions, such as the Winter Trial.