1968 Ford Escort Mk 1 (Cosworth YBT)

The Ford Escort Mk 1 is one of the most beloved British cars of its generation, with styling that quickly embedded itself into the British and European pantheon of humble commuter cars that made good on the race tracks of the Continent, not to mention the circuits of Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and more. The Ford Escort Mk 1 was designed from the ground up to keep the price of the new car in the same range as the old Anglia, but to build it with both the engineering and stylish aesthetics to be able to turn it into a motorsport legend, much as the Mini had become. Ford understood that the appearance of the car would be an important selling point and so they opted for the tried and true 'Coke Bottle' style as proven in the USA, matched with a 'dog bone' front grille. Production of the new Ford Escort Mk 1 began in 1967 and Ford made it clear that they were going to use the car to target not just the UK market, but also Europe, by showing the car at the Brussels Motor Show in 1968. Ford wasted no time in putting a sporting version of the Ford Escort out into the marketplace with their introduction of the Escort 1300GT in 1968. This car featured the 1.3-litre Kent OHV engine with some performance tweaking that included a single Weber carburettor, the engine producing a gentle 75bhp, nippy as opposed to quick.

Our particular example, MOP 95F, is a very early 1100 Super from March 1968 and distinguished by the early cross-cut chassis and door locks within the handles (they were later positioned underneath the handles). This car was chosen as a base for a 'Resto Mod' as it had the early super-strong shell which was then strengthened further, beyond even the Type 49 shells of the RS and Mexico derivatives, due to the fact is was going to run a significantly more powerful Cosworth power source. The shell was totally bare-metalled with steel bubble arches added and finished in Ermine White.

The engine chosen was the 2-litre turbocharged Cosworth YBT which offered 227bhp at 6,250rpm in standard but was capable of much more. A YBT was sourced, totally rebuilt, fitted with a larger turbo and, we understand, now produces 365bhp which is fed through a Cosworth T5 gearbox and via a bespoke prop shaft into a fixed link Atlas LSD rear axle with trailing arms. The car has only covered around 200 miles since the conversion.

The interior is also brand new, the front seats being early RS Twin cam units with head rests, all new door cards and a carpet set. The dash is totally electronic and is set off by a new Mountney steering wheel. Every rubber seal, bush etc. has been replaced meaning that the car is effectively a 'new' Mk 1 Escort, re-imagined for the 2000s.

The car was purchased around eight months ago as a 75% complete project and finished by our fastidious vendor (an experienced restorer and Blue Oval enthusiast) to his very high standards. A glance at the image of the engine bay will confirm the neat engineering and attention to detail