1972 Ford Escort Mexico

The Ford Escort Mexico was introduced in November 1970 and was so named because of Ford Motor Company's victory in the World Cup Rally. This rally started in London on 19th April 1970, and finished some 16,000 miles later in Mexico. Originally Ford intended to use Escorts with the Twin Cam or BDA engine, but after reconnaissance work it was decided that high speeds and high power were less important than reliability and ease of servicing, and therefore the 'Kent' pushrod engine was used in the Escort shell.

It seems likely that Ford already had plans to produce a high performance Escort to fit in the range between the 1300GT and the Twin Cam / RS1600, but their victory in Mexico provided an ideal platform to launch such a model. The engineers at the newly formed A.V.O (Advanced Vehicles Operations) quickly developed the 'Mexico', marrying the Type 49 body-shell as used in the Twin Cam and RS1600 with the 1600cc Kent 'crossflow' engine and 2000E gearbox. So, effectively, the Mexico was basically a re-engined Twin Cam / RS1600.

The Mexico was AVO's most successful and numerous of the 'Rally Sport Escorts,' and it had a number of advantages on the road, in that it had good performance, was easy to maintain, relatively easy to insure and above all it was great to drive, something which is still very true today.

The car presented here is a Ford Escort Mexico, first registered on 1st August 1972. With the correct chassis and engine numbers for a Mexico, this car is now something very special. Looking fabulous in its original colour of Monza Blue (rare in period) it's in quite exceptional condition and must surely be one of the best examples available.

The car's original shell suffered with rust and was beyond economical repair, but luckily the owner at that time managed to source a very rare, new Mk1 Type 49 heavy-duty shell. This complete shell, including doors, boot lid and bonnet had been in dry storage since 1975. There are photographs in the car's history file to support these details. The shell was purchased in 2000 (the original advert is also in the file), and the car was comprehensively re-built. All the original parts from the car were either recommissioned or replaced as necessary and put onto the new shell. All mechanical components were overhauled with the engine being completely re-built. This engine work is supported by invoices, as is much of the overhaul.

The interior has been fully restored and benefits from upgraded Contour sports seats. The car also has some additional, period-relevant upgrades including Bilstein suspension, Cibie spot-lights, twin 40 Webers, a Burton head and RS alloys.

It's obviously impossible to buy a new Mk1 Escort Mexico, but UVW 358L may be as close as you can get. The car has done just 500 miles since its restoration. With completely original cars being very hard to come by, and with most surviving examples having had new panels, some welding and/or some inferior rebuild work, this car represents the perfect solution. It is absolutely ready to go and would be an asset to any collection. These special cars have quite a following, with a strong club scene and this example is sure to be revered and celebrated.