Craig’s Cars

1971 Ford Escort

With 36 horsepower the Volkswagen was fun, but not exactly exciting. In 1985 I picked up an Escort that had been partially prepared for rally racing. The 1300 engine had been replaced with a 2-litre overhead cam Cortina unit running a 3/4 race cam, twin double-barreled 40mm Dellorto carbies, and extractors. It had Capri struts up front and extra leaf springs in the back. The low-ratio 1300 differential was left in place.
I lined it up against a hot 4-litre Torana and a 5-litre Statesman on a couple of occasions, and easily out-accelerated them. It was a very quick little car.

Previous | Home | Next