1972 Ford Escort Mk1 Competition Car

On offer here is a right-hand drive Mk1 Ford Escort that was campaigned in the historic racing scene in Australia for most of its life. It offers a variety of options as either a club racer as is, a fast road car being UK-road registered, a potential candidate to rally, or a good basis to upgrade to FIA 'Group 2'.

We’re informed that the car was built for racing by Mike Van Den Rydt around a clean all-steel bodyshell that came originally from a 1970 1,600cc car. It was fitted with a 1,975cc, alloy-blocked, wet-sump BDG but had to be re-sleeved to 1,600cc to meet the local Touring Car regulations in Australia.

The car arrived in the UK around the time of lockdown and the BDG engine currently remains at 1,600cc, fuelled by twin side-draught Webers, exhausted through a Tony Law Manifold and mated to a 4-speed Rocket box. The specification is impressive and includes:

• Alloy radiator and alloy FIA-compliant catch tank
• Atlas axle on leaf springs with LSD
• Turrets and floor boxes in place to accept the 4/6 link suspension
• World Cup Crossmember.
• AP Front calipers (2316)
• Leda adjustable shocks
• Adjustable brake bias pedal box
• Full roll-cage
• 2 x Sparco Evo Plus Racing seats
• Alloy foam-filled fuel tank with regulator and electric fuel pump
• Boot-mounted battery

In 2025, our vendor, a UK-based Historic racer of some repute, UK-registered the car with a V5C (LGH 423K), fully rebuilt the front suspension with a new genuine RS1600 rack with alloy mounts and a Twin-Cam roll bar (a new performance roll bar from MST is also included), completely stripped out and refurbished the interior including taking the floors back to bare metal, resprayed the roll-cage and refurbished the dashboard and fitted a new, plumbed-in FIA fire system (Lifeline) which is obviously in date. 

The car is now reported to be scrutineering compliant and the owner has recently fitted an outside ignition pull, new plumbed-in fire system, Willans driver belts (in date until end of 2026), transponder wiring and a rear rain light and understand that it's now fully scrutineering compliant. As with any competition car, it’s important to check the currency and suitability of the safety equipment to ensure it’s appropriate for whatever level of motorsport the car’s next owner has in mind.

We understand that it would be possible to take the engine back to 1,975cc if 'Group 2' was the new owner’s ambition but if that is not the case, then the little Escort would fit well into UK Club racing or even rallying with the added bonus of being UK-registered. Being Australian, it still has its original floors and sills, metal bubble arches and great panel gaps.

This is a rare opportunity offering a variety of exciting options for bidders and we invite and encourage your viewing of this delightful Mk1 at the Silverstone Festival.