1978 Ford Escort RS2000 MK2 - ex-Bill Gwynne/Hartford Motors

The registration number, HWL 1S, will undoubtedly be familiar to many UK rally fans from the 1980s as it has appeared on many hard-driven Fords over the years. It was originally issued on 1st February 1978 to Hartford Motors in Banbury who affixed it to an RS2000 that they planned to use to do "a bit of rallying". It turned out to be more than a bit as, campaigned by the late Bill Gwynne, it went on to win three Championships - Motoring News, BTRDA and the Welsh. It also won the 1980 Welsh Navigator Championship with Lee Vincent and a 3rd for driver Ian Caddy.

In early 1980, Ian purchased the RS from Hartfords (the original Bill of Sale is in the history file) and enjoyed it throughout 1980 until the gearbox broke, using it the following season in the National Forest and Tarmac Championship. It was not used for a while after an accident and over the years it evolved into a flat-fronted Tarmac car. To quote Ian "It got arches and then a 2.4-litre Millington engine, although I always intended to restore it back to its 1979 condition, so I kept everything we took off the car". In the meantime, the registration number HWL was glued to a couple of other Mk2s but is now back where it belongs ensuring continuous history for this famous plate.

The restoration commenced in 2014 and was carried out by Ian himself and Malcolm Thorne with the engine built by Tobias Adam of T2 Motorsport and based on a sound 2-litre Granada block, big-valve head, Weber 48s, Kent GTS4 cam and much more. We understand that output is now around 200bhp. The gearbox is a straight-cut, CR, Type-E RS2000 with a hydraulic clutch and an RS2000 bellhousing. The rebuild was based around a tidy 1978 shell in white from an automatic car with a genuine steel RS2000 bonnet, steel doors, fibreglass wings, Kevlar boot lid with an RS2000 spoiler, and a fibreglass RS2000 rear bumper.

The car was built to Group 4 Tarmac regulations and the spec sheet/build details run to several pages and are far too long to fit in here, so a copy is available from the car's consignor. Its MSUK Passport has recently been renewed and expires on 01/04/2035, and the whole story can be found in a five-page feature in Classic Ford Magazine from November 2019. (Copy included).

Now looking splendid in Frozen White with period-correct graphics and HWL 1S on its nose, it's no wonder that Ian feels a little nostalgic and admits "I'd sooner the car went to someone who can enjoy it, although I actually hope that no-one rallies it -it's just too nice now".