Mk 1 Escort Mexico, bubble arches, ST 170 engine, 5 speed, 1972 Tax Exempt

1972 Ford Escort Mk 1 Mexico. Olympic Blue 2 pack paintwork with white Mexico side. roof & boot lid stripes. "Mexico" chromed wing & boot badges. pair of front GRP bubble arch wings. high quality. rigid. secure; refitted and painted after front strut tops replaced. rear GRP bubble arch extensions. also secure. seam filled and profiled; lower half of car. doors. inside doors. sills. rear quarters. under & over and around boot lid and under & over bonnet resprayed and in really perfect condition.

Good front grille. centre section black painted. new headlamp bowls and Halogen headlights. set of 4  front spot lamps 8 inch & 9 inch diameter. wired into main beam light circuit. front black painted 1/4 bumpers . matching rear GRP back bumper. new carpets. radio / CD player with pair of Goodmans classic rear parcel shelf speakers. battery in boot with electric fuel pump & pressure regulator. new glass & door seals. electric windscreen washers. 2 speed wipers with self parking. good heater with twin speed fan and rotating screen air nozzles.

Comfortable high back bucket seats on runners. 4 point Securon harnesses. 6  dial dash with 110 mph speedo. mileage recorded 05569 ( unlikely to be correct ). speedo. rev counter. alternator charge and water temp all reading accurately. fuel gauge not connected as tank is a boot mounted alloy 12 gallon unit with sight tube gauge and filler under boot lid.  No headlining fitted but roof panel painted same colour as car and all fixings intact.
No rear seat fitted. but rear fire wall. parcel shelf and floor lined with felt for noise reduction. rear panels in alloy. black vinyl door cards in good condition. outer door handles black painted.     Engine is from a 2004 Focus ST 170 with Variable Valve Timing. The engine was stripped and rebuilt. reconditioned alloy cylinder head. new head gasket & bolts. new cam belt & pulleys. Fueling by 38 mm choke flat slide Mikuni 'bike carbs. ignition and VVT control from programmable Megajolt V4 ignition with TPS input from carbs.   Engine was set up on a Rolling Road and made 175 bhp at 6. 00 rpm; the car starts easily and idles smoothly. driven normally the exhaust note is subdued and the car is docile and easy to handle in traffic. However. under acceleration. the motor develops waves of power as the revs rise and the VVT Inlet cam kicks in. accompanied by a glorious sound track and induction roar. A copy of the Power curve is attached. the bhp figure recorded is measured at the rear wheels. flywheel power is 20 % higher allowing for transmission losses.     The engine conversion uses many quality Retro Ford components; a rear drop baffled sump. alloy water rail with thermostat & fan control. new water pump. new alternator and starter motor. nbsp;alternator mounting kit with idler pulley & adjustable belt. coil pack mounting bracket and blue motorsport plug leads. A lightweight flywheel allows the engine to rev freely. nbsp;while the cable operated clutch is smooth with a good bite point.     The engine mates via an RS 2000 alloy bellhousing to the Type 9 Sierra gearbox. nbsp;which is fitted with a quick shift gear lever. A new balanced propshaft feeds the power to the rear axle which has a 3. 54 diff. for relaxed motorway cruising. together with a new radias arm axle location kit for the bendy sections. The carbs have a compact Pipercross Air filter with quickly removeable domed top.   The braking system incorporates new front vented discs and reconditioned calipers. a new handbrake cable and new rear brake shoes & cylinders.  The twin master cylinders are linked with a biased bar and fed from individual fluid reservoirs. mounted in the engine bay and readily accessible.    Exhaust gases are fed away via a 4-2-1 swept manifold and Ashley exhaust system with single silencer.   The chassis on this car is very good. strong & uncorroded with only a couple of small patches on the floor or sills. The underneath and arches have been sprayed with 3M Schultz. a well known semi flexible underseal.   During the cars' rebuild in 2012. the engine bay was completely stripped out and the front wings removed.  New inner wing tops. drip rails. spring cups & supports were aligned and welded into place. followed by a new front panel. slam panel. front crossmember & radiator mountings and a complete heater plenum.   The engine bay was then prepared. nbsp;primed & resprayed in 2 pack paint.   New AVO strut reinforcement plates were painted & fitted and the struts rehung.   A New radiator with high efficiency core & copper header tank. plus new brake piping and new Silicon cooling system hoses were fitted.   Front suspension checked. roller tops greased. new track control arms and track rod ends fitted. new poly bushes. full width antiroll bar. rear leaf springs checked & OK. refitted with poly bushes. 2 inch lowering blocks. rear adjustable Spax dampers.   The wheels are white JBW - ML 13 inch x 8 inch wide and supplied by Midland Wheels. tyre size is 205 x 60 x 13 all with good tread . There is no matching spare included as the battery and mounting cradle occupy the spare wheel well. but I can offer a steel wheel & tyre which will fit the hubs.     The battery is secured in an alloy cradle in the boot. along with the electric fuel pump & pressure regulator for the fuel supply to the carbs.
A white painted roll cage is shown in some of the photographs. this is currently removed but is a bolt-in item and can be offered with the car.   The car is MOT 'd for 13 months and being manufactured in 1972 is classified as "Historic " and hence exempt from Road Tax.   The car is correctly listed on the V5 as "Escort Mexico" although the engine number has yet been changed and the capacity is still shown as 2100 cc ( Pinto ) but the new owner can advise DVLA and we will issue the necessary documentation.   Any queries telephone 5 days 8am to 5 pm 01244 822244 or e mail graham chestersportscars. co. uk   Please don't make any stupid low offers. the colour and flared arches are beautiful and sexy. the interior and seating very comfortable. the engine. although a modern 16 valve unit . is made by Ford and nowadays is a regular upgrade in these Classic vehicles.  Similar vehicles with Zetec engines but without bubble arches are Advertised for over £ 19. 000. so this car is very competatively priced at £ 15. 50. Also. since the Zetec ST 170 conversion does not involve any cutting of the bulkhead an original engine could be substituted if the new owner wishes.   The running gear is traditional. strong and  reliable and of course. the Mk 1 cars.  in particular the Mexico. will continue to increase in value year on year.   Collection within 5 days. nbsp; 10 % to be paid immediately and balance either in Cash. Bank Draft  or Credit Transfer.   The car is advertised elsewhere and we reserve the right to end the Sale earlier.

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