Escort Mk 1 - Ford Restorations Club

Ford Escort Mark I (1968–1974)

The Mark I Ford Escort was introduced in the United Kingdom at the end of 1967, making its show debut at Brussels Motor Show in January 1968.[3] It replaced the successful long running Anglia. The car was presented in continental Europe as a product of Ford's European operation. Escort production commenced at Halewood in England during the closing months of 1967, and for left hand drive markets during the autumn/fall of 1968 at the Ford plant in Genk.[4] Initially the continental Escorts differed slightly from the UK built ones under the skin. The front suspension and steering gear were differently configured and the brakes were fitted with dual hydraulic circuits; also the wheels fitted on the Genk-built Escorts had wider rims.[3] At the beginning of 1970, continental European production transferred to a new plant on the edge of Saarlouis, West Germany.

The Escort was a commercial success in many parts of western Europe, but nowhere more than in the UK, where the national best seller of the 1960s, BMC's Austin/Morris 1100 was beginning to show its age while Ford's own Cortina had grown, both in dimension and in price, beyond the market niche at which it had originally been pitched. In June 1974, six years into the car's UK introduction, Ford announced the completion of the two millionth Ford Escort, a milestone hitherto unmatched by any Ford model outside the USA.[5] It was also stated that 60% of the two million Escorts had been built in Britain.[5]

The Escort had conventional rear wheel drive and a four-speed manual gearbox, or 3 speed automatic transmission. The suspension consisted of a simple live axle mounted on leaf springs, but with rack-and-pinion steering. The Mark I featured contemporary styling cues in tune with its time: a subtle Detroit-inspired "Coke bottle" waistline and the "dogbone" shaped front grille — arguably the car's most famous stylistic feature. Similar styling featured in the larger Cortina Mark III (also built in West Germany as the Taunus) that was launched in 1970.

Initially, the Escort was sold as a 2-door saloon (with circular front headlights and rubber flooring) on the "De Luxe" model. The "Super" model featured rectangular headlamps, carpets, a cigar lighter and a water temperature gauge. A 3-door estate was introduced at the end of March 1968 which, with the back seat folded down, provided an impressive 40% increase in maximum load space over the old Anglia 105E estate, according to the manufacturer.[6] The estate featured the same engine options as the saloon, but it also included a larger, 71?2-inch-diameter (190 mm) clutch, stiffer rear springs and in most configurations slightly larger brake drums or discs than the saloon.[6] A panel van appeared in April 1968 and the 4-door saloon (a bodystyle the Anglia was never available in) in 1969.

Underneath the bonnet was the Kent Crossflow engine which did find its way into the North American cousin Ford Pinto. Diesel engines on small family cars were very rare, and the Escort was no exception, initially featuring only petrol engines — in 1.1 L, and 1.3 L versions. A 940 cc engine was also available in some export markets, but few were ever sold.

There was a 1300GT performance version, with a tuned 1.3 L Kent (OHV) engine sporting a Weber carburetor and uprated suspension. This version also featured additional instrumentation with a tachometer, battery charge indicator and oil pressure gauge. The same tuned 1.3 L engine was also used in a variation sold as the Escort Sport, that used the flared front wings from the AVO range of cars, but featured trim from the more basic models. Later on a further "executive" version of the Escort was produced known as the 1300E. This featured the same 13" road wheels and flared wings of the Sport, but was trimmed in an upmarket, for that time, fashion with wood trim on the dashboard and door cappings.
Hannu Mikkola's 1970 World Cup Rally -winning Escort.
Roger Clark's 1972 RAC Rally -winning Escort RS1600.

There was, in the early days of the Escort, a higher performance version for rallies and racing — the Escort Twin Cam, which featured an engine with a Lotus-made eight-valve twin camshaft head fitted to the 1.5 L non-crossflow block, which had a bigger bore than usual to give a capacity of 1,558 cc. This engine had originally been developed for the Lotus Cortina. Production of the Twin Cam, which was originally produced at Halewood, was phased out as the RS1600 was developed.

The Mark I Escorts became very successful as a rally car, and they eventually went on to become one of the most successful rally cars of all time.[7] The Ford works team was practically unbeatable in the late 1960s / early 1970s, and arguably the Escort's greatest victory was in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally being driven by Finnish legend Hannu Mikkola. This gave rise to the famous Escort Mexico (1.6 L "Kent" engined) special edition road versions in honour of the rally car.

In addition to the Mexico, the RS1600 was developed which used a Kent engine block with a 16-valve Cosworth cylinder head. This engine was essentially a detuned Formula 3 engine designated BDA, for Belt Drive A Series. Both the Mexico and RS1600 were built at Ford's Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) facility located at the Aveley Plant in South Essex. As well as higher performance engines and sports suspension, these models featured strengthened bodyshells, making them an ideal model for rallying. Even today Mark I Escorts are still popular in the amateur rally scene. The BDA engine has a distinctive growling which can be heard for quite a distance when the vehicle is being driven hard, such as in competition.

Ford also produced an RS2000 model as a more "civilised" alternative to the somewhat temperamental RS1600, featuring a 2.0 L Pinto (OHC) engine. This also clocked up some rally and racing victories; and pre-empted the hot hatch market as a desirable but affordable performance road car. Like the Mexico and RS1600, this car was produced at the Aveley plant.

The Escort quickly became one of Britain's most popular cars, comfortably outselling the conceptually similar Vauxhall Viva HB launched two years earlier. It was also a success on export markets, though in the larger European markets it tended to be outsold by   the Opel Kadett, its General Motors rival. The car was built in Germany, Britain and in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

Australia

The Mk I was produced by Ford Australia from 1970 to 1975 as a 2 or 4 door saloon and as a 2 door panel van.[8] 1,100 cc and 1,300 cc engines were offered, as was the 1,558 cc twin cam unit.[8], the last being offered only in the Escort Twin Cam model, which was renamed to Escort GT 1600 in late 1971.[9] 67,146 examples of the Mk I were built in Australia,[8] with local sourcing bringing the Australian content of the vehicles to 85%.[10] In 1976 a model similar to the upcoming Mark II was released and is known as a NEW ESCORT. It is distinct from the Mark II in the following outward ways, the petrol tank is mounted on the drivers side rear quarter panel was opposed to being mounted on under the rear number plate in the Mark II. The Mark II grill carries a traditional blue oval Ford badge whereas the New Escort has FORD in block lettering. The New Escort has a two piece tail shaft and the indicators are mounted on the opposite side to most Australian built cars.

Israel

Assembly of the Mk I Escort was undertaken by Automotive Industries in Upper Nazareth, in conjunction with the local distributor, Palestine Automotive Corp. Assembly from UK-sourced kits started in April 1968. The very last Mk I, a light green 1100cc 2 door, was released on November 14, 1975. A total of 14,905 units was assembled in Israel, including 105 Escort 400 Vans.

Specifications/Models

Production    Jan 1968–Nov 1974
Assembly    Halewood Body & Assembly, England
Saarlouis, Germany
Nazareth, Israel
Homebush, Australia
New Zealand
Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho, CKD)[1]
Genk, Belgium[2]
Body style    2-door saloon
4-door saloon
3-door estate
2-door panel van
Engine    

939 cc Straight-4 OHV
1,098 cc Straight-4 OHV
1,298 cc Straight-4 OHV (1300 & GT),
1,558 cc Straight-4 (Twin Cam)
1,994 cc Straight-4 (RS2000)

1100 cc Straight-4 OHV
Wheelbase    94.5 in (2,400 mm)
Length    159.25 in (4,045 mm) (saloon)
160.8 in (4,084 mm) (estate)
Width    61.8 in (1,570 mm)
Height    58.5 in (1,486 mm)
Curb weight    1,690 lb (767 kg)