RS1600

[Vista]

Here's a few photos of my friends original and mint RS1600, they're very rare and the engines are hugely expensive to repair and have a reputation for being troublesome. In works spec they would put out around 240bhp but in road going trim were a more normal 120bhp.

 

Very expensive to buy now but my friend was lucky enough to buy this one for £5k before the prices took off!

 

Not all had bubble arches, though I believe these were a factory option rather than a dealer option. It was possible through the Special Build Order program that existed at the AVO plant to get yourself a full works spec car from the manufacturer, you just needed very deep pockets!

 

 

 

 

 

[daytona]

Also... The RS1600 in standard form is identical in spec to the Mexico apart from engine and gearbox.

[Guest MK1gaz]

I sold my rs1600 mk1 in 1990 for £3000 . Even then a standardish spec engne rebuild was £5000 , the heads are always cracked across the valve seats and that's were alot of cash will vanish . Loverly looking + sounding engines these , i wish i still had mine but i didn't want a standard RS . ( modifing a proper rs1600 is a hanging offence )

[105Nick]

Basically by 1970 the Escort Twin Cam had reasched the end of the line -

the Mk3 Cortina complete with Pinto was replacing the Mk2 Cortina, so Lotus would not be building any more Twin Cam engines based on the old cortina, and the stakes in motorsport were rising as more competitive cars were turning up, so ford realised they needed something a bit quicker and asked Cosworth to come up with a 16-valve rally unit which was a further development of the FVA racing engine. Obviously to homologate the new engine they had to fit it to road cars and the BDA was detuned for these, in fact from what I've read on road cars it offered little extra performance over the Lotus as it had a limiter fitted. Initially for the first few years it shared the basic shell with the old Twin Cam and Mexico, more the Twink as it had the polka dot seats, Lotus steels and it was only a few years later thast you could order one in any colour other than white. At its launch an RS 1600 cost £1477 inc tax, and topped out at 116mph, with 0-60 at 9.6seconds the Mexico cost £1150 and did 100mph and 0-60 in 10.5 according to the old road tests I have.

Obviously the RS was very tempremental in compaarison with the RS and there were only 60 dealers in Britain who would service it.

I've just been reading the performance portfolio for RS escorts and the road testers at the time thought they were immense fun but scomplained of the engine being noisey, the seats which were mostly replaced with buckets and the harsh ride of the RS, and the 25-30mpg consumption and having to rev it round town. I think they kind of missed the point as it was just built as a homologation car, which were mostly used by clubmen. They had a lot more praise for the Mexico and even more for the RS2000 which equalled performance, was more refined and more comfortable and sutied road use more.

[Alan G]

So were the arches a factory option or were they put on by the owner?I'm just curious....

 

I'd presume they were added by the owner... but is it a genuine RS1600? I mean, you can buy RS1600 badges from rally design??

[Arched Escy]

The pic I posted is of a genuine RS1600.

www.kiltoomclassics.com

[105Nick]

The arches wouold have been fitted either by the cars owner at a later date which is more likely, the cars were expensive at the time and you' only fit bubbbles really if you were planning on throwi9ng iot down a gravel track, which is what most of the factory bubbled cars suffered and didnt survive.

[Vista]

The arches wouold have been fitted either by the cars owner at a later date which is more likely, the cars were expensive at the time and you' only fit bubbbles really if you were planning on throwi9ng iot down a gravel track, which is what most of the factory bubbled cars suffered and didnt survive.

 

Not at all, bubble arches were a factory order option. As I said earlier you could order yourself a full works spec car via the AVO special build order program. Many mex's came from the factory with bubble arches and it was an option on the RS16's too.

 

If they're fibre glass they've definitely been added afterwards, but if they're steel it's quite possible it had them from new as arch extensions were one of the SBO options.