Viewing a MK1 Mexico

[Tracey]

Can anyone tell me what I should be looking out for when viewing a MK1 Escort (Mexico)

 

He says it is genuine AVO Mexico and is type 49, it has the AVO plate under the bonnet, its no.10 on the AVO list, it states Mexico on the v5

 

Any help would be appreciated

[kevmk2]

Dunno, all i know is it will be slow

[Tracey]

Up Yours

[kevmk2]

You know its true, you will drive it and think to yourself, how slow is this But then i guess it can always be cossied

[Tracey]

Stop trying to put me off and do something useful and answer my original question if you can.

 

[Vista]

No time now, thread bookmarked for later

[Savvi]

Have a look at www.rs2.co.uk they have a a "buyers guide" page which should tell you about the Avo type 49 shell vin numbers etc.

 

 

There's loads of differences :

 

Extra support under bonnet top plates,

Gussets under inner wings,

Studs on boot floor on some,

Rear anti tramp bars off the axle.

The shell above the rear window under black head lining has less cut outs for strength.

Hydraulic Clutch, reservoir under bonnet near heater bulge

2000e single rail gearbox

 

Just a few off the top of my head

[morcheen]

stating mexico on the logbook means very little.you used to be able to put that in yourself a few years back.go by all the codes .get an expert to come along with you

[Mk2Jo]

PM Tim on here - he will know

[Tracey]

Vista & Savvi you have pm's

[Vista]

It is important if you're buying a Mexico that it has a genuine type 49 shell, as the car's value will plummet without it. Some will argue that the differences are unimportant, with the exception of the anti tramp bars and one or two bits of stiffening, they're probably right. However, the values that AVO escorts are commanding over and above "standard" ones make it important to know that you're buying the genuine article if you are paying the premium that is so frequently asked for them.

 

There are a number of pointers to look for.

 

You're looking for it being what's called a type 49 shell, but the first places to look are the body and chassis plate, the chassis plate will be left of centre on the slam panel and should start with the letters BFAT, the body plate will be right of centre on the slam panel and will have the letters AVO and the colour on it about 3 lines down.

 

Next look in the boot or under the boot floor, you're looking for at minimum a row of bolts coming through the centre of the boot floor, if it's an early car there may be a stone deflector mounted on these bolts, but don't worry if it's not there as they weren't fitted later on and are hard to get hold of so if it's rotted away it may not have been replaced.

 

 

Then look at the axle, you should have anti tramp bars mounted to brackets on the top of it. These run forward and attach to mounting points at the end of the chassis rails. You can just see the start of them in this shot of mine

 

 

And here they are running forward to the chassis rail (top of the picture)

 

 

And here's a shot of the anti tramp bar mounting bracket that should be on the chassis rail (nearest the camera)

 

 

Inside the car look for evidence that it had a 6 clock dash from new, if the dash mounting panel has been cut to change from a 2 clock dash to a 6 clock one this is sure evidence of a reshell / replica.

 

At the front end the strut tops should have double plates on them and additional stiffening on the inner wings under the arches.

 

 

Hope this helps