Imported cars,

[Rally Pack 2000]

4 hours ago, GrahamU said:

Did they sell the x pack kit from factory as it claims?

 

4 hours ago, Dave Knight said:

No, that’s been added. Not a fan except on the RS cone. 

Ive never heard of Ford South Africa ever fitting an X Pack kit before?

[Dave Knight]

7 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

 

Ive never heard of Ford South Africa ever fitting an X Pack kit before?

Definitely not. Looks to have been a personal choice. 

[The Transplanter]

On 09/12/2023 at 06:03, Rally Pack 2000 said:

 

 

Australian shells were completely assembled in Sydney with a combination of panels from Germany and also pressed locally. Even the doors were made locally to include larger and heaver side intrusion beams to meet harsher safety regulations. Australian even had its own unique front and rear aprons and ingeniously used a unique water absorbing seam sealant on the C Pillars and rear quarters. Could it have been that hard to send a fax to the UK to ask what they used? Hmmmmm

I didnt know that about the doors 👍

Apart from the obvious strengthening pieces, how else did the MK1 shells differ? I have a 75 1.3XL Auto, Yellow with Saddle interior waiting for me to do something with here in the UK 😋

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 14/12/2023 at 06:48, The Transplanter said:

I didnt know that about the doors 👍

Apart from the obvious strengthening pieces, how else did the MK1 shells differ? I have a 75 1.3XL Auto, Yellow with Saddle interior waiting for me to do something with here in the UK 😋

With Mk1s the differences arent so much in the unique features and are pretty closely specced like the British ones, the unique stuff came in the form of locally produced parts for them. In the Erly 70s there were huge tax concessions for locally produced content. Headlights, taillights even indicators were made locally by companies like Hella. Mk1s had Australian made Hella H4 lamps for example. After manufacturing stopped the companies often didn't keep making the spare parts locally so in the case of the headlights Ford would sell non-H4 Lucas replacements which weren't as bright. Even the dash switches were made locally and seem then with a curved form rather than cubed. The switch restorers in Europe get driven crazy by them lol Australia did add extra chrome strips and paint colours to their Twincams but decided not to sell a Mexico equivalent and only imported 25 Mk1 RS2000s for competition purposes. So in 1975 with the Twincam discontinues a couple of years earlier your XL was considered pretty much top of the line at that time.

Most of the visible uniquely designed Australian stuff came with the Mk2s when Ford Australia made some pretty unique changes. Whereas the tax concessions were wound back so it was more prudent for Ford Australia to source the common components like the indicators and tail lights from the UK and Germany and focus on the manufacturing of panels and parts needed for the Australian market like body panels for front and rear.

[Vista Estate]

If you fast forward to now, British cars are always of a lower spec than European equivalents. We pay higher prices too. 

A few of us ordered RHD cars from European dealers when you could do that, drove it back and got a much better car. They only tell tail was if you wanted a vauxhall you got a opel. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

5 hours ago, Vista Estate said:

If you fast forward to now, British cars are always of a lower spec than European equivalents. We pay higher prices too. 

A few of us ordered RHD cars from European dealers when you could do that, drove it back and got a much better car. They only tell tail was if you wanted a vauxhall you got a opel. 

I saw an example of this with our Mk2. Even the L had full high door cards. The narrow Mk1 style ones I often see there were never added to any cars models at all except for Vans

[YellowTaxi]

Dont forget the famous (or Infamous) 4 door RS2000.

That was unique to Australia.

Had they ever been produced and sold in the UK I think the whole thing of 2 door escorts being worth 3 times that of a 4 door would never have happened here.

Also I would have got a hell of a lot more at auction for my 4 door RS2000.😀

[Rally Pack 2000]

5 hours ago, YellowTaxi said:

Dont forget the famous (or Infamous) 4 door RS2000.

That was unique to Australia.

Had they ever been produced and sold in the UK I think the whole thing of 2 door escorts being worth 3 times that of a 4 door would never have happened here.

Also I would have got a hell of a lot more at auction for my 4 door RS2000.😀

Yes there is a subconscious mindset that only two doors are the sports versions. We produced Phase 3 351 GT Falcons in four doors (Considered the fastest 4 Door in the world at that time) so we grew up without that stigma or mindset and given all our shells were strengthened anyways Ford Australia didn't see any reason not to make their sporting Escorts in 4 door form.

I thought your yellow 4 door RS2000 was worth alot more anyways. Was my favourite member car on here till you sold it 😀

[Vista]

On 15/12/2023 at 16:31, YellowTaxi said:

Dont forget the famous (or Infamous) 4 door RS2000.

That was unique to Australia.

Had they ever been produced and sold in the UK I think the whole thing of 2 door escorts being worth 3 times that of a 4 door would never have happened here.

Also I would have got a hell of a lot more at auction for my 4 door RS2000.😀

Not convinced. The sporting Avenger of the period was only available as a 4 door and despite looking great (in my opinion) didn't sell well.

[Johnny Boy]

I'd love a Tiger, did back in the day, but never did. ☹️

[katana]

58 minutes ago, Vista said:

Not convinced. The sporting Avenger of the period was only available as a 4 door and despite looking great (in my opinion) didn't sell well.

And the Dolly Sprint - which did sell moderately well!

 

[Vista]

10 hours ago, katana said:

And the Dolly Sprint - which did sell moderately well!

 

I'd have one of those over a Tiger

[YellowTaxi]

Its is strange, here in the UK, if it has more than 2 doors its a 'family car'. 

BMW still make a 4 door M3 and have done so for a long time. The latest is 550HP but its still a family car in the eyes of us brits. I bet the 2 door outsold it 3 to1 un UK.

We are a strange old bunch.

My 4 door RS2000 drove better than any other Mk2 I have ever had and over the years I have had loads. Yet when I put it into auction despite the best efforts of Silverstone auctions it really never generated much interest. A few years previous I sold a nice Signal Yellow Custom for over 50k in the same auction.!  It was a good car but never drove as good as the 4 Door. 

I miss it a bit to be honest.

I did actually buy it with the full intentions of keeping it in the collection but got bored of everybody saying 'thats not a real R2000'.

It did make it into Steve Saxty's book Secret Fords so I suppose thats something.

[YellowTaxi]

A good friend had a Dolly Sprint back in the day. I had what was then a modern car, a Series 1 RS Turbo. The dolly was never far behind me.

Then again I think by then the fact I owed more than a years wages on the RS Turbo may have tamed my right foot a bit.!

[Farnsbarns]

On 18/12/2023 at 13:28, YellowTaxi said:

Its is strange, here in the UK, if it has more than 2 doors its a 'family car'. 

BMW still make a 4 door M3 and have done so for a long time. The latest is 550HP but its still a family car in the eyes of us brits. I bet the 2 door outsold it 3 to1 un UK.

We are a strange old bunch.

My 4 door RS2000 drove better than any other Mk2 I have ever had and over the years I have had loads. Yet when I put it into auction despite the best efforts of Silverstone auctions it really never generated much interest. A few years previous I sold a nice Signal Yellow Custom for over 50k in the same auction.!  It was a good car but never drove as good as the 4 Door. 

I miss it a bit to be honest.

I did actually buy it with the full intentions of keeping it in the collection but got bored of everybody saying 'thats not a real R2000'.

It did make it into Steve Saxty's book Secret Fords so I suppose thats something.

4 door cars are inherently heavier, weaker and less rigid. I think there's good reason for 2 doors being more desirable in a quick car and I think it's to be expected that there is an impact on value. That said, if someone wants to put kids in the back on the daily then a 4 door might be more desirable for them. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

3 hours ago, Farnsbarns said:

4 door cars are inherently heavier, weaker and less rigid. I think there's good reason for 2 doors being more desirable in a quick car and I think it's to be expected that there is an impact on value. That said, if someone wants to put kids in the back on the daily then a 4 door might be more desirable for them. 

There are so many variables that you cannot really make generalizations about 2 door cars being stronger. It often has to two with was the car designed as a 2 door and adapted to 4 or the other way around which often shows in the final product. In the case of our  Falcon XY 351s they were never offered in two door and they were in their day the fastest 4 door car in the world. In the case of Mk2 Escorts for example Ford Germany conducted torsional rigidity tests and found that the four doors were stronger with the weak points on the two doors being at the thinner B and C pillars and lacking the rigidity of the rear arches on a 4 door. As a fund test when I was younger I help a friend do a report on that for an university engineering assignment and found it to be true. While all Australian shells are strengthened regardless of the number of doors you always feel a difference in handling between them not to mention the doors always sagged in Australian 2 doors. When you add the extra strengthening that Australian shells got over the European Equivalents and with the four door versions being stronger again you can see how @YellowTaxi examples drove better than his other Mk2s.

[Vista]

On 18/12/2023 at 13:28, YellowTaxi said:

Its is strange, here in the UK, if it has more than 2 doors its a 'family car'. 

BMW still make a 4 door M3 and have done so for a long time. The latest is 550HP but its still a family car in the eyes of us brits. I bet the 2 door outsold it 3 to1 un UK.

We are a strange old bunch.

My 4 door RS2000 drove better than any other Mk2 I have ever had and over the years I have had loads. Yet when I put it into auction despite the best efforts of Silverstone auctions it really never generated much interest. A few years previous I sold a nice Signal Yellow Custom for over 50k in the same auction.!  It was a good car but never drove as good as the 4 Door. 

I miss it a bit to be honest.

I did actually buy it with the full intentions of keeping it in the collection but got bored of everybody saying 'thats not a real R2000'.

It did make it into Steve Saxty's book Secret Fords so I suppose thats something.

You forgot to mention all the fuss from RS anoraks over this only being available as a 5 door

[Vista Estate]

And what about Estates and Vans? They are both 2 doors with some added internal strength. It would be interesting to compare @Rally Pack 2000.

[BIG G]

4 door Mk2 escorts are actually more ridged shell wise than the two door due to the B pillar position, I've had both and will vouch for it. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

10 hours ago, Vista Estate said:

And what about Estates and Vans? They are both 2 doors with some added internal strength. It would be interesting to compare @Rally Pack 2000.

We actually never got Estates here so I have never had any way to compare them. I have driven a few vans but never able to directly compare handling as they were always very heavily rear sprung. Ours had 175lb springs at the rear. I tried a set on my sedan once as when your young heavier springs must mean better handling but all they did was skip going round corners they were so harsh. No internet back then but a car magazine advertised a Rally Sport dealer in the UK that would ship internationally. I did the letter thing and got quotes and send a bank daft and ordered a set of original Ford 116lb Single leaf springs and proper Ford fitting blocks and pins. They had to be original Ford items at the time because the rules wouldn't allow for a conversion like that if it was made by anyone else but the cars manufacturer. Had to even go to the airport terminal to collect them only to find out I had to pay extra for tax LOL A huge crate that they put in front of me with a Forklift!  No one here had even seen such a thing before not even within the RS Owners club. But they are still on the car to this day so no regrets at all but when you see how easy it is to order parts these days when it took me months to set up that deal then months to actually get them its quite astonishing how things have changed.

[Vista Estate]

2 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

We actually never got Estates here so I have never had any way to compare them. I have driven a few vans but never able to directly compare handling as they were always very heavily rear sprung. Ours had 175lb springs at the rear. I tried a set on my sedan once as when your young heavier springs must mean better handling but all they did was skip going round corners they were so harsh. No internet back then but a car magazine advertised a Rally Sport dealer in the UK that would ship internationally. I did the letter thing and got quotes and send a bank daft and ordered a set of original Ford 116lb Single leaf springs and proper Ford fitting blocks and pins. They had to be original Ford items at the time because the rules wouldn't allow for a conversion like that if it was made by anyone else but the cars manufacturer. Had to even go to the airport terminal to collect them only to find out I had to pay extra for tax LOL A huge crate that they put in front of me with a Forklift!  No one here had even seen such a thing before not even within the RS Owners club. But they are still on the car to this day so no regrets at all but when you see how easy it is to order parts these days when it took me months to set up that deal then months to actually get them its quite astonishing how things have changed.

Ordering may be easier @Rally Pack 2000 but Brexit and mad customs rules has made shipping from the UK a challenge, but we shall overcome!! 🤣

[Rally Pack 2000]

20 hours ago, Vista Estate said:

Ordering may be easier @Rally Pack 2000 but Brexit and mad customs rules has made shipping from the UK a challenge, but we shall overcome!! 🤣

Yes as you know we both encountered that. Before Brexit I was a customer of Works Escort and they would send me door seals in the past now they had to come through you because they wouldn't ship overseas post Brexit. I understand that the European bureaucracy likes to get petty as a punishment for leaving the block but when its too Australia then its local bureaucracy that's too blame for making things harder for exporting.

[Vista Estate]

5 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

Yes as you know we bother encountered that. Before Brexit I was a customer of Works Escort and they would send me door seals in the past now they had to come through you because they wouldn't ship overseas post Brexit. I understand that the European bureaucracy likes to get petty as a punishment for leaving the block but when its too Australia then its local bureaucracy that's too blame for making things harder for exporting.

We will overcome though!

[Rally Pack 2000]

47 minutes ago, Vista Estate said:

We will overcome though!

Yes without the help from someone inside like yourself there was no way to purchase from them ay longer. I just don't understand why though not being in Europe before or after I dont know what changed its like their lives were made so miserable they simply stopped exporting altogether. Sad but lucky to have forum members help out. Its a godsend!

[Miniliteman]

8 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

Yes as you know we both encountered that. Before Brexit I was a customer of Works Escort and they would send me door seals in the past now they had to come through you because they wouldn't ship overseas post Brexit. I understand that the European bureaucracy likes to get petty as a punishment for leaving the block but when its too Australia then its local bureaucracy that's too blame for making things harder for exporting.

Didn't think anything has changed for people from Australia buying in UK, and for sending parts from UK to Australia. Maybe he just can't be bothered. But he still imports Escorts by the truckload from EU!