A rarity in the UK

[Dave Knight]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/236130285700?_skw=ford+escort&itmmeta=01JWP9THZFVQR0X88JT0ARV1V8&hash=item36fa763884:g:rJIAAOSwjLZoPCwy&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dfOBV6Fb9pwumvhZltlGBTAgFbYVPvS%2BbED%2Bxi%2Fp1ls93GDkRMRr8kB%2BPT%2BsPRmafYPLUzpVYgRtK8AC4Wfyg58owQf85c29dFEoT3eAtyHSKnfurRs2I7BG%2BjuisHMUcfHOgZ52cnqXxWY9ltQfgV05g9aqKYvyqYuGKVMjuXDRjmXRfjdOxVIcnYGwsbYkGtjHmtaBfqVK0A3FwCwiiNsGxMkYwQNnXHk2gkY8JkeTVKPDS6tVAXCfP5F0dhcGDTj12vpzskhwKq6xxovrpUBozuS0YQ6MTfvDw0NzrCjg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR46g6snlZQ
 

@Rally Pack 2000

[Rally Pack 2000]

Yay go 4 doors! She needs a bit of work though, Interior trashed as usual with age and elements. Only @anglia58 will be able to find trims for that one! Still has its big tank which is good to see but for some reason UK buyers always replace them with the traditional smaller side tank. But its not all original as it may appear. That air filter assembly in certainly from an Australian Escort but not an RS2000. Later 2lt Engined Escorts had metal air filter assemblies. That one is off a 1977 or 78 Car. Am I officially an anorak for spotting that? 🤔

[Dave Knight]

Excellent James, I knew you’d be a long to rip it to pieces 🤣 I never knew about the petrol filler cap, very 1970’s Zodiac and Zepher set-up. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 02/06/2025 at 04:31, Dave Knight said:

Excellent James, I knew you’d be a long to rip it to pieces 🤣 I never knew about the petrol filler cap, very 1970’s Zodiac and Zepher set-up. 

It was more a way to add a bigger tank and the best place was under the boot floor with the filler behind the number plate that folds down. Benefits are that its longer range of course but also lowers the centre of gravity and also centres the weight as well (not all in one wing). It creates a very large boot space and the tank itself prevents the boot floor from rusting out. The strange part is that Ford Australia had to make its own rear panels to allow it but they didn’t bother to make solid right hand rear guards to remove the fuel filler hole. They just got the panels from the UK and Germany still so they simply made a plug for the hole! Escorts made from 1977 onwards with the large tank got this plug and they added a little decal to go across the middle that you can still buy on Ebay. Rally Packs however didn’t get the decal in their plugs because it already had Escort written in big letters in its side strips so it would have looked sill with big Escort and Little Escort written on the right side. RS2000s though got the decal

[Dave Knight]

Ah, so the tanks underslung similar to the estate. Loving the decal design. 
 

How many are left in upside down land then on the road? 

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 04/06/2025 at 06:43, Dave Knight said:

Ah, so the tanks underslung similar to the estate. Loving the decal design. 
 

How many are left in upside down land then on the road? 

How many Escorts in total or something specific?

[Dave Knight]

Yes, I’m interested to see how it stacks against what’s left over here. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 07/06/2025 at 05:08, Dave Knight said:

Yes, I’m interested to see how it stacks against what’s left over here. 

Its virtually impossible to say for sure. You used to see Escorts, Rotaries and Holden Gemini's in equal numbers but slowly there has been a decline in Escorts and Geminis appearing at events with Escorts being the least seen nowadays. Interestingly is that the RS factor seems to have saved them more. I see more RS2000s than any other Escort at shows and events and Escort enthusiasts I speak too. Apart from one Twincam owner all the local Escort owner friends I have are all with RS2000s. So the RS logo seems to be an incentive to preserve them over all other models. All the Mk1s I see now very few have original engines in them often V8s. I have heard a figure bandied about regarding Twincam numbers. Its said there were about 80 left in the UK and about 120 here making a worldwide total of around 200. That was over a decade ago though so some may have died and even more resurrected since then.