Ford Escort mk3 body on a mk1 chassis?

[cjhillman]

Heres in an interesting one. I noticed this RWD Escort mk3 rally car on Flicker. I assumed it was a Gartec but it looks like its actually a mk1 with a mk3 body!?
I'm guessing it was done years ago as you'd be mad to have done it in the last 20 years? 

Anyone have anymore info?

[SmokeEm]

Sounds rather dodgy to me - Like he had a Mk1 and decided to put the plates and identity onto this

[cjhillman]

I guess if it was an early mk3 pov spec say in the late 80s/early 90s and a 1968 Escort at that time... both might be the easiest way to make a RWD Mk3 Escort... but why wouldnt you buy a mk2 then for £50?

[Nathan]

However odd it sounds the car has no MOT, also is probably just used for rally events. If kept this way it is not harming the general public by being a rather "Cut and Shut" affair, but also saying that, for it so be doing what it is in the shot would mean the shell is strong and been built to a good standard.

[composimmonite]

Converting MKIII's to RWD used to be quite common. There were kits available of all the parts required and sold via magazines like "Car and Car Conversions".

[cjhillman]

true i guess it wouldnt need an MOT for stages... but it must have had one to expire last year. As a mk3 owner myself i'd love a rear wheel drive one and i bet it would handle better being a mk1 underneath.

[fordperv]

There was also a conversion kit called Genesis composimmonite is talking about the same kit I presume, it came with everything you needed to convert your mk3 shell to rwd, so it basically was smash your mk1 or 2 escort up on a stage. Get a mk3 service shell use the Genesis kit, use the wrecks running gear, happy days

[looking]

There was a MK3 on MK2 chassis on ebay last year, ex works car, road legal, made back in the day.

[1900sr]

I think cars like this are the ones the DVLA is going after with the letters that went out a few months ago. By being a "1968" Escort it is tax exempt, which of course as a Mk3 it wouldn't be. It also contravenes the 8 points scheme for avoiding IVA.

[craig1010cc]

If i remember right (based on what i think I read in ccc years ago) ford produced a number of motor sport shells specifically to reshell bent/rusty mk1 rally cars so that their new car could take on the stages and be competitive but cheap.

[rustempire]

Looks all kinds of cool in the pictures.

I'd love to see that go up the hill at RRG next year.

Rob

[Ryannn]

Probably just a case of rally body swapping.

The photo below is a BL Works rally car, (the story is either of this or another H plate car) it's far too early on a H plate to be a clubman. It's the result of a cooper being involved in a smash on stage and then being rebuilt into a new shell. New shells at the time were Clubman shape and BL were pushing them, this is what was created!

[120y]

Clubman was introduced in 69 on an H plate along with the 1275GT mini

[Ryannn]

Oct 8, 2015 18:41:40 GMT 120y said:

Clubman was introduced in 69 on an H plate along with the 1275GT mini

Yeah I know that, I'm in the process of trying to find a link to the exact car. It's been magazine featured.

[bortaf]

Oct 8, 2015 15:46:53 GMT craig1010cc said:

If i remember right (based on what i think I read in ccc years ago) ford produced a number of motor sport shells specifically to reshell bent/rusty mk1 rally cars so that their new car could take on the stages and be competitive but cheap.

The only factory RWD Mk3 were for the still born RS1700T AFAIK? Ford only built 18 or 19 shells, most were "used up" in crash testing lol
As said above genisis did kits to convert a FWD drive shell to RWD so if you used a new service shell you could keep the origional reg leagaly (well legalish) Gartrac also sold compleated shells/conversions.

[igor]

If you look closely you will notice that the doors on that Clubman have sliding windows. That dates it to no later than about 1970, the doors being the same as the Mk2 Mini. We never got Clubmans (Clubmen?) with sliding windows here in New Zealand to my knowledge. The earliest ones I've seen here have concealed hinges and wind-up windows making them concurrent with the Mk3 Mini. I like the Clubman's longer front myself for the extra room in the engine bay which makes them less difficult to work on.

[Rich G]

Oct 7, 2015 19:30:45 GMT 1900sr said:

I think cars like this are the ones the DVLA is going after with the letters that went out a few months ago. By being a "1968" Escort it is tax exempt, which of course as a Mk3 it wouldn't be. It also contravenes the 8 points scheme for avoiding IVA.

If it was built before 1998 (i.e. before the SVA/BIVA era) then it's quite possible that the LVLO would have given it the age related plate.

[ferny]

30 seconds on Google suggests its used for rallying often and when done so entered as a Mk3.

[jiminwatford]

Oct 8, 2015 20:30:20 GMT igor said:

We never got Clubmans (Clubmen?) with sliding windows here in New Zealand

All clubmans had wind-up windows, this has sliding ones to save weight

[1900sr]

Oct 9, 2015 22:30:16 GMT Rich G said:

Oct 7, 2015 19:30:45 GMT 1900sr said:

I think cars like this are the ones the DVLA is going after with the letters that went out a few months ago. By being a "1968" Escort it is tax exempt, which of course as a Mk3 it wouldn't be. It also contravenes the 8 points scheme for avoiding IVA.

If it was built before 1998 (i.e. before the SVA/BIVA era) then it's quite possible that the LVLO would have given it the age related plate.

You may well be right. I couldn't attend the recent event DVLA held in Swansea for car club representatives to explain what they were doing, but have read in the classic press that they are trying to correct mistakes made by local offices, or words to that effect.

I don't know if anyone here did attend the meeting and could give any feedback on it?

With regards to the Mini, there is a Cooper near me that was reshelled into a Clubman shell in the early 70s. I'm guessing that as it was done using a brand new shell that would be fine even under current rules, as (I may be wrong here, not totally up on Minis) the only differences are in the bolt on panels, not the monocoque.