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Offered here is a stunning Mk2 Escort RS2000 Custom, fitted with its original 2.0 ‘Pinto’ engine mated to the 4 speed gearbox all housed in the original GCAT shell. Fitted with the following equipment from new:
Twin choke Weber carburettor
Cast ‘RS’ exhaust manifold
Bronze tinted glass
Fishnet Recaro Seats (we’ll get to the upholstery later!)
5 dial RS dashboard with oil pressure gauge
Quartz dashboard clock
Carpeted boot
Glovebox
As will be obvious from the photos, whilst still retaining many original features, a number of upgrades have been fitted to make this a more enjoyable and usable car to drive regularly, namely:
Full tan leather with black piping retrim of original fishnet Recaros
GAZ gold shock absorbers with 145lb springs up front (not lowered)
Wilwood 4 pot calipers on front discs
Quick rack and quick shift
Polybushed suspension
Janspeed stainless exhaust which sounds great
Samco coolant hoses (in black to remain subtle)
High performance HT leads
Diamond cut RS wheels with black centres, shod with matching Yokohama tyres
History and Documentation
Reg no: YCR280V
Historic Vehicle on V5 (no MOT/RFL required)
Owners: 8
Mileage: 88300 warranted
HPI: Clear
MOT – December 2020 (no advisories)
Keys: 4 with all locks working from single key
Supplied to Mr F. in November 1979 by Hendy Lennox of Southampton, this car had barely turned wheels before it was very wisely booked in for a “Bodyshield” cavity treatment a week later. We are in possession of the original bill of sale, showing a purchase price of £5900 and also of the Bodyshield certificate carried out at 153miles. Mr F kept the car until 1986, regularly servicing the car as evidenced by the original service book. From 1986 to 2004 it passed through 6 owners (notably one for 2 weeks, clearly a trader who didn’t know how to use the yellow slip!) until it arrived with Mr S in late 2004. It is Mr S (who we are in contact with) that can be credited with the work that presents the car so well today. Clearly, he knew he had a solid example to begin with and the car was restored, upgraded and regularly used with pride. Mr S was the longest owner of ‘YCR’, only selling in 2017 to Mr W, another aficionado of the marque, who continued to look after the car and use it sparingly until a reluctant sale to us.
In addition to the service book and original bill of sale, we have the original handbooks, lots of MOTs and service invoices, notably one for a full engine rebuild to properly upgrade to use unleaded fuel. There is sufficient history for us to be able to warrant the mileage with confidence – this car has never spent much time off the road. Special mention should be made of the online MOT history which shows a remarkably clean bill of health over a sustained period, showing just how well this car has been looked after and also, how sensible Mr F. was to get the car cavity treated 41 years ago.
Mechanical Condition
The car is in superb mechanical condition, as you would rightly expect given many mechanical parts have been upgraded relatively recently. The car starts up well using the original autochoke and settles to a lovely even idle. Notably, we have used the car in this recent heatwave and even in heavy traffic, the car does not get anywhere close to running too hot. The gearbox is an absolute delight, with shot-bolt precision and a mechanical feel that you never tire of. The steering, undoubtably heavy at slow speeds, comes alive when you get going and reminds you what it feels like to actually drive a car. This is not a quick car by modern standards, but the throttle is responsive and the exhaust has that Mk2 noise to die for – it really is a car that has you grinning from ear to ear every time you drive it and confirms that it isn’t necessary to drive at licence losing speeds to have an absolute blast.
Exterior Condition
The paintwork is in outstanding condition and holds a lovely deep shine, all panel gaps and seams are all intact confirming no accident damage – quite amazing for a 41-year-old car on its original chassis. Suffice to say, it is completely structurally solid. The alloy wheels are in fantastic condition no marks and are shod with matching Yokohama tyres all round. Whilst much of the suspension has been upgraded, thankfully the urge to lower the car has been resisted so the original look of the car is largely retained, save for the wheel centres not being coloured in Dove Grey (let’s face it, they look better in black!). There are a number of rare and original components retained, such as fuel filler cap, guttering cappings, bulkhead insulation, matching door/boot/ignition key and original bronze glass to name a few.
We will however stop short of calling this car a concours example – it does not have an underneath that you can eat your dinner off of, and there is the very odd blemish here and there, but you’d have to be particularly fastidious to notice. In summary it’s a beautiful, solid and straight example and you will never take a journey without someone giving you a thumbs up or stopping to talk to you about the car.
Interior Condition
Let’s start with the obvious – no, it doesn’t have the chocolate brown beta cloth upholstery. The original fishnet Recaro seats have instead been retrimmed in tan leather, with the rear seats and door cappings all matching. Better than original? You decide, but one thing is for sure they look amazing against the black exterior and clearly are more hard wearing than the original cloth and save for a couple of wear points on the black piping, they are in fantastic condition. The rest of the interior is in great condition with some custom RS mats covering the carpet which does have a little wear in the drivers footwell. Everything works including the clock and all dash dials – it has to be said the speedo is a little optimistic, on the plus side it has probably covered less than the 88300 recorded miles! The fan motor is a bit noisy but really, this is a fantastic driving environment and one you never tire of getting in to.
Summary
We think this car sits very comfortably in its own niche in the market. It retains many of its original features (notably the shell and engine) which most cars of this type have not, but it has been sensibly upgraded in a number of areas to enhance usability without going mad. It looks amazing, without being so precious that you are scared to use it, or indeed need to take a day off work after driving it to clean the underneath.
We understand that this car will draw a fair bit of attention so if you are seriously interested please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need further photos or information.
