Ford Escort was once the farmer's favourite
The first generation, the Mark I Escort, was introduced in Ireland at the end of 1967.
A music buddy of mine has spent the last two years restoring an old Ford Escort. He discovered it in a field shed when he was mowing a meadow for his cousin. His attempts to secure ownership of the old heap of scrap were eventually successful. God knows how many generations of mice had enjoyed a childhood in its old seats, but the car, a 1977 vintage, had been well enough preserved to justify restoration.
The Escort, described as a small family car, was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000. The Escort was frequently the best-selling car in Ireland during the 1980s and 1990s. More than 4.5 million Escorts of all generations were sold in Britain and Ireland over this period.
The first generation, the Mark I Escort, was introduced in Ireland at the end of 1967. It replaced the successful, long-running angular Anglia. Ford’s advertising campaign at the time boldly stated, Its replacement soon became a great favourite with families and young professionals alike. Its sleek, modern appearance was a move away from the chunky cars of the '50s and '60s. The Escort came with higher notions and real promise of adventure.
My own first experience of being in the new Escort was through a local GAA clubman who used to give me lifts to underage football matches. I can still remember that new-car smell. The car was a chocolate brown colour and, having no car ourselves, it seemed to be the most fantastic thing I had ever been in.
My second introduction to an Escort was through the kindness of a teacher who would pick me up on my way to school most mornings. She taught in a different local school but our times matched. I was the youngest of seven and the days had come when I walked to school alone. The lift was very welcome and the thing I remember most was the interior smell. Maybe it was the new car smell or maybe it was the teacher’s powder or perfume but it all made for quite an exotic early-morning experience as we sped along in her navy-blue Escort.
A few years later, these new cars were traded in and the used models became a firm favourite with the farming fraternity. The car was sturdy enough for country living and many a man shortened his day by simply popping his few cans of milk into the Escort’s open boot and then driving to the local creamery, allowing him to get back home in time for his second breakfast.
Back then, Fords didn’t always perform well in the moist Irish climate and the Escort maintained that dubious claim to fame. They showed a weakness in such damp conditions; having a distributor cap that wasn’t always able to form the essential barrier between the moist conditions outside and the dry spark inside. And so, as the days got wetter and the Escort got on in years, morning trips to the creamery became evermore unpredictable.
Sometimes, an unfortunate farmer could be left stranded when his distributor would fail to distribute! Should this happen at the creamery, a crowd would soon gather. The local curate, fellow farmers and the local part-time mechanic would stand around and speculate on the cause of death. The curate was of the opinion that, with God’s help, all would eventually be well again. The other milk suppliers made amateurish pronouncements suggesting the malfunction was due to some faulty part; possibly the solenoid or the Bendix (whatever that was). One man even suggested that the speaker might be the cause of the problem.
The part-time mechanic was last to speak and was cute enough not to make any premature public diagnosis until he had time to complete a post-mortem.
“She needs to be completely stripped down. For a man to get a right look at her, she might even need to have her f***in head taken off.”
At this suggestion, the red-faced curate shuffled off. The remaining bystanders felt they could do no more but one did offer the stranded man a lift home. The mechanic towed the car to his place and a week later delivered it back to its owner saying.
“It was the f***in distributor the whole time.”
The repair bill came to £15.
While my own first car was a Mini, my second was a Mark II Escort. I bought it second-hand in early 1985. Needless to say, it was a luxurious advance on the humble Mini. It was a rich cream colour with matching brown leatherette roof trim. The car ran like a dream; it was smooth and stylish. My abiding memories of it relate to our honeymoon trip to Scotland later that year. En route to the ferry in Larne, we stayed, in our innocence, in the Europa Hotel in Belfast. The hotel has since gone down in history as the most bombed hotel on earth.
When we awoke in the morning, we saw from our bedroom window, that the British Army was checking out our Wicklow-registered Escort in the hotel car park. After a hurried breakfast, we headed for Larne. We were about a mile out of town when we were stopped at an impromptu roadblock by the army. As I stood on the roadside, watching a soldier going through our private honeymoon things, I was given some idea of what life was like for Northern Catholics during the Troubles. At one stage, I saw a pair of eyes in a camouflaged head peering at me from the base of a whitethorn hedge. Boy, was I glad there was no dampness in my distributor that morning, as I shakily turned the key and headed for Larne.
In less damp climates, the Escort became very successful as a sports car and eventually went on to become one of the most successful rally cars of all time. Ford beat all-comers in the late '60s and early '70s, with the Escort's greatest victory coming in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally.
The Escort was issued in several generations, right up to the Mark V, when the car was eventually phased out in 2000. It was to be the Escort Mark II, however, that was to prove the most enduring version. It made its home in motorsport, particularly rallying. Even today, the Mark II is the most popular car in every rally. Their engines are a far cry from the original road cars. These cars are now fitted with state-of-the-art high-powered engines that can compete in their various classes. The appeal of the Mark II in rallying is its rear-wheel drive, allowing the car to drift as it corners and achieve massive speeds on the straight. Their distinctive scream and smell are a joy to those fans who still follow the Mark II Escort.
But back to the restoration project. My buddy has worked, on and off, on his project with great diligence and care for the past countless months and the old Escort is now, once again, ready for the road. It is fully kitted out in new panels and spare parts that, amazingly, are still available. One can still get parts for the old Escort as easily as ever; a carburetor from Chile or a muffler from Moldova.
This newly-restored car will never rally but it will enjoy a new life in the foothills of the Ox Mountains. Maybe, on a Sunday, it will cruise along the quiet roads around Coolaney and Aclare where it will once again enjoy the feeling of being able to turn heads.
