Mk1 Rs1300

[wombat]

Now I have heard 1 of these beasts escaped to OZ in the '70's, is this true? If so, where did it end up and who raced it?

[Aaron P.]

WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THIS ONE....spec etc & some pics

[wombat]

A mate has been on the trail for about 3 years and nothing but rumours over here, so he has asked me to find out for him. And a lot of others I guess..

[Mexicomark]

Classic Ford magazine did a feature on them.
Vince Woodman drove one in the UK.

When I get time I'll see if I can find the feature.

[wombat]

thanks Mark, I'll dig that issue out for a read.

[lee bishop]

When I get time I'll see if I can find one at the back of my shed

[wombat]

why does that not surprise me Mark..After all you did find the 4 door MK1 Mexico didn't you? And that wasn't supposed to exist!

[KL]

Robson's article gave an entirely wrong impression about the 1300 BDH (or was it J - I always mix up the two) and implied all engines disappeared. He also made no mention of 1300BD rally engines. Mike Jackson, for example, used one to win the 1300 class of the Britsh Open Rally Championship.
It also gets complicated by the 1000cc BD car Vince Woodman briefly drove in the BSCC - that was a works reg TC, then a 1000BD, then a 1300BD.
The only homologated Escort race car Woodman actually owned at any time was the ex-Mann car XOO349F - and we know where that is. I saw him drive a 1300BD at Castle Combe in summer 73, alongside a similar looking (Esso colours) big engined car (Roger Albert did a demonstration in LVX942J that day and blew the engine...).
You probably also need to look at the ex-Broadspeed non-BD 1300s that may have got a 1300BD later - we had a thread about one of those in Denmark. If one was in OZ, I would have thought the extensive race knowledge base there would know of it.

[wombat]

I've tried. We have our RSOC Concourse in a few weeks, so I'll ask then.

[Aaron P.]

so any pics of the cars then? mexicomark i know has a load of pics but his computer went tits up

[KL]

Perhaps we should also make it clear that there was no "RS1300" as such, although I think Woodman's car was so-stickered at one time. The cars with 1300BDs were Escort GTs with the Group2-homologated "optional" BD head. (the fact that it required different timing bits etc was conveniently glossed over, like so much else, in the papers).
All photos I have seen would be copyright - and there's nothing to see externally.
One source that has some info on 1000 and 1300BD Escorts is the book on the Bevan Imps (the car the 1000BD Escort was intended to take points off in the BSCC but 1000cc in an Escort shell proved too lacking in torque for its weight).
An equally interesting story is how the BDA eventually became homologated at 1598 instead of the original 1601. I understand how it did initially as an Escort Sport with optional head but not how it remained homologated, run by people like Peter Fear, to the very end.

[wombat]

Aaron, the Concourse is on the 16th November. BUT I have some pics I'll post in the picture gallery of past years for you all.

[pockets]

i think i know where theres a bdh, it was bought by a guy i know from ebay. he put it in his starlet rally car for a stage or 2. as far as i know hes still got it.

[Aaron P.]

pretty rare engine...would love to see that motor...

[Dave1800BDA]

pretty rare engine...would love to see that motor...

think there were quite a few built aaron, used for hill climb cars and in the US, atlantic cars were running methanol i believe,