Hi All
Have just bought a 96 Escort mexico and would be interested to hear peoples opinions on it and if anyone has owned one?
Know the history of the car and that it has been looked after, has 80k on the clock and want to know if there is anything I should look out for?
Cheers
Paul
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Paul
Iam afraid your car is a travesty of the Escort Mexico name. Its brown, isn't it, and not remotely sporty. Certainly wouldn't fancy rally driving it to Mexico anyway.
I am sure it will serve you well though if you look after it;)
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Sorry Paul, I have to agree - Its a badge engineered escort of the time when the escort was very poor car indeed.
Specially when I look back to droop snoot Rs2000s in blue and white.... < drool > and the original real escort mexico < slobber >
www.turbocharger.co.uk/rs-mk1-mexico.html
www.turbocharger.co.uk/rs2000-mk2.html
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Yep, have to agree with RF there. Give me a MK2 mexico with flat front, qtr bumpers & in yellow over a 90's fake one anyday.
90's Mexicos & RS 2000s are like some remade films, you just can't beat the original.
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Ah yes....memories.
The original Mexico,with either a crossflow,or pinto engine.
How good they used to sound when on form.
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The only proper one is the 1.6 Kent (?) pushrod engine circa 1969 - 1973/4. I think they were built only at Dunton in Essex. I bought mine at 100,000 miles in 1977. It was Daytona Yellow with 3 black coachline stripes, quarter bumbers, wide (165) tyres etc. and only Ford RS dealers were supposed to service them. Mine was K reg. (1972?) The car was supposed to be a replica (not really) of the Roger Clark era Mexico World Cup Rally win in about 1968. Ford started spoiling them from around 1973 with wooden dashboards and the like.
Anyone remember the later 1300cc copy. Can't remember what they called it. It was often in metallic purple with a vinyl roof.
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Re-think.
The World Cup must have been summer 1970, so I guess the Ford Escort Mexico started its life in 70/71. I think the Ford performance offshoot AVO (Advanced Vehicle Operations) made them - it's where the Capri RS3100 came from too.
Goodness, I feel just so old!
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Anyone remember the later 1300cc copy. Can't remember what they called it. It was often in metallic purple with a vinyl roof.
1300E, not a copy of a Mexico rather a plusher 1300GT, my dad had a '69 1300GT, nice car.
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"Anyone remember the later 1300cc copy. Can't remember what they called it. It was often in metallic purple with a vinyl roof."
That was a 1300E and their was a Harrier which was a Mk2 with standard 1600 rather than GT spec.
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>>How good they used to sound when on form.
Bit of a pain keeping that way when thrashed, as most were!
--
Steve
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Don't listen to them Paul - The Mk7 Escorts were okay. Watch for rust on the sills and rear arches though.
The zetec engine has plenty of potential for tuning - Get yourself a copy of Fast Ford.
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Of course,when I were a lad,proper cars were driven by the rear wheels,not these modern day contraptions......
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On a slightly different note......
I have a book somewhere,that is a Cortina and Escort restoration guide,and in it,there is a comprehensive list of all the specs of the early models,including drivetrain,trim,engine and other configurations.
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So was the original mexico a true drivers car?
Have not had the chance to drive one, only recently found out about the earlier model.
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Paul
The original Mk1 Escort was a joy. Front engined, rear wheel drive. Uncomplicated Lovely steering, fabulous gearbox, and it handled like you wanted it too. Being rear wheel drive and fairly short you could make it drift, tail slide, anything.
It very very quickly became a rallying favourite right from the start and won Ford a lot of WRC titles
The original engines were a bit wheezy, but very easily tunable with lots of performance parts.
Mk2's were bigger but still RWD so they became an instant favourite too.
When it moved to FWD it lost the balance, and quickly became a no hoper in motorsport (tho a lot of people put mk1 and mk2 power trains on later escort body shells)
Of course the Audi Quattro changed the face of rallying forever
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I have owned a few rwd Escorts in my time,and can honestly say,they are the cars I've had the most fun in.Even used to road rally a MK2 1.3Ghia,with a 1.6 engine in,and the original 1.3 gearbox.Could acclerate like a rocket,but the top end was not very good,although it would hit 90.
I still have in my posession,2 seperate videos of the MK1 and the MK2 Escorts,in race/rally guise,and although the footage looks ancient,they still bring a smile to my face.
On the subject of the Audi,well,a friend of mine is a service manager of an Audi dealership,and he has built,and rallies,a total replica Audi Quattro,with blistering performance,and it is a stunning piece of machinery.
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As has been said here Paul, the final generation Escort wasn't really that bad, it was quite a competent car in many ways for it's day really. I think some people may be confusing it with the dreadful 1990 - 1995 model ranges which were pretty nasty in many ways!
I would check when the cambelt was last done, as that will be due very soon if not already. Fortunately the 1.6 Zetec engine has a good reputation for cambelt reliability so it shouldn't cause you too many problems if changed on time, and make sure the tensioners are changed too!
As for what to watch out for, I would check out the Car-By-Car breakdown on the left of the site, it gives a good listing for most cars on the road. One thing to note, don't worry too much about what you read there though, it lists just about every known fault with the car and it makes just about every car sound like a clapped out heap because of it! It's unlikely that you will have to deal with all the problems listed.
Hope you enjoy owning it anyway, my aunt ran one just like it for a couple of years without any grief whatsoever and she was really fond of it.
Blue
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The Factory where the AVO Escorts were assembled at South Ockendon (Aveley) Essex is not to far from where i live. It's in the process of being demolished as we speak to make way for a housing estate,
A sad time indeed.
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