Escort Mk1 V8 EA2103 information required

[Phranc]

Thanks to Neville Nash (very helpful) I understand why and how the front suspension was swapped from Triumph to Escort Group 4.
Neville was very helpful and pleasant to deal with – thanks to ecorthvn for the information.
Thanks to Martin Smith for the images
The Max Irwin car is as I remembered it – don’t recall the black turbo car though.
(it would have had the Triumph front end when those photos were shot)

[Phranc]

Possibly incorrect about this but the Mazda had a GAA V6 Cosworth 4 valve motor and an X Trac system designed for rally cross
Had a feeling there was a Capri body shell involved at some point – this car was a space frame?

[David McKinney]

Assume this is the same car
Abridged from

http://www.heroncars.co.nz/template....les_rossbaker1

FIRST ROVER V8 ESCORT
On one of our trips to Perth to see Bev's family I bought a Rover V8 motor for $250-00 and shipped it back to Rotorua in parts. I thought I could fool the custom's man into believing it was only parts, but he was no fool, I ended up paying full duty but still it was a very cheap motor. I then bought a written off Mk1 Ford Escort and cut the damaged front off it and built a subframe from the bulkhead forward to fit the Rover motor, five speed Fiat gearbox and front suspension from, you guessed it, a Triumph Vitesse.
The Escort was a beautiful little car painted in black. Bev drove it to work during the week and I hill climbed it or raced it at the weekend. I remember when working at Bob's farm after my accident which was on the way home to Parkcliff road, we used to hear Bev approaching. As she got closer to the gate the revs would drop off and then once a couple of hundred yards past the gate it would be full on again. She didn't realise we could hear the exhaust as she went past. I reluctantly sold this car after my jet boat accident. Graham Barker bought it and fitted a turbo charged Leyland P76 before righting it off in a hill climb. A very sad end to a beautiful little car.

Must admit when reference was made to this being ex-Huxford, I was surprised. When did Ross Baker ever compete with a car he hadn't built himself?

[seaqnmac27]

Came across this in the 22/6/81 MotorAction

[seaqnmac27]

Ok thats not come through as well as I had hoped.

Reads

P76 V8 Escort. Built professionally Jan 80. This vehicle in the right hands could easily be a BDA beater. It is also a fast, civilised road car. Genuine reason for sale.
Engine: Built in Australia. P76 alloy V8. Strengthened bottom end, Mild cam, 500 Molley carb. Approx 200bhp. Tons of potential left (currently only 8 to 1 compression single carb). (Turbocharge??!!) Gearbox T10 Borgwarner 4 speed manual. Diff: Works Atlas, big axles, fully floating bearings. Brakes: Adj pedal box, vent front discs, 11" rear discs, hys h/brake. F Suspension: 4 link as per works cars. Yellow Bilsteins. Good rally rubber, big flares, oil cooler, elect. fan, 14 gall centre tank, strong multi-point cage. Full harness belts. Excellent high back rally seats. Full instrumentation, air horns, extinguisher, t/b, etc. Trade cheaper road or rally car! Price $7500

[jamie]

Hi gang the car was built by Ross Baker with A Rover v8 in it Grame Barker got it off Ross and I fitted the P76 Motor with the turbo it was A verry fast car for its time . The Rx7 Grame And I picked up A GAA cosworth V6 from New Plymouth along with A 4weele drivre gearbox from X track in England with 5 speed changeable Raitos, 2 180 Datsun Diffs now that was A real Hand full not bad on seal but on dirt the motor was to peaky just when you thort you had it under control it would ramp up more power and try to launch you off the road Jamie A

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Jamie, thats really great info. Do you remember who you got the GAA motor off in New Plymouth? And did you know its history prior to that? At the time the Ashley Forest event was aired on tv the commentators said it was from Faheys car.

[jim short]

Back in the 80s before I had Ross build my Spyder we looked at this and that amongst the stuff collected was this black escort that Ross said Huxford had built and raced,Rover v8 dogleg Datsun gearbox,Ross hillclimbed it and it went real good,.As to my Spyder I wanted to copy my Paton only useing the same rover v8 ,$1000 pd. to Jackson French for an old T.Crowes mtr a gearbox $275 from the gearbox Co. Actually was lighter than the Cortina mtr. and box in the Paton with over twice the HP Plus So the brains behind the car was Huxford s but like so much of NZ historey it keeps changing.Just a small point when I was looking at gearboxs we did not know what model it was so Ross copied the bulges on the housing onto a sheet of paper and with this I picked one out,and it was no Fiat!!!

[jim short]

Just to add Ross had more than one Escort two or three at the time 1988--9

[jamie]

Hi Steve & Gang the GAA Cosy Came out of A race Boat, I was told it had been the Haladay motor.So had talk with Rob H and he seemed to think that was right in fact thay may have got it back ??.Jamie A

[928]

Hi Jamie
I am new on here so please bear with me
just a quick question. What do you know about the Xtrac gearbox? How did it get here to NZ, Who did it come from, and what happened to it? I have a great interest in 4WD systems and just like to know.
Many Thanks
928

[jim short]

Must admit when reference was made to this being ex-Huxford, I was surprised. When did Ross Baker ever compete with a car he hadn't built himself?

Sadly on reading this article again it does not please me but have no wish open old wounds,Ross was real good with body making as for the rest??How would you feel on completion of with out doubt a lovelly looking car based on the Paton {Ferris De Joux body} Always money up front, then on delivery ,Jim when you park always turn the wheel so no one can notice its not straight!!!with one wheel toe ing out the other toe in .then first drive the wheels rubbing on the body and so on and on,Jim we will sell them on looks..Not with my name on itThe Paton had rear sospension copy fo Crowthers Lotus 4 link my car was to have the same!!But no ,,Jim this is Form 1 tecnollogy,in effect no suspension on 3 corners at Puke causing wheelspin!!!{wheel lifting}the rubers lasted a couple of weeks then the nylon ones were much better so much so the chassis started to crack,on driving down from Auck. to disscuss this with Ross as he prepared to stock his shelves in the Mobil SStation Jim I am to busy go home{130miles}and make an appoint.Shortly after I had a big off of the motorway one Sun morn early testing new extractors on a straight road once againa wheel lifted turning the car sideways quicker than any Porsche can .among the repares the suspension was made to work not as good as the Paton but in the Coronet hillclimb the second yr I was 4 seconds faster on a longer track!!!

[jamie]

Hi 928 Grame went on A big O/E and ened up at X-Track rang me and said what do you think of this box I said sound just the thing good cos we own it. I have no idea where it went Jamie A

[928]

hi Jamie
many thanks for the info. Do you remember what year Graeme bought the box? Have you got a photo of the box by any chance?
Sorry to be a pest but I am very interested.
Many Thanks
928

[jamie]

Hi 928 No I havent any photos that would have been around 1986-7 the box was 5 speed dog box with changable raitos it also had an adjusble torq biyus front to rear Jamie A [p/s my spelling is crap]

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Steve & Gang the GAA Cosy Came out of A race Boat, I was told it had been the Haladay motor.So had talk with Rob H and he seemed to think that was right in fact thay may have got it back ??.Jamie A

Thanks Jamie, thats great info. There must have been at least three of those GAA motors in NZ, as apart from those in the Fahey and Halliday Capri's, one also ended up in a MkII Escort in the late 70s. The one from Faheys car is now with Roger Townshend.

[Phranc]

Last time I came across the Mazda - GAA - Xtrac it was sitting in Neil Allport’s (old building) in Olive road.
Potentially it was sitting there for months or possibly years

[928]

many thanks Phranc. Has anybody got any other info on the where abouts of this car or gearbox?
Many thanks 928

[BMCBOY]

The dark green one was Max Irwin and he has it back in his posession now.

I discovered this shot taken at a Chamberlain Rd Hillclimb in 1977. Max was trying pretty hard that day as always!

[928]

Hi again, I just had a look at the 1988 Ashley forest rally sprint video on you tube and note that the Graham Barker RX7 appears to be RWD only. I wonder why if it had 4WD?