Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Classic Ford

TOP 10 REASONS TO VISIT FORDFEST Santa Pod, September 17: be there! FordFest is back for 2017, providing the ultimate summer show season finale. Featuring high-speed drag strip action, thousands of the UK’s best Fords on display, a huge retail area and loads more, FordFest brings together fans of both old and new Fords. Here are just some of the features you can expect. 1. Drag Strip It’s only natural that the legendary drag strip is at the centre of the show. With four runs costing just £20 showgoers will be able to put their very own Blue Ovals through their paces. Or if you don’t fancy racing, just head to the banking or grandstands and spectate. 2. Classic Ford and Fast Ford As FordFest is open to fast Fords…

20 BOLT-ON PARTS Top 20 Bolt-On Parts The best bits that have transformed our classic Fords over the last two decades. Zetec In A Box Time to fit: 2-3 days This isn’t one component but many really — the Zetec explosion happened about 12 years ago and one of the first was Dave Colledge with his engine mounts and water rail — there were others too but Dave’s the one that ran with it. He’s developed and developed the concept to the nth degree — and is still doing it. There’s a tried-and-trusted system — yes, this might be seen as a blatant advert but the boy really has made it dead easy to simply bolt the lot in and get a car on the road in weeks rather than…

WHERE ARE THEY NOW Top 20 Where are they now? Car and person hunting from issue one. That Logo Was it purple or blue? The first Classic Ford logo was very much of it’s time, heavyweight, almost cartoon-like font with a blue — sometimes purple — ellipse in the background, depending on whether the magazine was printed on a Friday afternoon or not... The logo was always problematic to work with, didn’t work as a sticker or in black and white, but even so, when it was eventually replaced by a simpler and more Ford-orientated design in 2000 we received a number of complaints. Go figure! Dave Simms’ Mexico Heading up the first issue was Dave’s Mk1 Mex running on (not often seen for the time) 7x13 four-spokes, an all-steel…

HOMEBUILT HERO mk3 capri CRYSTAL clear Danny Cleghorn’s Crystal Blue Capri may look clean and understated, but a neat ST170 swap gives it bite. Words and Photos Jon Cass Some Capris look just right and we reckon Danny Cleghorn’s ’87 Laser is one of them. From the eye-catching paintwork to the perfectly matching rims, no-one could argue this isn’t a great-looking Mk3. Open the bonnet and the well executed engine transplant looks right at home too — even the interior is bang on in most people’s eyes. Strangely though, this project almost never happened. “I’ve had quite a few cars, old and new, and most of them I’ve modified in some way,” Danny tells us, “and usually the mods revolved around wheel swaps and lowered suspension, nothing too extreme.” Always…

Know this Fixings, threads, taps & dies One of the most confusing parts of any build is which fixing to use, and the thread, too. There are more than a few on any classic Ford, so read on. Words and Photos Jon Hill “UP UNTIL THE EARLY 1970s, FORD USED TWO TYPES OF THREADS BOTH KNOWN AS IMPERIAL” The Mk3 Cortina was heralded as the first all-Metric Ford. We’re not really sure which bit they were talking about because there were quite a mixture of threads on the car! It highlights how much confusion there is out there, especially when you’re in the middle of a build and you can’t seem to find the right bolts to fit that Mk1 Cortina front crossmember into the chassis’ captive nuts! Up until…

MOTORSPORT Spa Classic 2017 Rain isn’t going to put off spectators or racers as the seventh Spa Classic changes up a gear. Words and Photos Jeannot Boesen “20,000 RACE FANS WATCHED ESCORTS AND CAPRIS BATTLING RIVALS” Throughout the weekend of May 18-20, the glorious sounds of historic racing cars echoed all round the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. On the track and off, the seventh edition of the Spa Classic fulfilled its promises to more than 20,000 spectators, with fans of the Blue Oval enjoying the spectacle of Escorts and Capris battling against their rivals, and commemorating the halcyon days of the past. This year, organiser, Peter Auto also assembled a grid with a large number of prototypes and GTs including GT40s and Mustangs that had raced in the late Spa 1000…

historic rallying BRITISH HISTORIC RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP The BHRC makes a welcome return to Ireland with some cracking Tarmac stage action from Round 5. Words Paul Lawrence Photos MarkWrittle Photographic Round 5: ALMC Stages, July 2 Rob Smith and Alun Cook took top honours in round five of the 2017 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Trim-based ALMC Stages in Ireland (Sunday, July 2). The championship’s first visit to the Republic Of Ireland for at least 15 years marked the start of a run of four asphalt rallies as the schedule heads into the second half of the season. Smith, now an established asphalt ace, joined the regular contenders for the first time this season in his immaculate RSR-prepared Mk2 Escort and the Towcester-based driver came away with maximum points.…

mk1 escort Guilt STRIP Iain Hogg bought a crash-damaged Mk1 Escort to strip for parts, but then the guilt kicked in, so turned it into this super-clean, quarter-mile demon instead. Words and Photos Jon Hill “THE B-PILLAR WAS TOUCHING THE SEAT, SO THERE WAS REALLY ONLY ONE WAY TO PULL IT OUT WITH A PORTA POWER” One man’s disaster is another man’s challenge, so the saying goes. And an Escort that’s been put in a ditch with the side stoved in can only really be seen as beyond saving. “There were a lot of good parts on it and at least it would have broken to feed the other Escort I had in my garage,” explains Iain Hogg on his reason for buying this now very-straight Mk1 Escort which he…

Welcome Happy birthday to us! Given a major anniversary such as 20 years of Classic Ford, we could have just invited the family round and sat quietly in the corner while an aunt patted our head and said, “My, haven’t you grown?” But we would much rather share it with everyone who has supported the magazine over the years. That is to say we haven’t grown. When the magazine first appeared on the shelves in 1997 it was a mere 100 pages, now this special edition is 164 pages. And as well as a full issue of your favourite magazine, we’ve crammed in 20 special features with the highlights from Classic Ford’s past two decades and the amazing old Ford scene in general. What has helped make the magazine stand…

PROJECTS WANTED Last call for Projects Special We love a good project, and we know you do too, which is why we’re on the hunt for your best garage-based efforts for a forthcoming Readers’ Projects special. If you’re currently restoring, rebuilding or just refreshing your classic Ford, we’d like to show everyone else what you’re up to.We don’t mind what it is (as long as it’s a Ford, naturally), or how far you’ve gone with it — if you’re putting a project together right now, we’d like to see it. To show us what you’ve got, please email photos and details of your project to classicford. ed@kelsey.co.uk  or write to us at Classic Ford, Kelsey Publishing, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill TN16 3AG, UK.…

20 questions Graham Robson Longterm contributor and Ford historian, Graham is usually the one asking the questions. It’s time to turn the tables... What was your first Ford? My father’s new 1953 Mk1 Consul — he’d actually ordered a Prefect five years earlier! I passed my test in that car. What Fords are in your current fleet? There’s a Mk2 Focus RS and Mk1 Fiesta XR2 in the Robson family right now. How did you start working for Ford? I ghosted Roger Clark’s autobiography, Sideways To Victory which came out just after he won the ’76 RAC, then wrote The Works Escorts, and after that Ford kept giving me things to do! Are you a better driver or co-driver? I used to think I was a good driver until I…

20 FORD HEROES Top 20 Classic Ford Heroes They put Ford on the podium and gave us the legendary cars we love. Words Graham Robson John Wheeler Recruited from Porsche in 1980, John Wheeler (above right) engineered the Escort RS700T, lobbied hard for four-wheel-drive, designed the RS200, headed the Sierra RS Cosworth design team, then conceived the Escort RS Cosworth, before moving on to bigger and better things at Aston Martin and to head the Focus RSs design teams within Ford-of-Europe. A meticulous engineer, always ready to argue vigorously for his chosen solutions, he was also a competent driver who might just have made it into the hot seat if invited. Terry Beckett Mr Cortina when young, was the product planner who tamed, then nurtured, the Cortina programme in 1962,…

20 GREAT IMAGES Top 20 CLASSIC FORD IMAGES The best photos from two decades’ of fine features. Photo: Michael Whitestone Photo: Peter Robain Photo: Chris Wallbank Photo: Jon Hill Photo: Jon Hill Photo: Jon Hill Photo: Phil Steinhardt Photo: Bryn Musselwhite Photo: Bryn Musselwhite Photo: Paddy McGrath Photo: Adrian Brannan Photo: Simon Dodd Photo: Simon Dodd Photo: Darren Woolway Photo: Chris Wallbank Photo: Bryn Musselwhite Photo: James Lipman Photo: Gerard Hughes Photo: Jon Hill Photo: Jon Hill DOWNLOAD THESE IMAGES AS DESKTOP WALLPAPERS FROM WWW.CLASSICFORDMAG.CO.UK In association with…

Top 20 CLASSIC FORD WHEELS Original equipment or aftermarket, classic Fords get to wear the best rims. In association with Words Gavin Hutton…

HERITAGE Cortina Mk3 XL Classic Fords restored: Graham Jewitt knew nothing of the classic Ford scene until he bought and rebuilt this Onyx Green Cortina 2-litre XL. Now he’s a full-on convert. Words and Photos Jon Cass We come across a multitude of reasons as to why someone chooses a certain project car to work on, but Graham Jewitt’s response, “Gordon Brown made me buy it,” was certainly not one we’ve heard before. There is some clever logic behind Graham’s purchase however, as he explains: “At the time Gordon Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer and he had full intentions of taxing big-engined gas guzzlers off the road,” Graham tells us. “I was driving a 2.6-litre Jeep back then, which was a typical car in the firing line, and I…

CARS OF THE MONTH Allan Drake From: UK Cars: Mk1 and Mk2 Granada “I have two original and rare Granadas,” reckons Allan of this dynamic duo. “My Mk1 is a 1977 GL believed to be one of only two left, as most survivors are Ghia models, oh, and it’s only covered 34,000 miles. My Mk2 is a 1979 GLS pre-facelift 2.8i manual with 30,000 miles, and also believed to be one of only two left as most are carb and auto.” A great pair, Allan!…

THE SPECIALIST MARK CLIFFORD & SONS With 30 years’ experience restoring classic Fords for both road and rally, Mark Clifford & Sons has everything you need all under one roof. Words and Photos Dan Sherwood With prices for classics rocketing, it makes good sense to entrust your car to a specialist who knows their onions. It’s for this reason that we decided to pay a visit to renowned classic car specialists, Mark Clifford & Sons, whose passion for cars bearing the Blue Oval badge has seen them repairing and restoring some of the best examples in the country. “My love of Ford, and especially Escorts, began way back in 1976 when I bought a Twin Cam,” remembers the firm’s namesake and bossman, Mark Clifford. “It was a brilliant car and…

EXPERT CLINIC YOUR TOP 20 MOST-ASKED TECH QUESTIONS ANSWERED Cossie into Escort Q I have just bought a Cosworth YB, which I want to fit into my Mk2 Escort. Can you tell me what I need to do? Also, what diff and halfshafts could I use — I’m hoping to get away with using the existing English axle. Would I have to use a Cosworth 2wd (T5) gearbox, or can I use a Type-9 five-speed? A Let’s start with the gearbox choice first. The T5 is the best one to use — the Type-9 isn’t strong enough. As for your Mk2’s shell, the two main areas that need work are behind the front panel and transmission tunnel. For the former, cut away all of the existing radiator mounting bobbins, along…

MOTORSPORT Top 20 Competition Fords Graham Robson picks his all-time favourites. 1977 Escort RS1800 STW 201R Of all the big names signed by Ford in the 1970s, the modest Bjorn Waldegard was probably the most successful. In his first full season, 1977, he won three World events, the most arduous — and deserved — being the flood-consumed Safari. After that famous victory, STW 201R went into honourable retirement on Ford’s publicity circuits, until a second such car was built in 1978. As to the original, it was reliveried into British Airways colours, rolled in a film shoot, but still survives in Ford ownership. 1969 4wd rallycross Capri Even before the Capri was launched, Boreham’s Henry Taylor decided to fit Ferguson four-wheel-drive to one for rallycross use. Loads of power from…

BUYER’S GUIDE PUMA 1.7 Celebrating its 20th birthday in 2017, the fine-handling Puma is a steal right now. Here’s what to look for. Words ChristianTilbury Photos Gerard Hughes “WITH STIFFENED SPRINGS AND REAR BEAM, FORD’S NEW COUPÉ HAD THE POISE AND AGILITY TO JUSTIFY ITS NAMESAKE” Fast Ford fans were left distraught when Ford binned the Cosworth and XR models, but the manufacturer made a decent stab at a peace offering with the February 1997 launch of the Puma. Evolved from a scamp to the finished article in a mere 135 days, the computer-designed Puma could have been perceived as little more than a rushed-through, under-engineered attempt at stealing sales from the Vauxhall Tigra, but this couldn’t be further from the truth — the Puma was a proper fast Ford.…

your projects: mk1 granada WORLD OF SPORT Your projects: He’s cut his teeth on front-drive Fords, but when this rare Granada S came up for sale, Neil Ridgeon couldn’t say no. Words Marc Stretton Photos Matt Woods Name: Neil Ridgeon From: Suffolk Age: 35 Job: Builder Car: Phase 2 Granada 3.0S Start Condition: Solid car, off road since 1995 Condition now: Bodywork 90 per cent complete, brakes and front suspension sorted Estimated date of completion: Spring 2018 With the real sporty side of Ford ownership tied up in the RS and XR cars from the late ’60s onwards, cars like the Escort Sport, Fiesta 1.1S and Capri 2.0S weren’t really any great shakes in the performance charts — being more of a marketing exercise of minor suspension and braking tweaks,…

Family Guys NEC Classic theme revealed The theme for this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show will be ‘Family Ties’. Held at Birmingham’s NEC from November 10-12, and as ever the 240 exhibiting car clubs are invited to embrace the theme with their own interpretations. “The classic motoring community is one huge family but so is the motoring industry,” explains the show’s Lee Masters. “Manufacturers create various models which are in families, with one model billed as the sister car to another. Plus, there’s those cars that have been passed down through families, from generation to generation; the motor your dad taught you to drive in, or the family saloon that took you on your first holiday.” The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show returns to Birmingham’s NEC from Friday 10…

COMING UP Inside the October 2017 issue of Classic Ford magazine An incredible 50 years on from when it first debuted, the Crossflow is still the champion of classic Ford powerplants. Its DIY-friendly construction makes it a firm favourite with amateur and professional tuners alike, and it’s been enjoying a resurgence of late, thanks in part to the availability of new heads and blocks courtesy of our US friends. In this issue we go hellbent for Kent, with fresh tuning info, cracking Crossflow-powered feature cars, and much more. The October 2017 issue hits the newsstands and is available to download from Friday, September 8.Why not subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out? Check out our latest subscription offers on page 126.…

MK2 ESCORT restored mexico GREEN DAY Wanting to create a tribute to his first car — a Signal Green Mk2 — Alan Bradshaw went shopping for a Mexico. Now, after a second restoration, he’s got an Escort he could only have dreamed of back in 1979. Words Marc Stretton Photos Adrian Brannan “IN 1979 I BOUGHT MY FIRST PROPER CAR A MK2 ESCORT IN SIGNAL GREEN WITH A BLACK VINYL ROOF” When Alan Bradshaw decided to build a Mk2 Mexico as a tribute to his first-bought car from 1979, he took on a massive task that would see the shell reduced to skeletal remains before a massive panelwork job could begin. He also had to overcome the hurdle of virtually having to start again after his first restorer turned out…

ANGLIA 105E twin-cam terror The Lotus Eater Tony Hart set out to build the car that Ford almost put in production, the Lotus Anglia, and reckons he did it just the way Ford would have. Words Mike Renaut Photos Darren Woolway “THE ANGLIA HAD BEEN SAT BY A STACK OF BEER BARRELLS FOR 12 YEARS COVERED IN TREE SAP” You never know the result of a trip down the pub; a few laughs and a headache, a night you can’t quite remember that ends with a curry and a tattoo — or maybe the purchase of a 1966 Anglia. To be fair, Tony Hart wasn’t headed to a New Forest public house for a thirst quencher — he was after what was in the carpark. “I’d always fancied an Anglia…

20 GAME CHANGERS Top 20 Game Changers The cars that moved the classic Ford scene forwards for the better. Mark Hudd’s Cosworth van Featured: September 2015 A build not for the feint of heart, Mark took the Cosworth 4x4 floorpan and with the help of some equally-talented mates, adapted it into the Mk1 Escort van shell — though you’d be hard-pressed to tell. Everything about this build is sublime from the spec to the level of finish. Going for a seldom-used but standout Ford colour, Java Green, was a great idea too, and there are little touches everywhere you look that make you smile. One to help you raise your game. Toby Kent’s Cortina GT Featured: June 2001 In a period when there were easier and cheaper ways to get…

MK1 STA supersport tribute STAR IN STRIPES Jane and Mark Aaron have transformed a humble Fiesta 1.1L into this stunning Supersport lookalike. Words Marc Stretton Photos Chris Frosin We try our hardest on Classic Ford not to be sexist, but due to the nature of the beast that is the car scene and that it’s a male-dominated hobby, 99 times out of 100 our feature owners are blokes. And because of that the articles, usually finish with a ‘Thanks’ box that includes something like; ‘thanks to my wife, partner, girlfriend, other half; Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue… for support, not divorcing me, and so on’. This Mk1 Fiesta, however, is one of those exceptions that is owned by a lady classic Ford fan, Jane Aaron from Staffordshire. And Jane’s gratitude list…

EVENT REPORT CLASSIC & RESTO SHOW Classic Car & Restoration Show It’s an indoor show with a difference as the NEC welcomed both rotten and restored classics to its halls recently. Words and Photos Adrian Brannan “THIS SHOW IS LIKE NO OTHER, AS IT ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES WRECKS TO BE BROUGHT ALONG” “THE SHOW WAS A SUPERB MIX OF PAMPERED CARS PARKED ALONGSIDE SOME WITH SERIOUS DECAY” It’s been a few years since I’d attended anything but the Autosport show at the NEC, so the much-spoken of Classic Car & Restoration Show at the NEC was definitely worth a nosey! Almost 1000 cars on show, 130 clubs and a huge classic auction over the weekend sounded good, but that was just the start. This was a show quite like no…

CF TECH Top 20 Workshop Tools The best workshop tools we’ve tested to help you complete your classic projects Wire strippers: Clarke Pro215 Price: £16.79 Part number: 040910215 We like: Great stripping action; two small knobs give good control; one adjusts the gripping jaws, the second enables you to move the plastic ‘stop’ that dictates the amount of wire to be stripped; strips and cuts over a wide range: 0.13-6 mm; crimps insulated and non-insulated terminals from 0.5-6 mm; crimps ignition terminals; well built. Worth considering: expensive compared to rivals Axle stands: Clarke Strong Arm Price: £26.39 Part number: CAX3TBC Spec: minimum height 300 mm; maximum height 430 mm We like: most stable on test; beefy steel and cast iron construction; best saddle design on test, especially for round components;…

Know this Long Players Eight specialists who’ve been with the magazine from the early days reveal how the scene has evolved over two decades. Graeme Worthington, GS Escorts Business started for Graeme breaking Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts but those days have gone — he is just as likely to be selling new parts as secondhand; most of which comes as job lots from end of project sales. “Internet auction sales went mad a few years ago but we’re equally seeing people wanting to deal with us face-to-face — you see what you’re getting and we’re more likely to be able to tell you if the part will fit and its interchangeability, too,” he reckons. “Restoration is now a big part of our business — we modify stuff but you’re more…

drag racing Old Skool Ford Drag Challenge It may have been held at the Retro Show, but the OSFDC racers were going anything but backwards in Round 4... Words Jo Peters Photos Kieran Jenkins Round 4: Retro Show, Santa Pod Raceway, June 18 From Cortinas to Cavaliers, Fiestas to Firenzas and Metros to Marinas there were certainly some cult classics to be seen at Retro Show where we found ourselves for Round 4 of the Old Skool Ford Drag Challenge, sponsored by Kejja Motorsport. This is one of the best shows on the calendar at Santa Pod and it gives the OSFDC racers a chance to compete against other cars from an era where arches and trousers were equally flared and the mullet was king. 2017 newbie and Burton Power…