1971 FORD ESCORT Mk1 1300GT - BRIGHTWELLS AUCTION

COMING TO AUCTION

ON

WEDNESDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER 2015

EASTERS COURT, LEOMINSTER, HR6 0DE

A double helping today as we feature two lots from Wednesdays sale, the first a icon of the late 60s  early 70s & the second a lot that will need another kind of horsepower o get it to roll.

1971 FORD ESCORT Mk1 1300GT

Lot number	105
Estimate	£10,000 - £12,000
Description	Ford Escort Mk1 1300GT
Registration	WCJ 635K
Year	1971
Colour	Silver
Engine size	1,300 cc
Chassis No.	BBATLJ16075
Engine No.	BBATLJ16078
Documents	V5C; MOT April 2016; original handbooks; original Ford promotional material; invoices

The new Ford Escort made its UK debut at the end of 1967, replacing the angular Anglia.

Repeating their tried and tested formula, Ford had equipped the stylish Escort body with proven components. The crossflow four-cylinder Kent engine carried over from the Cortina, with a simple live axle suspended on semi-elliptic springs at the back. Steering was a delight thanks to a super-responsive rack-and-pinion set up, as was the gearchange from the slick four-speed box.

Introduced in early 1968, the Escort 1300GT was the performance model, using a tuned 1,298cc crossflow engine with a Weber carburettor. Delivering a heady 75bhp and coupled to a close-ratio gearbox, it had uprated suspension, wider steel wheels, servo assisted disc brakes and a gorgeous looking six-dial dashboard.

This particular 1300GT was originally supplied through Ravenhill Ford of Commercial Road, Hereford, on 8th October 1971, ordered with the optional vinyl roof and Dunlop alloy wheels. The original owner used the car for almost 18 years, covering just 53,000 miles before he got too old to drive and passed it to his nephew in 1989, also a Hereford resident.

In 1990 the Escort had some restoration, gaining new front wings, a front panel, strut top repairs, new bumpers and a respray at a cost of £1,175. Over the next 20 years, the Escort was used occasionally, adding just 5,000 miles to the tally, always being kept covered up in the garage when not in use.

This delightful GT was then re-homed several times (with avid Ford collectors) before the vendor managed to secure the car and bring it back to its native Herefordshire, where it joined his growing stable of sporting Fords. Diverging slightly from original specification, the vendor has replaced the square headlamps with 7” round units as well as a new grill. All the original parts have been kept to return the car to factory specification, including the full width bumper and the original 12” Dunlop wheels which are all included in the sale.

The car still has its standard 1300GT interior, standard engine, close ratio gearbox and is believed to be matching numbers. The current recorded total of 61,700 miles has been confirmed verbally and seems to add up, but we do not have conclusive paperwork to substantiate this. It is MOT'd to April 2016.

This entry comes from a small collection of classic cars entered by Pete Tomlinson whose aim was to amass all the cars he dreamed of owning as a young man. The collection is being sold to make way for a building project.

# 2

Bow Top Open Lot

Lot number	8
Estimate	£4,000 - £6,000
Description	Bow Top Open Lot
Year	c.1950
Colour	Purple/Yellow
Documents	None

There can be few more romantic notions than taking to the open road in a horse-drawn Romany Gypsy Caravan.

Their design developed over the years into a number of specific types used by distinct groups of travellers and they can be classified by their method of construction, wheel size and forms of decoration.

The familiar Bow Top was originally developed by William ‘Billy’ Wright, a Yorkshireman who saw the potential of making beautifully decorated living vans or ‘Vardos’ in the family’s extensive woodwork shop. Specialising in supplying ‘high status’ Romanys, his designs differed significantly from those made in Burton, their square edged, more spacious design appealing to showmen, or the high roofed Reading vans which had a wooden roof (latterly with skylights) and wooden sides which tapered outwards at the top.

As tastes developed and pockets shrunk, smaller, less decorative caravans were produced, generally along the lines of the traditional Bow Top as they were less expensive to produce. These became popular in the 1950s and featured rubber tyres on their wooden wheels, retaining the traditional stove and bunk accommodation and were termed ‘Open Lots’.

This lovely Open Lot is typical of the breed and is believed to have been constructed in the 1950s. An older restoration, it retains its correct shafts and has an attractive early stove installed inside. It has been stored under cover and the woodwork appears in good and sound condition including the all-important wooden wheels, which are shod with good rubber tyres. Complete with a traditional hay rack at the rear, it was used for some time by its titled lady owner for holidays on the open road.

Extremely popular today for holidays or as an attractive garden playhouse cum retreat, the Gypsy caravan provides a much more interesting and attractive alternative to the Shepherd's Hut which is now such a common sight in gardens around the country.