4 - Standard cars

There are times when the preservation of a rare item is paramount. Rare works of art, monuments, historical buildings, etc. Unfortunately Ford Escorts aren’t in this category. I have every respect for the individual who wishes to keep his pride and joy as pristine as the day it left the factory, but that does of course imply that Ford made perfect vehicles and of course no manufacturer has yet made a perfect vehicle, so there is always room for improvement.

There are two main problems with standard Escorts. The first is that they are not worth enough money yet, and the second is that ‘preferred’ models are given a higher value ‘pro rata’ than lesser models. For example, an immaculate Mk 1 1100L 2 door with low mileage and one owner might be worth just Ł1200 - Ł1500, but a similar condition Twin Cam, which is obviously much rarer is valued at Ł12500. The problem arises when unscrupulous individuals buy a rusted wreck of a Twin Cam, or worse still, just the log book, and make the Base 1100L into a ‘genuine’ Twin Cam by fitting all the right bits, which are all readily available.

If the valuation of the lesser models were more realistic, then this would be less of an issue and better for owners of these lower models. Valuation of a 30 year old car should all be about condition and the quality of the repair work which has inevitably occurred over time. You cannot buy a new shell for an Escort, and supplies of good ones are running out. There are however loads of badly repaired rust buckets out there and when looking at buying a bodged 1300E or a mint 1100L, I know which I would choose. Some models, like the Harrier, are not much more than a graphics package, so why the premium price tag?

Unfortunately, 4 door models are worth much less than 2 door cars, purely because the ‘rally enthusiasts’ are pushing up prices for all two door models and they love the 1100 base models, BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAP. A solid 2 door shell is worth Ł4000 because it costs much more than that to restore one, so why is a mint 1100L worth only Ł1500? All models are now rare, so there should be less distinction between models.