The Ford Escort was for many years the most winning car in the history of the World Rally Championship. Our particular example was built in Australia in 1976. In 1985 it was developed for gravel rallying in the South Australian Rally Championship. It enjoyed a chequered career in the hands of various owners until it was retired in the 90's only to start a circuit-racing career later as a sports sedan.

When we finally purchased the car in 2002 it came with a rear wing that would have suited a formula 5000. Unfortunately it didn't have quite that much horsepower, and the shell was tired, tired, tired.

It was not long before we decided that we should make some improvements to the little car. What followed was a bare shell rebuild, new paint, interior, engine, gearbox, diff, brakes, wheels and so on. Somehow our budget rally car had got out of control (sound familiar).

Any way the end result was worth the effort. It returned to competition at The Australian Hill Climb Championship in October 2005, and it's been extremely reliable ever since finishing every event it started.

Check out the photo album for pictures of the rebuild.