Description

Manufacturered in Aveley in November 1974, it was first sold by KT Dartford Ford,in Kent in May 1975. It was then purchased in May 1979 by My Anthony Groombridge of Dartford,who owned the car until July 2009,when it was discovered by Jesse Crosse, in relatively good condition,who set about resoring the car to is current condition. Jesse then sold the car to the last owner in February 2015,who has cherished and enjoyed the car in the last 4 years.

Painstakingly Nut & Bolt restored to concours standards between 2009 & 2013 by Jesse Crosse, the attention to detail is stunning and she still looks amazing in the original Vista Orange colour. A rare colour these days. The underside is as clean as the top, and was stone chipped and painted for practicality,with all suspension parts detailed and painted.

The AVO club was consulted extensively to ensure the car was correct in every detail, to retain its provenance.

The shell and engine block are original and all the numbers match. The engine was rebuilt,now 1700cc with a big valve head with twin 40 Webers all rebuilt by Vulcan engineering. A recent rolling road showed the power to be 138 BHP
.
Other period modifications include up-rated brakes, Panhard rod and Tran-x LSD on the original diff and axle.

There is a bespoke stainless steel exhaust system,which isn't too loud .

The body was in very good shape prior to refurbishment so most of the structural parts were undisturbed & therefore this car importantly retains its originality.The shuts lines are perfect.

There is a comprehenive photographic record of all stages of the restoration, as well as a thick history file of old MOT's, numerous invoices and rolling road data.

The mileage is 115000 with around 5000 completed since the rebuild. The car is only used in the dry, and drives beautifully .

This car needs to be seen to appreciate its condition and the quality or workmanship.

Here is a comprehesive list of the work that was carried out .

Engine :

1700 cc
Original iron crank and rods
High capacity oil pump
Twin 40 DCOE Webers
Vulcan gas-flowed, big-valve head
Lucas distributor,Lumention Optronic ignition
Compression ratio 10.5:1
ARP head studs, rod bolts and flywheel bolts.
Lightened and fully balanced
LUK heavy duty clutch.
K&N high flow air filters
Electric fuel pump.
High performance radiator core
Kent 243 camshaft timed-in with Vernier sprocket
Stand Mexico ‘big-wing’ sump.
High torque pre-engage starter motor.
Lucas pattern alternator


Chassis

Original front struts with Spax adjustable inserts (standard non-adjustable not available). Spax adjustable rear to match (standard not available). Set to 8 clicks all round from zero, so low damping force to emulate original (max range 0-28). Zero is fully anti-clockwise.

Standard anti roll bar.

Panhard rod.

Original 3.9:1 diff fitted with Tran-X LSD

Bodyshell:

Original AVO Type 49 with original strut top reinforcement panels.

VIN number stamping present on O/S inner wing top. Matching engine number present on block and original V5 present.

Stripped by plastic blast by Cleaning Consultants. Rust preventative coating applied.
Extensively restored over a period on 12 months, retaining most of the original. Most restoration was fairly minor structurally so bulkheads, chassis rails, inner wings and floors, rear panels etc undisturbed.
Patching butt-welded and linished flat. New panels where required (sills, some minor panels and original Ford rear panel).

Floor is original and retains a substantial amount of original sound deadening bitumen.

Authenticity:

Originality of bodyshell and matching VIN/ engine numbers. Undisturbed nature of original and specification, colour, pin striping on shell in its original state

Period mods.

Period mods such as the Panhard rod, and tuned engine are typical of those made at the time (I know this as I owned one in the 1970s). Twin 40 DCOE Weber carburettors, improved camshaft and ported big valve were par for the course.

Capacity increase to 1700cc improves torque and power and brings the engine spec part way to that of the original 1850cc Mexicos that competed in the London Mexico rally and gave birth to the road car.

The original cylinder head has been retained unmodified.

Brakes :

The original front calipers have been professionally fitted with spacers to widen them and allow the use of ventilated front discs. Rear 9-inch Lockheed drums are standard and original.

The ‘tower’ servo normally protruding from the firewall in to the engine bay has been replaced with a Gartrac bias pedal box with no servo to provide a firm, positive brake pedal and short brake pedal travel to allow heel and toe braking.

Bias can be adjusted

Throttle cabled changing :
Gp 4 bias pedal boxes have a longer throttle pedal which requires cables to pass through the bulkhead higher up. This means drilling a hole in the bulkhead and the longer top part of the pedal means the throttle is heavier.

Can be restored to original factory spec if desired.


As with all our cars, we would be delighted to take anything of interest in part exchange. Delivery can be arranged worldwide, and finance is available, subject to status.

Please contact Andrew on zero seven eight three six, two two six two two eight or email via our website

Thank you for reading