Footnotes

• Along with three other Mk1 Escort Twin Cams, BEV 782G was prepared in the Ford Performance Centre at Boreham Airfield in 1968 for entry on the 1969 Monte Carlo Rally in which factory team driver Jean-Francois Piot had Jean Todt reading the ice notes (Todt later headed up the Peugeot Competition Department, then Ferrari F1 and now the FIA). The French crew finished 4th overall, the car being the top finishing Ford that year.
  
  The Ford Team's next event was in nearby San Remo, where BEV 782G was driven by Hannu Mikkola, while for the Circuit of Ireland, the car was entrusted to Roger Clark, who, with his trusty navigator Jim Porter on the maps, won the classic tarmac rally held on closed public roads outright. Swedish pairing Ove Anderson and Gunnar Palm were equally successful in the car when they won the Welsh International on gravel in the forests. Later in the same season, during which it had been successful on all surfaces, BEV 782G was issued to works team drivers Clark for the Scottish and to Mikkola for the RAC, the car's 6th international, after which, in 1970, it was sold by Ford to the private sector.
  
  A well documented history file records that the car was subsequently driven by privateers Tony Morris, Reg Mullenger, Roger Lane and Gordon Batchelor, and was rallied virtually non-stop until approximately 1991. Inevitably though, as with virtually all works rally cars - especially ones that had been subjected to a further 20 seasons competition, the car was re-shelled (there are photos on file of the BEV 782G registration being deployed on a Mk2 and, by the early 1990s, on a Sierra, changes that have been fully documented).
  
  The ultimate Group VI specification and livery employed by Ford for the Clark/Porter Circuit of Ireland win was the inspiration however for what has been a truly total build, utilising a period-correct and structurally sound Mk1 Type 49 stiffened bodyshell. The fabrication process alone at Rally Sport Development, using traditional brazing techniques used by Boreham and their sub-contractors, took six weeks, while another six weeks were spent at Kartec in preparation and painting which is to concours standard above and below. A full photographic record documents this extensive work.
  
  A model-correct Twin Cam engine of 1850cc capacity with 681F block and head, fully rebuilt to Boreham spec by CTM Dagenham and dyno-tested at 165bhp, has been fitted. The gearbox is also appropriate for the period, being a 4-speed bullet-box rebuilt by the Gearbox Man Ltd, and there is an AP Racing clutch within a magnesium bellhousing. Suspension, brakes, electrical equipment, lights, interior, instruments and navigator's equipment are all much as they would have been on BEV 782G during the 1969 season.
  
  Funding such a build today, to this quality and detail, would cost in excess of £75,000, whilst the vendor tells us that since completion in 2010, the car has done only a very few miles, having been well preserved within his collection. A claimed to be complete provenance with all owners documented since the Ford Motor Company is included as are period photos and magazine reports and the original body/chassis tag. All the numbers on the car are also confirmed by the DVLA on a latest-type V5C and a May 2012 MOT certificate pass. For BEV 782G is not only AVO Ford display and 'Slowly Sideways' demonstration run ready, but could be circuit raced or rallied again in historic competition. Prospective purchasers should note a much detailed history file accompanies this vehicle – viewing of which is highly recommended.
  

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Category: Motoring / Motor Cars

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