Back From The Brink Mk1 Escort (Part 1)

Mk1 Escort Mexico

You wouldn’t know to look at it now, but not too long ago this genuine Escort Mexico came very close to being scrapped. But we don’t mean it managed to miss the crusher by some strange, unexpected tale of good fortune. Instead it was the owner, Darren Wilson, who very nearly binned off what was left of the rotten, stripped-down shell that was residing in his garage.

Since then it’s been subject to a full and comprehensive rebuild and it’s better than ever, a far cry from the sorry-looking state it had once been. “I nearly gave up on a few times during the build,” admits Darren. “At one point, it was sitting there with no front end and it needed so much doing I considered just literally putting what was left of it in the bin and starting again.”

But Darren persevered, helped largely by the fact he had a history with the car that meant he wasn’t about to give up on it without a fight. He’s owned the car for seven years and although he didn’t mean to buy it in the first place he’s understandably grown pretty attached to it. He actually bought the Mexico on a whim, as although he was looking for a classic Ford to use and enjoy, he had set his heart on something a lot more sit-up-and-beg Pop shaped. However, he was offered this Escort through a friend and after going to have a look at it he was eventually convinced to buy it by his refreshingly understanding fiancée!

“I’d been to see it and was wondering what to do when the missus just told me to buy it as she knew I wanted a toy,” he recalls. “I’d had a couple of Mk2 Escorts before, but never a Mk1 and this one had been standing on a driveway for two years so it was looking a little sorry for itself, but it was all there.”

The car was good enough that it could be put straight to use on the road and following some minor work, Darren had it up and running complete with an MOT. He drove it around like that for a few years doing a couple of bits and pieces to it along the way and treated it as a good, usable classic.

Ford Escort Mk1 Mexico Rear

Give and take

But after a few years of use it was beginning to show signs that it needed some work around the edges. This happened to coincide nicely with Darren’s upcoming 40th birthday and as a surprise present his now very understanding fiancée offered to get the Escort resprayed. This seemed ideal, except Darren knew there would be one or two little jobs to do before it was ready for that, so with the help of his good friend, Phil Martian, the car was partially stripped down for the small amount of welding they thought it required. No prizes for guessing what came next. “When we started stripping it down we realized it was a lot worse than we thought. There was rot and bad repairs everywhere — we even found it had been repaired in the past using old metal traffic signs!”

It was at this point that it dawned on Darren and Phil that the seemingly solid Mexico needed far more work than they had initially envisioned. The decision was taken to begin the process but the further they went the more they found and it soon turned into a complete and thorough restoration. “We ended up replacing the front panel, slam panel, sills, floor pans, tubs, foot wells, bonnet hinges and just about everything else,” explains Darren. “Phil helped me get through it bit by bit and we repaired some parts and replaced others. I think pretty much the only parts we didn’t touch were the inner wings and some of the bulkhead.”

The Mex came with those Contour front seats, interior

What had meant to be a few weeks’ work turned into two-and-a-half years’ worth of working Saturdays, evenings and holidays just on the metalwork alone in order to bring it up to a good, solid standard once again. It was during this challenging period that Darren nearly gave up on the car, but he had some other help, too.