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.....requiring the stick to be pulled back-quite confusing! Even after several laps of Cadwell Park I still had to think which way to move the gear lever.
Once again, first gear is totally unnecessary (thank goodness). I could never have imagined that an engine like this, with its origins in Formula Two, would be so tractable. In fact from about AOOOrpm to my self-imposed ceiling of 8,000, it just simply took-pff, and on this smooth but hilly racing circuit it didn't matter very much which gear you were in ... as long as the engine was above 5,000rpm, it just went. Sadly, in all this excellent work, it was extremely difficult to read the rev counter as it always seemed to be obstructed by the steering wheel spokes. Nevertheless the speedo is clearly visible, and quickly read over 140mpn on a comparatively short straight, and even if it reads fast, this car really does have a genuinely high top speed; a fact which is also extremely deceiving due to the almost total absence of engine noise once the speed is into three figures.
Another plus point for this mid-engined arrangement is that with the exhaust system situated entirely to the rear of the occupants, the floor etc., does not get hot; therefore the actual comfort factor is further increased, something that also applies to the Fiesta, although the latter did get much warmer inside than this vehicle.
Gear ratios had obviously been well thought out, with second gear being just about right to slide the tail on a hairpin. While deliberately sliding a car like this is not conducive to fast, times it is again a credit to the design that the Chassis is so forgiving. In fact it is possible to drive it around a tarmac circuit, with 10in. racing tyres fitted, as if it were in a forest and shod with knobbly tyres. If I had to take one area which made this car better than any other I have driven, it has to be its sheer ability to turn-in and go exactly where you steer it without the oversteer normally associated with a response rate of this level. After several laps, the sheer weight and 'G' force on the rear end meant that the too-narrow tyres started to overheat, which only then introduced slight but still easily controllable oversteer.
The brakes were equally incredible, so good that I never got anywhere near deep enough into the corners. In fact, braking from 120mph for a 90 degree righthander I found that I was still several yards from the corner and had to accelerate to reach the apex. While the brakes tended to be rear biased, due mainly to the front nosedive and weight transfer from the back to the front under braking, I feel that if the front didn't dive, the feel of the car and the brakes themselves would not be so effective.
There is very little left to say about this vehicle except to remark that it also looks sensationally attractive.
If I had to choose an event in which to compete with it, I'd go for Circuit of Ireland with all its blind brows and twisting corners. It would also be interesting to see how the rear suspension coped with the many yumps - something that will be discovered when the car eventually goes into the forests.
One interesting point: if the Audi Quattro had never been built, a car like this one, plus, say, a turbo, would surely keep Ford competitive for the next decade. One wonders what might have been said about this car had it been taken to Portugal alongside the RS1700T-the comparison comments would surely have been interesting.
Paul Windsor - A Scouser's talent for style
Now in his early 30s, Paul Windsor's long association with rallying goes back to 1967, when he purchased one of the very first Escort GTs; and with the help of a Taurus cylinder head and some help from AVS (not to mention his first sight of a set of rally regulations, discovered while rooting around at yVestune), he embarked on a series of road rallies which led to various adventures, including getting stuck on top of Shap Fell in mid-winter, being rescued by the AA, and finally hitchhiking back to Liverpool!
A move to stage rallies with a troublesome Escort TC was not helped by the fact that in those days, information emanating from the works was even more difficult to come by than it sometimes is today; and saddened by the car's persistent unreliability, Paul journeyed south to David Sutton's Acton premises in the spring of 1974. He emerged on the eve of the Welsh Rally, the proud owner of an ex-Markku Alen works Escort complete with its famous WWC registration, which the young Finnish star had driven on the previous year's RAC Rally.
Paul immediately set off for the start of the Welsh - his back-up service arrangements consisting of a solitary spare tyre - and no wheels I
After numerous adventures, including solid contact with a log in Radnor, he struggled through to finish the event; and WWC continued, in re-shelled form, to give him staunch service.
In recent years he has tended to concentrate on tarmac rather than loose surface events; and his escapades, in Donegal in particular, have been most noteworthy. He also recorded some very quick stage times! Especially on one occasion when a certain Tony McMahon read the notes.
For the last two years Paul has been trying to expand the garage side of the company's haulage business in Liverpool, and he has moved into rally car preparation work, a service which he is now only too pleased to offer.
Mid-engined Ford Fiesta
CAR:
Mid-engined Ford Fiesta
CLASS:
Prototype
OWNER/DRIVER:
Robin Clark
BODY:
Steel, aluminium
INTERIOR EQUIPMENT:
Gear linkage Fiat/Renault origin, bias pedal box, hydraulic handbrake
INSTRUMENTS:
10,000rpm rev counter, speedo, oil temp, oil pressure, water temp, Terra trip
SUSPENSION:
Front: MacPherson strut Group 4 Escort tarmac spec. Built on space frame chassis
Rear: Parallelogram type, four transverse, rose jointed links, coil springs, rose jointed dampers
BRAKES:
Front: 9½in. vented single pot calipers. Group One Escort origin
Rear: 10in. vented 4 pot calipers, inboard, F1CanAm origin
WHEELS:
6in., 7in. or 8in., Revolution/AIlycat
TYRES:
Dunlop A2s, Pirelli P7s, knobblies, or 195/530/12 Dunlop slicks
STEERING:
Modified Group 4 Escort rack and pinion
ENGINE:
Ford Cosworth BD type
Type: BDB 1780cc
No. and configuration cyls: 4 in-line
Bore: 83.5
Stroke: 80.8
Actual capacity: 1780cc
Comp ratio: 10.6:1
Valves per cyl: 4
Inlet valve dia: 3.2cm
Exhaust valve dia: 2.7cm
Camshaft type and position: DOHC (twin) BD3s
Cam timing: Inlet open 110° ATDC, exhaust open 110° BTDC
Carburation: Twin 45 Weber DCOE
Inlet manifolding: Polished 45 inlets
Exhaust manifolding: Janspeed
Exhaust system: Own design and fabrication, single straight-through box
Power: approx 200bhp at 8750rpm
Torque: 115lb/ft at 6000rpm
Other details:
Weight: 940 kilos
Front and rear suspension is Bilstein with adjustable spring platforms and 200Ib spring rate back and front, but front is being lowered.
TRANSMISSION:
FG400 ex-McLaren Hewland AP Formula One twin plate clutch, bellhousing own design
Gearbox ratios: 1-14.46; 2-12.36; 3-14.33; 4-16.30; 5-20.27
Final drive ratio: 3.8 to 1
LSD: ZF
FUEL TANK:
Alloy, foam filled, 12 gallons
FUEL PUMP:
Bendix red top
COOLING:
Front mounted radiator/fan, oil cooler/fan and small water radiator in side pods
ELECTRICAL:
Opus ignition, loom was built by member of service crew
OTHER FEATURES:
Gearbox ratios were chosen from Hewland ratio chart and don't make much obvious sense, but ratios are similar to ZF box. Engine is dry sumped with 24v starting.
Sponsored by Roberts Petroleum Ltd.
Built, owned and maintained by Robin Clark Motorsport, Whitton, Scunthorpe. Telephone: 0724732251.
Mid-engined Escort DR3
CAR:
Mid-engined Escort DR3
OWNER/DRIVER:
Paul Windsor
CLASS:
Prototype
BODY:
Steel, aluminium, Keviar
INTERIOR EQUIPMENT:
Recaro seats, Willans belts, integral rollcage
INSTRUMENTS:
Smiths gauges, Terra trip
SUSPENSION:
Front: MacPherson struts with coil springs, track control arms with semi-trailing links
Rear: MacPherson struts with coil springs, located by lower wishbones
BRAKES:
Front: 4 pot AP caliper, 10¼in. vented disc, DS11 pads
Rear: 4 pot AP caliper, 10¼in. vented disc, DS11 pads
WHEELS:
Compomotive split TX300 rims 7in., 8½in., 10½in.
TYRES:
Michelin, various sizes and compounds
STEERING:
Rack and pinion
ENGINE:
Type: Hart420R
No and configuration cyls: 4 in-line
Bore: 96mm
Stroke: 78mm
Actual capacity: 2258cc
Comp ratio: 10.5:1
Valves per cyl: 4
Camshaft type and position: Twin overhead ZL17 cams
Cam timing: 102° max lift
Injection: Lucas mechanical injection
Exhaust manifolding: 4-2-1
Exhaust system: Single transverse silencer
Power: 300bhp approx
Torque: 200ft/lb approx
Other details: Clutch AP twin paddle
Weight: Less than 1000 kilos with fuel, oil, auxiliary lights
OTHER DETAILS:
Acceleration: Standing ¼ mile in 11.2 seconds
TRANSMISSION:
Hewland FG400
Gearbox ratios: 1-13.46; 2-14.34; 3-18.30; 4-21.27; 5-23.24
Final drive ratio: 3.87 to 1
LSD:
Salisbury
FUEL TANK:
2x6gallons
FUEL PUMP:
Bendix low pressure, Lucas high pressure
COOLING:
Front mounted aluminium radiator Rear mounted aluminium oil cooler
ELECTRICAL:
Lucas Rita ignition, Lucas alternator
OTHER FEATURES:
Built, supported and maintained by David Rees & Co Ltd, 31 Boundary Street, Liverpool, L5 QUB. Phone: 051 207 4499
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