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  • MK1 ESCORT RACE CAR: IN THE BLOOD

    With a track record for owning and building some incredible motorsport Fords like this road legal Mk1 Escort race car, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was in father and son, Vince and Jake Falzon’s blood.

    Feature first appeared in Classic Ford magazine. Words & Photos: Dave Moore

    Despite its relatively small size and population, Malta punches well above its metaphorical weight when it comes to both the number of Ford fanatics and classic and modified Fords you can find on the island.

    With a huge following in drag racing and a geographical landscape that lends itself to hillclimbs, it’s not surprising that the majority of modified cars are built for one of these disciplines, so to find something ready to take on even the most demanding of rally stages or race tracks (when there isn’t one in the country) is somewhat of a rarity, especially when it’s been built to such an impeccably high standard and is loaded with what can only be described as a mouth-watering
    spec list!

    Vince has owned some pretty fine examples of the most popular Ford’s over the years — in fact, he still has a few in his collection today, but it’s obvious his latest builds is his jewel in the crown.

    Mk1 Escort Race Car

    Like father, like son

    Vince’s relationship with his son, Jake epitomises how most car-mad Dad’s would want it to be, so when Jake suggested to his Dad that they should build a Mk1 Escort race car together, it was like an itch that just had to be scratched.

    “It’s his fault!” Vince laughs, pointing in his son’s direction. Those two things as it turned out, were all it took to start the build and the end result, as you can see, is what’s undoubtedly up there as one of the finest Mk1 Escorts around today.

    A donor Mk1 Escort in standard road trim was found on the island and Vince spent no time in dismantling it back to a bare shell, before the real work could begin; “Everything has to be immaculate when I build a car, outside, inside, engine bay and also underneath”, he says with a smile.

    Mk1 Escort Race Car

    The shell was prepared to his strict standards and that included fitting the bubble-arches and making the necessary modifications to house a Wales Motorsport fully-floating six-link rear axle setup.

    As with nearly every aspect of the build Vince likes to be hands-on himself and painting the shell was no different. He prepared everything ready for paint, before his brother, Simon was entrusted to give it a beautiful coat of Frozen white; Vince being Vince still wanted to do as much as he could himself and he ended up spraying the interior himself.

    Mk1 Escort Race Car

    With the shell back at his house, he started the overall assembly process, thankfully with so many decades of performance parts out there to choose from, he knew it exactly what chassis components he wanted and as you’d expect, they’re more than up to the job.

    Avo three-way adjustable dampers were fitted to help with the handling while a tried-and-tested AP Racing braking set-up on all four corners is responsible for bringing things under control, for when they eventually do get a little bit wild. With the chassis components well underway, Vince turned his attention to what was going on under the bonnet; “I wanted something really special for the engine”, he enthuses. To that end Smith & Jones were brought into the mix via one of their bespoke YB blocks which when joined by the Arrow crank and rods would provide 2.4-litres of displacement.

    Siamese style

    A 2wd head was bolted in place for the time being and to that was joined a beautifully fabricated tubular exhaust manifold, which was in-turn mated with the gen2 version of the Garrett GTX3584RS. Eight 1000cc injectors in a siamese set-up were responsible for providing enough fuel whilst an RS500 inlet plenum with spacer was being fed the cooled charge air thanks to an Airtec intercooler up-front — well as cool as you can get charge air in the Mediterranean, anyway.

    There’s no denying the father and son’s commitment, with every evening and weekend spent working on the car, but with so much work to get through at such a high-level, it took 20 months from start to finish… and in that time, Smith and Jones had actually updated their block design to use long studs that went the full height of the block; “I wanted one of their own head castings anyway, so thought I had to update my block as the build wasn’t finished yet”, Vince laughs. So, a later-spec block was ordered and when it arrived he stripped his first engine down and rebuilt it into the updated block and added the new Smith and Jones head casting at the same time.

    Art work

    As you can see, the interior and even the boot were also given Vince and Jake’s full attention with incredible touches and detail littered throughout, together with every single fitting and hose imaginable being of an Aeroquip-style, in a stealthy shade of black, rather than the typical red and blue affair.

    The whole car is a work of art, and as with all of it, the interior is much akin to seeing a good film, where you really need to watch it a few times as you miss so many things the first time, or on your first glance, as in this case.

    A sea of carbon fibre greets you, from the seats to the door cards set against the towering and unmissable carbon fibre sequential gearbox lever, which fires quickly through the gears of the six-speed Elite transmission at the other end of it. Then there’s the removable deep-dish wheel, the floor-mounted pedal box, Stack dash, the AIM digital display and control system… there’s literally something to please your eyes wherever you look, all finished and installed impeccably; rarely do you see such hardcore motorsport componentry blended together so well in something that’s actually road legal… yes, really!

    Mk1 Escort Race Car

    There in lies one of the best things about this build, apart from it bringing a father and son together to spend some quality time on something they both love, it could easily win a concours-style competition for its cleanliness and finish, yet it also gets driven hard as Vince enthuses “There’s no point in building something like this to then not use it… and besides, I just love the power and the handling of it, it makes me smile a lot every time I take
    it out!”

    Next in line

    With this Mk1 Escort race car demonstrating his fondness of the Blue Oval, the time Vince gets to spend with his son and his capability of building incredible projects we only had one question remaining… ‘So, what’s next?’ which was simply met with one of Vince’s trademark grins… watch this space!

    Mk1 Escort Race Car

    Tech Spec: Mk1 Escort race car

    Body:

    Group 4-spec Mk1 Escort, bubble-arches, gusseted, drilled front panel, quarter bumpers. Frozen White

    Engine:

    2.4-litre Smith and Jones YB block with Arrow steel crank and rods, Omega forged pistons, Titan dry sump, custom profile cams, RS500 inlet plenum with spacer plate, eight Dynamic 1000cc injectors, Edwards Motorsport tubular exhaust manifold, Garrett GTX3584RS gen2 turbo, Airtec intercooler and radiator, 3 inch exhaust system with side exit, Link ECU with switchable maps (450 bhp, 650 bhp and 1000 bhp), traction control, launch control, three Bosch 044 fuel pumps

    Transmission:

    Elite six-speed sequential gearbox, Wales Motorsport Atlas axle, TTV Racing twin-plate clutch

    Suspension:

    Front – AVO three-way adjustable coil-overs, Group 4 World Cup crossmember, Safari-style bottom arms and hub assembly.

    Rear – AVO three-way adjustable coil-overs, six-linked

    Brakes:

    Front – AP Racing four-pot callipers.

    Rear – AP Racing two-pot callipers. Bias pedal box, hydraulic handbrake

    Wheels and tyres:

    9×15 inch (front) and 10×15 inch (rear) Revolution 8 Spoke Classic Rally wheels, with Avon ZZS tyres

    Interior:

    Stripped, roll-cage, Stack speedo, tacho and auxiliary gauges, AIM digital dash and controller, carbon fibre bucket seats, carbon fibre door cards, detachable OMP Alcantara wheel

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  • “Fast Five” 1963 Corvette Grand Sport replica for sale

    The “Fast and the Furious” franchise may have started out with tuner cars, but by the time “Fast Five” premiered in 2011, the series had expanded to include cars like this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport replica, which will be auctioned off online by Volo Auto Sales starting April 14.

    First spotted by Motor1, the Grand Sport replica only appeared briefly in “Fast Five.” It was one of several cars stolen off a moving train by the heroes, only to plummet off a cliff to its doom shortly after. Still, the Grand Sport is a bona fide movie car—and a cool one at that.

    The original Grand Sport was a heavily-modified version of the C2 Corvette designed for racing—hence the numerous cooling ducts, bulging fender flares, and fixed headlights. Only five original cars were built—two convertibles and three coupes—establishing enough of a reputation that Chevy brought back the Grand Sport name for variants of recent Corvettes.

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    The replica was built by Mongoose Motorsports, which is licensed by General Motors to build these cars. It has a custom tubular chassis with C4 Corvette suspension and a GM Performance 5.7-liter V-8 crate engine that makes 380 hp, according to the listing. It’s also an automatic, which isn’t uncommon for movie cars as it makes them easier to move around on set.

    This is one of three surviving Grand Sport replicas from the film, and was used as a “hero car” for close-up shots, according to the listing. That means it likely got the most screen time, and is closest in appearance to what you see on screen. Movie productions generally use multiple cars, which are only made to look or function as good as they need to for a particular scene. For example, a car used for stunts might not have a full interior, because that wouldn’t be shown in a given shot.

    The auction house expects this movie car to sell for between $95,000 and $100,000, while Mongoose advertises new cars (without the movie pedigree) at “under $100,000.” Either way, the “Fast Five” car should be a lot less than one of the five original Grand Sports, which have seven-figure valuations.

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  • 2022 Infiniti QX55, lifted Subaru Outback, 1967 Chevy Corvette L88: The Week In Reverse

    We drove the 2022 Infiniti QX55, learned about a lifted Subaru Outback, and reported on a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 sold at auction. It’s the Week in Reverse, right here at Motor Authority.

    We slid behind the wheel of the 2022 Infiniti QX55 to determine whether a faster roofline is worth about $7,000 over a QX50. The answer: That’s a lot of extra money to pay for style that isn’t matched with substance. The shortcomings are noticeable and the German competition simply does it better.

    The covers came off the 2022 BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupe. With a price of over $140,000, this four-door coupe will be rare when it lands at BMW dealerships in late spring (Alpina only builds about 2,000 cars annually). While an M8 Gran Coupe exists from BMW, the Alpina model will be something special with trademark styling cues and top-shelf features.

    A lifted Subaru Outback is headed into production. The rugged Outback will be “adventure-ready,” according to Subaru. The tall wagon will be revealed on March 30 and should be a 2022 model. Expect new wheels riding on Yokohama Geolander All-Terrain tires along with the lifted ride height.

    The 2022 Hyundai Kona N was spied without any disguise during an official photo shoot in Germany. The hot hatch/crossover will feature the Veloster N’s turbocharged powertrain, though it’s unclear if all-wheel drive will be offered. Expect a debut to occur soon and the pocket rocket to arrive in dealers later this year as a 2022 model.

    A numbers-matching 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 sold for $2,695,000 at a recent Mecum auction in Arizona. It was one of just 20 built that year, and it’s finished in Sunfire Yellow. The car previously underwent a 10-year restoration, making this a stunning example of a rare car.

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