A very special car made a return journey to Ennis last Saturday, after an eventful journey which began in 1974.
ZIE 898, A Ford Escort Mexico, was bought that year by the late Jim Bradley. No ordinary Escort, it was a special model built to commemorate Hannu Mikkola’s victory in the 1970 World Cup Rally, which began in London and ended in Mexico city, who were hosting the World Cup that year.
So great was the publicity from winning the event that Ford decided to build replicas for sale to the public. Unlike the rally car, which was powered by an 1850cc competition engine, the road cars were fitted with a more pedestrian 1600cc crossflow unit, producing a heady 86bhp.
It was enough, in a light body, for respectable performance and coupled with uprated suspension, a strengthened body shell and the Escort’s standard rack and pinion steering, the Mexico quickly became sought after, with many being converted for use in road rallies.
The Escort Mk I and the Mk II which followed it, were two of the most successful rally cars of all time. They were relatively cheap to buy, easy to repair and modify and easy to drive fast with a very forgiving nature. I’ve had the pleasure of driving a few Mk II rally cars and they really are great cars.
Back in 1974, car ownership wasn’t as common as it is now and most cars were very basic. To order something as exotic as an Escort Mexico would have taken some serious commitment. Denis Rynne, who worked for Sheils at the time and carried out the Pre Delivery Inspection in 1974 still finds it hard to put into words his feelings when he saw the car for the first time. It was like something from outer space.
Jim’s Clare sourced car had already undergone a partial restoration when it came into the hands of Kilkenny enthusiast, John Butler, who fully restored the car to the showroom condition you can see today.
John had always vowed to bring the car back to Ennis, its spiritual home and there to greet it last Saturday were three generations of the Bradley family. Our picture shows from left Jamie Bradley (grandson), Denis Rynne, who carried out the PDI on the car, brothers Paddy and John Bradley, Jim’s son Dave and Eddie Rynne, General Manager, Sheils Motor Group. Photograph by Dermot Kelleher.
