MEET THE OWNER – MICHAEL CARPENTER AND HIS FORD ESCORT 1600 GHIA MK.2

It belonged to an old boy who does the local shows; he could not keep on top of the maintenance, so he decided to move it on. This Escort was not cheap and a bit rustier than I hoped, but it scratches that itch without spending thousands on an overpriced and overrated sporter model.

Michael Carpenter is now the proud owner of a 1980 Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia Mk.2 in all its Strato Silver glory. 44 years ago, this was the sort of car for the select few: people with onyx taps in the bathroom suite and a rented Ferguson video recorder in their lounge. At the weekends, there would be fondue parties - and polishing the Escort on the driveway to provoke extreme envy amongst their neighbours.

Ford replaced the Escort Mk.1 with the Mk.2 in 1975. The 1300E was the previous aspirational version, but Ford GB had already begun to use the Ghia name in 1974 on the flagship Capri and the Granada. The Escort Mk.2 was the third car to use the shield badge, gaining the lucky driver, a vinyl roof, tinted glass, and an MW/LW radio. If that were not sufficiently luxurious, there were “Crushed Velour/Verona” upholstered seats, a dashboard veneered in “Real wood”, a “chrome gearshift lever”, and even a “colour-keyed cut pile carpet”. By 1979, these decadent fittings included a remote-control driver’s door mirror.

Ford offered the Escort Ghia in 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre forms, the latter boasting a higher lift camshaft, a four-branch manifold, a bigger valve head, and a close-ratio sports gearbox. Michael pointed out: “It is very spritely with its twin-carb Weber engine; my Escort is basically a four-door version of the 1600 Sport but with more wood and fewer graphics!”. In some respects, Michael’s Ghia is somewhat of a Q-Car capable of surprising Vauxhall Chevette owners at the traffic lights.

In 1975, Autocar much appreciated the Ghia’s seats, while a year later, Car was downright rude when it tested the 1600 version opposite the Vanden Plas 1500. They concluded: “In the context of the mid-’70s, we find it hard to take either car seriously”. Ford probably did not care about one iota, as they perfectly designed their hierarchy of models to appeal to business customers. For the junior sales representative or the police Panda Car driver, there was the Escort Popular, a variant where a steering wheel was regarded as a luxury. Meanwhile, the 1.6 Ghia denoted that long-awaited promotion to managerial status.

And Michael’s Ghia is a reminder of the last days of the RWD Escort, just before the launch of the FWD Mk. 3. Not to mention a time when a Ford with a two-spoke steering wheel was a status symbol -

With thanks to Michael Carpenter for his time and permission to use the images in this blog.​