Mk1 Escort Sports Sedans

[struddo]

Hi guys ,my name is John Strudwick escort racer from 1979 when I built my first escort sports sedan. it was then powered by a 6cyl holden engine ,I only did club lapdashes at that time at oran park nth and sth, amaroo dirt and main ,silverdale hill climb,and katilina.It was then powered by a 4.4lt P76 V8 then 302 windsor then Boss302 then 351clevland and the last was 351 stroked to 6lt that is when it was white with red stripes. I was sponsored by Gary wilmington from about 1980 with my car running a lot of group C running gear.
You have a couple of pics within your discussion , I always ran under #64 except at 6hr relays.The picture you have when it was orange /yellow/ black was when it had a boss302 and those pics were at oran park in I think 1986 with the only reverse direction race at oran park.I do have pics that I can post when I get the chance .I sold it to a victorian under 2lt racer in 2005 but I think he was scared of it as it was race ready when i sold it to him but he rang me 2 years later asking about cam specs so he could set rocker gear as he pulled the motor down to freshen it up which was a waste as it only had 1 dyno run and 1 race meeting in 2000 (525hp). he also rebuilt the rest of the car inside and out again what a waste as it was ready to go .I raced it with space frame setup in late 1994 in a truck meeting at O/P then in 1995 i did the full season with NSWRRC winning 11 races that year and winning the Ted Russell Memorial series.. Thats enough for now ,i will add some more and some pics soon and a bit more information on the Miller car as I did the work as well as paint when Jamie bought it in 1990...cheers John jstrud@hotmail.com

[jd yort]

Welcome to the forum Struddo, it is always good when we get old racers joining the forum, especially when they provide information about Chassis history. Please put up any old pics when you get a chance. So did the Escort ever actually race again?

[struddo]

Hi, I do not know if he got it on the track as when I talked to him in about 2007/8 he was going to do some sort of an exhibition run at winton , all I can think that as he was an under 2lt racer he may have been taking it to a under 2lt meeting and running it around.I have goggled him many times but only get under 2lt stuff about him so maybe it was a bit much for him as you can imagine with the short wheel base and 525hp it was not an easy car to drive and if you went easy with it it was even harder so you had to grab it by the throat and have a guttsy go . I WILL get so pics together going back to about 1978/9 ..cheers John

[Bondy]

Hi, I do not know if he got it on the track as when I talked to him in about 2007/8 he was going to do some sort of an exhibition run at winton , all I can think that as he was an under 2lt racer he may have been taking it to a under 2lt meeting and running it around.I have goggled him many times but only get under 2lt stuff about him so maybe it was a bit much for him as you can imagine with the short wheel base and 525hp it was not an easy car to drive and if you went easy with it it was even harder so you had to grab it by the throat and have a guttsy go . I WILL get so pics together going back to about 1978/9 ..cheers John

I saw the car run in David's hands in 2008 @ Calder and i also think he ran at least 1 Winton meet. It was pretty slow at Calder, doing the same times i did in my Rotax Max Kart ;) I don't think its run since 2008.

[struddo]

David is the one who bought it,it does not surprise me he was slow he changed a few things and as I said he was a bit unsure about it .It was a car that needed good rubber to perform and to drive hard, I also think when you build the car yourself for yourself you tend to be a little more at home in it , he would have needed to do lots and lots of laps to be able to get the most out of it. The way I had it setup was very quick at Oran Park I think I would have done about 500 laps in its spaceframed configuration... John

[loser]

I saw the car run in David's hands in 2008 @ Calder and i also think he ran at least 1 Winton meet. It was pretty slow at Calder, doing the same times i did in my Rotax Max Kart ;) I don't think its run since 2008.

That day/night meeting at Calder, Dave broke a front suspension arm in the braking area at Turn 1 and had a big off. He bought it out again at Winton about 6 months later, had a few dramas (engine maybe), put it in the trailer and it's been in his shed ever since. I'm pretty sure he said he has no intention of running it again. Maybe someone needs to buy it??

[jd yort]

A couple more Mk1 for sale.

[Corolla52]

Always thought that the Escort looked good as a racecar.

[jd yort]

The Jamie Miller Mk1 certainly has had some paint schemes over the years. This is when John Varnham was selling it



I have never seen this black one before


nor this