Having spent most of the last 40 years in sunny southern Italy, this lovely early-Mk3 Escort 1.3L is about as solid as you’ll find. With no evidence of any previous welding and with no sign of any of the dreaded rot (including in the usual spots: battery tray, boot floor, rear wheel arches etc. etc.) this car has a long life ahead of it in either original configuration or as a re-shell for something special!

The car presents extremely well with no mechanical issues apparent. The 1.3 engine pulls without stress and delivers a composed driving experience with gears, brakes and suspension all in good order. The clock is showing only 2,900km…probably too good to be true although judging by the state of the interior – the back seats look like they’ve never been sat on – we wouldn’t be surprised if this mileage is correct! Sadly, the car’s history has been mislaid along the way so it’s impossible to say and we must therefore assume that it’s actually a 102,900km car – still not a lot.

The interior is in really nice, clean and original condition throughout. There is no sign of any damp under the carpets or under the boot lining …quite the opposite as the only minor flaw to note is that the steering wheel plastic is very slightly dry, presumably from too much sun.

UK registration applied for and will be sold with a new MOT.