Could this be the world’s best Ford Escort XR3?

Warwickshire-based Tolman Engineering has completed a new project, and a classic fast Ford is the latest hot hatchback to be meticulously restored.

A total of 18 months has been spent transforming this 1981 Ford Escort XR3, following a customer’s request to make it ‘the best in the world’.

From precise panel gaps to a period-correct air freshener, nothing has been left untouched in the pursuit of retro hot hatch perfection.

Some assembly required

Tolman Engineering inherited the XR3 project as an unfinished build from another restoration company. The number of missing parts meant a complete audit was required before work could begin. In all, the Tolman team sorted through around 1,000 items to establish what was needed. 

When new, the Escort XR3 was a big seller in the UK, with more than 11,000 leaving the Halewood plant near Liverpool in the first year of production alone. However, less than 200 of the earliest cars remain, making this fast Ford a real rarity.

As a result, some creativity was required when sourcing parts. A single driveshaft was shipped across from Germany but, still requiring a second, Tolman designed a replacement and had it produced locally.

With alerts set on multiple sales and auction websites, the company was ready to pounce when items such as New Old Stock (NOS) seat trim appeared for sale on eBay.

I can see clearly now…

Much time was spent taking the XR3’s body shell back to bare metal, and ensuring the kind of uniform panel gaps unheard of in mass production.

All the original glass was removed from the car, before being cut, polished and replaced. This means the windows retain the original factory etchings, although Tolman did have to recreate the ‘Identicar’ decals.

The instrument cluster was stripped down, with the needles airbrushed back to their original orange finish. Reverse engineering was used to replicate the red and blue heater decals, which Tolman now plans to sell to aid with other restorations. 

A NOS Feu Vert air freshener from the 1980s, a packet of Embassy cigarettes and selection of contemporary motorsport programmes help to complete the interior.

Returned to factory specification

Unlike other Tolman Editions, such as the company’s restomod Peugeot 205 GTI, the Escort XR3 project was about maintaining factory-spec originality.

This means the 1.6-litre CVH four-cylinder engine, fed by a Weber carburettor, has been left as standard. A stainless steel exhaust system has been added, however, and the brake lines have been CNC-formed. 

Refurbished 14-inch ‘Clover Leaf’ alloy wheels, fitted with Michelin Youngtimer tyres, complement the dazzling Sunburst Red paintwork.

‘Finding ways to improve modern classics’

With the exhaustive build process now complete, the XR3’s owner intends to take the car to shows and concours events this summer. 

Speaking about the project, company founder Chris Tolman said: “We truly enjoy finding ways to improve modern classics through our Tolman Edition programme.

“We have to be more innovative, drawing on different networks and ways to source the harder-to-find parts, and reproducing or restoring the ones you simply can’t buy. 

“But it’s really satisfying to restore a car to factory specification, hunting down the near-impossible-to-find parts and ensuring it looks like we remember them.”

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