The Roaring Season

I stumbled on this site during a google search only to find a picture of my old Mark 1 Escort RS2000 in the 1981 Hamilton Tarmac Rally. Fantastic to read old names from 30 years ago and reminisce the good old days.

I though some might be interested in this recent story that features my old New Zealand rallycars from back in the day.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120726/MOTORSPORTS/120729889

Regards to all.

Peter Farrell

Peter, welcome aboard, its great to have you here! Thanks so much for the link, what a fantastic read. The MkII Escort that appears in those photos, was that a car you raced in NZ or the US?

Thanks Steve.

That was a car I built at RNZAF Base Hobsonville Hobbies club in 1982 after I rolled my Mark 1 Escort competing in the '81 Motogard Rally after being told I was in 8th overall. First lesson learned. Don't let your desire to win exceed your ability to do so.

I ran it in 1982 as an RS 2000. It had a 4 speed RS 1800 Grp 2 Gearbox and 5 link Grp 4 Atlas rear axle assy. Unable to afford a BDA at the time we dropped in a 300 HP Turbo Pinto motor from a guy named Bruce Manning. It had a lot of grunt but tricky to drive with lots of turbo lag. No laptop programmable engine management systems back then just a side draught Weber hanging on the turbo inlet with a windscreen washer pump squirting water down its throat for cooling. Boy how things have changed!

I tracked the car down about 6 years ago in the South Island and dream one day of restoring it.

Here's another link to a recent story that shows my Mark 1 Escort on the Motogard '81

http://rally-america.com/news/1235/


Peter Farrell

Peter ,great to see you catching up on here ,along with the memories of the Mk 2 Escort

Hi Bob...It has been so long.

Hey, you should have got me out on the track in that nice Twin Cam Mk 2 you were building back in '82. As it turned out I was more successful as a race driver than a rally driver. Whatever happened to that car?

Send me a PM with what you are up to these days.

Peter

High Peter, doesn't time fly. Did not know you were over the ocean. The old Mk2 was a handfull alright. So you have the old car back i take it. Bruce Manon has the same type of grunt out of Cossies now, just crazy stuff.

Peter, where is your Silver Fern Rally entry you promised me a few years ago ? maybe you need to chase down the old car again.

Peter Farrell wrote:Thanks Steve.

That was a car I built at RNZAF Base Hobsonville Hobbies club in 1982 after I rolled my Mark 1 Escort competing in the '81 Motogard Rally after being told I was in 8th overall. First lesson learned. Don't let your desire to win exceed your ability to do so.

I ran it in 1982 as an RS 2000. It had a 4 speed RS 1800 Grp 2 Gearbox and 5 link Grp 4 Atlas rear axle assy. Unable to afford a BDA at the time we dropped in a 300 HP Turbo Pinto motor from a guy named Bruce Manning. It had a lot of grunt but tricky to drive with lots of turbo lag. No laptop programmable engine management systems back then just a side draught Weber hanging on the turbo inlet with a windscreen washer pump squirting water down its throat for cooling. Boy how things have changed!

I tracked the car down about 6 years ago in the South Island and dream one day of restoring it.

Here's another link to a recent story that shows my Mark 1 Escort on the Motogard '81

http://rally-america.com/news/1235/


Peter Farrell

Thanks Peter, great story! It must have been really tricky to drive, turbos then tended to come in with a real bang, must have been very tricky to drive with everything else that you're busy with in a rally.

Great to hear you've tracked the car down. Have you brought it back to the US?