No you're not seeing double!! This is
a genuine MK1 Escort Mexico with four doors and (at the time of writing this article) it
is owned by Harry Sterling from the UK. Back in the seventies Ford built six Mexico's like
this, four of which went to Jersey to be used as Police cars. Another went to the North of
England and the other was kept by the Ford Motor Company for their own use. This
particular car was built in December 1971 at the Ford AVO factory and was one of the cars
exported to Jersey to be used as a Police car.
Harry Sterling bought the car in June 1975 from Blackmill
Car Sales in South Wales, not knowing how unusual it was, or of its history. The owner
of the garage had been using it since buying it in Leicester the previous year.
Around September 1975, while attempting to buy a clutch from the local RS dealership in
Cardiff, it became clear that the car was no ordinary Mexico. In fact telephone
calls were made to London to establish the fact that it was a genuine "4 door
Mexico". It was at this time that Harry was told that there had been six built, four
going to the Jersey Police and one to a garage owner in the North of England.
Harry continued to use the car as his
every day vehicle, his business being a heating engineer. In 1977 he bought an Escort
estate car for business use and the "Mex" was used by his eldest son
John, until the Summer of 1979 when the car was taken off the road for restoration work.
In its time with the Sterlings its mileage had gone from around 28000 to 84000, a new
clutch was fitted, the engine received an overhaul, new rings and bearings etc, a new
Weber carb fitted and Bilstein World Cup suspension fitted all round.
In 1979, new outer front wings and front panel were
fitted and the shell was stripped and professionally resprayed in the original Ermine
White. Over the next ten years the car was slowly rebuilt. The work took such a long time
due to the heavy work commitments of Harry's sons, and the participation in club rallying
of his youngest son David. However, in June 1990, the car was MOT'd for the first
time in ten years and Harry began to show it at both national and local shows. Many people
who visit the shows will recognise him in his police helmet and flashing police light on
top of the car!
In 1991, after its restoration, Harry took the car on a
return journey to the Jersey AVO show and managed to find a Police Sergeant who remembered
the cars and in particular the heavy clutches!
Our thanks to Jon Sterling (Harry's son) for submitting
this interesting article.
