The Sales Rep

'Retro Ford' has always been hard to find compared to 'Classic Ford' it was the same in the 1990's with 'Fast Ford' and 'Performance Ford' most newsagents had 'Fast Ford' but 'Performance Ford' took some tracking down (normally found at petrol stations). Classic and Fast Ford are owned by the same owners (Kelsey Media) and Retro and Performance Ford are owned by the same owners (Unity Media) so obviously Kelsey have a far better distribution network and ability to command shelf space than Unity do.

From 1/1/2021 black and silver (white) number plates will no longer roll with tax/MOT exemption so the cut off for legally being able to fit them will be on cars built before 1st January 1980. The rolling on from the original 31st December 1972 cut off date was apparently a mistake however it will remain legal to have them on cars from 1973-1979. The Euro symbol will also no longer be allowed to be added to newly made plates (older plates can still display it) although the Union/English/Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish flag can still be added to new plates being produced. Stricter rules for number plates fitted to cars built from the first of January 1980 will come into force in September 2021. On a personal note glad they stopped the black and silver plates being fitted to newer cars as I don't think they don't look right on anything built after 1972. https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/news/article/changes-to-black-silver-number-plates-from-01012021

Worth baring in mind that there are two different shades of tan used on the 2000E.

9 will stand for 1979. I'm guessing the colour of the car is silver and its not a Ghia? as one of the colour code lists I have suggests Strato Silver (most likely single coat) the other suggests Platinum. What does the build plate say?

Yes you're right, I was aware of that, I just meant that in 1995/1996 I was thinking that 1970's cars would all become tax exempt before too long as it was rolling at 25 years, then came the freeze, then years of discussion in the classic car world and pressure from clubs, FBHVC etc towards political parties then an extra year added then a rolling exemption at 40, it has just been a lot of faffing about and a long wait to get to this point.

As from yesterday (1/4/2020) all 1979 cars are now tax exempt so the first of the MKV's will now qualify. It's good that all 1970's cars are finally exempt but it seems to have taken a long time to get there (I think i'm right in saying that it was in 1995 that the exemption was first introduced).

Personally I would always keep a car in it's original colour (even if I hated it) as that's the way it was supposed to be, cars are always worth slightly less come resale time if they are painted in the non original colour. Definitely keep the brown or tan roof, far cooler than the common black. What colour is it now?

The cars colour isn't Sunset Red it's actually Carnival Red (VIN plate and production month confirms this). I have a MKII Escort GL in this colour and its a lot more red and brighter than what it looks on the Cortina (as that has badly faded). Carnival Red was a short lived but popular colour available from early 1975 until around August/September 1976. Here's a MKIII in Carnival Red:

Yes they were available with red interiors too but also fairly rare, available in the same colours as the Cortina with Midnight Blue and Cordoba Beige being the rarest on the Escort. They looked good on the L model in Venetian Red with the Houndstooth Trim.

Can you tell me how to contact them, i've had a quick look online and can't find any contact details, is this a service they provide? cheers

As of April 1st 2016 cars built in 1975 qualify for free road tax, I have a (late) January 1976 registered car that was built in 1975, it should be free to tax and you used to be able to get a letter from an owners club to prove the year of manufacture and they will change it on the log book to allow the vehicle into the historic tax class however the DVLA appear to have changed the rules in what documents they consider acceptable to change a vehicles year of manufacture. They now say they won't accept a letter from an owners club, this is taken from the DVLA website stating what you need to change a year of manufacture: "an extract from the manufacturer/factory record or an extract from the appropriate ‘Glasses Check Book’. Dating certificates from a vehicle enthusiasts’ club are not acceptable to change the date of manufacture for an already registered vehicle" Anyone got around this, I have genuine Ford information that can show the build date (workshop manual etc) but it doesn't look like they will accept this. The Glass's Check Book' is a strange one as they were only available to the trade and ones that cover 70's cars have been out of print since the 1980's. Does anyone have a Glass's Check Book that covers 1975 if so are they able to scan one page of it to cover my car? (note the check book is different to the car value books they produced) thanks

I wouldn’t be so sure theres every chance this was taken by a banger racer, they simply don’t care that it’s a Lotus in fact this probably gives them some sort of kudos. If it has been taken by one then they’ll sell the engine on and the car will end up on the track.

No problem I think you'll really like it there is some great period footage on it as well. The only negative part is the amount of time dedicated to the MKIV is poor compared to the I,II,III & V.

I'm pretty sure it's taken from this DVD: It's part of a set of Ford related DVDs released by Duke Video they also did them for Fiesta/Escort/Capri/Sierra/Transit (and others) they are a really good watch. If you're thinking of buying it then don't get it from Amazon its £19.99, go direct to Duke Video you can buy it from their website for £6.99 plus free delivery. (in the last year or so Amazon have become expensive for so many things so shop around) link to Duke Video:

Other famous people who may be happy to retweet: Steve Berry (ex Top Gear)he likes/owns classics Philip Glenister and maybe John Simm especially as one of the stolen cars is a bronze MKIII Fuzz Townshend & Tim Shaw (I don't do Twitter or Facebook so someone else will have to do it)