# 1980 MK2 Escort RS2000



## waxy

I recently completed a full Detail on this classic 1980 MK2 Ford Escort RS2000 custom.The car is used for shows,so it's in pretty good shape,but the paint was riddled with RDS on every panel,and lacked clarity.After talking to the owner,a fellow RS owners club member,the main cause of the RDS was determined,using a dirty wax applicator to apply wax very frequently.

My process was as follows,

Car rinsed down thoroughly,ONR two bucket wash
Wheels cleaned with ONR and Horsehair brushes
Dried with uber drying towels
Clayed with Sonus green clay,ONR for lube
Trim and the vinyl decals/pinstripe carefully masked up with 3M 34/34
Paint correction via Rupes polisher using Gtechniq PI,followed by P2
Meg#105 used in places.Gloss it orange,yellow,white pads.
Paintwork prepped by hand using Zymol HD Cleanse
LSP Zymol GlasurX2
Final wipe down to remove any outgassing residue using Eimann Fabrik Detail spray

Plastic bumpers and trim waxed with Glasur
Glass cleaned with Klasse AIO
Wheels polished with Klasse AIO,then sealed with OOS
Tyres dressed with Zymol Tyre

The interior is original,and in good shape,just needed a good vacuum,light steaming of seats,carpets and hard surfaces.
Plastic surfaces dressed with Autoglym Vinyl and rubber

Engine bay was done by hand using ONR and various brushes and plenty of microfibres.Engine bay paintwork polished by hand with Autoglym SRP,then sealed with OOS.Plastic and rubber surfaces dressed with Autoglym Vinyl and rubber.

Some before shots











































Some of the defects


























































Making progress,gloss and clarity returning



























































































































Some interior after shots


































































Original brown Fishnet Recaro seats










Underside polished by hand using SRP,then sealed with OOS



















Some Engine bay after shots


















































All after shots


















































































































Rare Webasto sunroof




































































































































































































Many thanks for looking.


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## nicks16v

I love these cars. Great work.


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## fitz

A stunning example! and nice work!


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## Smudge

OMG that is simply STUNNING!!!!!!!


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## Dipesh

Lucky lucky man. I'd love to have worked on that! Amazing.


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## moonstone mo

:argie::argie:

amazing!!!!


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## ajmanby

i love these cars! great work!


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## FrazzleTC

Excellent work!


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## ALANSHR

absolutely superb, one of the best examples i have seen for a good while, nice straight panel fits and everything with a lovely bid of modifying thrown in for good measure, really well done.


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## Igloo

What did you use around the RS lettering?


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## waxy

Thanks for the kind comments.Igloo,i very carefully used Gtechniq P1 around the decals.


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## Derek Mc

Beautiful, stunning job matey, I owned a signal yellow one back in 1982 and loved it to bits, the only criticism with the whole car are the tyres, too low a profile makes it look a bit odd but if that is as much as I can say then it's nothing!

I like someone else here said, would have loved the chance to work on one of them, happy memories


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## c16rkc

Wow that car is in amazing condition, an excellent detailing job!!!

It reminds me of 10 years ago when I was 19 and bought my first BMW, I took it to Santa pod and ended up side by side with a car that looked just like yours.

It was in absolutely immaculate condition and I remember thinking that either it was tuned up and I was going to get pasted.. or it was completely stadard and I might just beat him...

The lights went green and I took off as fast as I could leaving him miles behind, I kept looking for him in my mirrors - no sign - I though 'I'm doing it... Yes!!!'.....

Then, from kno-where, this bright orange RS200 came flying past me like I was in a robin reliant. I stopped him afterwards and he showed me round it, it had an engine from an escort cosworth and a nitrous kit fitted - it was absolutely amazing. Apparently the only reason I got ahead of him at first was because he couldn;t get any traction to pull away!!

Beautiful cars those, but I do like the 70s/80s/90s fords... my fave has got to be the Mk1 Sierra RS500 Cosworth!!


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## andyb

Once had one of those...same colour as well. Stunning car and beautifully prepared.

I know it would be a sad world if we all liked the same thing....but I think the wheels would look better black instead of red.


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## carrera2s

Fantastic job and car! I remember these cars very well!:thumb:


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## EliteCarCare

What a mint example, some rare options on it too. I had a couple of these back in the day, really miss them. Excellent work and thanks for posting. :thumb:

Alex


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## PIT

Very good work


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## ROB WOODHOUSE

Awesome car and now looks amazing! I want


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## MadOnVaux!

That is abso-bloody-lutely stunning


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## RandomlySet

very nice! under-carriage and engine bay look mint!


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## Phil23

Lovely job. Had a couple of these in the past, absolutely ragged them....oh hum, hindsight is 20/20. have to go and dig out some old photo albums now.


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## mk2jon

:doublesho I enjoyed that post,top job,great photos :thumb:


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## ryand

That's seriously special.


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## waxy

Cheers guys,being a Ford fan myself made it very enjoyable.


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## illeagalhunter

The pictures are gone dude


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## nicks16v

Why cant I see these pictures on my computer at home? It says upgrade to pro today bandwidth exceeded in place of all the pictures.


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## tamandlee

I want to see the pretty pretty shiny things!!!


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## VIPER

No pics mate. And as you can imagine, I'm pretty eager to see them.

Sort it out bud


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## waxy

Sorted,had to upgrade my Photobucket to pro,sorry for the temporary loss of pictures


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## nicks16v

That's a motor and a half, I love it, my dad used to have one when I was a little chap, he also had a chocolate brown 1600 Ghia, which sounds horrid, but that colour and car would look so cool now.
Is the roof factory fit ?


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## waxy

Yeah,brown looks proper retro now.I am led to believe that the Webasto is a rare factory fit option.


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## nicks16v

It looks factory, thats why i asked. Top car by the way, that is legendary and keep it that way forever, no matter what happens.More of these cars need to be about to remind us all a little about what cool really is.


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## paulrs2000

nice cars them
same roof as mine


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## VIPER

STUNNING!!! :argie: :argie:

That's so 'right up my street' when it comes to cars, it's not only up the street, it's up the driveway, through the front door and sat in the living room with it's feet up, in possesion of chilled beer and watching the telly :lol: :lol:

Fantastic work there my friend!! :thumb:

If it's been on the Ford show circuit for a while I've probably seen it in the flesh at some point (albeit prior to this detail session), but not being able to see the reg plate I can't identify it.

Thanks for posting mate (and sorting the pics), I'll be indulging in a longer viewing over my lunch


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## thejudd

Nice work and a very nice car.


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## scooby73

Great work on a fantastic car!:thumb:

It's such a pleasure to see these cars!

Thanks for posting!!


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## Solvent Sid

Awesome work there on a real classic.


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## Gruffs

That there is a whole heap of OOOOFFFFFF!

Nicely done.


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## horned yo

Nice work


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## andrewst500

stunning rs love these :thumb:


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## waxy

Thanks for more kind comments,Viper i thought you might like it i can PM you the reg to see if you know the car from the show circuit? it's quite distinctive.


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## fozzy

Congrats on a Proper piece of motoring history, nearly all my teen years were spent in mexico's of some sort .....ahhhhhh.........those were the days :argie::argie:


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## SlapEd

Stunning car and a top job done on it


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## rsdan1984

wow, thats in very good condition!


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## SteveTDCi

nice


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## cotter

Proper 'scort - lovely. Thanks for sharing!


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## talisman

best write up in ages....always seems a bit rude to bring money into the thread but if i wanted a similiar car condition wise....what sort of money would you be talking??...


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## RyanJon

I caught glimpse of a black rs2000 in Mauchline, Ayreshire last week. It did't seem to
be anywhere near as well kept as this 1, but still looked absolutely stunning and was
turning more heads than most supercars would! 

God only knows how much attention this must get....I imagine people would be walking
into lamp posts left right and center!

An absolute credit to you sir!

I doff my cap.


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## pete330

A brings back memories

What a great example,i guess loads of money and time over the years has been pumped into this one and you have done her proud
Probz added around 1k to the value now


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## waxy

Cheers chaps.I have to agree,they are very sought after cars now,come a long way from the 'working man's' fast ford,values are on the up,especially for very original examples,for a car like this you wouldn't get much change from 10-12 grand.


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## Idlewillkill

Beautiful dude, well done.  Is the MK3 poking out in a few shots yours?


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## waxy

Thanks yes the MK3 is mine,had to give up her garage space temporarily for me to work on the RS:buffer:


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## KKM

That is stunning!! Nice work


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## waxy

Thankyou


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## 1956ultra

This was a cracking car, i bet your glad i spoke to him now eh?


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## Mean & clean

Stunning :argie:

Fantastic cars these. Old classic Fords are just perfect IMO.


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## 03OKH

Cracking detail with an awesome underside & engine bay :thumb:


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## andyd73

Great job, a credit to your patience.:thumb:

I so used to want an RS2000 when I was 14/15


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## srmtor

Thats is fantastic work, I love these cars... :thumb:


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## malky christie

That is one absolutely gorgeous MK2 ,great post and kudos to you:thumb:


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## richard33dees

:argie::argie: stunning car!! Not much of a ford fan, but there are a few that am fond of and this is definitely one of them, fantastic example and a credit to you!! The chassis and engine shots just show how beautifully simplistic these cars are compared to there modern day siblings


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## danjnixon

Stunning mate!


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## Rowan83

That really does look fantastic, you should be very proud of the condition!! :thumb:


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## waxy

Cheers guys:thumb: yeah,these are proper oldskool Fords:driver: can't beat them.


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## Beau Technique

Very very nice, love old skool blue ovals.
Looking nice and sharp, nice to see spotless wheel arches and that engine looks superb.


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## Sten

Stunning. Is it from Paisley per chance?

*Geez, just realised I've been lurking on here for nearly 2 years without posting :lol:


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## Glenn_23

Looks Stunning, good work.


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## zakk

great job, lovely car !


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## alexf

That is just exceptional, what an amazing looking machine :argie:

I showed my girlfriend the pic of the undercarriage and we were both just like whoa! lol

Waxy have you done a thread about the mk3 escort in the projects and restos section? Ive seen the pics on your profile and it looks lovely (standard just how I like em) and Id love to see a few more of it :thumb:


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## waxy

Thanks for more kind comments alexf, no i haven't done a thread on the MK3 Escort,just the pics in my album,i will do some proper pics,and a write up when the weather improves:thumb:


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## colarado red

In a word STUNNING


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## waxy

Cheers bud


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## Cenobytez

absolutely stunning, same colour as my old one, ye olde Terracotta Red. pretty rare colour.


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## Nial24

Love that car!


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## Guest

:argie::argie:love it!! the underside is looking really well on it, great work!


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## MadMerc

That's one sweet ride! Thanks.


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## Dmac1969

Idlewillkill said:


> Beautiful dude, well done.  Is the MK3 poking out in a few shots yours?


I spotted the Mk3 as well , is it a GL or Ghia (judging by the chrome trim strip on the tailgate). That RS2000 is stunning btw , I almost bought one (Black Custom) about 12 years ago but the garage were going to give me next to nothing for my Capri 280 , so I had to decline. I couldnt justify the price of a good one now , as has been stated , over £10K .


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## ALANSHR

Absolutely stunning, had a 1600 sport a long time ago which was good fun but my mates RS was the car I always lusted after, even your back spoiler hasn't gone porous and fallen apart yet like I have seen on so many cars so a great credit to you, well done. The underside is just mental clean, do you want to come to my house, or I could come to yours and you can show me how its done on my car.

I actually remember in 1981 trying to convince my dad to lend me some money to 'invest' in a 1978 yellow Mexico but failed unfortunately so the best it got was the sport.

Not sure if it is just the lighting but the close-up piccy of the boot lid looks as if there is some polish residue in the window trim rubbers, if it is then you could use a tooth pick to clean that out but it could just be the light reflecting of the rubber edge so apologies if that is the case.


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## waxy

Dmac1969 said:


> I spotted the Mk3 as well , is it a GL or Ghia (judging by the chrome trim strip on the tailgate). That RS2000 is stunning btw , I almost bought one (Black Custom) about 12 years ago but the garage were going to give me next to nothing for my Capri 280 , so I had to decline. I couldnt justify the price of a good one now , as has been stated , over £10K .


Yes it's a MK3 Ghia,my late fathers car,now mine,agree with the current MK2 RS values,increasing all the time.Do you still have the 280 Capri?


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## waxy

Cenobytez said:


> absolutely stunning, same colour as my old one, ye olde Terracotta Red. pretty rare colour.


Thanks Terracotta is a pretty rare colour,this car is Venitian red.


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## B&B Autostyle

Totally totally mega! Looks terrific! Used to have one of those and really regret selling it. Well done.


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## waxy

Cheers man,years ago they were everywhere,different story now though.


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## ChrisJD

Stunning.

Great work, the car looks fantastic.

Chris.


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## waxy

Thanks for the kind words Chris


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## Dmac1969

waxy said:


> Yes it's a MK3 Ghia,my late fathers car,now mine,agree with the current MK2 RS values,increasing all the time.Do you still have the 280 Capri?


I wish! No i traded it in 9 years ago now. Ive got a Mk5 Golf GTI now.


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## CHR15_W

Love it. Stunning:thumb:


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## waxy

Thankyou


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## waxy

I forgot i had this on my camera,a short walk around video when the sun was out.Some RIDS remained on the front wing tops unfortunately(too deep to chase),not bad though for a 30 year old Escort:thumb:


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## steeleez

I want it!


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## bigo

very very good, congratulations on careful washing underneath the car.


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## waxy

Cheers,the underside took me a day and a half to complete.No pressure washing here due to the age of the paint.


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## *Das*

Am I the only one that preferred looking at the underside? You just cant appreciate the time and effort that goes on underneath the chassis.


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## mk2glenn

Nice wee RS there. Venetian Red is common but it is spot on for an RS2.



andyb said:


> I know it would be a sad world if we all liked the same thing....but I think the wheels would look better black instead of red.


And even better dove grey. The red just isn't nice.



talisman said:


> best write up in ages....always seems a bit rude to bring money into the thread but if i wanted a similiar car condition wise....what sort of money would you be talking??...


I would say £7000 max.


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## waxy

Thanks for the comments.I think £7000 max would be a bit of a bargain for this car,most guides list condition 2 cars at £7,500,and this car being very original,and way better than condition 2, would surely be a steal at that price


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## mk2glenn

waxy said:


> Thanks for the comments.I think £7000 max would be a bit of a bargain for this car,most guides list condition 2 cars at £7,500,and this car being very original,and way better than condition 2, would surely be a steal at that price


I could be wrong but the car has a few details which would need changing for it to look more original. Maybe a bit more than 7k but not much.

Escort prices did shoot up in the last 10 years but they've fallen again in the last 2.


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## VIPER

DasArab said:


> Am I the only one that preferred looking at the underside? You just cant appreciate the time and effort that goes on underneath the chassis.


No, so did I :thumb:


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## Sandmo

Greatlooking car, and a stunning job! Nice!!


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## 123quackers

Stunning car brings back so many memories of my youth in those.......

Dam showing me age now and they were cheap then to.. 

Thanks for showing such great car.........

The profesionals drove these a couple times too IIRC.:thumb:


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## waxy

Cheers for the kind comments.Great nostalgia with these cars,i remmember watching Doyle tearing around in that white one too


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## "SkY"

Excellent work!:thumb:


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## waxy

Cheers man


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## ahaydock

Classic :thumb:


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## waxy

Thanks Alex


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## waxy

I heard a rumor recently that the owner sold this car for £15000,if that's the case, then the values of such car's are continuing to rise.


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## TOMMY_RS

excellent work mate i love these cars!


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## mrwall

very nice but cars are meant to be "DRIVEN"


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## mk2jon

waxy said:


> Cheers for the kind comments.Great nostalgia with these cars,i remmember watching Doyle tearing around in that white one too


I still do 
got the dvd box set=67 episodes :thumb:


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## cam73

waxy said:


> I heard a rumor recently that the owner sold this car for £15000,if that's the case, then the values of such car's are continuing to rise.


It appears that it's currently up for sale on Pistonheads for £20,000. :doublesho


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## 550_VRS

nice example of a true classic .. great work


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## waxy

mrwall said:


> very nice but cars are meant to be "DRIVEN"


Thanks for the comments.This car is driven,i can vouch for that.Why do you think that it's not?


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## waxy

I have the DVD box set too John,never get tired of watching the episodes:thumb:


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## Mick

i saw this car in the flesh at the end of last years show season in bonnybridge, its minty fresh.

excellent writeup :thumb:


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## Tymbaland

Lookin sweet, I miss my Mk2


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## waxy

Thanks mate do you know what show in Bonnybridge it was at?


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## Mick

waxy said:


> Thanks mate do you know what show in Bonnybridge it was at?


i may be mistaken but i think it was the All rover Rally, in around july/august time, and strangely enough, there wasnt that many rovers at it :lol:


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## waxy

Cheers for the info mick:thumb:


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## Bowler

An all time favourite of mine, stunning example two good to drive on the road would want that one for show and another not quite as clean for the run about


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## waxy

Thanks mate


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## waxy

__D5__ said:


> It appears that it's currently up for sale on Pistonheads for £20,000. :doublesho


Thanks for the info, i wasn't aware of that.Hope it goes to a good home.


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## robtech

awesome ,i so have to get one of these,lol ive promised myself 1 for the last 20 years


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## AlexTsinos

amazing :doublesho:doublesho:doublesho
Great Job :thumb:
well done m8


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## waxy

Many thanks for the kind comments


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## McClane

Yes please!! :argie: :thumb:


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## DiscoTD5

A proper car.. You've done yourself proud there..


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## waxy

Cheers man


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## waxy

Car is now sold!


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## dave smith

that is amazing what a car a true credit to you 
must of sold for a tidy sum in that condition


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## Ali

That's a show winner for sure!


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## si hoc

awesome mate just awesome!!


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## Bowler

Great job fantastic classic


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## waito

Looks great. Really good job


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## David Proctor

One word "AWESOME"


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## waxy

Thanks for the kind comments:thumb:


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## Mark M

Wow that is serious!!!


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## waxy

dave smith said:


> that is amazing what a car a true credit to you
> must of sold for a tidy sum in that condition


Cheers,more and more people are viewing them as an investment now,the MK3's are slowly following the trend too


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## waxy

The owner has recently replaced the car with this very nice standard example


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## dubber

wow, i like that old skool oem rule's :thumb: :argie::argie:


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## Leemack

How did I miss this?

:argie:


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## Bowler

Love old fords RS2000 top of the list


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## Big Buffer

Wow you dont get new cars this clean.

Superb work

:argie: :argie: :argie: :argie: :argie:


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## waxy

I appreciate the kind comments,cheers


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## davy rs

Hi. I bought this car from a dealer near aberdeen. I completely refurbished the car and had it for 4 or 5 years. Showed the car and won several trophies for it. Unfortunately when I sold the car, I also gave the buyer all the prizes with it, and he sold the car on within six months. after spending many many hours of working on it, I regret parting with all the evidence that I had actually owned the car. It does my heart good to see that it has been maintained in show condition.


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## Hufty

What a beaut reminds me of my first ever car, Venetian red mk2. Worth a pretty penny now that bad boy. :thumb:


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