Garage-Find 1979 Ford Escort 1600 Sport Heads to Auction

A 1979 Ford Escort 1600 Sport Mk2 that’s spent many years tucked away at the back of a garage is heading to auction later this month, and it’s exactly the sort of old Ford that gets us wondering what we’d do with it.

The black Escort comes from a deceased estate and has been entered into Anglia Car Auctions’ 22nd and 23rd August sale, carrying an estimate of £8,000-£12,000.

Dusty, wonderfully period and apparently largely left as its long-term owner knew it, this could be one of the more interesting Ford finds in the sale.

Owned by its last keeper since it was three years old

According to Anglia Car Auctions, the Escort’s most recent keeper had owned it since the car was just three years old.

It was eventually found at the back of his garage, where it had reportedly been stored for many years.

The odometer currently shows 58,042 miles, while ACA lists just three former keepers.

That’s the sort of background that immediately gets our attention. Rather than a freshly restored Mk2 prepared specifically for sale, the photographs show a car still wearing the signs of its years in storage.

And we’d be very tempted to resist cleaning it until we’d taken plenty of photographs first!

Would you change those headlights?

Old cars evolve with their owners, and this Escort has a few details that should get Ford enthusiasts talking.

The most obvious are those rectangular headlights.

The 1600 Sport is more commonly associated with round headlights, while rectangular units appeared elsewhere in the later Mk2 Escort range. This car also wears a pair of large Lucas auxiliary lamps, giving the front end a distinctive period look of its own.

Whether the headlights were changed years ago, and precisely when or why, isn’t explained in the auction description.

But that raises a much more interesting question: would you change them back?

For someone aiming to return the Escort towards its original specification, a round-headlight front end might be on the shopping list.

On the other hand, if those rectangular lights have been on the car for decades, they’re now part of its story. Period modifications can become just as evocative as factory specification, particularly when they’ve survived alongside a car for a large part of its life.

We suspect there’ll be strong opinions on both sides.

That interior deserves a closer look

Inside is perhaps our favourite part of the car.

The wonderfully period brown cloth interior appears original according to ACA, which reckons it should respond well to cleaning.

The patterned seat centres, brown door cards, simple dashboard and three-spoke steering wheel instantly transport you back several decades. It would be fascinating to see just how well that cabin comes up after a careful clean.

ACA says the black paintwork is also believed to be factory-applied.

Under the bonnet, meanwhile, there’s none of the polished presentation of a restored show car. It looks like an engine bay that’s been allowed to grow old with the rest of the Escort, and for a garage find that’s all part of the appeal.

Even the original number plates are still there

Open the boot and there’s another lovely detail.

The Escort’s original number plates are still with the car, along with a spare wheel. ACA says a new tyre and some new mats are also included.

Its surviving paperwork is fairly modest, consisting of several receipts from 2007 and 2008 together with insurance documents covering 2011 to 2013.

The vendor also advises that the handbrake has seized and some battery bolts are missing, so after its long period in storage there will clearly be some recommissioning to enjoy before its next chapter begins.

Restore it, or preserve what the years have given it?

And that’s what makes cars like this so much fun.

There’s an obvious route of restoring the Escort and returning every detail towards factory specification.

But we’d find another approach equally tempting.

Clean it carefully. Recommission it mechanically. Find out more about its history. Preserve as much of the wonderfully aged character as possible and perhaps leave some of those changes made during its life exactly where they are.

Even those headlights could become part of the decision.

The 1979 Ford Escort 1600 Sport Mk2 is estimated at £8,000-£12,000 and will be offered by Anglia Car Auctions during its classic sale on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August 2026.

There are plenty more photographs to pore over on the auction listing, including the interior, engine bay and boot.

View the 1979 Ford Escort 1600 Sport on the Anglia Car Auctions website

So, if it ended up in your garage, what’s the first job you’d tackle – and would those rectangular headlights stay or go?