Tolman Engineering has completed its latest restoration project, bringing a 1981 Ford Escort XR3 back to concours level condition.

Having recently restored Lotus Sunbeams and Peugeot 206 GTIs, Tolman is developing to cater for customers seeking high-end restorations of 1980s and 1990s cars, despite modern classics posing their fair share of challenges.

When it originally came out in 1980, the Ford Escort XR3 was competitively priced and sold in high numbers with customers admiring the power produced by its 1600cc CVH engine. An upgrade on the standard Mk3 Escort, it was a popular alternative to the Golf GTI and was part of a historical chain of 'Fast Fords which have wowed petrolheads for decades.

Despite being a best seller, less than 200 carburettor cars are still on the UK’s roads today with many falling to rust problems, crashes and theft. This makes the XR3 extremely rare and sought after and equally rare to source parts for.

In the 18 months it took to complete the restoration, Tolman started with repairs on the bare metal bodyshell that was finished in its original Sunburst Red. Then, over 1,000 parts were replaced, some being sourced from eBay, others being found in lofts and many being reproduced in-house. The result is stunning and a testament to the efforts of Tolman Engineering.

“We truly enjoy finding ways to improve modern classics through our Tolman Edition programme,” says founder Chris Tolman. “We have to be more innovative, drawing on different networks and ways to find the harder to find parts and reproducing or restoring the ones you simply can’t buy. But it’s really satisfying to restore a car to factory specification, hunting down the near-impossible-to find parts and ensuring it looks like we remember them.”

The owner of the 1981 Ford Escort XR3 now intends to take the car to several events and concours in 2024.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Tolman Engineering