Episode 1 is where Retropower’s restomod of a Mk1 Escort for Gordon Murray, the engineer behind the McLaren F1, begins. Nothing gets welded yet. Instead we hear how the job landed in the workshop, what Gordon actually asked for, and how the team picked the shell that everything else would be built on.
Video: Retropower on YouTube · watch “Gordon Murray's MK1 Escort - Retropower Build Episode 1” on YouTube
What happens in Episode 1
The surprise visit (0:00). The team tells the story of a note saying “Gordon Murray is visiting on Monday”. Nobody believed it was the Gordon Murray until he walked through the door. He’d found Retropower’s projects online and wanted a Mk1 built.
The brief (1:28). This isn’t a track car. Gordon wanted an Escort he could use regularly: to drive to meetings and “out and about”. The aim, as the team puts it, is to keep everything that made a Mk1 fun to drive and modernise only the bits that feel dated.
Interior ideas (2:35). Ventilation was high on his list. The standard dash gives you demist or face vents, not both. He didn’t want air-con or an infotainment screen (“the engine noise will be the entertainment”). The early design ideas include rotary switches instead of sliders, engraved aluminium details inspired by an engineer’s micrometer, no rear seats (a luggage area instead), and seat centres in Murray tartan.
Exterior (5:12). It stays almost standard. Gordon likes the Twin Cam look, with split front bumpers and steel wheels with chrome hubcaps, but wanted it lower and wider with the wheels filling the arches. The Ford script comes off, the bumpers tuck in tighter, enamel Retropower wing badges go on, and his own design logo goes in the steering wheel centre.
Engine and gearbox (6:34). The engine will be a Cosworth-built Duratec with throttle bodies and a dry sump whose pump sits in the sump itself, offered in outputs from roughly 200 to nearly 300 bhp. Retropower expects to pick something in the middle. Gordon asked for a six-speed, so the box is the six-speed from the third-generation Mazda MX-5, which bolts straight to a Duratec.
Finding the donor (8:46). “The only thing that matters is the shell.” A contact sent photos of a candidate. It had been repainted and had dodgy filler on a door, the rear quarters and a sill, but the floor looked solid underneath. Retropower bought it after five minutes, while admitting it was a gamble because fresh paint can hide a lot.
Parts, tools and suppliers mentioned
- Cosworth-built Duratec with throttle bodies and an integrated dry-sump pump
- Mazda MX-5 (third-generation) six-speed gearbox
- Murray tartan for the seat centres
- Retropower enamel wing badges and a Gordon Murray Design steering-wheel logo
Lessons for your own Mk1
- Buy the shell, not the car. On a build like this, most of the running gear gets replaced anyway. Rust and accident damage decide the real cost.
- Original paint is honest paint. Retropower’s usual rule is to look for tired original paint, because a fresh respray can hide filler. They broke that rule here and said so.
- Write the brief down first. Road car or track car, air-con or none, rear seats or luggage: deciding early saves rework later.
- Modernise the irritations, keep the character. Heating, ventilation and switchgear are where a Mk1 feels oldest. The steering feel and light weight are what you want to keep.
Mk1 context
The standard Mk1 dash has just two fresh-air vents, and the choice between face and screen air is exactly what Gordon wanted to fix. The Twin Cam styling cues he liked (split front bumpers, steel wheels) are the look many period-correct rally replicas copy today.
Related
- Series hub: all Retropower Gordon Murray Mk1 episodes
- Background: the complete history of the Mk1 Ford Escort
- More builds on video: Mk1 Escort build videos