Inside Ford’s heritage garage: the greatest hits

Within Ford’s Dagenham plant in Essex, the famed car maker stores a collection of cult classics. From the Model T to the Mustang, iconic names are plentiful and for fans of the Blue Oval – or simply cars for that matter – this place is paradise.

Though hidden from public view, last summer I was fortunate enough to be allowed access to the heritage garage in order to poke around some very special machines…

At the time of my visit, the collection was split as the group of 129 vehicles were gradually being transferred. It was going from the rather old, yet characterful, large shed (essentially) featured in the top image, to a nearby, warehouse-like home – still within the extensive grounds of the plant – as the ensemble grows.

Though before we get into more details and, most importantly, the cars, I think it’s best to address the elephant in the room – why is this amazing assembly of automobiles shut off to the public? Well, it simply isn’t set up for it.

Ivan Bartholomeusz, Ford heritage specialist, said: ‘It’s not a museum, it’s a working collection that goes out with the media, supports dealerships, events, etc.’

The collection spans an impressive 11 decades, with the oldest member, as of my visit, being a 1910 Ford Model T and the newest a modified, supercharged Mustang of the current generation, though pre-facelift.

Sure, there’s not an example of every Ford ever produced, but the sheer range and variety was staggering and quite a sight to see. So, while present were the regular, arguably ‘normal’ models such as Escorts, Cortinas and Mondeos, the garage also included a fair few significant firsts and lasts. For example, the last Transit to roll off the production line in Southampton – signed by all the workers – now resides amongst the collection, in addition to the final 280 Capri and first Mk 1 Focus RS.

Furthermore, plenty of Ford special edition cars and motorsport greats sit in the collection, all of which are very cool and interesting.

One of these greats I saw was a 1969 Ford Escort London to Mexico rally car. This is the vehicle which won the famous London to Mexico rally in 1970, spawning the road-going Escort Mexico. Its 1.8-litre four-cylinder only has a mere 135bhp – this was 40 years ago though – yet it was enough to power this little rugged rascal to victory.

Fun fact: 1995 saw another Escort London to Mexico rally car win the event. Now that’s quite the pedigree.

Like the Escort rally car, all of these precious motors have to be preserved, taken care of and repaired (if needs be), so a lot of work goes into maintenance – ‘whatever’s required’, in the words of Bartholomeusz.

The heritage specialist stated: ‘It’s engine rebuilds, gearbox rebuilds, whatever we can do in house, we do in house. Bodywork has to go outside because we haven’t got the facilities on site.

‘Some parts you can’t buy through the company anymore, so you have to go outside. Clubs, specialist suppliers and so on. With some models we’re the same as everyone else.’

However, a member of the collection renowned for reliability is a 1961 Ford Zephyr police car. This is a special one, as it was the first police car to be white as opposed to black, which they were before, and was bought to patrol the newly opened M1.

According to Bartholomeusz, the model could do more than 100,000 miles on their original motors – pretty good for the time – and were notoriously rock-solid. In a criminal catching machine, that’s always to be appreciated.

As previously mentioned, the collection is still growing. From what began as a Model Y and Model T used for training in the mid-60s, expanded to include 129 cars and covering ‘most decades up to current’, as stated by Bartholomeusz.

He added: ‘It’s grown in the number of vehicles we’ve got and the usage. Where we were doing about 30 odd loans for [my] first year, now we’re hitting 300 odd loans a year. We’re covering a lot of ground.

‘And we’re still growing. We’ve taken on things like the new Mustangs, 2005 GT – we’re supposed to be getting the new GT. We’ve got the new Focus RS, we’ve got Focus STs, so we’ve got current models coming in as well. It’s just keeping pace and having the space.’

A car not so new, though happens to be arguably one of the greatest, most beloved fast Fords ever is the Sierra RS Cosworth. In the vast collection, a 1986 example is kept. While not the famed RS500 version, this coveted Cossie was previously used as a driving skills training car, so it was fitted with a roll cage. But apart from that – and an engine rebuild – it’s completely standard.

These speedy Sierras possess good amounts of power even by today’s standards, coming in at 204bhp from their 2.0-litre inline-fours. They also demand rather high prices nowadays, circa £50,000. Still, there are far worse ways of spending your money.

Personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for Ford – as a lot of other car enthusiasts will too. There’s something quintessentially British about the brand – from its history making ordinary, affordable cars for the masses, to motorsport icons and hot hatches tailor made for a fantastically fun B-road blast. The Blue Oval has created so many memorable motors and this can be seen throughout the glorious time capsule that is its UK heritage garage.

Bartholomeusz said: ‘It’s the heritage of the company. Sometimes to know where you’re going you’ve got to know where you’ve been, and it’s always a good thing to look back.

‘It’s an identity, it’s historic, and Ford specifically have always had a strong identity. [The heritage garage] is another way of maintaining that.’