In 1963 Fords Motorsport Division bought over RAF Boreham in Essex, UK and set about building rally cars to set world records on the stages which they still to do date. The story of this car however begins in 1979 when Ford set about making a “Tarmac Special” aka “The Monte Special”.
The Monte MK2 Escort featured a wider track as well as the wheel base being brought forward giving it the edge over its competition. Hannu Mikkola and Bjorn Waldegard from Finland and Sweden respectively first debut’d the cars on the 1979 Monte Carlo Rally where they both led at some point.
Soon after this event, a right hand drive version was built. “GVX” was born and is the only right hand drive “Monte Special” to ever have been made (there was only two other Monte Specials, both left hand drive). GVX was built for England’s Russell Brookes to campaign the British Rally Championship in 1979 where he took overall victory on the Manx rally on its first season.
Soon after, Cork legend Billy Coleman brought GVX to the Emerald Isle and took outright victory in Cork before engine failure put him out of the Circuit of Ireland in 1980 whilst leading the event. On the rest of the Irish Tarmac Championship that year he proved his worth and put up a great fight.
1981 saw the late great Bertie Fisher from Enniskillen purchase the car and he took a momentous victory in Lurgan Park that year, which was the only notable result Bertie got in the car. As you have guessed by now, rally cars change hands more than pound coins and in 1982 Donegal’s Vincent Bonner bought the car but soon after had a heavy crash and he never repaired the car.
This task was taken by Hugh O’Brien and with Omagh navigator Flint McCullagh on board they had a number of very successful years with GVX. The story becomes more up to date now as Montgomery Motorsport from Fermanagh bought the car ten years ago and in 2007 they set about a vigorous restoration job.
They commented “This car has a huge significance in rallying and this made it worthwhile restoring” continuing “We wanted GVX to be in an ‘as factory’ condition running Fisher livery”.
Taking nearly four years to complete the restoration, I must say as a rally fanatic, the car is an absolute work of art and a real credit to the Montgomery’s. GVX would easily pass scrutiny to compete in a modern rally; however this car is priceless and thus, rightly so will be used as a promotional tool for Montgomery Motorsport. This doesn’t mean it will sit in a showroom though as it will be taken round shows and drive in classic cavalcades etc.
The spec of this car will say it all in regards the effort Ford put into it back in the late seventies so I wont go into detail on how amazing “The Monte Special” is, read the spec and see for yourself.
ENGINE:
2.0 Wilcox BDG
DOHC
Dry sumped 16v
Steel rods
Forged pistons
K&N filter
Performance leads
4-1 exhaust manifold
Straight through twin box exhaust system
255bhp @ 9000rpm
TRANSMISSION:
Rear wheel drive
5 speed ZF close ratio gearbox
Single piece prop shaft
AP racing twin plate clutch
Fully floating Atlas axle
ZF motorsport Limited Slip Differential
5.3:1 final drive ratio
CHASSIS FRONT:
Relocated Macpherson strut
Independent front suspension
Tarmac spec coil springs
Compression struts
Adjustable bespoke traction control arms
Bespoke quick rack steering
Heavy duty bushes
CHASSIS REAR:
Relocated Bilstein telescopic dampers
Single leaf springs
Coil springs
Five linked rear end
Heavy duty bushes
BRAKES FRONT:
AP racing monte carlo 4 pot alloy callipers
266mm vented discs
Rally brake pads
BRAKES REAR:
AP racing 2 pot alloy callipers
267mm solid discs
Rally brake pads
Hydraulic and mechanical handbrakes
Works bias pedal box
Twin master cylinders
Balance bar
Remote brake bias controller
WHEELS & TYRES FRONT:
8.5” x 13” minilite wheels
20/53/13 Michelin slicks
WHEELS & TYRES REAR:
11.5” x 13” minilite wheels
24/53/13 Michelin slicks
INTERIOR:
Multi point RSD roll cage with rear diagonals
Door bars
Recaro seats
Springalex 14” steering wheel
Willians 6 point harnesses
Switch panel
Extra instruments
VDO 10,500 rev counter
Intercom
Helmet holder
Door cards with zipped pouches
Lifeline plumbed fire eater system
Handheld fire extinguishers
Relay and fuse panel
Premier 60L bag fuel tank
High pressure fuel pumps
Light weight battery in protective box
Rally jack and wheel brace spider
Dry sump tank and piping
Spare wheel
EXTERIOR:
Monte Carlo arches
Monte Special front spoiler
Thinner glass windows
4 Cibie super Oscars
Fisher Engineering livery
Grp 4 jacking points
Sump guard
THANKS TO:
Montgomery Motorsport
www.montgomery-motorsport.co.uk
028 8554 9851
07831 661 430
