Restoration of 'Run Baby Run’ Dave Brodie's MK1 Escort 50 years on
#1
Posted 13 June 2022 - 14:27
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#2
Posted 16 June 2022 - 18:17
The trouble is though Richard, it's not the original car from what I have read and have been told by very reliable sources. The original was sold and then written off many years ago in Sweden, but then maybe Dave had more than one car, which this thread alludes to -
Hopefully this myth of the original car being under a sheet for 50 years won't be perpetuated into the history books and if Dave would like to show pictures and the continued history of this restored car, then great, but I don't think it will happen...
A nice little video of the original car with a lot of the early Special Saloon regulars and even commentary from Murray Walker -
#3
Posted 16 June 2022 - 21:27
The trouble is though Richard, it's not the original car from what I have read and have been told by very reliable sources. The original was sold and then written off many years ago in Sweden, but then maybe Dave had more than one car, which this thread alludes to -
Well, I definitely saw a "Run baby run" escort at the Brooklands New years day car show a few years ago, it stopped me in my tracks as I knew I had heard of it in the past and it took me a while to work out where. Must have been replica?
#4
Posted 18 June 2022 - 18:10
The trouble is though Richard, it's not the original car from what I have read and have been told by very reliable sources. The original was sold and then written off many years ago in Sweden, but then maybe Dave had more than one car, which this thread alludes to -
Hopefully this myth of the original car being under a sheet for 50 years won't be perpetuated into the history books and if Dave would like to show pictures and the continued history of this restored car, then great, but I don't think it will happen...A nice little video of the original car with a lot of the early Special Saloon regulars and even commentary from Murray Walker -
Would you know who in Sweden bought the car, and who drove it when it was written off, possibly also when? I ran a number of races in Sweden from 1976 onwards, but cannot recall this particular car or accident.
#5
Posted 19 June 2022 - 10:17
Well, I definitely saw a "Run baby run" escort at the Brooklands New years day car show a few years ago, it stopped me in my tracks as I knew I had heard of it in the past and it took me a while to work out where. Must have been replica?
Back early 1972 an Irish sponsor gave an Irish driver a cheque as a deposit for the purchase of RBR , he went to view the car and was happy with the car on offer , Dave asked him when would the deal go ahead , he didn't want to waste Brodies time and said that he didn't think the purchase would take place, so on arrival back in Dublin he dropped the cheque in the sponsors letterbox and never herd from him again . After years ago I was chatting to another competitor from the period and he said he had trailered the car to Dublin for the original purchaser .
Personally I suspect there may have been more than 1 RBR , in 1972 or maybe 1971 there was an article in Motoring New on Brodie offering RBR replicas for the road , at the launch he said there was only 1 , however there was also a MK1 Escort Estate with bubble arches in black built for a customer , I have the article filed but it is in storage and not easy to access , so I am sceptical of the narrative at the launch
#6
Posted 19 June 2022 - 10:17
There was a thread started some years ago by a filmmaker who was working on a documentary about Dave Brodie and "Run Baby Run"
https://forums.autos...e-run-baby-run/ Since then it seems to have only resulted in a trailer. (?)
I'm intrigued by the "Swedish Connection" too, maybe it went there through Ronnie Peterson and his connections?
As we know Dave Brodie was a very good friend of Ronnie, his contribution in the film "Superswede" is one of the most compelling.
We can only speculate about the origins of the recently restored car, the work on the shell was done in a unit close to Mercedes F1 in Brackley in 2014.
Nothing wrong with an honest replica I must hasten to add, a well built, historically correct replica does definitely have value and significance too.
Over the last 25 years or so many alleged "works" Escorts have re-emerged, of those only a tiny handful are genuine cars.
There is even examples of a genuine (Rothmans) car being discovered and then completely ruined by a reshell and upgrade to modern spec.
Honest, correct replicas should be celebrated, but the truly genuine cars even more so. Restored or unrestored.
Edit: Some more relevant links.
https://chalkstar.bi....com/who-are-we
https://www.newburyt...e-told-9173601/
Edited by Myhinpaa, 19 June 2022 - 10:40.