MN MAN RIDGE TO REBUILD CLASSIC RALLYCROSS FORD FIESTA SUPERCAR
Journalist plans to field four-wheel-drive car in hillclimbs and other events
The Ford Fiesta Supercar driven by Steve Mundy to the 1996 BRDA Rallycross Championship title is being restored to return to action.
Originally built as a rear-wheeldrive machine in 1990, the car was turned into a four-wheel-drive Supercar by Shropshire-based Mundy for the 1995 season.
He claimed a maiden outright rallycross win with the car at Pembrey in June 1996 on his way to the BRDA title. The Fiesta last competed in 2000, before being replaced by Mundy with a new Ford Focus.
Stripped to a bare shell, the
Fiesta changed hands several times with various adaptions undertaken, before MN’s rallycross editor Hal Ridge bought the bodyshell in July 2017.
Ridge has since been restoring the Fiesta to like-period
Supercar specification.
“This has been a big project,” said Ridge. “The bodyshell had been changed quite a bit when
I got it, various people had different plans for it, but I wanted to return it to be a Supercar with a YB Cosworth engine.
“We’ve had to remake a lot, including subframes, without having many photos or details available of how it was in period.”
Ridge says he has also tried to improve the car throughout the build process. “Sourcing parts has taken time – I managed to find the gearbox that Steve used to run. But, rather than using everything that Steve did, with a huge amount of help I’ve tried to improve the car in various areas too,” said Ridge. “In an MN article at the end of 1996 for example, Steve is quoted as saying he’d like to upgrade the car to use WRC-style suspension uprights, so we’ve done that.
“This is a special project for me, I’ve tested and raced more modern Supercars and while this car not of the same specification, it will be brilliant to drive my own car, one that was originally built very near to where I grew up.”
Ridge plans to use the car in rallycross and hillclimb events, but while it will be ready to be painted in the coming months, important decisions still need to be made. “I still don’t know which of Steve’s liveries to paint it in – that’s one of the biggest headaches at the moment…” added Ridge.