1970s Cars | Ford Cars | Bespoke Cars | Ford Factory | Production line | Drive in | 1973

'Drive in Presenter Tony Bastable visits the Ford Advance vehicle operations centre in Essex, to take a look at modified cars.
First shown: 1973
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Quote: VT8220

[@SergeiTheAnarch]

It's refreshing to see such a candid interview where the corporate manager actually admits that insurance costs are higher. Never got these models in the US but interesting to see what the UK was doing at the time.

[@crumplezone1]

Shaw Taylor was slicker than ZX1 and Tony was more questioning than a Spanish inquisitor

[@QuadMochaMatti]

I was just a young boy in my single digits back in the '70s, but it still seems like turbo charging had been around forever, rather than just coming onto the performance scene then. FWIW, it's always good to see a vintage auto-centric feature with Tony uploaded to the Thames channel. Thank you!

[@Londonechoes]

Well said!

[@savetommyrobinsonfreespeec7660]

Very diplomatic answers! 👏🏽👏🏾👏🏻

[@gulfstream7235]

God I miss that Thames Channel intro music, always a heads up one of your favourite programmes was about to start...

[@cg7975]

Minder springs to mind 🤗

[@uncensored5104]

Anyone who grew up outside of London doesn't have a clue what you are talking about 👍

[@JJVernig]

Nice to see inside this kind of factory, just making special cars.
Still strange to think to make this piece, they drove in a complete OB-truck and roll out all those cables, and 100+ KG camera's. All instead of using a 16mm film camera and sound man. But Thames made money like water and chose this way to make this program.

[@MX-Mug]

I had a Modena green RS2000, wish I could go back in time and scoop up a few of those and store them. And Stuart always said things how they were.

[@Astro_War]

Reminds me so much of Alan Partridge😆

[@joanne26]

My parents🙏🙏 did not start driving till 1974 when I was 9
My father had a company car
A navy blue Ford Cortina 4 door
Tony Bastable OH MY he died young

[@leonshackleford9585]

Very Interesting Ford Dagenham Factory I been there lots of times in Dagenham Essex

[@StuartAxe]

This was filmed at the South Ockenden AVO plant..

[@bobolulu7615]

In the 80's, I used to deliver to the Dagenham factory. One thing I can say, its fucking huge!! I drove alot around the factory and never got to see all the buildings. It was simply enormous.

[@Jack_Warner]

I've just emailed my mate about this. He worked at Aveley on and off.

[@LoosleyLouise]

Miss the Mexico I had, one of the many

[@berwhaletheavenger]

Ours was built there in July 1973 but was Monza blue, replaced that month by the Olympic blue you see here.

[@tonyhancock3912]

Now go upstairs and wash your hands for lunch

[@berwhaletheavenger]

@@tonyhancock3912 They've been groping your Mum so, yes - sage advice :-)

[@rodneyhull9764]

'business men doctors lawyers dentists' better drivers' as if

[@Bewareofthedog69]

Keep em.peeled

[@warmstrong5612]

Turbos were one area where the US got the jump on Europe in the early '60s. Oldsmobile with its turbo V8 and Chevrolet with its turbo flat 6.

[@derekogilvie6942]

Drive is posted so irregularly. Surely you have lots of content?

[@leonshackleford9585]

I love the Brown Mk3 Turbo Charged Ford Cortina I’d have that & A Mk1 Ford Escort Mexico in Orange the Same as my Daddy owned many years ago

[@minimaxi802]

Stuart Turner looks about 50 years old in 1973, he would be 100 today, I very much doubt he is still alive. I saw a red L reg Mk1 Escort Mexico on the road last month, survived better than an ordinary standard Escort.

[@berwhaletheavenger]

Oh he is. He's about 85 I think.

[@PaddyWV]

I remember back in the day they rusted faster than the more ordinary models! 🙂

[@StuartAxe]

Tony Bastable is definitely dead..

[@lanehogger1532]

Dr’s lawyers better drivers than average 😂 where’s the evidence of that.

[@felix_five]

Thanks Alan Partridge

[@uncensored5104]

I wonder if the 3.0 Turbo GXL Cortina still exists? Or was it broken up as a lost cause!?

[@tangerinedream7211]

Think the trimmed shells came from the Liverpool Halewood factory.

[@hazelb7218]

Even back then they were banging on about air pollution and emissions....but they weren't charging people back then £12 a day to leave their house....we've just rolled over and accepted it!!!! My Dad always had Ford Cortina's back in the day...worth a fortune now x

[@LeftIsBest001]

The difference is, right now we're on the precipice of the environmental abyss and we've left it far too late to try to do anything about it.

[@user-xn7or5tt8u]

لماذا السيارت القديمة تبدو اكثر متانة من السيارت الحديثة اليوم ؟

[@fasthracing]

Wonder what happened to that turbo Cortina?

[@stuartwilliams4555]

At 2:35 he asks, "but is it environmentally sound?" What's all that about then?

[@melgrant7404]

Hi Alan

[@user-mi4wv5yi5d]

Ford were more forward thinking than were given credit for I turn 50 this year and its 40 years since turbo's were becoming more mainstream, while BMW took the step in the 70's but BMW's were morw of a premium brand

[@timpriddy349]

I sure wish the states got this version instead of the weakass front legger "librarian special"......even the later GT was beyond pityful