THE JUMP

It’s been 12 years in the making, but now Ashley Farazmand’s incredible Mk2 Harrier has raised the Escort show car game a level — or three.

- Simon Woolley

There’s a saying that does the rounds every few years which really gets our goat, and it’s this: Don’t sweat the small stuff — in other words, don’t worry about the details. Not only does it sound immensely irritating, it is a load of utter cobblers. You should absolutely fuss over the details in almost all walks of life, particularly so when it comes to the all-important task of taking on a classic Ford project — just ask Ashley Farazmand.

He finally finished the build of this outstanding Escort Harrier in the Summer of this year after an intensive three-year build, and Ashley would be more-than-pleased to hear you say that he’s produced a simple and clean car. Under the skin though, it’s far from that, with hundreds of unique touches and a spec that Ashley has been developing for some 12 years... We’re not the only ones to notice — the Mk2 has been cleaning up at the shows all summer, but now the season is over, it’s time to delve deep, deep into what makes this car a game-changer.

First steps

“Believe it or not, this was the first car I ever bought. That was when I was 18, and I’m 31 now,” laughs Ashley, who comes from a family with a long connection to classic Fords, especially the oval track variety. “I got it from a friend and drove around in it for about a year before deciding to do a couple of bits to it. I stripped it down to a shell to tackle some rust, then got a job that kept me busy and often away from home, and the Harrier sort of got forgotten about,” he ruefully admits.