Tolman nails it again with XR3i restomod

Hot on the heels of its short run of Peugeot 205GTis and its wonderfully low-key Honda Integra Type-R Tolman’s back – this time with a Ford Escort XR3i.

There’s no escaping the continued market interest in performance Fords and its attendant value rises, but the fast Ford phenomenon embraces modifications just as much as it does concours, keep-it-stock fetishists: That means Tolman’s latest commission shouldn’t offend the latter group in any shape or form.

As we saw with Tolman’s Integra, much of the work is out-of-sight, the intention being to improve the driving experience while preserving the car’s looks and performance traits, albeit with an interesting, blink-and-you’d-miss-it twist.

So what’s been done? Let’s go back to the beginning of the 1600 hours project: in 2022 Tolman bought a standard, Diamond White XR3i. Perhaps unsurprisingly the shell needed a full restoration, but especially around the sunroof aperture.

Tolman designed and built a laser-cut jig and forming tool that re-creates the sunroof’s  aperture and edges. Much fresh steel was used elsewhere, followed by plenty of underseal and corrosion protection to stop the shell doing a repeat of what Ford unintentionally achieved.

The Tolman team’s efforts weren’t confined to the bodyshell, as the mechanical side also received plenty of attention.

There wasn’t a ditching the engine for a later unit stance, rather the original 1597cc CVH engine was retained but fitted with a. 16-valve Zetec head, new pistons and rods, as well as a beefed-up bottom end. Full electronic management handles the running side.

Figures? Originally 105PS, thanks to the Tolman modifications it’s up to around 150bhp at the wheels, power being delivered via through the original five-speeder.

Handling didn’t escape the Tolman microscope either. Components like those used in the RS1600i have been used, along with Bilsteins and a custom anti-roll bar, which improves steering ‘feel’ and the all-important turn-in. But the performance is nothing without the stopping: that means you’ll find AP discs on the front and a set of discs on the back, the latter replacing the original-fit drums.

Keeping this all on the ground and rolling well isn’t what might at first appear to be standard 14-inch ‘dog-leg’ alloy wheels. To cope with the beefed-up brakes Tolman designed 15-inch versions that look the same as the originals but give the car more stance.

“The XR3i was hugely popular at the time, which means many people have an affinity with them,” says company founder Chris Tolman. “But revisiting one today would be underwhelming. We’ve applied our knowledge to make it drive the way you think you remember the original driving, while looking essentially like the one you yearned for. Balancing a desire to preserve the DNA of the original while meaningfully improving it made this a particularly challenging project. It would have been easier to slot in modern running gear in a restored shell, but the experience and emotional connection the customer came to us to replicate would have been lost.”

Chris’ philosophy is spot-on: properly thought-through improvements that preserve a car’s character makes great sense. We’re looking forward to seeing the next project.