Very rarely do we come across a oneowner car that’s had a full, flawless restoration carried out by its original keeper, but amazingly it does sometimes happen. When Paul Edmondson bought his Fiesta 1300S brand new in 1979, little did he know how much attention it would receive all these years later.
When we think of sporting Mk1 Fiestas, it’s the XR2 or Supersport that often come to mind first, but there was another lesser-known model that predates both of these. The Fiesta 1100S was the first to come out of the starting blocks, but with just 53 bhp available it wasn’t to great acclaim. By the late 1970s, the buying public expected more performance from a small hatchback with sporting pretensions and Ford’s answer was the 1300S. With an extra 13 bhp on tap thanks to the 1298cc pushrod Kent engine and twin-choke Weber carb, along with stiffer suspension and an uprated anti-roll bar and brakes, this was enough to justify the S badge and keep buyers happy — for a while at least!
Back in 1979, Paul Edmondson was working as a technician at his local Polar
