ive found in my loft a v5 for a m plate 1973 mk1 escort mexico which went to scrap yard heaven quite a few years ago is this worth anything?

Not legally, and if the car was scrapped by a yard it will have likely been cancelled anyway.

Apply for a replacement book mate!

Never throw it out!

reapply for it mate, i daresay back when it was scrapped the rules regarding documentation werent quite as strict as they are today, get it on a v5c an ill buy it for my newly acquired track animal...

You do know he could go to prison for re-applying for it if it has been properly scrapped... it's called attempted fraud IIRC. Might only be a slim chance, but who knows if there are any coppers building locosts and reading the list.

but what if id used all the bits off the escort to build my kit and just scraped the shell?

Is this what happened or are you trying to find an excuse that will cover you if plod turn up on the doorstep?

In that case if the car hasn't been scrapped (i.e. you just took the bodyshell stripped of all ID to the yard and sold it for metal value). You would need to have kept all the body numbers and id plates. So car still exists on the system and the V5 is valid, but you need the id plates as proof when you register your kit.

If, however, you took the car to the scrap yard they will (should) have told the DVLA the id numbers and the car will have been officially scrapped, and the V5 cancelled. Trying to resurect it with an old V5 document will ring alarm bells.

Worse if the yard sold the shell/car rather than scrapping it the new owner will have applied for a new reg document and will have legal ownership.

You can type the reg number the rac web site (details below) and it will tell you the details of the car (model/colour etc) but not the owner. If the car has been scrapped in the eyes of the dvla it won't be able to find it (just checked with the reg of a car I scrapped years ago). It should give you a hint of what has happened in the eyes of the dvla.

One last thing, the car presumably isn't registered as SORN, which these days will get you a fine.

Try http://www.rac.co.uk
click 'car buying' then 'vehicle status checks' then 'free vehicle data search'