Just got to see pics on other forum and it's exact same colour as XB mushroom

Be interesting to hear the history on your coupe if its a non existing colour in that year it could have bein a head order like what they did with the rs2000s with the silver and black (heads of ford got silver and black as a choice only 5 in each from memory) maybe so top knob wanted a beige escort haha

Well hopefully ford will answer that. Added a pic for reference (don't mind the roof it's all fixed now) damaged roof is 80 model with colour code query. 2nd is rallypack with red flame for comparison

When you went to the auto paint supplier and asked about the mushroom beige what colour did they say it was?
 
Don't forget in the '60's, '70's and early '80's the description of the colour was often no where near the actual colour itself.
 
Appears your car was painted in a non standard colour for that year, assuming compliance plates and chassis numbers are all matching and legitimate.

I actually didn't specifically ask about mushroom beige, I gave them the paint code 'L', make, model, year etc. Only colour they brought up around that year with code L was 76-77 mushroom beige.
 
All body numbers etc match 100% and plates haven't been modified by anyone. I've had plates off for paint purposes and the back show no signs of manipulation. I too believe it was a non standard colour now otherwise the code would be verified with codes/colours offered for that year.
 
More digging to do lol

"More digging to do lol"
 
Learning exactly what we have, how it has survived all these years, and about the people before us is all part of the fun.

Between 1979 and 1983 paint code L referred to a colour called 'Hermitage' which sounds like a deeper red (like wine). It was an option on the XD XE Falcons.

These codes are taken from the Ford Escort microfiche parts list dated Feb82.
6/76 - 6/77                                                  6/77 - 1/79                                                  1/79 -
A Blue Steel                                               E Frosted Pine                                             B Arctic Blue
C Antique Beige                                         F Sweet Cream                                           C Midnight
G Banana Blush                                         H Red Flame                                               D Mint Glaze
H Red Flame                                              M Satin Spruce                                            K Monza Red
J Blaze Blue                                               O Modena Green                                         O Nutmeg
K Tango                                                     P Pine "n" Lime                                           T Wedgewood
L Mushroom Beige                                    R Raw Orange                                             X Lemon Lime
P Pine "n" Lime                                         S Brown Satin                                              Z Burnt Orange
O Coolmint                                                W Platinum Blue                                          3 Gold Dust
S Brown Satin                                            4 Neptune Blue                                            4 Silver Grey
T Outback Bronze                                      5 Desert Haze                                              7 Ghost Gum
X Stardust Silver                                        9 Sno White                                                 9 Sno White
Y Harvest Gold                                                                                                               Denim Pack Olympic Blue
Z Sherwood Green
1 Peppermint Green
4 Neptune Blue
9 Sno White

My understanding of red's available as standard colours on an 80 model Escort was Monza red or Monza red which is paint code K.
Are you positive your car wasnt painted after it left the factory?  I know of midnight blue MK2 RS's having been painted red by the Ford dealer because they couldnt sell them and this was before they had even been registered!
 
There certainly was a beige available in 1980 on flat nose models

PeterM
Don't forget in the '60's, '70's and early '80's the description of the colour was often no where near the actual colour itself.

Must have been the drugs man.