RS Motorsport :: Classic Speed Restored

Other than collecting pats over the last 4 years, since I last drove it, I have now washed it and tried on the new to me wheels. 15x8 ex sierra race car rims.




tight fit at each end, never liked the fit of the rear arches so time for some extra wide ones I think, and spacers on the front as it just rubs the strut casing.
Anyway also pulled the many boxes of nice new parts out of the inside and once I have a new place to live its rebuild #3 time.
JP

Looking forward to reading all about it!

Hooray! I'm getting tired of seeing minilights etc on Escorts, but the rears look like a tight fit, maybe.

yes, very tight fit, but nothing the use of a grinder wont fix. will probably look at bolt on extra wide bubble rather than blend them in, sick of filler dust.... though once tyres are on it might just fit, but as the 14x6's almost rub 15x8 probably has no chance.

On a side note, It won a trophy last weekend at its first show. Best ford in show or something like that, of course Im 1000km's away the old man took it along to his regional car show, left it on the trailer and it still won a trophy! So yet again the old fella getting more use out of it than I am. God damn I need a house!

Photo hore time


Justin

Nice win and you didn't even take it of the trailer...keep up the good work.

One step forward a more expensive one backwards.
Ordered the tilton hydraulic throwout bearing for the T5 gearbox about 18 months ago knowing I still needed the correct thrust bearing. Ordered that during the week to discover when offered up to the piston/carrier that the bearing was right the carrier was wrong. Hadn't opened the box and discovered an incorrect part. Too long ago to chase up so ordered the new carrier/piston.
Anyhoo nothing cash wont fix.


Had the cosworth T5 bell housing modified to suit the bearing base which also replaces the input shaft bearing retainer. why it didn't fit I don't know but the bell housing hole needed opening up by about 5mm. Had the faces of the belhousing machined, 10 thou one side and 60 thou to get the faces parallel so now await the right part and I can mate the engine up to the gearbox.


JP

not much to that flywheel!

Weighs about 150grams more than the clutch pressure plate! and the clutch is mostly alloy

JP

So It gets worse before it gets better or so they say.
Doors Off, for the first time since manufacture in 1971 I guess

8mm pin punch and a dremel made light work of 3 of the roll pins. the 4th needed a bit of heat. and the doors surprisingly aren't that heavy, well compared to falcon and suzuki ones anyway.
Front guards off, this was easy as they were already bolt on

Engine and gearbox are out, driveshaft and exhaust removed, engine wiring and ECU out rear parcel shelf lining pulled out...bent it a bit, damn alloy. Will be welding a new steel bulkhead in so big loss

Will hopefully be getting it onto a rotisserie in the next few weeks for the following.
List is really for me;
New new front floors,
6 link rear boxes,
rear turrets.
diff tunnel
gearbox crossmember,
new rear bulkhead
Roll cage door bars, through to strut tops
dash bar to hold steering column
remove old and replace with new seat bars
tidy general welding throughout
modify dash to suit 6 dial dash
tidy front bulkhead and transmission tunnel.
engine chassis mount
weld up about 50 holes
manufacture new exhaust to suit turbo.
rewire fuse box, relays and switched to passenger side floor mount tower incorporate new engine ECU
Build up bilstein struts to be adjustable
fit intercooler somewhere
mount remote oul filter, cooler and new oil system
All for this!


Damn long list now I type it all out. Fortunately I have all parts except the intercooler

Justin

Gotta love a turbo cosworth powered MK1

not another turbo doof doof
the sound of sidedraught webers
in a half decent mk1 shell
will be extinct soon
be better off with rotary power ,
cheaper , more grunt & something to be a bit different !!

Steve is always serious ...in his mocking, takes it very serious he does!
But he is right there are plenty of ways of going quicker, cheaper than a cosworth powered Mk1 escort. Like a mitsi mirage or holden commodore V8 or walking but none are as already owned as the escort or as asylum greeny as mine!

JP

Yes well the comment did spark some imagination I must say. 2JZ powered escort???
Because the rotary escorts have been done to death, then try selling it when all's said & done!

Looking good Justin.

What are your plans with the car when it's finished? Your excluding the car from a number of classes of racing by what your doing. Not that there's an issue with that, there are many of us that would love to build an escort just the way you are. It's a bit frustrating that many of the accessable race classes in Oz seem to limit the potential to do many of the easy and well practiced mods that exist for escorts (such as six links).

Keep up the pics as you go mate.

Llewellyn

Llewellyn,
I realised a while ago I'll never commit the money and am probably not talented enough to compete in real categories. The shell owes me nothing so I might as well build the fastest sprints/hillclimb car I can for shits and giggles.( there will always be someone faster or more opinionated though) As an architect most ofthe spare cash goes into the 'grand designs' fund and travel pot curtailing big spending on a 42 year old car!
The running gear can always be swapped into another Mk1 or 2 should I realise I can afford it and am a talent (unlikely), and I'll put a rotary in this one to make steve happy!
Im on the lookout for another Mk1 or 2 shell, Id like to play Improved production but like the 're-engineering' (term used lightly as Im doing it) of what im doing.

JP

Hi Justin,

It actually doesn't look like you'd need to change much to get to improved production.

Mk1's can run bubble arches. The flares can be any material so the rears would be fine. The fronts look like the whole guard is glass. They'd be out if the case. The front panel would needs holes filled.

The cage looks fine but can't see the the details.

Not sure if you've 4 linked it in the back - that's a no, no.

The only reason I say is because as Llewelyn says the car would be worth more with an eligible log book. The other thing is at hill climbs and sprints you'll never know how you go because the cars in 'sports sedan' are generally of very varying specification.

Anyway car looks great and YB's look good in the engine bay. T5 also a good option.

Cheers,

Mike.

Mike, car is currently improved production compliant. Steel front arches with fibre flares. Would probably need to modify radiator support panel as its been cut at the top but nobody has picked me up on it...not at pointy end of field. Not sure what holes you refer to as its 100 Percent oeriginal front panel.
Sales price is a consideration for when I come to sell it, should come to sell it but so is enjoying the most while I have it.
JP

I agree with you Justin, despite my comments and as Mike quite rightly referenced the value aspect. I still think just build the whatever your heart wants, if knowing your excluding yourself from certain classes and you still desire to do the mods, then thats the best thing for you anyway.

Mind you, from my readings it would appear you should still be fine to rally it. You can on dirt with the motor as the head is listed as a recognised period replacement. Targa events you might be able to do it without the turbo (depending on the organisers) but to be easy just pull it out and stick a boggo pinto in there for the event and have a blast!! The shell mods are all compliant with classic tarmac rally stuff that plenty of other cars are competing with.

So your certainly not excluding your car completely, and no doubt you'll be happy with it. Only other thing worth considering is that a cermetallic paddle clutch would be much more drivable and MUCH more durable for the sorts of use it will be seeing hillclimbing and general sprints etc than the sintered plates you have at this stage. Just worth considering thats all. I'm pretty sure you can still likely use your clutch cover and just get a new clutch plate but you'd have to get on the AP site and work it out using the drawings etc.