I wouldn't use the rubber donut coupling if I were you. I don't know if the vans wheelbase is the same as the saloon, but if it is try to get hold of an automatic or RS2000 prop, which will have spider joints either end. If you want a new one NeilM sells them for £110 plus VAT I think.
http://escort.accelerator.org
1968 MK1 Escort 1300GT
1969 'Big Wing' MK1 Escort
1972 MK3 Cortina 1600XL
1984 Sierra XR4i
And other junk I don't like to talk about!
And some more goodies that arrived today i was going to fit them over the weekend but i haven't recieved the adjustable tca's and the mrs gearbox on her 106 needs upgrading to a 5 speed s1 rallye box.
Double width kit
Twin cam antiroll bar
Nah i want to get rid of it i am wondering if i can turn down the output shaft and weld a flange onto it and cut and shut my shaft as i have access to all the lathes and stuff in work in lunch and after work. Although classic or retro ford have an issue this month giving the low down on props so i shall read that too. Also from what i understand the van has the same length wheel base but has a couple more inches hanging over te rear but i might be wrong.
More shiny bits and now i have a deadline of the 13th to fit all the gear get it set up and sort the starter as i have anOther autotest to skid around in tk see if the bits and pieces have sorted the understeer. Hopefully they will have as the polybushes are going to tighten the front end loads on thier own never mind the changes to the suspention geometry.
The tca's i bought at a bargin price.
Update
Old shite removed. There was no resistance in the arb bushes at ALL. They are mullered. But the tca's are nearly new.
So i had a couple of hours today fitting my nice new shiney bits, or should i say removing the old rubbish. Well the first thing i done was get it on axle stands unbolt the arb brackets in the front corners of the engine bay and the end of the arb that goes through the tca. But i couldnt take the arb out of the brackets so i dropped the tca's off the crossmember all at the sametime.
Up she goes
Off with the old stuff an the new stuff to go back on
Judging by the state on the old arb bushes the double width kit coupled with the hardness of the bushes used i cant see there being much body roll at all!
My new insitu adjustable rosejointed tca's compared to the old ones which were in fairness almost brand new
Old arb brackets gone
New ones fitted
Ignore all the rust looking stuff too that is mud that i still haven't washed from underneath
Well fridays progress after work was bolting on the tca's and the arb loosely in the high winds and really heavy rain. As i wanted to take the escort to watch a road rally on saturday.
So fridays progress
So slightly hung over on saturday morning i was back out there on the damp floor but no rain thank god. So i then finished tightening everything up and very roughly setting up the camber and tracking.
All back on the floor and the wheel
Is sitting properly in the wheel arch too!
The old position of the wheel
The position of the wheel now.
So i took it for a drive saturday afternoon and it turns in very sharp but because it isnt set up it is unstable when it is going over bumps and at higher speeds. So i dropped over a mates to get the tracking and camber set up before we went to watch the rally. I wanted the camber set to 1.5 degs but the safest camber we could set it too was 0.75degs because the steering arms were too short. So if anyone knows for some longer steering arms so i can set up the camber properly that would be brilliant if you could let me know.
Well i done an autotest on sunday. Had a good little skid but i am in real need of a plated diff to stop the inside wheel spinning up all the power. But the escort had survived another autotest or so i thought, on the way home i went round a round about abit enthusiastically and this haPpened when the back end stepped out on the greasy road.
So she is now at a mates paint shop and he is going to do the repair as he is shit hot whennit comes to paint work.
I am also tinkering with the idea of ripping off all the rs stripes and putting mexico stripes on in matt black. It makes sence to me as it is running mexico running gear after all.
And i will be running some 13x6 alleycats im going to buy at the end of the month.
Last edited by freddy686868; 17-02-2011 at 12:54.
Well i recently bumped the van as you all know but. I have found out that the rear arches and sills are welded over the older ones so im having them ripped off and the rear quaters sprayed too. But on to some bigger news.
I seen this in a magazine
Shortly after i seen this in a scrap yard
Weirdly after that i lost 175 bucks? Hhhmmmm wonder where the hell that went.
Abit of yesterdays progress
I picked the engine up from the yard and drove home the mile with the engine hanging out the back of the car like this
The whole lot was dumped in there by a fork lift truck but ehen i got home i reliesed that this was a serious lump with some serious weight. . . . So i had to strip it down in the back of the car to unload it.
Finally in the shed
So i took the cam cover off to check for any signs of oil starvation of the top end and i was told it was a really quick engine by a mate and that it was ment to be cammed. So i had a nose and as all these really quick standard engines turn out to be its not but its in geat nick inside so im happy.
mmmm timing chain
nice one mate
Thanks for the possitive comments. Some more progress on the engine now.
Well the flywheel is in being lightened so it started like this.
If you look carefully you can see where i have marked for the material to be removed from the flywheel and that will be about a quater of an inch deep.
More Pictures of that after the flywheel has had the material removed from it.
Same here, this is crank pulley that drives the alternator, power steering pump and the water pump. I think in needs to go on a diet as it really heavy.
The same as everything else i have taken off the engine the powersteering pump and bracket was really really heavy so that was scraped and i will have to make a new alternater bracket as it mounted on the powersteering pump
Not a huge amount done but 20mins in my dinner time and abit of turning produced this. Which i think is a major improvement over standard.
Just got to paint it and mill the timing mark back on the face now.
Bye bye unwanted inertia.
Well i have decided not to break the 170 barrier and jus smash the 200bhp barrier with a 2.3 bottom end conversion with a scorpio engine i might use the whole engine although if i use the 2l head with the 2.3 bottom end and it will have a cr of 11.8 which is alot
On another note the old engine and gearbox is all out.
Scrap heap challage anyone?
theres no stopin ya now man....good one ya for taking up it to another level....not sure on the alley cat wheels though....maybe 7x13...but 6x13 looks to narrow.....all you need to add there is a set of lworing springs etc......as for the mex stripes it will look cool....different.....
I wony be buying wheels for a long long time as i have to get this engine in. Go to germany to the ring in it then get it painted over the winter so the budget is gone.Originally Posted by mk1van
Im hoping the engine weight will lower the front as it is running rs2k front struts so the springs are made for the weight of a pinto or simular.
I do fancy fitting mexico stripes but on another note i do like the clean and simple look. I will decide on that another time.
Excellent work Fred, Your not messing about fella. keep up the good work.
When you going over to the Ring? Keep the pictures and updates coming as well
Old skool forever
Just don`t tell the wife
how much it really costs!
Yeah i have to get the hammer down now to get her built up and reliable for the beginning of August as that is when we are going to the ring. I shall keep the updates coming along with all the pictures as the build comes together.
Well i thought i would use my 'old' fiesta to lug its 'last' engine from the local scrap yard in the for of a 2.3 scorpio I4 engine and find yet more room in my sheds for another engine. Although it will have another engine in it for luke before i part ex it in friday.
here she is
As you can see in auto form so shes had an easy life
Stripped down the 2.3 and it has a couple of snapped exhaust studs in the head but nothing i can't handle.
So the 2.3 found a place next to it's little sister the 2.0 and that is the bottom shed full with 3 engines an engine crane and other random shite. Although the loved x flow is on its way to a new home tomorrow so ill have a little more room
Now for the top shed. The contents are a 5speed type 9 box, 4speed mex box, mk5 escort gearbox, peugeot gti gearbox and a spare 106 gearbox casing. Along with other escort related rubbish that i have collected during my short term escort ownership.
On a happier note i i ordered a 5 speed quick shift for the 5 speed and a wcxm to mount the engine from rally design yesterday and they turned up at my door today. So WHEN the weather is nice friday i will be fitting the wcxm along with the engine and box to measure up how much roiom there is and where everything has to go.
My quick shift all built up.
The new wcxm with the lower rack mounts against the old x member.
The engine and 5speed box is going to be trail fitted friday so i can see how much the pinto wcxm engine brackets need cuttig and chopping. I cant wait!
Well after yesterdays failed atempt at getting the engine and box in place. I thought i would give it ago again today and i am pleased with the results.
Engine and box roughly in place for a quick measure up.
Bulkhead clearence!!!!!
Rad fits nice too
Pressed metal part of sump removed to clear the x memeber so ill have to chop that for it to fit.
Pinto engine mount is just the right length just needs a new plate welded on to it for the bolt holes.
Carb clearence
Im going to use the flange off the rs2000 and make a 1 1/2"-2" thick plate to bolt the original rs2000 flange to the 45"s
More top quality parts at a discounted price for the bloody thing!
I think im going to fit a hydraulic clutch aswell. As all the areoquip goodrich hoses are there to do so. Also all the braided pipes for front brakes.
And my billie gravel inserts
nice engine choice should be a wee bit more power (will have to watch the arse end more on round abouts lol
Cool project
On the RS2000 there is a black plastic insulator that goes between the head and the first part of the inlet manifold that is sealed with 'O' rings.
The 2.3 head casting has differences on the inlet mounting face that do not allow the standard RS2000 'O' ring to seal properly.
If you leave out the plastic bit I'm not sure if the ports line up properly.
What you can do is file off the two location lugs that fit into the RS2000 head and either use gasket paper or get the plastic insulator machined to take individual 'O' rings.
My 2.3 RS2000 made 201 bhp with a ported 2.3 head, 10 thou head skim, Kent RS2001 cams (not much better than stock RS2000 cams!) Don't use the 2.3 cams I measures a pair and they have less lift than RS2000 ones.
It also had bike throttle bodies.
If you dump the balancer shafts you will also need to block off an oil feed hole.
Cheers
Mark
You'll be a while on that popcorn lol. As i am in the middle of rebuilding my mrs bike carb'd 106 that she ploughed into a lamp post atm. :-( Going to get stuck right in next week now as i haven't even made the gearbox/engine mounts :-O .
Well at the moment i am thinking about using the ally part of the rs2k inlet and welding a part on the side for the water/thermostat housing and making an adapter plate to make the 45's fit the adapter plate.????? or i might just make a manifold from scratch or pay to have one made really don't know yet.Cool project
On the RS2000 there is a black plastic insulator that goes between the head and the first part of the inlet manifold that is sealed with 'O' rings.
The 2.3 head casting has differences on the inlet mounting face that do not allow the standard RS2000 'O' ring to seal properly.
If you leave out the plastic bit I'm not sure if the ports line up properly.
What you can do is file off the two location lugs that fit into the RS2000 head and either use gasket paper or get the plastic insulator machined to take individual 'O' rings.
My 2.3 RS2000 made 201 bhp with a ported 2.3 head, 10 thou head skim, Kent RS2001 cams (not much better than stock RS2000 cams!) Don't use the 2.3 cams I measures a pair and they have less lift than RS2000 ones.
It also had bike throttle bodies.
If you dump the balancer shafts you will also need to block off an oil feed hole.
Cheers
Mark
Like you i will be using the full 2.3 with rs2k cams but i'm not sure wether to skim the head or not. If i skim 10 thou off what cr will that give me? I will be taking out the balencer shafts too so i am intrested to know is the oil port at the front or back of the block?
Thanks for all the advice. John
excellent work mate, gonna be one sweet van.
From what I remember a 10 thou skim gives 10.3:1 approx and the oil way feeds through a hollow dowel at the front of the engine, it needs tapping out and a grub screw fitting.
I did the 2.3 conversion to a Mk6 RS2000 and loosing the balancer shafts is not a quick fix as the oil pump chain will need changing to the 2 litre setup. This means using a 2 litre sump which brings it's own problems.
2.3 chain setup
2.0 chain setup, arrow points to a piece of casting that is not there on the 2.3
2.3 block with 2 litre half moon casting in place and missing bit of casting
It will leak !
Block needs machining for blanking piece.
You will need to use the half moon casting from the 2 litre engine along with oil pickup pipe and oil pump chain tensioner setup, mains bearing studs and oil baffle plate.
If the RS2000 sump is no good for RWD a 2 litre DOHC 8 valve Sierra one will fit the block but will probably need corresponding oil pickup pipe.
Please bare in mind that I did this a few years back and have had numerous trips to the pub since and my memory is not as good as it could be
Mark
Thanks for the info im now looking a sierra twink lump as the sr2000 one isn't suitable for my set up. So i now have to make one engine out of three!
Well i've done some work on the escort yesterday and that was to install the bias pedal box and tidy up the hid wiring. It also involved doing something i hate doing and that is drilling holes in my cars. I ran all the front lines installed the pedal box and and bolted up all the ballest boxes for the hid units in the wheel arches. I done this as i want the van to look period and un-modern from the outside and have modern twist on the inside ;-P.
I fitted up a strut to see if my 13x7 inch capri wheels will fit and it looks good!
The holes i had to drill in the shell :-S
My in car bias adjuster
The new briaded lines to replace the old flexy pipes.
Out with the old and in with the new rebuilt box with the longer first gear.
Off with the sump on the 2.3l so i can rip out all the balencer shafts.
I am going to keep the original sump but will need to do a little bit of sump modding and lurn up some bits on a lathe which i will explain more about at a later date.
the group 4 UJ that i had to use with the lower rack mounts.
I also fitted up all the suspention on the front Saturday
A little more progress today as i swapped the cams over from the rs2k to the 2.3 and there is a noticable difference in the lift between the two.
A nice clean sump ready to fit the balencer shaft replacement to make sure i don't loose oil pressure
The oilways where the oil is supplied.
The balencer shaft replacements :-) no excess inertia here. i am keeping the botom two cogs but they will now be idler cogs as they aren't driving the balencer shafts but they are keeping the oil pressure up too as they get a feed of oil as well. Doing this means no block mods and no switching oil pump drive set ups. Happy days.
All fitted up and ready to rock
No pictures of the cam change as i was busy working out how the hell the chain and tensioner system work :-P. The cams are all in i just need a new hydraulic tensioner as they pop out and render themselfs usless when the timing chain is removed.
I'm hoping to cut the small sump pan up and trial fit the engine with in the next week or two so i can get the pan welded up and the engine mounts made. Talking about engine mounts i have a template of the mounting holes in the block so i can make up some mounting plates.
Well the engine is all in one peice now with the rs2k cams and a new timing kit which includes timing chain,tensioner runner, hydraulic tensioner and all the seals to seal the front covers.
I have finished machining the engine mounts now just need to make four holes in the mounting plates get them welded together. Then it is just a case of finding some 45/50mm tube to fit the engine mounting plates to the part that bolts to the wcxm.
then once the engine is mounted i can figure out if i have cut the right amount out of the sump so it can then be welded up too.
I have also got carried away on ebay recently as i have bought a NOS lucus sealed beam reversing lamp for something like £6 posted! With no more than a couple of scratches on the back of it.
Another ebay bargin was these Cibie Super Oscars from the 80's! At £18 posted how could i say no. So i have cleaned them up today and the chrome work is in decent nick but the lamps are mint. the backs need a good strip back and a good paint and they will be like new. I bought some brackets off ebay with smaller lamps too (£2.99 +P&P bargin again!) so i will be going with the 2 up 2 down set up like the rally cars do.
left one is all polished up
the list now stands at
make a hydraulic clutch boss
fit the engine and blox
make the engine mounts
custom exhaust manifold (Tony Law jobbie)
inlet manifold for the webbers made by the bogg bros
fit the rad and wire up the fan
plumb up the water system
rebuild the front callipers
get the ignition mapped
I want all this done by the 17th of September too as i want to make rally day at castle coombe
good luckwith the list m8 thats sum 2dolist, be worth it in the end
the list now stands at:-
make a hydraulic clutch boss. F%&* it going to buy a retro ford one
fit the engine and box. Fitted although the engine has to come out again 14/08/11
make the engine mounts. Mounts completed! Just got to paint them 17/08/11
custom exhaust manifold (Tony Law jobbie). Booked in for the 12/09/11
rebuild the front callipers front calipers. Stripped to bare metal, painted and built up with a new seal kit 16/08/11
fit the rad and wire up the fan
Finish the sump mods
plumb up the water system
find a DOHC sierra starter
get the ignition mapped
inlet manifold for the webbers made by the bogg bros
Well on Sunday thanks to Curl, his old man and a couple of toilet roll tubes??? The engine mounts were made in-situ on the van and tack welded the best we could.
They have been all tig welded up now! and i will get them painted soon. When that is done i will mount the engine, mod the sump finally and then measure up for inlet so i can get the bogg bros to make one up.
I rebuilt the calipers last week. Pulled them all to pieces shot blasted all the rust off them painted them up nice and built them up all with new seals. When i seen the pistons i thought they were shot but luckly they cleaned up lovely and the build up nice.
Nice work on this one mate....Did I see some sun In them engine fit pictures forgot what that looked like :-)
Doing some great engine work should go like stink when done nice one..
Lee
Re: MK1 escort van with mexico running gearYeah it's all happening now got a big big update on the way as the engine has been in an out since i have been on here last time. Also On the weather note it is being good to me recently and is ment to be just as good over the next week so i will have to crack the whip and get on with it.
Well the engine and box have been fitted and the engine mounts are spot on although the gearbox mount needs to be moved 10mm towards the drivers side as the person who drilled the holes for the original 5 speed mount drilled them pissed. I have cut up the sump to the correct size and need to find some sheet metal to fill the big hole i cut into it.
Mounts completed
Mounts fitted
No jacks or engine cranes here!
Prop checked to make sure it went into the box far enough which as far as i'm concerned it does, so happy days!
The engine angle in the bay which is just over 4 degs which i thought was pretty level with a 5 speed on the arse of it. I was worried about the carbs not working at this angle but i have been reassured by someone in the know thwy will work fine!
Finally it's on her wheels for the first time in 7 months ( i think it's been that long any way) on her new coil overs too :-)
That was all fridays progress along with a load of measurements that had to be taken to make sure everything was going to work out fine.
Sundays progress was to pull it all back out attach the flywheel clutch and bell housing to the box and check if my hydraulic clutch set up from retro ford needed to be spaced or not. Which i'm happy to report is a straight bolt on jobbie! meaning all i need to do is drill two holes for the hydraulic lines in the bell housing and get it all painted up. Being done this week.
Did you EVER have a plan to start with?
I love your dynamic thinking with this car....
Russ.
No not really i just seen an engine in a car and thought i can do that easy enought then seen the 2.3 and thought f&£k the 2l i'll put the 2.3 in and it all escaladed from there. Thanks to alot of help from everyone on this forum i have got through all the hard work and pressed on.
Btw i still haven't got a plan.....just a deadline lol.
Getting there now as it's all easy stuff i have done before so movement is going to be swift.
proper moving on with this now mate ull soon be up and running, what ignition u goin 4???, i had alot of agro trying 2 get the crank sensor 2 work with my esc pack so i just fitted a trigger 2 the crank pulley
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