79 rs2000

[GrahamU]

Thought it was about time to put my other Escort project on here.

I bought it as an unfinished project between xmas and new year, my intension was to get it roadworthy so I could have it on the road for summer.

This was as I bought it, as you can see it has had the bodywork done some years ago and has sat in a garage for about 12yrs, the underside has remained reasonably clean, in that time a it was given a zetec conversion but it was not running well and needed a tune.

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When I got it home, I did consider getting the zetec up and running but my plan when I viewed it was to return it to a reasonable level of original spec.

So out came the zetec and I did a deal on a 2.1 205 block with a Ric Wood head and weber 45s

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Other mods included the bias pedal box, rear disk conversion and a mid mounted tank with the pumps in the boot

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so everything came off

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Whilst stripped, I put in a new harness from autosparks

The rear end got a make over with a nice new gasket to fix the diff oil leak, and put back to the original 9" drums

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And all back together

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The boot was also returned to original

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Then onto the interior, the car had a pair of recaros in it but they were from a Cortina GLS so were grey velour, a pairs of covers from aldridge were ordered and fitted

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The front and rear cards all had speakers cut into them, the fronts I'm not so worried about but I didn't want 6x9s in the rear cards, so as a short term fix I covered the holes which is quite well hidden by the seat

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I sourced an original centre console and had a radio from around the right era converted to bluetooth

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[GrahamU]

Occasionally it came out of the garage

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Forgot to say, it was dropped 1.5" and had all new bushes, track control arms, springs and a new rack as the old rack was bent

The nose cone had a new set of brackets from MST and was fitted using all the fixings

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And then the engine was in and running, it runs well but will need some balancing of the carbs

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Theres a few bits that need finishing, like fitting throttle cables and sorting the door handles then it will be in for an MOT

Provided it passes, I'll drive it while I work on my 1600 Sport, then when thats finished I will look at the body on this as it has a fair bit of filler and the paint job is not the best

[Zakspak]

Blimmey Graham, what a contrast well done you. I’ve been at it since 2017, hopefully I’m on the last leg now.

Looks really good, and with the contrast of the red 1600 Sport, that’s a nice garage pair.
I think the revision to a more stock spec was a good choice
How does the Bluetooth radio conversion work ? Do you just remove the old inners and put in a modern pcb that connects to the speakers or does some of the old radio stil work ?

[Zakspak]

Did you manage to reuse the nose cone top bracket or have to source a replacement ?
At some point could you take a pic of the rear fog light fitting position and loom run please. I’m fairly sure where it goes but be nice to have a comparison. One of the last jobs for me to do before paint.

[GrahamU]

Thanks, like I say, the body will need work at some point which will take alot longer but I will enjoy it first before cracking into that

Blimmey Graham, what a contrast well done you. I’ve been at it since 2017, hopefully I’m on the last leg now.

Looks really good, and with the contrast of the red 1600 Sport, that’s a nice garage pair.
I think the revision to a more stock spec was a good choice
How does the Bluetooth radio conversion work ? Do you just remove the old inners and put in a modern pcb that connects to the speakers or does some of the old radio stil work ?

There is a guy on Facebook that converts them, Mike Oldsworth, from what I see he does just remove the inners and replace with a bluetooth reciever but he seals the case so I cant get a better look. I may do my own for the sport as all the parts are available on ebay

I did reuse the top bracket, using the U clips and self taps which I think they should be instead of M5 bolts to the slam panel it does seem to line up with the bonnet and the bonnet no longer catches at the back

Did you manage to reuse the nose cone top bracket or have to source a replacement ?
At some point could you take a pic of the rear fog light fitting position and loom run please. I’m fairly sure where it goes but be nice to have a comparison. One of the last jobs for me to do before paint.

The bracket holding the fog lamp doesn't look original at the moment, I will address that at some point, the cable is a separate harness that overlays next to the current harness to the rear, it connected to the switch then has a cable that runs out the bulkhead and plugs onto the front of the fuse box, then just a single wire to the back, the light has a wire that comes through the body and joins to it with a bullet connector

[FrankC]

You must be well happy with how it’s came out so far Graham. Night and day in comparison!
Keep up the good work

[GrahamU]

Added another couple of bits today, a glass panel across the bulkhead, not 100% happy with its fit but better than nothing, I am thinking of covering it with a thin rubber material.

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And I know it should not have these but I quite like the look of the 2.0 badges on the wings

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[dt36]

Graham, maybe try some Dodo Mat under the bulkhead cover.
I had a rear shelf from the same person who sells these and put Dodo under that.
In fairness, the shelf was actually better than the cardboard original, but Dodo under it seemed to just finish it off.
@Zakspak , with regards to the fog light, I'll see if I can get any pics of the bracket and wiring tomorrow if I remember. Send me a WhatsApp number via Pm for me to send.

Tried twice to upload here and resized, but just an absolute pain in the tea towel holder. Got my Granddaughter here and do try my hardest not to swear in front of her

[GrahamU]

Graham, maybe try some Dodo Mat under the bulkhead cover.
I had a rear shelf from the same person who sells these and put Dodo under that.
In fairness, the shelf was actually better than the cardboard original, but Dodo under it seemed to just finish it off.
@Zakspak , with regards to the fog light, I'll see if I can get any pics of the bracket and wiring tomorrow if I remember. Send me a WhatsApp number via Pm for me to send.

Tried twice to upload here and resized, but just an absolute pain in the tea towel holder. Got my Granddaughter here and do try my hardest not to swear in front of her

Thanks, I'll take a look

[Zakspak]

Thanks Graham, sounds like the Ford retro fit fog light set with that take off from the fuse box
Just had a look back and can see the M5 bolts on the top bracket to slam panel that you’ve changed out. That should have the black plastic rectangular inserts in the slam panel and the black posi dome head screws into them. There should be 2 more half way down the front panel (all the original places where the normal plastic grill screws on) on the nose cone the lower screws go through holes under the bumper. Not sure if the plastic inserts are what you called U clips. I know sometimes a couple of washers are put between the top bracket and the plastic insert to give a proper gap between the nose cone and bonnet front edge. Glad you were able to reuse that top bracket
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[GrahamU]

Thanks Graham, sounds like the Ford retro fit fog light set with that take off from the fuse box
Just had a look back and can see the M5 bolts on the top bracket to slam panel that you’ve changed out. That should have the black plastic rectangular inserts in the slam panel and the black posi dome head screws into them. There should be 2 more half way down the front panel (all the original places where the normal plastic grill screws on) on the nose cone the lower screws go through holes under the bumper. Not sure if the plastic inserts are what you called U clips. I know sometimes a couple of washers are put between the top bracket and the plastic insert to give a proper gap between the nose cone and bonnet front edge. Glad you were able to reuse that top bracket
Attachment 89149

There does seem to be some mixed ideas on this, I thought at first they may be the standard grill screws at the top, but then other owners have said they should be self taps and they remember it was a bad design because you sliced your fingers when cleaning. a couple have said the grill inserts dont allow you to tighten the front panel in place and it moves out of alignment.
I did check a original car that came up for sale round the corner to me, sat for 30yrs rotting, and that had self taps.

Pictures seem to be rare for them as well

This is what I put on it

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If anyone has the ford parts list, it would be good to see

[rustyshell]

Thought it was about time to put my other Escort project on here.

I bought it as an unfinished project between xmas and new year, my intension was to get it roadworthy so I could have it on the road for summer.

This was as I bought it, as you can see it has had the bodywork done some years ago and has sat in a garage for about 12yrs, the underside has remained reasonably clean, in that time a it was given a zetec conversion but it was not running well and needed a tune.

Attachment 89122 Attachment 89123 Attachment 89124

When I got it home, I did consider getting the zetec up and running but my plan when I viewed it was to return it to a reasonable level of original spec.

So out came the zetec and I did a deal on a 2.1 205 block with a Ric Wood head and weber 45s

Attachment 89125 Attachment 89126

Other mods included the bias pedal box, rear disk conversion and a mid mounted tank with the pumps in the boot

Attachment 89127 Attachment 89128

so everything came off

Attachment 89129

Whilst stripped, I put in a new harness from autosparks

The rear end got a make over with a nice new gasket to fix the diff oil leak, and put back to the original 9" drums

Attachment 89130 Attachment 89131 Attachment 89132

And all back together

Attachment 89133

The boot was also returned to original

Attachment 89134

Then onto the interior, the car had a pair of recaros in it but they were from a Cortina GLS so were grey velour, a pairs of covers from aldridge were ordered and fitted

Attachment 89135

The front and rear cards all had speakers cut into them, the fronts I'm not so worried about but I didn't want 6x9s in the rear cards, so as a short term fix I covered the holes which is quite well hidden by the seat

Attachment 89136 Attachment 89137 Attachment 89138

Attachment 89139

I sourced an original centre console and had a radio from around the right era converted to bluetooth

Attachment 89141 Attachment 89140

Wow what a transformation from the Zetec engine install back to a OEM plus look. (MUCH PREFERRED).

Also how did you find installing the Autosparks loom, I'm just starting to fit mine, they ain't cheap but, seem good quality from what I see?

[GrahamU]

Wow what a transformation from the Zetec engine install back to a OEM plus look. (MUCH PREFERRED).

Also how did you find installing the Autosparks loom, I'm just starting to fit mine, they ain't cheap but, seem good quality from what I see?

Thanks

The autosparks harness seems ok, it has gone in with minimal problems, the standard the the layup is what I would expect but makes it very hard to bend, you probably noticed they do not supply with the fuse box connectors which is a shame

My only real problem was the cluster connectors, the terminals did not touch the flexi so nothing worked on the dash, I ended up cutting them off and crimping on the old Ford connectors in their place

One thing to check is the looms to the headlights, one of mine was wrong which is a problem they know about but sent it anyway, they sent a replacement straight away after I called them

[rustyshell]

Thanks for the reply appreciated, everything you mention also relates to me.

[GrahamU]

Been some slow progress on this as I've been away for a week but whilst I was away I had the door handles sent off to be matched to the ignition key so I now have a single key for all locks

Throttle cables are fitted and I have worked through the wiring snag list, all that left is the reverse lights which I just need to confirm if the ground cable is not connected somewhere or if the switch is buggered

Then hopefully it will be in for an MOT at the end of the week

[GrahamU]

Finally got the reverse lights fixed, simple job, I forgot to screw down the ground from the gearbox switch

Decided to have a tidy up of the cluster whilst I was at it

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Amazing what a clean up with a damp rag will do

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Then today should have been the MOT until the toothed fan belt snapped as I started it

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New belt ordered from Burtons along with a cam belt just in case it feels like doing the same then I'll try again for the MOT