My Escort Mk1 project

[Darbo]

Well its been a few years but decided to build another MK1 a few months ago
had a little look around and eventually bought one from fleabay that needed a little bodywork
my plan was to build a rally capable toy- track wepon
a done when its done kinda thing
final specs still up in the air but will be atlas back end
tubbed running 15" while easy to convert back to 13" if needed
fully welded multipoint cage
car came with fiberglass bonnet doors boot(hotrod ducktail)

anyway its only the start of my project and slowly been collecting bits while sorting out the welder ready to get started
which was last weekend

Darbo

[Darbo]

the shell looks a mess but has some good bits

arrived with no baulkhead (did you notice? )
and floors and general repairs done by that guy that welded most escorts for the last 30 years

anyway it can only get better

[Darbo]

first i fitted a baulk head
after alot of cleaning

my inner wings were 3/4 of a inch together and the drivers strut top a quater back
will correct this once the baulk heads 100% finnished

[gringo!!]

brave man...keep at it!!

[Darbo]

this was my old escort
had different engines over the time i used it
last one a 2.4 holbay crank cosworth it was ok built more for club use only 10.5-1 compression as it arrived so i left it that way

[essyrwd]

I think you like bashing them so you can fix emLooks like you will busy this Christmas ,hope santa brings lots of bits to mend your big new toy

[Darbo]

Also bought a p100
just for the pigs head mainly (atlas 4.6 cwp)
so i can have built a fully floater

came with a 205 cossie block type pinto with a new twin choke fitted which i need to sell on
also think its got a type 9 5 speed i can keep as a spare
and a rabbit hutch chicken pen sat on the rear

will fleabay some stuff then weigh in the rest so if you need any p100 stuff cheep pm me

welding day tomorrow

[katluke]

Just curious is an Atlas fitted to the P100 or is it a Koln axle ?Thanks for your reply.

[thepintoman]

its a thick tube atlas mate and i think they are the quite wide and very heavy ideal for the forest

[Darbo]

atlas pigs head but 5 stud on the brake end so there scrap
thick tube double pin the pigs head ff ends and away you go
lsd probly ill go grippa
or zf maybe

[thepintoman]

mate keep everything apart from the shafts and the brakes dont go chopping it up till you've spoke to foztec

[NRspeed]

Keep it up! more that I would taken on!
That mk1 arrived like that unbraced? You know what you are doing then, you got the dimensions for setting the panels right and the body level and true?

[justinveal]

wow youve got your work cut out, keep at it

[Darbo]

Keep it up! more that I would taken on!
That mk1 arrived like that unbraced? You know what you are doing then, you got the dimensions for setting the panels right and the body level and true?

no it arrived with a notched baulkhead were it had a v8 fitted once
anyway it was that outa shape i cut the lot out as its easy to correct it starting from scratch
the chassi legs and underfloor chassi on it is mint (thats the good bit)
have most of the measurements and my mate has a mint mexico i can measure to check

its only really the same work as notching a baulk head back for better weight distribution and fitting a new tunnel which all would need doing anyway
plus a little more maybe

but the shell is perfect for learning my new tig welder inside out
im aiming to tig as much as possible
more picks soon

[Darbo]

well did some more on the baulk head
it seems like 3 hours prep for a 30 minuet welding at the mo

but really enjoying the tig
still overfilling my welds at the mo
and getting used to it generally
its like gas welding but with no heat
running at about 10 amps

ive had to weld in some rust so i can then remove all the rust and keep the shape
im aiming for it to look right and be rust free butt weld only

its time consuming

[Darbo]

OK
done a little more

one sides nearly done on the baulk head
had to panel beat some shapes into some sheet to make it look ok and its come out reasonably well

you can see the befor and after of the hole on drivers side
passengers is nearly there aswell but find myself doing lots of different jobs

also found a awsum previous repair i thought id share
semi tack welded and then some silicon sealer to hold the rest of the plate and maintain the structural integrity lol


be doing some more this week and unfortunatly my chrismass pressie is still in the shipping companys warehouse will be new year befor i can show you my plan

[Darbo]

Heres some bits and bobs allready collected for the build

some new adjustable platform billys willwood midilight and discs
plus i also have a set of 304mm ap discs and new alcon forrest 4 pots from a previous build that never got used that maybe i can make fit if the willwoods are not up to the job

planning on useing alloy grp 4 outer bearing hubs grp4 studs
possibly a corsa power steering unit as i have no column for the car as yet though even a std column would do if anyone has a spare

also need a wiper mechanism and a standard pedal box to modifie

also im undecided on compression struts or tension struts so any views appreciated

[dobuy]

some nice goodies to fit there, nothing like putting on fresh metal and shiny bits

[Darbo]

ok done a little more

both baulk head top ends are done
made a new under bubble raised section and tigged it in

still have to weld the leading edge between the inner wings i was going to spotweld but im never happy that they are propperly stuck so think i may drill and plug weld then seam stich
also the bubble needs tacking on ive placed it on in the piks for show

the strength its put back is impressive where there was flex its now solid

also found out why the drivers strut top was a 1/4" back
the chassi legs were across by about 1/2" even though they were paralel
when i straightened them the strut top came good

still have to remove the brake plate as im gonna fit a group 4 style plate and gusset it in

[gringo!!]

ypu dont mess about do ya... looking good so far matey... keep it up...

[alladdin]

cracking job

[Darbo]

My long waited package finally arrived



all the way from calafornia
pair of new 2.3 ranger engines

my plans are big valved head on injection some cams that will work well with a 7700 rev limit
probly arrows rods and a 12-12.5-1 compression ratio
dry sumped etc etc
and if it all goes tits up ill save for a 2.2 raceco crank kit for the spare
probly a emerald ecu will go init as they have good aftersales backup

will be self built but ill farm out some work
im still deciding which parts i will fit but in general the above spec is what im planning
still totally undecided on gearbox but ive got months befor ill be having to make my mind up as the cars miles off and its soo cold at the moment

once again any suggestions appreciated

Darbo

[justinveal]

buying nice parts allways helps with motivation

[GT4]

this was my old escort
had different engines over the time i used it
last one a 2.4 holbay crank cosworth it was ok built more for club use only 10.5-1 compression as it arrived so i left it that way

Hi Andy, good to see you on here with another Escort. Are any of those pics of us on the Malcolm Wilson? I seem to remember that was a fairly big off Bloody good quick car even if it did only have 10.5:1 compression

[Darbo]

Hi Paul

to many offs to remember em all lol

done a little more on the car
both chassi leg ends had been chopped for some strange reason
welded a base in needs some final detailing to finnish

then found a rusty swolen chassi section
so cut a chunk out and let in the inner skin and when i was happy the outer skin
came out ok and the rust is gone for maybe another 20 years



fitted the bonnet hinges after tripple checking they were in the right place but with rebuilding 70% of the baulkhead you lose some angles you cant be sure are 100% right
any problems ill sort at panel fit




then finally was looking at my rear arches
im going big wing and fully tubbed back end but
there amazing
never had repair panels and are 90% mint
will be cutting them all out carefully and maybe someone who wants unarched can make use of them
that is one of the strange things with this shell some really bad parts yet some good
hopefully will be real nice when its done

[Darbo]

ok a little more done
after repairing the strut top pans as there was little corrosion and i dont like removing origional parts unless required
i welded in the strut tops





seeing as its a rallycar style build i seam stitched the repair panels to the baulk head after extending them so they underlap the baulkhead layers
i butwelded on the rad so keeping the origional inner wing to pan spot welds
though the strut top plates will cover this up
i bought a steel bonnet and hinges for alignment
and with this fitted im basically makeing sure the wing drip rails are flush with the outer edge of the bonnet
have tried one wing inplace and it looks spot on



also removed the floor pan from one side and reworked the replacement panel so it looks similar to origional
also had trial fitted both doors befor welding to make sure the gaps were correct
as my old escort needed a qtr inch trimming so they would fit

also was maybe going to reuse the heavy duty strut top plates once ive dressed them and maybe had them plated galv or similar
as there condition isnt so bad -- are they origional ford fit plate or aftermarket ones???

[cobweb]

looks like your doing a great job there mate.

[MK1_Oz]

great stuff

[Darbo]

well finaly i have my inner wing top driprails somewere near done
some more detailing required
but with the bonnet closed ive had both side wings sat inplace and the gaps were ok

i found that the replacement panel driprails were a waste of space and ended up basically chopping them up and panel beating them
if i ever do this again ill just fabricate my own as i go along which i basically ended up doing

just need a frontpanel and lower crossmember panel then i can complete the front end
clean of all over etch prime and prime & fill any defects and give it a quick body coat of 2k then i can move onto the rest of the car

[Darbo]

some more progress
after cleaning up my heavyduty strut top plates i took them tothe bronze company lancaster and they plated them for me to help slow down future rust
so after prepping the inner wings and re puddling any dodgy bits with the tig i was left with this




also had welded up all holes
then i set to cleaning and final buff over with a flap disc befor etching with manor wash primer (came with the car 5 litres and after finding out what it was thought i may aswell use it)
this leaves a rubbish looking see through yellow finnish so i mixed up some 2k primer and flicked over to make it a nicer finish to work with
tomorrows job is to plug weld my top plates on and seam stitch round them i also etched the underside and primered just to double protect the nickle plateing lol
called in at my local bodyshop and he supplied me with some wurth pu sealerbond to go round all the gaps as its his prefered sealer




last job was to pull its future stable mate back in after the dust settled

[graham c]

is the oceanliner a gtr?

[Darbo]

yea R32 GTR
had it a good few years
its running approx 1.1 bar boost as it arrived from Japan

there just a car that makes you smile when you give em some

[graham c]

do sound well, planning on fitting one of them gearbox,s in my mk1 4x4

[Darbo]

oh that should be mint
basically feels like a rwd car tail out on power but transmits to the front when it detects wheelspin

good for 500 hp ish befor they start failing

[NRspeed]

How far back did you move the bulkhead?
good work you doing by the way.

[Darbo]

I put the baulk head back to the standard position
befor it was notched back and just a mess
dont really think notching it back makes a huge difference in the real world
always seemed to me going from a crossflow to pinto/cosworth didnt help the handling through the extra weight
hopefully the duratec will give decent power and torque and yet keep the crossflow style handling good turn in etc

nearly ready for another update as ive done some more but been waiting on parts

cheers for the posetive comments

[Luke]

Nice build mate.

[gringo!!]

inner wing look well matey...

[Darbo]

well ive been doing bits over the last few weeks but held off updateing as there wasnt much real progress
my strut tops finnished nearly ive left some unpainted ready for the weld on alloy strutbrace

[Darbo]

soon be putting in the gussets and double skining the baulk head to stop flex