mk2 escort van project

[Davy]

Wow! Class project and thread! I'd seen this wee van in Classic Ford a while back but never realised there was a full history on here! Plenty of ones will give off about an oil burner going in there but sure, for what its intended for its perfect!...would'nt like to be fueling a 2.0 pinto on a daily basis!... I've a wee mk4 RS turbo look-a-like I drove when I younger which was based on a 1.8D... Was then given a wrecked TD Mondeo so in went the turbo diesel lump and the fun and entertainment began!... Have always wanted to try the TD powered Mk1/Mk2 Van/Estate to be used as a daily driver so here's a thread to save! Had always imagined using the 1.8td ford lump but reading this it looks like the smaller/lighter Isuzu lump is better suited and just as reliable!..

Well done again and happy Derving.... I mean Driving!!

[escoort]

inspiring project. Used to love this engine in the wee novas, really flew and not too thirsty. Might put one in my new ratty mk1 shell as you made it look fairly easy.

[gringo!!]

this is ace!!!

[cossymax]

Declan,

You certainly made that van van fit for purpose and some very nice touches. Hope you welded up the CWP or an LSD in that atlas before you fitted it haha

How is it driving now with the new axlw fitted, and are you getting better MPG?

[oldskooler]

Declan,

You certainly made that van van fit for purpose and some very nice touches. Hope you welded up the CWP or an LSD in that atlas before you fitted it haha

How is it driving now with the new axlw fitted, and are you getting better MPG?

only spotting your post 3 yrs later mark while digging up this old thread, lol!!

fitting the atlas totally transformed the way the van drove, nice long gearing with bags of torque. loved it to bits.


only problem was, it was so nice to drive i kept driving it for a couple of years racking up over 25,000 miles on it without touching the bodywork and it ended up in a bad state and was way worse than i thought when i stripped it.

so after sizing things up for a while i ended up coming across a very sound van to reshell mine into rather than restoring my own. i traded my bare shell with the guy who had this one which is in very good shape. it had a pinto, type 9 and some goodies that i sold off which left me with a sound shell for reasonable money.

the colour doesent float my boat so that ill be changed along with a few other things on the van when i fit all my running gear.

gonna be making a start soon on the next evolution of my van!!



couple of pics.

[M11rf]

great thread... just took me almost an hour to read it! lol

[andy-v]

nice build, great read

[philipmax]

Mighty wee van just spent this evening reading it through

[philipmax]

Declan , since i read this thread I ve been thinking about your s14 engine mounts . Do you think these would be suitable for an escort with an xe conversion ? I currently have the redtop engine chassis mounted but I hate the vibration from the engine .

[oldskooler]

they would deffo be strong enough anyway as ive seen drift cars with over 300bhp running them with no problems.

they may be a bit bulky, especially on the exhaust side where manifold clearance might be an issue. only one way to find out if they ill work!!!!!

[philipmax]

Thanks lad , she needs a bit of a tidy up so nows the perfect time to take the vibrations out of her

Maybe you remember her from retrostock a few years ago
image.jpg

[oldskooler]

i sure do, and she went well anytime i seen her on track!! fair play.

[oldskooler]

i made a bit of a start at this one recently. ive it more or less fully stripped now. as i thought the van is very good in most areas but a bit dissapointing in other spots as i discovered.

first job was to get all the bird shite washed off it from being left sitting in my lean too shed over a year!!

















next i got stuck into the stripdown.








that colour coded dash aint my cup of tea!! will be going back to satin black during the repaint.






the usual "van rot problem areas" are pretty decent as i seen from checking it out while buying it.
bumpers off revealing good back corner sections.











roof gutter corner sections also in good nick which is a bonus as these are not easy to sort out.












load area very clean, just a bit dented.






another big problem area in the vans is the rear underside corner sections inner and outers and inner rear valence. was almost non existent on my old van!!! more or less mint on this one which sealed the deal when i was buying it. just a very small repair needed to the l/h side and thats it.
























a few other bits i found came as no suprise, both pillars will need a wee bit of attention.





http://s238.photobucket.com/user/oldskoole...cdylgj.jpg.html



with the screen removed i found that the bottom left corner will need repair. again no big suprise for an escort of its age. right side is fine.











the van had a pinto and type 9 fitted when i got it. the "touch of the hammer" that the tunnel got resulted in it rotting through which will be easy enough to sort out.






ill also have to move the gearstick hole back forward to its original position if not a bit further to free up a bit more room at the back of the izuzu head.







the upper bulkhead is in very good order only needing a tiny repair around the centre of the lip.









the real sting in the tail came when i got all the inside stripped out. i knew the kick panels were a bit suspect but when i had a proper poke around things got worse.



top section of l/h kick panel had a repair before but wasnt too bad.







but the drivers side was a different story. the inner pillar in the corner behind the dash is very bad along with the kick panel and strengthening pieces.
















it looks like the inner pillar skin coming up from the dash has been filled as well so the rot had travelled up along it a bit it seems.






the only way to sort this properly is to take out at least the r/h side of the dash, replace the inner pillar skin, repair the rest while fitting the kick panel and refit the dash panel.

much more work that i was bargaining for which is a bit of a disapointment. but thats the way it goes with these old girls i guess. nothings ever simple!!


next job will be to remove the wings and see if i can find some sections to repair the under dash/inner pillar sections.

[andy-v]

am no expert, but ive taxed a lot lot worse (patch here and there) lol, look forward to the restore

[oldskooler]

well this evening i investigated the rot around the dash area a bit further.


first i cleaned back the filler from the inside a post skin on the drivers side to reveal not that bad a repair considering the dash wasnt touched.







after chipping a bit more at the corrosion in behind the dash i bit the bullet and started removing the dash panel.


got the spot welds split on the door seal lip each side.






the screen rubber lip is mint most of the way round and i didnt fancy touching it to drill out the spot welds.











instead i went a different way about it which i found to work out well before. i marked along where the front of the dash top sits and cut out the dash panel a few mm back from the line which will leave me enough access to do the repairs.

the dash top will cover the join when i weld the dash panel back in so it will not need to be finished perfect.



















i was happy i took out the dash panel as it would have been impossible to sort these areas properly otherwise.



r/h side a lot worse than the left.











after filing off all the lethal burrs i had a look at the dash panel which just has a bit of surface rust. ill get the back of it blasted and primed before re fitting.






i think i mite have some good news on a donor front to cut a few bits from to get stuck into these repairs. just have to go and collect it!

[exboyracer]

Glad to see some progress!

[andy-v]

more pics

[oldskooler]

bit more progress.

i got a wee bit more figuring out done on how im gonna sort out the A post issue.

i got my hands on a donor front to rob some bits from for repairs,

turns out its off a mk2 estate as it has welded on hinges as on a mk1 car rather than bolt on jobs like on a mk2 car or van.

thankfully the bits i need are in much better nick than mine!













i got the r/h wing off to reveal a far from healthy post and kick panel underneath! it keeps gettin worse! we must love torture being into these aul things!
:frustration::cry:












someone had added a "renforcement tube" in there at some stage from the inside which didnt make much difference!









i removed the flitch panel which is in good order and can be reused.






and old fooked kick panel gone.









next i started on stripping the bits i need off the donor front.













ive learned that the escort a post is a complex enough enough affair made up of a few layers. and it seems that the van/estate have an extra fillet going down the middle of the pillar. well the mk1 car doesent seem to have one anyway as i cut a roof off a breaker recently and didnt see one.


so i figure the only way to do this is to remove all the layers needed bit by bit and replace em in the van the same way in reverse. its my first time doin this job so am just guessing as im goin along!






bits i need are perfect.







here is the inner strenthening fillet that is also rotten at the end in the van so ill be fitting this as well. getting this donor front was a real saviour.







ive ordered a new outer mk1 pillar section which will have to be modded a bit to work with the mk2 van hinges.

next plan is to brace up the door apperture holding the inner pillar skeleton in place before i can fit the replacement pillar over it. im hoping this will go alrite as its the worst area of the van by far and i want to get it sorted before i think bout putting the van on the spit.

[madragon199]

nice work going on ...i no what you mean..spend half the time working out what goes where and how...coming on nicely...cheers mark

[oldskooler]

i thought id stick a few hours into this one over the christmas holidays.


i hadnt ever tackled an a post replacement before so i done a lot of sizing up and measuring etc before starting. i made sure to take a good few pics as i was doing it which may be of some help to others with the same issue to sort.



the first job was to brace up the door aperture as good as i could to keep it in shape as the corner of the windscreen scuttle and screen pillar also needed replacing.

i also attached the bracing to the inner a post fillet so it would remain in the correct position for the door hinges etc.









i got the outer well rotted pillar skin removed revealing the inner renforcing fillet which the rot had also began to travel into in a couple of spots.






i cut out the dodgy sections and repaired them before cleaning it down for a coat of weld through primer.










being a mk2 van with bolt on hinges same as a mk2 car but on mk1 shape pillars there are no direct replacement pillar/a post sections available so a mk1 item must be modded to fit by flush fitting filler plates into the openings for the mk1 hinge hangers and opening up square holes in the correct places for the mk2 hinges to go.





as the repair section wouldnt cover all the problem area on my van the donor front came in very handy once more as the upper a post and scuttle corner section i needed was perfect. so the plan was to graft the two sections in after some careful marking and cutting.







section removed from donor.






i removed a section of the inner pillar skin to reveal that the rot had travelled up there a nice bit too. will sort this later.








before starting the "brave cutting" to remove the vans upper a post/ scuttle corner section i added some more bracing to the upper bulkhead panel to support it when i took out the corner.







and after a deep breath the section was cut out and nothing moved.........there was no going back now!!!







after a hell of a lot of trimming wee bits at a time and checking stuff i eventually got the new replacment and donor section joined into one along with blanking off the upper mk1 hinge slot.








and also got the inside of the post painted with weld through primer as it is spot welded to the inner fillet in several places for strength.







after getting it tacked into place did more measuring and i placed on the wing in line with its spot welds to be sure of the replacement section before welding it fully in. all looked pretty good to me.














and more or less there now, just to get a square file to take back the hinge holes to match the original ones in the inner fillet. the upper pillar is also a bit dodgy where it meets the donor section having been repaired before. that still needs sorting and of course the kick panel and sill are still on the list.








there are probably plenty of lads on here who would do this job in theyre sleep im sure being used to this sort of work, but i would consider it one of the more difficult bits of a project for me. i would have shyed away from doing them in the past but this seems to have gone ok just taking my time at it.


once i have this sorted id be well happy tearing into the rest of it.

[evans2822]

Looks good so far well done

[CrazyPolak]

Nice job

[andy-v]

wow top job

[alladdin]

i came across this thread while searching out info for my new project ( yes i know, i know ) and thought i would bump it up to make it easier to find - theres a lot of clever stuff and i have a few questions i think

[oldskooler]

i came across this thread while searching out info for my new project ( yes i know, i know ) and thought i would bump it up to make it easier to find - theres a lot of clever stuff and i have a few questions i think

no problem mate,...ask any time...

i must actually update this thread, as the project has crept forward another bit recently!!

[alladdin]

surprised you still have it ! i have recently sold all my projects and purchased a battered mk1 van so i need the inspiration

[alladdin]

no problem mate,...ask any time...

i must actually update this thread, as the project has crept forward another bit recently!!

wheres the xmas update then

ok first question is about the axle shortening, i want to get a casing powder coated so im looking to do all the mods first

im thinking it may be worth taking as much as i can off ea side without needing new shafts ( which is i think what you did ) just to help wheel /tyre clearance .
so how easy / hard is it to mod the casing ? did you sleeve it ?
cheers

[oldskooler]

wheres the xmas update then

ok first question is about the axle shortening, i want to get a casing powder coated so im looking to do all the mods first

im thinking it may be worth taking as much as i can off ea side without needing new shafts ( which is i think what you did ) just to help wheel /tyre clearance .
so how easy / hard is it to mod the casing ? did you sleeve it ?
cheers

happy new year mate.....must try and get chance to get more pics up!!


ok, for the axle, the most than can be taken off an english with standard shafts varies between 10 to 12 or 13mm per side, depending on whether its open diff or lsd, and what ratio its running...

the standard diff spools have slightly smaller bores where the shafts slide through, than most lsd units, so the shaft will foul a little where it tapers back from the splines...

of course you can grind a wee bit off the shaft, but not ideal as they are case hardened.....

but you should be able to narrow by up to 10mm per side with no issues, with an open diff, and a touch more with a limo.......

the ratio can also effect how much you can take per side...for instance the fatter pinion on a 3.54 will offset the diff spool off centre a little, so one shaft will not go as far in as the other, where as the small pinion on a 4.4 will allow the crownwheel/diff assembly to sit closer to the pinion centre thus offsetting it the opposite way....

most ive got out of them with a lsd and std shafts would have been about 13mm per side..

as for narrowing the casing itself, i use a thick inner sleeve, similar to std atlas tubing, not that tight fitting, so the ends can square themselves with the special jig i have made up,.....which is basically, with the diff unit fitted, a std halfshaft with a machined solid "dummy bearing" pressed on that is a snug fit into the axle ends, and bolted in place with the retaining plate to make sure they are square.....

once i have each side aligned, before doing the main welding joint, i drill 4 holes well down into the sleeve at 12, 6, 3, and 9 o clock each side of the joint, and i plug weld all these holes, fusing the ends to the sleeve, so theres no chance of it pulling when im doing the main joint...........at this point i remove the shaft and diff unit to make the casing lighter for rotating when doing the main joint welds...

it might sound like a lot of trouble to go to, but i imagine the wheel bearings wouldnt last too long if the ends werent re welded on square!!

hope this helps mate...

[oldskooler]

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[oldskooler]

im trying to figure out the new format on photobucket and struggling to paste several pics at a time, i it may take me a while to figure it out!!


anyway, time for a long overdue update on this one lol!!


basically, after the van sitting untouched for some time, i made the decision to let out the rest of the fabrication work and panel fitting to a specialist..


the reality was i simply wasnt going to get the time to push the project past this stage, and along with that i was out the doors busy with conversion work, that im a lot more comfortable with doing than body fabrication....so my earnings from that work would pay for this side of the build....


there was also the fact that i had changed direction with the project, now deciding, that i wanted to end up with a mk1 van, as ive always wanted one but never could find a decent one....


so to do this job right it meant a full front end swap including inner wings along with a complete mk1 dash panel inside...


for this type of job a jig was going to be a big advantage, along with a man with lots of experience doing such work..


as far as i was concerned, there was only one man for this contract.....damien mc laughlin based in donegal, has had a hand in the building of some of the nicest road going escorts here in ireland, and is very well equipped to undertake this type of work, having his own self built full jig to take escorts....


so after getting onto his list, i got the few bits blasted that needed attention before the time came to drop it to damien.....








thats was the day it was dropped to damien a few months ago....a lot has been done since......will post more pics when i get a better handle on uploading them!!




till next time...

[alladdin]

thank you for the detailed reply.
given that i will be aiming for a 3.5 i guess i am limited to 10mm / side ................
which makes me wonder if its worth the effort ? does 10mm help with clearance on rear enough to make it worth while ? i am hoping to run 185/60 13 on ( to begin with at least ) 7" jbw smoothies.

[oldskooler]

thank you for the detailed reply.
given that i will be aiming for a 3.5 i guess i am limited to 10mm / side ................
which makes me wonder if its worth the effort ? does 10mm help with clearance on rear enough to make it worth while ? i am hoping to run 185/60 13 on ( to begin with at least ) 7" jbw smoothies.

10mm does indeed make a huge difference.., and should give you plenty of clearance for the for the 185 tyre on the 7 inch rim, and those smoothies are et-0 offset so you should be fine..

shaft thickness can vary too, so the best way to do it is first strip the axle, mark your shafts left and right hand, cut bout 10mm from the splines, put both shafts fully in the pigs head on the floor till and measure the overall width between the flanges of the shafts, and the distance each side from the flanges to the edges of the pigs head where it mates to the machined surface on the axle casing.........that will tell you the maximum you can narrow the casing by each side less a mm or so for clearance...

[mexicotait]

I still love that mk2 transit

[skmotorsport]

im trying to figure out the new format on photobucket and struggling to paste several pics at a time, i it may take me a while to figure it out!!


anyway, time for a long overdue update on this one lol!!


basically, after the van sitting untouched for some time, i made the decision to let out the rest of the fabrication work and panel fitting to a specialist..


the reality was i simply wasnt going to get the time to push the project past this stage, and along with that i was out the doors busy with conversion work, that im a lot more comfortable with doing than body fabrication....so my earnings from that work would pay for this side of the build....


there was also the fact that i had changed direction with the project, now deciding, that i wanted to end up with a mk1 van, as ive always wanted one but never could find a decent one....


so to do this job right it meant a full front end swap including inner wings along with a complete mk1 dash panel inside...


for this type of job a jig was going to be a big advantage, along with a man with lots of experience doing such work..


as far as i was concerned, there was only one man for this contract.....damien mc laughlin based in donegal, has had a hand in the building of some of the nicest road going escorts here in ireland, and is very well equipped to undertake this type of work, having his own self built full jig to take escorts....


so after getting onto his list, i got the few bits blasted that needed attention before the time came to drop it to damien.....








thats was the day it was dropped to damien a few months ago....a lot has been done since......will post more pics when i get a better handle on uploading them!!




till next time...

Nice Transit!!! Stunning condition...

[alladdin]

when you say

i use a thick inner sleeve, similar to std atlas tubing, not that tight fitting,

is this the stuff sold to re sleeve atlas ? i have no idea on sizes on these , not even measured english od as yet but think i will give it a go.

[oldskooler]

when you say

is this the stuff sold to re sleeve atlas ? i have no idea on sizes on these , not even measured english od as yet but think i will give it a go.

i just bought some thick walled tubing. forget what size now....

[oldskooler]

when you say

is this the stuff sold to re sleeve atlas ? i have no idea on sizes on these , not even measured english od as yet but think i will give it a go.

i just bought some thick walled tubing. forget what size now....

[oldskooler]

ok, back to the van project.....

time for an update on whats been done over the last few months.....

after getting all the rolling running gear removed on the lift, the shell went onto the jig to get everything in place before the major surgery started!!









the mk2 inner wings were carefully drilled out as they were in very good order, so i sold them on to help fund the list of new panels needed!











it was decided that, as the floors,...although not terribly bad needed a lot of localised repairs, and as the lower bulkhead was getting replaced, the best plan was to fit a complete new floorpan when the van was taken that far, and would look a much better job than doing localised repairs to the floor pans etc....

the chassis legs turned out to be very good front to back, but had a lot of silt and mud of some sort built up inside them, so it was a great oppurtunity when the floorpan was removed, to clean them out, treat them with etch primer, and paint inside them before fitting the new floor pan and inner wings...

[oldskooler]

next the replacement panels and sections started to be fitted.....

[oldskooler]

as this is a full conversion from a mk2 to a mk1 van, i also got a mk1 dash panel from magnum......i went for the 6 clock version as ive a nice set lined up for it when the time comes!!









next the lower bulkhead, mk1 inner wings and front end panels started to go on, which made a big difference....