Before you go spending money on a car that seems to have been fairly well modified already, have you had a Mk1 or 2 Escort before that you've driven harder than just back and forth to work ?
One of the attractions is they go around corners sideways really well. If you've not experienced that before is could be a bit off putting. As Graham says, if the car has some "grunt" and is a bit firm it's more than likely to be a bit exciting especially in the wet as you've explained. Try reducing the shock firmness to start with as that's easy and costs nothing (assuming it's got adjustable shocks, most of them are)
If you're not experienced with escorts, it might pay you to go and get a day or weekend driving course at a rally school that has an escort available or take it to some track days (learning of public roads isn't the safest way). With understanding and experience they are very controllable and fairly predictable.
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