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Thread: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

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    1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    I got my first ever car in about 1997 when I was 15. A 1968 Mk1 Escort. It was on the road for about 3 years before I moved out of home, I cant remember why but I didnt take it with me, no doubt it had a few issues and wasnt suited to rush hour traffic in the big city.

    Anyway, it has been stored for the last 20 years, mainly in dry storage (though was in the rain a bit here and there when the owners of the property needed garage space). It hasnt been driven since then and over the years I had visited it only to raid it for parts for the other 3 Mk1 Escorts ive had since. But now is the time for a restoration!

    As you can see from the photos shes not toooooo bad. I will post more detailed photos later. Theres about a dozen areas of rust that need to be repaired and no doubt more once I remove all the paint but thats all part of the fun right!

    I have zero fabrication experience but I make my living as an artist and have always enjoyed working on cars (tho not to this extent!) So I will be treating this resto as another piece of art

    So here she is...





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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Some photos of the worst areas found so far




















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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    good to see another one being saved, good luck.

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Welcome. I may be able to help you along with your restoration. I’ve almost 40 years experience working on these cars and I’m still thoroughly enjoying it especially with my latest venture building a 1968 Broadspeed Escort replica.
    Last edited by MonkeyMike; 28-05-2020 at 09:48.

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    Mechanic runoutofrigos's Avatar

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Looks a minter compared to some

    Simon

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by MonkeyMike View Post
    Welcome. I may be able to help you along with your restoration. I’ve almost 40 years experience working on these cars and I’m still thoroughly enjoying it especially with my latest venture building a 1968 Broadspeed Escort replica.
    Thanks man I appreciate that

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by runoutofrigos View Post
    Looks a minter compared to some

    Simon
    Yeah definitely, as much work as it is ive seen a lot worse restored thats for sure

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    So currently going over the parts I have for the restoration. Ive managed to accumulate quite a lot over the last couple of months as you can see in these pics










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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Quite a bit of stuff there lol most of it came in couple bulk lots.

    A lot of stuff I will be buying will be in good second hand condition as I will be spending most of my budget on the engine and suspension.

    Im currently having a 1700 xflow built. Usual kinda spec with stage 3 type head, 234 cam, twin 40 DCOEs, forged pistons, steel rods. It will be built up as a fast road car to enjoy the country roads.

    I want to keep it as original as possible in that I want to only use parts that came on a Mk1 Escort (any model). The one exception mayyy be a type 9 gearbox. Im still undecided between 4 or 5 speed, so all opinions welcome.

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    1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Good luck with the resto. I'm starting one very similar myself with the same amount of experience and have a thread goin.. so keep posting the pics.

    Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Looks solid good luck with the build

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Thought I had better get in some welding practise before attempting the real repairs. I have played around with gas and flux core and im out of gas so used flux core for this







    Happy with my first patch attempt, especially given I wasnt trying to do an amazing job, just wanted to go through the process. Obviously its far from perfect but im hoping when i take my time a bit more and engage my patience I will have some decent results.

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    When patch welding into large panels be sure not to overheat the area otherwise distortion may occur. I always have a cold damp towel at hand to cool things down. Also make sure your weld is penetrating into the metal enough especially if you're going to grind it right back to the surface. Very good first effort though Jd

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by MonkeyMike View Post
    When patch welding into large panels be sure not to overheat the area otherwise distortion may occur. I always have a cold damp towel at hand to cool things down. Also make sure your weld is penetrating into the metal enough especially if you're going to grind it right back to the surface. Very good first effort though Jd
    Thanks a lot for the advice and encouragement! Much appreciated. Busy cutting holes in the Mk1 at the moment so plenty of welding to come after a little more practise

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Havent had a huge amounf of time to get a lot done but have managed to cut some areas of rust out. I have some replacement panels for some areas and will just fabricate the others. Some areas areas a bit of a jigsaw puzzle as you can see lol












    It took me quite a while to fabricate the lower in wheel arch piece you see in the followong photos (just hel there with magnets. Then after I got it pretty much perfect I thought maybe I had better inspect the inner arch under the outer guard. The metal looked pretty good above where I cut it off to replace, but given I am getting rid of every other bit of rust im thinking I really should check and see whats under there...and I can see a bit of a bubble forming in one area so theres rust there alright





    I think I will just cut out the outer rear flares to inspect rust rather than take off the whole qyarter panel, that seems like way too much of a mission. I will likely stay with the standard flares though part of me still thinks maaaaaybe bubble arches..maybe.

    Edit: sorry for the weird sizing and orientatiom of the photos no idea why thats happening?
    Last edited by Jdlazy; 22-06-2020 at 08:55.

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Photos are good in that size. Helps to see in greater detail. Your progress and workmanship looks pretty good to me.

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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    Any further on Jd?

  21. #18
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    Re: 1968 Mk1 Escort 2 door restoration

    That a great basis for a project.
    I like the fab work you have done also.

    1700cc MK1 ESTATE DONE. MK1 2DR STARTED

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