Big Wing Mk1 Escort Pinto Project - Restoration no.3

[RS2OOO]

Will probably need more advice and help on this thread than I'm able to give!

Back Story
At 3 years old my godfather would run me to nursery in a rusty green Mk1 Escort with the boot tied down, affectionately known as "The Banger". I loved it.
At around 5 years old I watched the start of a Lombard rally stage in a town in Wales and couldn't believe these cars were identical to "The Banger". I was awe-struck that they made rally versions of my favourite car and I wanted one.

By 1993, working part time valeting cars at a local dealers I'd saved up enough to buy one.... off a South London scrap yard! £150 later, including costs to recover the car home, I was finally the owner of my dream motor.

By 1996 the car was fully restored with a 1760 Xflow and sailed through its first MOT in my ownership. How the hell I achieved that with no internet and limited knowledge I will never know but in all fairness Steve Evans (now known as Stiggy) down at Super Accessories in Catford was a great help as was a lad I met called Kevin who now runs Kejja Motorsport.
Sadly my Mum binned the films with all my restoration photos so I've nothing but memories of how it originally looked.

In 1997/8 someone pulled out in front of me and the front end was damaged. I stripped the car and sent it to a workshop in Greenwich for shell repairs. The car was there for the best part of 2 years with very little happening, then 5pm one day the guy phones up and says "I've just finished painting your car and I'm getting evicted from the workshop, you need to have it gone by 8am tomorrow morning".
I had no money at all and nowhere to put the car which left little choice but to get down the garage with my brother and build it so I could drive it home. 8:30am next morning she was up and running!
Rebuilding it was such a rush job I've never since felt overly confident driving her.... little things like the non-high tensile ground down bolt connecting steering column to rack would spring to mind whilst drifting roundabouts in rush hour .

Used the car regularly as a weekend car up until around 2006 when family life kicked in and gradually it sat for longer and longer periods until I didn't bother renewing MOTs.

Now its time to get on with the 3rd rebuild.

[i want a rs2000 mk1]

Nice looking mk1 wish I still had mine (like most people probably) keep the posts and photos coming

[RS2OOO]

This will be a slow thread but I'll try and cover all the details with pics.

I won't be doing the bodywork, just don't have the tools, equipment or knowledge to do it to the standard I want so I got some quotes and after picking my jaw up off the floor I decided I had no choice but to save up more and pay the money.

Currently booked in for around April next year.

In the meantime I'll go round the car attempting to refurb and dry fit everything prior to stripping again for the bodywork.

Started by test fitting the ally radiator I got for Christmas 3 years ago. Straight away I remembered nothing is straight forward.

I'm not sure if off the shelf RS2000 hoses that will fit this and if anyone knows please chip in.

With rad central the bottom hose is going to be very tight around the alternator belt.

[katana]

That rad isn't for use in an RS2000 - the std rad top hose connection is right angled and faces the battery, the stock hose does a 180 deg. turn back on itself to connect. But using 90 deg silicon bends - anything is possible . . . . .

[Forest_rallying]

Rally and Competition Equip at Biddulph do a silicon hose kit that'll fit that type of Radiator with a Pinto engine.

[rallyrob]

That rad isn't for use in an RS2000 - the std rad top hose connection is right angled and faces the battery, the stock hose does a 180 deg. turn back on itself to connect.. . . . .

That's Correct for a Mk2 RS, but a Mk1 doesn't have the right angle top hose.

[RS2OOO]

Rally and Competition Equip at Biddulph do a silicon hose kit that'll fit that type of Radiator with a Pinto engine.

Perfect, thank you. I'll get on the blower to them in the morning.

[RS2OOO]

Had a 2nd hand pair of 2wd Cossie rear calipers sitting around for the last 15 years. Cleaned them up and they look good. In fact the seals look mint so I'll leave them on.

Then removed the front calipers. Never cleaned them before as I never used to care about that type of thing. Dismayed to find like the cossie rears, the M16 fronts are metric fittings as well (probably hence the "M" in M16), so buying an imperial flaring kit was a waste of time, although I think I'll still get away with using it.

No sand blaster etc, so 50 odd years worth of grime removed by hand.

Can't find replacement seals for the caliper spacer kit, had to buy a whole kit and when it arrives I'll match up the seals to make a spare spacer kit if anyone needs one.

Also couldn't get the pots out. Pressed the brake pedal to push them out and seal gave way in the master cylinder at that exact moment! How mad is that. No compressed air so will set up a spare m/c and pedal on a bench to pump them out.

[katana]

That's Correct for a Mk2 RS, but a Mk1 doesn't have the right angle top hose.

Apologies then - I did not know that!

[rallyrob]

the M16 fronts are metric fittings as well (probably hence the "M" in M16), so buying an imperial flaring kit was a waste of time, although I think I'll still get away with using it.

Correct, the imperial equivalent caliper is a P16, though not sure why the "P"

I don't think there's anything in the imperial flare, but I maybe wrong.

[RS2OOO]

Correct, the imperial equivalent caliper is a P16, though not sure why the "P"

I don't think there's anything in the imperial flare, but I maybe wrong.

The flares are different but generally they compress to the shape of the fitting when you tighten them up anyway.

http://www.fedhillusa.com/?page=flar...%20DIN%20flare.

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[alladdin]

nice to see another resto thread, lets hope people realise that forums are SO much better to follow and learn from than janet on face book

[runoutofrigos]

nice to see another resto thread, lets hope people realise that forums are SO much better to follow and learn from than janet on face book

I see you've met her as well

Simon

[RS2OOO]

Rally and Competition Equip at Biddulph do a silicon hose kit that'll fit that type of Radiator with a Pinto engine.

Ordered, being delivered tomorrow.

Nice guys and knew there stuff. Mentioned you'd recommended them, cheers.

Shame they're a bit backwards website wise as they stock a solid range of bits that would be nice to see pics of.

[RS2OOO]

Rally and Competition Equip at Biddulph do a silicon hose kit that'll fit that type of Radiator with a Pinto engine.

Ordered, being delivered tomorrow.

Nice guys and knew there stuff. Mentioned you'd recommended them, cheers.

Shame they're a bit backwards website wise as they stock a solid range of bits that would be nice to see pics of.

[wildo105e]

TBH they are more old skool garage when you actually go there. The place is rammed from top to bottom with qaulity used and new parts. They also prep and run their own cars and other peoples, build axles etc etc

I think web developement is low on the list. They are probably busy enough.

[notenoughtime]

Sometimes the internet/website can drown a good garage with questions and emails and if they are good enough at what they do you really don’t need the extra hassle

[RS2OOO]

Hose kit from rallycompetition.co.uk arrived today as promised.

Bottom hose fits better than expected, just needs some protection from chafing on sump and alternator mount:







Top hose needs cutting down. Again, small jobs that can wait for the final build:

[Forest_rallying]

Ordered, being delivered tomorrow.

Nice guys and knew there stuff. Mentioned you'd recommended them, cheers.

Shame they're a bit backwards website wise as they stock a solid range of bits that would be nice to see pics of.

Their website consists of a 3 page advert out of an old magazine. I am old school and even I have started ordering online, you just have to move with the times or get left behind.

Sorry I forgot to say the top hose would need trimming.

[RS2OOO]

Test fitted the Gartrac pedal box.

Group 4 throttle pedal ratio is extreme, throttle either closed or fully open with little in between so I fitted a cable block half way down the pedal which means the cable enters the bulkhead in an unusual location, but it works and gives more control over the travel:









For the reservoir mounting I can't see how its possible to utilise the middle hole without hacking the car since right beneath it is the original upper pedal box mount and captive nut, then immediately below that is the top of the pedal box. Even if I hacked the original mount off the space is very tight and may risk kinking the reservoir pipe. I might buy another bottle for the middle hole and use it as the windscreen washer reservoir. I'll probably secure this bracket with rivnuts since it can't be welded as you'd lose access to the left hand reservoir pipe fitting nut.








Fitting clutch cable to the pedal is a right pain, not ideal for changing cables on the side of the road, which I've had to do many times. But once fitted it comes off again if you lift the pedal up. Luckily I still had a retaining clip off the old pedalbox, but I'm sure many people wouldn't have one so it would be interesting to know what the alternative solution is:

[RS2OOO]

Here's some updates just for the sake of an update:

Had to refurbish an old master cylinder just to set it up on the bench with a pedal box to get the pots out of the now cleaned up M16's

[RS2OOO]

Cleaned up the caliper locking tabs and maybe there's a bit of geek in me I don't know, but was nice to see the Ford logo stamped into such a small and insignificant part. Don't think you ever see anything like this nowadays.

The hub dust caps also have Ford engraved on them.

[RS2OOO]

The first part of the car that's finished. Front Calipers now fully overhauled and painted. In my head I built the entire car in a week, but just doing these took the best part of a week doing bits in spare time.

[alladdin]

does eat the time

[QuIcKrAcK]

They came out lovely though!
Thats a sweet car.

[RS2OOO]

Most of the front suspension now cleaned, overhauled, painted and rebuilt.

It isn't my aim to have these components looking concours otherwise my OCD will have me cleaning them after every drive! The aim is to have them properly protected from the elements and corrosion, and to withstand being jet washed with chemicals etc.

Everything hand painted in POR-15 except the RBTMs which due to their visibility under the bonnet were coated in POR-15, then sanded and top coat sprayed on with gloss black caliper paint and cured in the oven.

[RS2OOO]

Just a couple of posts to show I've been at it every day......

Found this inside the chassis rail right at the front where the anti roll bar mounts go. No idea what it is for or even whether it was ever part of something on the car:





The little cap lid opens and has OIL written on it:

[RS2OOO]

One for the purists...

Not the best example due to surface corrosion on the shackle I photographed (other one was a lot cleaner), but noticed my car had new leaf spring shackles at some point but only on one side. The bit that got my attention was the slight design differences, with the original stamped as FoMoCo and the new one stamped as Ford.

These would have been changed by the first or 2nd owner, so some point in the 1970's I'd guess, but the car's never had any rear end damage so I wonder why they'd have been changed?

[RS2OOO]

Mainly been doing more cleaning and painting. Diff, halfshafts and gearbox all going to HPE for some refurb work, and they're also going to weld strengthening plates into the shock mounting bar since I've snapped a few over the years and they're getting thin on the ground now.

I also had a leaf spring fly across the garage, just missed my head and stopped just before the Escort!

Don't know if its bull but I recall a Vecta Challenge (Ford Modified Saloon Car Championship) competitor advising me to place a small multi leaf spring inverted against the single leaf springs and this would reduce axle tramp, improve rebound and also lower the car. I believe it worked as I never had tramp, and it definitely lowers the car.

To clamp them together I had used a long piece of threaded rod through the central locating holes, tighten up the nuts on each end and then cut off the excess. Well, this rod had snapped so my leaf springs were under a fair amount of tension and the sprung apart after I'd removed the u-bolts.

Components painted in POR-15

[Forest_rallying]

A nice Restoration Thread RS with plenty of detail and photos. I liked the tail about the leaf springs, very interesting. I remember doing something very similar to that over 40 years ago with the springs for a Hot Rod Racer that we were building at the time. The only difference was I tack welded the leafs together. I never did find if they worked or not as the project was abandoned before completion on the grounds that a competitive X flow engine that we needed was far out of our budget.

[avtospotter]

[QUOTE=RS2OOO;3728413]Mainly been doing more cleaning and painting. Diff, halfshafts and gearbox all going to HPE for some refurb work, and they're also going to weld strengthening plates into the shock mounting bar since I've snapped a few over the years and they're getting thin on the ground now.

I also had a leaf spring fly across the garage, just missed my head and stopped just before the Escort!

Don't know if its bull but I recall a Vecta Challenge (Ford Modified Saloon Car Championship) competitor advising me to place a small multi leaf spring inverted against the single leaf springs and this would reduce axle tramp, improve rebound and also lower the car. I believe it worked as I never had tramp, and it definitely lowers the car.

To clamp them together I had used a long piece of threaded rod through the central locating holes, tighten up the nuts on each end and then cut off the excess. Well, this rod had snapped so my leaf springs were under a fair amount of tension and the sprung apart after I'd removed the u-bolts.


I'm very interested in this, I'm going with the stock leafs aswell. Do you mind explaining me exactly what you are talking about here, whats needed to be done to them? I'm getting the picture that you use a threaded stick to tighten the spring down to a prefferd height and then tack welding them together so when you release the tension the leaf stays in that same shape, which again would mean its stiffer. Am I on the right path or gone totally wrong?

[RS2OOO]

I'm very interested in this, I'm going with the stock leafs aswell. Do you mind explaining me exactly what you are talking about here, whats needed to be done to them? I'm getting the picture that you use a threaded stick to tighten the spring down to a prefferd height and then tack welding them together so when you release the tension the leaf stays in that same shape, which again would mean its stiffer. Am I on the right path or gone totally wrong?

Sort of on the right path...

First of all a disclaimer - I'm not claiming this is the right or safe way to do things or that it improves handling! But it does lower the car, it does increase stiffness of the rear and my car no longer suffered from axle tramp after doing this. I ran the car like this for about 8 or 9 years and didn't have any problems, and will most likely run it like this again.

Threaded rod through the locating holes of the single leaf and an inverted small multi leaf.
Big washers (the right size to locate centre of leaf spring into lowering blocks etc) and nuts on each end then tighten to bring the leaves together:




Once clamped together cut off the excess threaded rod and the car is lowered an additional 2" (approx.).

[skmotorsport]

Great job ! Love the idea with the leaf.

[RS2OOO]

Got a text from the paintshop yesterday saying they'll be ready for the car in about 4-6 weeks. Wasn't planned to go in till April or beyond!

I'm way behind on the dry build and very unlikely to have all necessary holes drilled and parts bolted up beforehand. Going to end up having to drill and fit stuff after paint which is a little bit worrying as I'm bound to cock something up or scratch car somewhere or other!

In the meantime just picked up machined half shafts with new SKF bearings, rebuilt diff and strengthened shock mounting bar from HPE. Love the job they've done on the shock mount which will hopefully prevent future breakages:

[notenoughtime]

Nice work

Second pic of strengthening on shock mount the welding isn’t penetrating both parts of the steel by the looks of things

[RS2OOO]

Nice work

Second pic of strengthening on shock mount the welding isn’t penetrating both parts of the steel by the looks of things

In all honesty I'm no welder so don't know how to properly identify poor penetration etc.

Here's some more close ups:













One thing I'm sure of is the weight has doubled and it must be way over engineered for road use compared to standard.

[modifyitmike]

In all honesty I'm no welder so don't know how to properly identify poor penetration etc.

Here's some more close ups:













One thing I'm sure of is the weight has doubled and it must be way over engineered for road use compared to standard.

welding looks like you should ave welded with more amps , should hold tho

[Forest_rallying]

To be quite honest RS2000 that welding job is plenty ample for the job it's going to do for damping of the shockers if there's no load bearing weight, you have probably more chance of the shell giving way than that bracket. As Mike as said a little more penetration with the weld but nothing to worry yourself about.

[RS2OOO]

To be quite honest RS2000 that welding job is plenty ample for the job it's going to do for damping of the shockers if there's no load bearing weight, you have probably more chance of the shell giving way than that bracket. As Mike as said a little more penetration with the weld but nothing to worry yourself about.

Thanks for the extra piece of mind.

I guess really I like to know everything about everything, but couldn't have confidently identified which welds lacked penetration by myself.



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[RS2OOO]

As for the overall restoration, having had the car so long there's a small part of me that's nervous it won't feel like it used to once it's finished.

With the values being what they are now I can't see myself ragging it like I stole it like I used to, and certainly no more outrunning the police in chases like the old pre-camera days ha ha.

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