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Thread: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

  1. #1
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    So here's the story of my 1974 mk1 Escort. It's had 3 'restorations' and 3 different engines during my ownership - the current job is a full blown Cossie-powered road car, but I'll start right back at the beginning...


    I got the car around 2002/2003 - I seem to remember we paid about £500 for the rolling shell, some interior bits and bobs and and the engine/box.


    It started life as a basic model and quite a bit of work had been done to it before we got it. It had a few repair panels that had been done reasonably well, someone had resprayed in metallic green and partially rubbed down again from the original flat light green colour.


    This is how it looked when it arrived:

    pic0006.JPGpic0010.jpgpic0012.jpgpic0016.jpg


    (apologies for the image quality - these were actually taken with one of the first commercial digital cameras available - a 0.8MP Samsung Digimax: http://www.dcviews.com/_samsung/0800.htm - no lcd, smartmedia cards [remember that?] and _serial_ cable to upload your images to a PC)


    Good things:
    Engine was a 711M block 1600 crossflow - though we later found out that the head was cracked and ended up having to take the head off a 1600 that was destined for my dads 105e Anglia at the time.


    Gearbox was nice


    Came with a set of 4-spoke RS/Laser type 6x13 wheels


    Bodywork was actually really good - very straight (apart from a mis-aligned front wing and worn door pins) and virtually rust free... but this leads on to one of the bad points...


    Way back in the mists of time, when the car would have been nearly new, someone had decided to Zeibart it - virtually every panel of the car was covered in a waxy, oily film. This had protected it really well over the almost 28 or so years since new. However, a previous owner had clearly gone to town on the rest of the car themselves.... including doing the engine bay:

    PIC0015-.JPG


    This took days and days to clean off :-(


    I had bought the car to use as a track car - to replace my previous track day toy:

    Picture9-.jpg


    ... so our work (it's my dad and me working on most of these things - he's a time-served mechanic with his own garage, so comes in rather handy!) was limited to making sure the car was safe, strong, and would go, turn and stop ok - we weren't really looking to 'restore' it at this point.


    We limited the modifications to:


    - Minor overhaul of the 1600 crossflow
    - Set of 185/60x13 intermediates for the RS 4 spokes
    - Capri 2.8 struts, calipers and vented discs
    - Double width kit & TC arb
    - Quickshift for the 4 speed box
    - Safety Devices rear bolt-in cage
    - Quick respray of the exterior in red
    - Serviced and MOT'd

    pic0011.JPG
    103-0366_IMG-.JPG
    ... and it ended up looking like this:

    103-0348_IMG-.JPG103-0349_IMG-.JPG103-0361_IMG-.JPG103-0363_IMG-.JPG


    Not bad for a quick turnaround really!


    ... and this is what I used it for:

    Picture4-.jpgPicture5-.jpgPicture6-.jpgPicture10-.jpg


    A rally stage practice day organised by the CSMA at the Barton Stacey army staging area - fun, fun, fun!


    Of course, it didn't stop there ;-)

  2. #2
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    The crossflow power lasted for a year or so (this puts this build around 2004), but the power-bug was starting to bite.... so it was crossflow out and figure what to put in it's place:

    IMG_0809-.JPGIMG_0810-.JPGIMG_0823-.JPG

    Pinto? No, too old fashioned and having spent a fortune building one for a Lotus 7 replica, not something we wanted to do another one of.

    Zetec? No, not a fan of them.

    Cosworth? No, I'd never want that much power in an Escort (remember that thought....)

    Ok, how about Vauxhall XE? A good reputation, 150bhp bog standard, and relatively cheap to source and install? Sounds good to me!

    The XE head is of course much bigger than the Crossflow and the distributor sticks out off the end of the exhaust camshaft, so the engine bay needs a small amount of bulkhead fettling:

    IMG_0825-.JPGIMG_0843-.JPG

    That should do it!

    We found a redtop pretty easily - no more than a couple hundred quid to buy, and we made a few quid back by selling on the injection system, gearbox and ecu.

    Engine was stripped, painted, new seals and gaskets and basically put back together standard - the only concession we made to upgrading it was to fit ARP conrod bolts.

    IMG_0816-.JPG

    To fit the engine, we got the obligatory World Cup crossmember and XE mounts to suit.

    Of course, now that we're fitting a much more powerful engine, we'll have to update a whole load of other things; gearbox, axle, suspension, brakes, oh dear!

  3. #3
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Gearbox, Suspension and Axle

    We decided to go with the easy to find Type 9, and we got a bellhousing to adapt the Vauxhall bolt spacing to the Ford box. It aslo needed a particular release bearing and clutch plate to mate the two together, the tunnel needed changing to suit the bigger 5 speed box as well:

    IMG_0855-.JPG

    To handle the greater power I went for an Atlas -
    Right, so I got a 2.8 V6 Atlas (non-LSD, unfortunately), and picked up a set of anti-tramp bars to go with them. Also sourced a 4.1:1 crown wheel and pinion set to swap with the V6 item.

    Springs were changed to uprated single leaf items and Gaz adjustable rear shocks were fitted:

    IMG_0871-.JPGIMG_0894-.JPG

    Also bought a heavy duty single piece propshaft (Type 9 to Atlas).
    The 2.8 Atlas is, of course, much wider than the English axle, so the track is much, much wider... we of course had to fit bubble arches (I know many will now wince at the next images...)

    IMG_0863-.JPGIMG_0915_med.jpgIMG_0916_med.jpg

    I picked up a slightly tatty (they look poor, but they're totally sound) set of 8x15 Compomotive MO 5-spokes, my favourite alloy design of all time (alongside the BBS Le Mans of course). They're ET0 offset, so really fill the arches!

    IMG_0905-.JPG

  4. #4
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Fitting The Engine

    Here's the engine, trial fitted at the time, along with the bulkhead now boxed in:
    IMG_0847-.JPGIMG_0849-.JPG

    ... and now with the engine bay painted:
    IMG_0886-.JPGIMG_0887-.JPGIMG_0889-.JPG

    I also got a 4 branch tubular manifold to free up a few more ponie, supplied by Yukspeed:
    IMG_0859-.JPG

    Dizzy was a custom job using the original unit, changed to a slightly more agressive fixed-advance and wiring to an ignition amplifier module and a modern coil. I think the earlier Cavalier works with this setup.

  5. #5
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Brakes

    Sourced a set of Princess 4-pots and a refurb kit - I kept the 2.8 vented discs:
    IMG_0834-.JPGIMG_0911-.JPG

    On the back the big V6 drums were overhauled (new cylinders and shoes), but kept. They really are massive.

  6. #6
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Interior

    I tidied up the two-tone green interior with a quick splosh of white paint to clean it up:
    IMG_0912-.JPG

    I also fitted an Omex clubman rev limiter, as with the dizzy, the XE would have no form of limit. The battery was shifted to the boot, cut-out switch fitted and washers and more relocated to new centre console:
    IMG_0924-.JPG

  7. #7
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Finishing up bits and pieces for conversion 2

    Made a brace to go along the bulkhead, to make up for any loss of rigidity from removing the heater bubble and bulkhead cutout:
    IMG_0910-.JPG

    Carbs are Dellorto 45DHLA's - and, judging from the serial/model numbers, they're ex-Lotus Esprit parts. Rejetted to suit the Vauxhall and a new inlet manifold and throttle linkage was fitted:
    IMG_0902-.JPGIMG_0903-.JPGIMG_0909-.JPG

    The radiator, btw, is a mk5 Escort RS2000 item - we didn't think the original mk1 radiator would be up to the task.
    IMG_0908-.JPG

  8. #8
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    And this was conversion 2 finished!

    IMG_0922_med.jpgIMG_0923-.JPGIMG_0925-.JPG

    Engine bay when finished:
    IMG_0929_med.jpgIMG_0931_med.jpgIMG_0934_med.jpg

    I then thrashed it to it's fullest!!!

    Here's 'Stig Vista' (as it became known), at another Civil Service Motoring Association stage practice day at Barton Stacey again, in 2004 - an Escort in it's natural habitat, tailout :-)
    Picture2-.jpg
    Picture3-.jpg
    Picture-.jpg

    And here it is in action once more, this time at Elvington airfield, near York, in 2005:
    DSC_2087.JPG
    DSC_2088.JPG
    DSC_2124.JPG
    DSC_2138.JPG
    DSC_2270.JPG
    DSC_2281.JPG

    3 wheel action!
    DSC_2294.JPG

    It's a proper animal of a car - the diff coupled with the power of the XE (it's got to be an easy 160+bhp) means it will easily spin the rear wheels on full power upshifts right through 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear. It just runs out of speed at ~120mph in 5th gear around 7000rpm! Only problem I would say was the ride height - the single leaf springs that were fitted are much too high and the front could have benefitted from adjustable shocks (these are some of the things I take care of when I later start the Cossie conversion a few years later).

    Oh, and the brakes do not inspire confidence at the end of an airfield run!

    Next time I'll start posting the current job - the Cossie conversion!
    Last edited by MegatronUK; 13-10-2014 at 00:06.

  9. #9
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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    cool

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    very nice.

  11. #11
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Starting the Cosworth Conversion!

    The car then went into storage for a couple of years, with everything else going on (buying houses, getting married etc, etc) it kinda got forgotten about... although the odd person kept asking if I would sell it? Nope.

    So a few years ago (2008/9?) I decided to do some work on it again, though this time I thought that putting it back on the road would be the best idea, as it wasn't getting enough use as a track day car to justify keeping it.

    Of course, a high revving engine with big rorty sidedraughts and a stripped out interior would probably not be the easiest car to live with these days :-(

    So, question time again, building a road car, what engine to you pick? Well, not many choices after the XE - and I'm a big turbocharger fan with my road cars (in order, I've had: Rover 220 turbo coupe, MR2 mk1 3SGTE turbo, Celica GT4 turbo, MR2 mk2 turbo, Supra mk4 twin turbo and my current [and avatar image] 911 turbo), it makes for seriously quick road cars and the big fat mid-range of well setup motor is a lot easier to live with than a high rpm screamer. IMO, of course ;-)

    Cossie YB it is then :-D

    This is going to be a road car again, so my choices from here on in will reflect the fact that it needs to be comfortable, reliable and safe. So interior bits may be the most difficult part of the restoration!

    I sourced a 4x4 engine and 2wd sump at a reasonable price (though the engine will eventually come back to bite me...), this came with a L8 ecu and chip, dark green 803 injectors and a few other bits and bobs - but essentially standard internals:
    IMG_2943.JPG

    It came with a mahoooosive turbo:
    IMG_3053.JPG

    ... but the turbo (a) needed a full rebuild and (b) it was going to simply be too big for everyday use (I'm aiming for 300-330bhp), so I recently (2014!!!) picked up a rebuilt stage 2 T3 - much more suitable for my plans.

    Also removed the 2.8 Bilsteins and got a set of new legs converted by Gaz to adjustable coilovers - very nice!
    IMG_2973.JPG
    IMG_2975.JPG

  12. #12
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    The original back panel was full of filler and quite out of shape, so we've fitted a new one:
    IMG_2949.JPG

  13. #13
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Cosworth suspension upgrade

    Decided to beef up the rear suspension slightly by fitting a panhard rod system.
    It came from Rally Design and I had a right nightmare of a time trying to fit it... here's the original thread from way back when (http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=116539).

    Here's the relevant images:
    IMG_2956.jpg

    Nowhere near....
    IMG_2957.jpg
    IMG_2959.jpg

    Modified substantially...
    IMG_2963.JPG
    IMG_2965.JPG
    IMG_2968.JPG

    Here it is finally fitted from underneath (wonky car due to a 15" on one side and 13" on the other!):
    P1040113.JPG

    Also got the rear differential changed to a 3.7:1 instead of the 4.1:1 - should be a lot nicer on the a-roads now. Fitted spreader plates on the diff too.

  14. #14
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Under-wing washer bottle!

    I wanted to move the washer bottle out of the car, so we made up some brackets under the drivers side wing and put a hole through the top of the wing:

    My good old dad working on it...
    P1040127.JPG

    Alloy washer bottle in place
    P1040128.JPG

  15. #15
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Cossie - bulkhead mods

    The bulkhead needed more work (again!) - we made a better job than when fitting the XE and put it back to a nice flat section - here it is with the Cossie trial fitted:
    P1040130.JPG

    We're making a template for the bulkhead in this picture - still not quite sure what to do with it actually! Might go with a piece of polished aluminium....

    We went for the Radtec MK1/2 YB conversion radiator and intercooler kit - it's a nice piece of work and fits neatly without too many mods.

  16. #16
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Cossie - engine problems...

    Started stripping the engine back in August this year as it had been standing a while and we wanted to make sure it was ok before being fitted for real.

    Only problem was, the timing was out according to all the guides we've got, and setting it properly resulted in this, when we took the head off:

    P1040563.JPG
    P1040564.JPG

    ... that's just turning it by hand, luckily. It's clearly hit the pistons previously though, looking at those marks that are carboned up.

    So, it was a strip down to see if there was any other work needing doing. Looking at the shells and mains, we decided to get them all renewed - also sent the head off to be checked. Came back just a few weeks ago and needed one valve replacing as well as all the valve guides, which were shot. So we've had a top end rebuild done and renewed all bottom end components that needed doing. Expensive, but worth it in the end.

    Here's the block coming together for reassembly:

    P1040598.JPG
    P1040603.JPG
    P1040604.JPG

    ... and the head back - components still to reinstall though:

    P1040596.JPG

    I've also just found that the crankshaft timing belt pulley is also heavily worn, so I'll have to source a replacement to that. It never ends!!!

  17. #17
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Shiny lights!

    After lots of oily and dusty work I was needing a shiny fix, so I bought a set of new rear lenses and a good set of chrome surrounds on Ebay a couple of weeks back... here's my old lenses:
    P1040581.JPG

    Ok, but really faded and quite clearly seen better days!

    New lenses and better chrome:
    P1040585.JPG
    P1040587.JPG

    The lenses are reproduction parts from Ebay - not Ford, but hey, they're fan-bleedin-tastic. The chrome surrounds are used, but very good and came from Portugal!

    New parts fitted to my old light units:
    P1040590.JPG

    Wow!

  18. #18
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Custom door cards

    Bought a set of alloy door cards years and years ago (I think they may have been from Prepfab? can't remember!) - never got round to fitting them, and with the current plans (i.e. road car) they don't make much sense any more. As my original door cards are not the best examples in the world I thought they might look good covered up with suede or alcantara.

    So, decided to give it a go myself!

    Alloy door cards:
    P1040607-.JPG

    Covering them them with 6mm, medium density foam, edges chamfered slightly so that the material won't bulge when it's covered up:
    P1040608-.JPG
    P1040609-.JPG

    The 'fake suede' or 'alcantara-like' material (this one is for a rear panel):
    P1040610-.JPG

    And the first panel completed:
    P1040611-.JPG
    P1040614-.JPG

    Because the material has a suede-like texture, when you brush your hand over it, it lies in a different way to the rest... it's quite odd for such a cheap bit of material to look and feel so much better than it really is!
    The door card turned out really well. Better than I thought it would - the pictures above don't do it justice; the camera flash is quite harsh and makes the way the fabric grain is facing actually look like wrinkles (as well as looking light grey - it's actually a very dark charcoal colour, almost, but not quite black) - but there definitely aren't any!

    One thing though, I got far more spray glue on my fingers than I thought! It's messy and quite tricky not to get the glue spread all over the place....
    Last edited by MegatronUK; 13-10-2014 at 18:58.

  19. #19
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Fuel pump and tank

    Bought a Bosch 044 pump from a well known member on here (thank you, Mr Brands Hatch Performance!), as well as a cradle to hold it and a full size fuel filter:
    Attachment 72207

    Also got some hose fittings, but think I may have made a boob by getting a bulkhead fitting in AN-10?? Talking to a few people since then it sounds like I can go with AN-6 on the outlet side of the pump and use a smaller bulkhead fitting to go down to the 9mm copper pipe I'll be using under the car.

    Just (last friday!) ordered an injection tank from Pro-Alloy, so that will replace my current side-tank. I went with them as I wanted to retain the original side filling point - I didn't like the idea of in-boot filling for a road car... what if I splash petrol on my salads .... erm... I mean rib-eye steaks..... when filling up on the way back from Tesco?!!!! :-O
    Last edited by MegatronUK; 13-10-2014 at 19:10.

  20. #20
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Starting to put it together again - stripping and repainting the interior!

    This weekend we were working on removing some of the old bits that are no longer needed on the body, patching up things here and there and generally doing prep work before we start to repaint the interior. The car is going to get a full respray in Alfa Romeo Rosso - but we're doing the interior, underside and engine bay ourselves first, so we can finish putting on the mechanicals before sending it to get the main exterior paint done.

    Here's my dad again, grinding down the areas where the harness eye bolts were used previously (we painted the underside of the car about 6 months ago, we'll be giving it another coat of the final colour once these last few bits are done):
    P1040632-.JPG

    Here's the bigger tunnel for the T5 in place, seam sealer applied and a coat of stonechip primer applied:
    P1040628-.JPG

    Boot primed:
    P1040639-.JPG

    Engine bay mostly finished:
    P1040630-.JPG
    P1040631-.JPG

    You can see in the engine bay some of the work we did several years ago, following the old Ford rally preparation guide for the Escort mk1/mk2, to stitch weld and gusset the engine bay - the sills and chassis rails have had similar treatment.

    By the end of yesterday we got all the interior floor done up to the sills (sills to roof will be done with flat primer instead):
    P1040636-.JPG
    P1040637-.JPG
    P1040638-.JPG

    From the inner sills upwards we've still got to take the surface off, key and primer - roof needs cleaning up too, where the original liner and sound proofing was stuck on.

    I also got myself a second hand rear seat set from Ebay - it's from a mk2, but actually fits much better than I expected in the mk1. There's really only the top mounting bolts on the back of the upright section that are any bother - we'll sort that with a couple of 'U' brackets welded to the rear shelf and drilled to suit. It will be getting recovered in a new mk2 Fishnet cover shortly:

    P1040633-.JPG
    P1040634-.JPG

    What's next? Well, decambered single leaf springs have just arrived back from Gartrac - I posted them overnight, they did them the same day and overnight posted them back: great service! - so they need fitting without the existing blocks to see how much we've lowered it (I asked for -2"). I also need to get those Compomotive rims refurbed and re-powder coated (got a quote of £240 inc vat from a local company in Sunderland), also need tyres (going with 225/50x15 Toyo TR1 all round)... then brakes... then a start motor... then.... and then... !!!!


  21. #21
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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    great work nice to see it over the years, I started out wanting a stripped out missile now I want comfy seats and lots of sound deadening!!

  22. #22
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Quote Originally Posted by jonny View Post
    great work nice to see it over the years, I started out wanting a stripped out missile now I want comfy seats and lots of sound deadening!!
    Hahaha! Yes, I think it's a sign of age - I wasn't bothered when I was younger... when I think back about the first car I had at 17 (MG Metro turbo!), complete with a deafening noisy exhaust... <shakes head> ... I just couldn't do it these days! I like my comfort too much LOL!

    Sound deadening is going to be key - I'll put it everywhere I can without it being seen!

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    what you going to use looked into it but none the wiser??

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Not sure myself. But Evoguy has a great build thread with his interior with carpets and sound deadening: http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthre...=395479&page=7 ... it looks good!

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!


  26. The Following User Says Thank You to andy-v For This Useful Post:


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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Not much done this weekend - well, we did take the Compomotive wheels to TWS at Durham to get them refurbed - have decided to go for a gunmetal dark grey finish. Also ordered a set of Toyo T1-R rubber in 225/50x15.

    This is the only other progress on the car since last weekend:

    P1040645-.JPG

    We're putting alloy jacking plates on the front chassis rails and over the rear spring hangers to protect the body and paintwork in the future - it's always bothered me seeing bent rear spring hangers and once the car is on the road I don't want any excuses for damage to the chassis or paintwork!

    Not bad though, eh?

    Also we've reached the point where we need to decide on the paint colour. I did originally want Ford Candy Red - but, (a) it's bloody expensive, and (b) too much of a faff for us to paint (we're doing interior + underside, getting a professional to do the exterior bodywork).

    So choices are now:

    Alfa Romeo Rosso 289/A - which is a deep, but non-metallic red.
    Ford Sangria Red Metallic - which is very close to Candy Red, but not quite as blingy.

    Will probably also go for RS stripes in a graphite or metallic grey colour.
    Last edited by MegatronUK; 18-10-2014 at 18:41. Reason: colour choices!

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    Mechanic EVOGUY's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    looking great matey, be good to see it on the North East roads in the not to distant future..

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Finished the last of the front and rear door cards today - all now covered in fake suede / alcantara. I'm really chuffed at how they've come out; much nicer than the tired old crap that was my original front door cards (didn't even have rear ones!) - I know the rear ones I've made are flat and without armrests, but I think with the carpet and some front seats trimmed to match, they'll look spot on:

    P1040648-.JPG

    P1040649-.JPG

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    The life and times of a MK1 Escort

    Nice work!
    I can only dream about getting mine done one day.

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Well, it was getting a bit neglected, so it deserved a bit of a makeover. My dad is also nearing retirement and he was getting a bit nervous about having to do major work as he was getting older*, so it was now or never to do what I wanted.

    * Secretly, he wants to finish my mk1 before he starts on his Anglebox :-) ... I'm trying to convince him to put something more modern than a 2.1 Pinto in it!

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    coming along nicely

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Wheels came back from getting stripped, kerbing/scratches removed and re-powder coated today!

    IMG_3668small.JPG

    IMG_3669small.JPG

    IMG_3670small.JPG

    IMG_3671small.JPG

    Oh my!

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    thanks for posting great read and great car...

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    wheels looks nice

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Another weekend, another set of new bits.. but not much progress - problem was we started out today without a plan, so we ended up jumping from job to job. Managed to get the aluminium firewall panel installed and started rubbing down the roof, but that was about it.

    I've got a day off next week, so will need to plan carefully what I'm going to do. My thoughts are to finish the last bits of cutting/welding off totally - that means the 6 dial dash backing plate, the bolts for the new ally jacking points and get the components to make up a front roll-cage (as luck would have it, we've found a pipe bending kit in the back of the garage, so are going to give it a go making a front cage to match the existing rear SD cage [it's an old design so I'm unable to get a matching front kit for it]).

    New stuff from Yukspeed arrived last week:

    6-dial dash blank
    P1040663-.JPG

    6-dial backing plate
    P1040664-.JPG

    6-dial dash top, flocked!
    P1040665-.JPG

    P1040667-.JPG

    Rear parcel shelf, flocked!
    P1040668-.JPG

    P1040669-.JPG

    ... also had the remainder of the connectors for the fuel system arrive - a selection of AN-10 hose ends for the tank, and AN-6 fittings from the pump and filters to the front of the car. I've gone for mainly black anodised ends to match the black nylon braided hoses - I didn't want the flashy blingy stuff for a change

    Hoping to order the Cossie timing belt kit (belt and tensioner) as well as the crankshaft timing belt pulley and a set of oem-type camshaft pulleys from Graham Goode this week, so we can get cracking on finishing the engine build.

    Also got two prices on clutch kits:

    LUK - £113 + VAT
    AP - £175 + VAT

    The LUK kit is rated to about 260-280, not sure about AP. I'm hoping to get around 300bhp once complete, so not sure which to go for yet (the LUK kit may well be on the limit and not last long - can't find any reccomendations about the AP plate and cover at the moment).
    Last edited by MegatronUK; 26-10-2014 at 19:08. Reason: typos

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Started to build the engine back up - block painted in hi-temp aluminium, as well as a few pulleys. We've got new camshaft pulleys, tensioner and crankshaft gear on order as the cam gears and crank gear were not in the best of condition:

    P1040677.JPG

    P1040678.JPG

    Still undecided about clutch though....

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    So, started to build the engine back up properly today, after an initial scare about the cam timing....

    P1040700.JPG

    Also got the exhaust manifold studs removed - they're too short to go through the flange of my new turbo (well, not really new - it's a refurbed hybrid T3, new seals, 360 degree bearing, cut back blades, etc - should be better for road use than the giant .63 monstrosity I got with the engine - several posts back in this thread)... so the needed extracting and new ones fitting and cut to length.... that took quite a bit of heat!

    P1040702.JPG

    P1040703.JPG

    Also had my new tyres (Toyo T1R - 225/50x15) fitted to the wheels this last week:

    P1040704.JPG

    Still waiting for my new Pro Alloy fuel tank, ebay-special fuel system hose ends, and HiSpec brake kit to arrive

    What next? Hopefully try to pick up some CDS tubing and start to fabricate a front roll cage to go with the rear SD cage I've got. Also need to confirm the route I'm going with the colour/paint - so should be seeing a possible paint guy in the next few days.

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Got the cam gears, crank, tensioner, water pump and alternator bracket fitted today.

    Also fitted the exhaust manifold - have got a T3 gasket on the way, so should be able to fit the turbo and all the related turbo bits within the next few days.

    P1040706-.JPG

    Ordered some high temp clear lacquer to coat the inlet manifold and and cam cover once they're polished up and painted. Going with polished bare ally with red writing and blue ford logo for the cam cover

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User MegatronUK's Avatar

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Anyone know where the bottom hose from the oil seperator/breather is supposed to go? My engine is a 4x4, but obviously with a 2wd sump - I'm guessing the 4x4 sump has a drain/vent tube for it to attach to?

    P1040705-.JPG

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    Re: Escort mk1 - xflow to XE to Cossie!

    Not updated for a week or to, so here's what we've done in the meantime....

    1. Sourced and fitted a front Safety Devices bolt-in cage, to mate up with my existing rear cage.

    2. Done some more engine build-up work, fitted a new stainless turbo oil hose, cleaned and fitted the old turbo oil drain pipe, got banjo bolts for the turbo water hoses (which aren't long enough!), also fitted the turbo and today clocked/rotated the turbo to match the orientation we needed to give clearance to the manifold bolts (simple job, loosen centre section bolts, gently rotate round, tighten centre section again).

    Here's some piccies of the front cage trial installation on the cage feet mounting plates fitted:

    P1040719-.JPG

    P1040720-.JPG

    P1040721-.JPG

    ... and the engine now almost totally built-up - alternator fitted along with new belts, turbo fitted, and starting to figure out what fits where on the loom (will probably get a new loom made up though - I want to fit an O2 sensor and go wasted spark, so will need to make up extra bits for those anyway):

    P1040723-.JPG

    Also had a whole load of goodies arrive this week, in the form of my Hi-Spec brake kit (285x24 2-piece discs and 4 pots):

    P1040726-.JPG

    P1040728-.JPG

    P1040729-.JPG

    P1040731-.JPG

    P1040730-.JPG

    Finally, the guys who did the powder coating of my wheels also agreed to do the same finish to the cam cover, so here's the Cossie cam cover in gunmetal grey:

    P1040725-.JPG

    I'm planning on finishing the detailing myself to include the Ford badge in the proper blue and white colours and the 'DOHC' and 'Cosworth' letting in red.

    Not much more to go in terms of 'building' work - we're on with the bracketry for twin remote servos that we're mounting under the dash on the passenger side - my dad made up the mounts for our alloy battery tray in the boot (left hand wheel well) and a nice stainless steel plinth for the fuel pump and filters to fix to (in the right hand wheel well in place of the original side tank).

    Getting very close now to 'signing off' all the new bits and bobs and settling down to crack on with the bodywork, ready to paint the interior/underside ourselves in a month or so, refit the running gear and then get the painter to do all the exterior sometime in the new year!
    Last edited by MegatronUK; 22-11-2014 at 18:55.

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