My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

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Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

After the RBMR we had quite alot of work to do. Sort all the brakes after the rear caliper was shagged and the master cylinders gave up the ghost! Then we had a massive crack in the chassis and the diff craddle mounting point had come away from the floor. Mr Retro Motorsport Gary worked his magic and welded up the cracks and put in some strengthening bars from the floor to the cage!

Then because we have had to lower the steering rack we were using spacers to get the geo correct but then on rough events we were bending the steering arm part of the hub, so again Gary has worked his magic and made up some very trick look arms that fit were the spacers were and bolt to the shock mount! So no lifting off for jumps anymore!!!!

Off to the Woodpecker on Friday which uses Ludlow Racecourse for service! Really looking forward to getting back on the loose! Fitted soem longer springs to the front of the car to get more travel so hopefully will ride the bumps better! Have bought a new camera which will record in HD and record the navi speech! So hopefully we wont be rowing and im not shouting more info and i do not want to sat your lost in the notes!! hahaha

Once again it will be myself and dad and my pal John Taylor in his mk2 and our other pal Richard Warne in his Zetec powere mk4 escort RWD ery similiar to our old black car!

[cossie matt]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Good luck Ashley and Tudor Hope you have a great rally.

Did you get your DVD? No wonder your poor car needed some TLC, it was never straight LOL

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Yeah i know! He bloody caught my spin aswel! haha We were always sideways cause id put some ebay specials on the back on 15s which were quite hard but loads of fun!! If i work out how to rip it off DVD like Jon Segger can ill up load them!!

Cheers

[JonSegger]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

If i work out how to rip it off DVD like Jon Segger can ill up load them!!

Cheers

I used a trial version of 'Plato DVD Ripper Professional'. It's a bit confusing to use, but sort of does the job.

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Quick update ill do a full write up when im in at work tomorrow the misses is here so cant be too long jsut gonna upload some pics!

Great Rally the best stages were the ones in Radnor Forest which are the only two over the border into Wales! Last stage we were pushing on and dad was doing well on the notes so it was 1left over jump so i kept it on and we got alot of air and landed in the middle of the road but hit a rock or rocks in the middle which hit the diff guard and the link bar bending that and twisting the diff craddle so had to back off for the 2nd half of the stage and lost 45 to 50 seconds which dropped us about 20 places. Got to the end of the stage and back to final control another forest finish!!

Heres some pics of the damaged diff guard and where the craddle has slightly come away for the diff so oil was leaking out and the bent rear arm with a combination of these things we had some vibration at about 55 to 60 so had to keep under that the 2nd half of the stage!
Oh and we got quite dusty in the car! The boot doesnt seal at all fibreglass sh*t haha











More tomorrow!

[360phil]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Looks like you needed dust masks in there - that can't have been pleasant?

Great result to get to the finish.

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Right ok so after Garys mods and improvements to the car i was nice and happy to go well on the Woodpecker stages based at Ludlow race course.

So we head down Friday afternoon not a good trip for dad with the car and trailer having two wheel studs break on chewing up the brakes in one of the drums, at this point i was still at work and i was heading down just after him with my girlfriend. Always the way when you have a problem you will be own! So dad got that sorted after some police were telling him you could have pulled up into a car park and off the road but he said i fixing it so bugger off and leave me to it!

So we met up at Oxford services and i jumped in the van to navigate cause there are no motorways so could be quite tricky map reading on your own! We had plenty of traffic on the way and in total took dad 6 hours to get to the race course. So got there straight through scrutineering with the usual different comments for the scrutineer they all have their different things they like to comment on!

Good nights feed and drinks at a local pub down the road from our B&B that has changed since 1970 which was in the middle of nowhere down a single track stage like on the isle of man!

John Taylor was with us again out in his mk2 but he was nervous in the morning saying he had had a dream that he was gonna go off and we would pass him in the stage, so that made me bloody nervous now and i dont get nervous! So i just wanted to get on with it now!
Speaking to some other drivers and navigators they said stage1 is very slippy and like driving on marbles so take care! I thought that only mattered for the 1st few cars though! We had a half hour delay someone was off in SS1!

Got to the stage fine helmets on 3 2 1 Go i felt fine now first corner loads of under steer on the handbrake then the next few corners were the same so yes it was still very very slippy then dad was lost on the notes and we went to quick into a corner and left the road and all we could see was sky and we were tipping so i floored it and came back on the road you could see plenty of other cars had done the same as us, so took it abit easier then we passed 3 or 4 cars on their roofs or off the road and a burnt out EVO6 and Andy Burtons 306 Cosworth parked up! End of stage with relief!

SS2 was better bit longer and more flowing dad still hadnt got to grip with the notes so i was driving as we saw it and then he was telling me how to driver rather than concentrating on the notes, so i said get on with the notes that's your job dont worry about me! So we had a chat at the end of that stage and hopefully would be better in the next stage!

SS3 guess what Dad was spot on with every note because he was just doing that reading the notes and listening to me saying yes ok next! So i said thats how we will work from now on! Had a good stage up to about 55th overall and 3rd in class by 1 service! Seeing some you tube footage John Taylor had gone out maximum attack and was pushing from SS1 and got a bollocking from his usual navigator Lindsey Watson! SO if she is saying slow down he was on it!!

Seems that Glyn Jarman and Stanley Graham had either gone off on SS3 or their centre diff had given up unlucky lads!

On the road section we caught John and he said he had lost 3rd 4th and 5th gear so i did offer to help him look for them but he said he thinks they are back in the lorry so we will throw them back in at service!! So John drone at 5000rpm all the way back to service! He had asked about in the service area for another box but no one had a spare and we didnt really have time to change in our 30min service so he decided to carry on to get a finish and collect BTRDA points this meant he would be driving most of the stage in 2nd gear at 9000rpm.

We both then heading to the next stages which i think were the two Welsh ones on Radnor which were by far the best on the rally and were open fast and smoother! John got through the first one but then at a tight hairpin left there he was off the road bonnet up steam rising out from under the bonnet, so we were gutted but carried on. This next stretch of the stage was long up hill 1 lefts and 1 rights so i kept my foot in and we were flat out in 5th on the rev limiter glanced at the teratrip and were doing 90mph with another gear so grabbed 6th and then i saw it at 96mph before i lifted and came down a couple of gears as we went back into the trees we were still motoring car went light and we were dancing across the track semi under control lol!! End of stage and dad said f**king hell and it was a shame that John Boy was out!!

Back to final service stopped for Fuel and everyone in the petrol station were taking there time and talking about the bloody weather so i had to say come on ive got a rally to get on with and there i am in white overalls cover in dust my face filthy so one guy let me go in front of him paid and we were on our way cutting it very close for time now! in to service and checked in bang on our minute had to toot our horn to get round plenty of cars early for their check in! Panic over!

My uncle and cousin were now heading out to collect John and Lindsey so we took a tyre and some gearbox oil to put in Richard Warnes chase car piloted by Ian Barnard and navigated by his boy Will who did a great job of looking after Richard and there just incase we needed him! Shit hot mechanic great guy to have on a rally!!

Last two stages were very rough got through the first one ok no dramas dad was good on the notes, but then the last stage was a reverse on the mornings SS2 in Haye Park. There were sections of the stage with massive rocks so had to drive sensibly through those bits! Dad called a 1left over jump so kept it one 4th gear and we got some big air and landed nicely in the middle of the track but the diff guard bottomed out on a rock or rocks and bent a rear arm and twisted the diff cradle allowing oil to leak past the gasket so backed off and drove the rest of the stage with hazards on under 55mph because if we went over that we had a vibration! got to the end of the stage losing about 55 seconds comparing to other cars that we were quicker than on previous stages!

But we FINISHED!!! Back to Ludlow and Lindsey was there with some results and said he had 2nd in class and 56th Overall so one of the other escorts ahead must have gone off or had a problem! Then Howard Davies, Gyndaff Evans ex navigator interviewed my dad for Ralio a welsh rally TV programme on S4C should be on sky on Thursday night hahahahaha!!

Richard Warne got to the finish 7th in class 80th overall and was over the moon! Great Effort Rich!

[Retromotorsport]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Great effort and a result ... shame about teh 55 seconds ..

So is the damage just to the diff housing? no cracks in the chassis and did the front steering arms stay straight?

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Everything at the front is sweet! There is a crack now around the front diff mount because the impact has tugged it down a nats cock and there is a slight crack round it!! Now the o/s has a crack not to bad tho! The diff craddle is slightly twisted when can you ifr it in for some repairs? Ill leave it in place for the minute so the car is still moveable!

Oh and two teeth have got chips out of them on the crown wheel! Good job we have a 909 motorsport 5.1 in stock!!

[MR tee]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Looks like your finally getting the hang of this rallying lark!

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

It will all come together with no mistakes and the navigator being spot on from the start of SS1 just the car gets ruled out by the MSA at the nd of next year! Cheers

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Dropped the new donar diff and new 5.1 CWP to Quaife last night they all loved by baby blue mk2 escort!! Been sent a few action photos!

[BDA_IT]

Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

Check out the Woodpecker Footage on Welsh channel 4 we are on it! lol Go to 15mins 30 secs

http://www.s4c.co.uk//clic/e_level2.shtml?series_id=411229392

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Re: My MK6 Escort RWD Rally Car

1st Round of BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross at Lydden Hill 24th of March.

So the car was in one piece and gearbox sorted by Quaife to stop it leaking so i thought I’d see if i could get a last minute entry for the Rallycross on the Saturday so called up Thursday evening and managed to get one!

Arrived at fog filled Lydden Hill went and paid for the entry and signed on, the only thing that the scrutineer wasn’t happy with was that i didn’t have a window net, so we used the helmet net to get me through the days racing.

Went out for practise which was extremely slippy and i was on some ebay special new rally tarmac tyres which were far to hard for rallycross and the conditions! So i was fully sideways going down the start finish straight, the loose was even more slippy but alot more smoother than it has been thanks to the Lydden team working on it! As i made my way up Hairy Hill the car was fluffing with fuel starvation and the fuel pressure light flashed but as i went down the hill it was ok so i just got my 3 laps done including a joker lap which is a different route on the first corner to make the racing abit more exciting which every driver has to take once in each race. I checked how much fuel i had in the car and not alot was the answer so we topped it up with motion lotion and got ready for my first heat where i was placed on pole.

After doing 3 big burn outs up to the line to get some heat in the tyres we all formed up and we were away, every car went past me as i was there wheel spinning waiting for traction, as we all went up the top of hairy hill i was side by side with one of the minis and tucked in behind the other mini. The mini in front went up the inside of the leading cars and i followed him through now going into paddock onto the loose alongside the other mini now my front wheel touches his wing and i power past looking out the passenger window and hoping not to hit again now it was really close racing and i was about 3rd so to avoid the traffic i took my joker and let the battle carry on in front. I then caught the leading cars up before they took their joker laps so as they did i was now in 2nd place and chasing down Rick May in his 205 MI16 managed to get on his bumper going down Hairy Hill and he left the door open going onto the loose so i stuck the escort alongside him once again sideways in the 1st place at the chequered flag for my first heat win! After the race spoke with Rick and he had forgotten to take his joker so i would have won even without overtaking him

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On a massive high i then got the boys to change the rear tyres to some other ebay part worn tarmac tyres which i hoped would be a bit better off the line, so after two burn outs they felt better so though happy days. I was now on the outside of the front row nearest the entrance for the joker so i planned to do that on my first lap, trouble was that everyone else had the same idea so off the line the white BMW hit Vince in his black BMW which turned me into the front of the white BMW and clipped him but i didn’t lift and managed to get down the joker in the front of Vince and knew i had to keep him behind as he was my main competition! We had a cracking close race and when the others did there joker i was once again leading the race for two laps and Vince even tried going past on two wheels but stayed in the lead winning heat two Dad and Franco couldn’t believe it!!

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3rd and final heat is where it all went wrong, off the line the car fluffed again then picked up and i was 3rd on the loose challenging for the lead exiting the elbow going up Hairy Hill but then the car lost power and then pulled away then the car was on song again and this happened on all 3 laps so dropped to 4th i was very disappointed i just assumed that the car had run low on juice again as the tank didn’t like it when it went up the steep Hairy Hill so i just topped it up with fuel for the final and hoped it would be ok!

Qualified 3rd for the A final out of the 12 cars so put me on the outside of the front row which was the best position to get the joker out the way and hopefully be in the top 3 at the end of the 4 laps! Had a really good start and took the joker and was mid field then as i exited the Elbow the car fluffed again and the mini went past me and the car played up for two laps then of the 3rd lap was back to normal and on full song so i went for it giving it maximum everything and trying my hardest to catch the mini for 5th place but he had just enough lead to stay in front i was so angry in the car and gutted to think what could have been! But we all know that’s motorsport for you! After a few beers in the pub on the way home we looked back on the mornings racing and i was back on a high.

Thanks to Dad and Franco for their help on the day!