Ford Escort MK1

[grahamjc]

Well the purchase has gone through and the car is going to be shipped in the next few weeks, so figured it was time to put up a bit of a teaser of my new project. Still waiting for a shipping date. Wanted one of these for quite some time now, along with a couple of others (hopefully more on these a little later)...........

Not sure what I am going to do with it, but it will be a fun little toy Will need a few mods to get it road legal over here, but has just gone through a bare metal restore and is currently running a Sierra 2.0l engine.

 

[Arkwright]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH! Lurverly. Tell all.

 

[grahamjc]

Will keep this thread updated with progress wont be as good as most of the other build threads on here, but it will have loads of pictures

 

[vipergts]

Good Work

I have one going through a nut and bolter right now

 

[Wyn]

Graham,
What are you going to do with the mk1 then?
Engine change ? Turbo or other ?
Need bigger pics as well please as too small to scrutinise on my pc

 

[Stockdale]

Blimey! These were the stock driving school cars of the early 70's ( I learned in one). Can't believe they are sought after. On reflection though pretty much anything which is now scarce is desirable. I found it very very basic and wouldn't have wanted to own one back then. A couple of friends at college at the time had Mexico's although they were eclipsed by VW Buggies, souped Mini's,souped Anglia's and Cortina's but most of all by TR6's and the odd (the best) Lotus Elans. But then insurance wasn't so expensive. Most were ultimately written off!!!!

I wonder that as more and more old Z's are modified/pimped then those that remain fairly original will appreciate in value rather more? Frankly I wouldn't want a V8, a 'pointy-nose' or a mega-tuned ultra lowered hyper-stiffened roll-caged, very-many carb'd wide wheeled variant

 

[grahamjc]

Good Work

I have one going through a nut and bolter right now

Awesome!! Whats on either side of the escort?

Graham,
What are you going to do with the mk1 then?
Engine change ? Turbo or other ?
Need bigger pics as well please as too small to scrutinise on my pc

Nothing spectacular right now, but brakes to start, wheels, fenders and interior

Blimey! These were the stock driving school cars of the early 70's ( I learned in one). Can't believe they are sought after. On reflection though pretty much anything which is now scarce is desirable. I found it very very basic and wouldn't have wanted to own one back then. A couple of friends at college at the time had Mexico's although they were eclipsed by VW Buggies, souped Mini's,souped Anglia's and Cortina's but most of all by TR6's and the odd (the best) Lotus Elans. But then insurance wasn't so expensive. Most were ultimately written off!!!!

I wonder that as more and more old Z's are modified/pimped then those that remain fairly original will appreciate in value rather more? Frankly I wouldn't want a V8, a 'pointy-nose' or a mega-tuned ultra lowered hyper-stiffened roll-caged, very-many carb'd wide wheeled variant

I have liked the look of them for ages, will see if I can live with a basic car

z is on the list as well..... its a long list

 

[z32bolt]

I love mk1s the cash is crazy though, my father in law scrapped so many of them years ago. Looks like you've got a 205 block pinto in there, similar block to the cosworth YB and essentially a slightly more upto date pinto that would have been found in RS2000s.

A popular cheap and ideal choice is the ford duratec block. Pintos are an expensive engine to get much reliable power from being an NA, and cosworth YBs are becoming progressively more expensive to buy.

 

[Wyn]

Cosworth YBs are becoming progressively more expensive to buy.

Tell me about it

Have recently purchased one but it came attached to the 3dr so wasn't so bad

Cossie in a mk1 has been done to death, but still a simple mod if you want big power for your money
As for the pinto if it was mine I would junk the injection and put twin carbs on it.

Sure Graham has his own power plans tho

 

[datsfun]

Cossie in a mk1 has been done to death, but still a simple mod if you want big power for your money

You are spot on Wyn...but you missed two important characteristics of the YB...reliability and very expensive. :lol:That's why the serious racers now have SR20 lumps in their scrotes

 

[z32bolt]

Tell me about it

Have recently purchased one but it came attached to the 3dr so wasn't so bad

Cossie in a mk1 has been done to death, but still a simple mod if you want big power for your money
As for the pinto if it was mine I would junk the injection and put twin carbs on it.

Sure Graham has his own power plans tho

Exactly that, with the raft of modern reliable and cheap 200 odd hp engines out there paying big bucks for a YB often makes no sense and as you say everybody's done it to death.

I had carbs on my old engine a pair of weber DCOE 40's whilst they looked and sounded good I'd never go that route again. There was a constant battle to keep the damn things in balance, which I accredit the end of that block to tbh, a single pair fine but banks of carbs is hassle, injection is more efficient, more precicise and really is a fit and forget part in the main. Yeah injection doesn't look so good or sound so good but neither does sitting at the side of the A35 with a blown engine

 

[vipergts]

A 66 Mustang fast back and a Mk2 RS2000 X Pack

 

[grahamjc]

I love mk1s the cash is crazy though, my father in law scrapped so many of them years ago. Looks like you've got a 205 block pinto in there, similar block to the cosworth YB and essentially a slightly more upto date pinto that would have been found in RS2000s.

A popular cheap and ideal choice is the ford duratec block. Pintos are an expensive engine to get much reliable power from being an NA, and cosworth YBs are becoming progressively more expensive to buy.

Unfortunately the pics are tiny, but thanks for the info. Well post up more info once it lands

Tell me about it

Have recently purchased one but it came attached to the 3dr so wasn't so bad

Cossie in a mk1 has been done to death, but still a simple mod if you want big power for your money
As for the pinto if it was mine I would junk the injection and put twin carbs on it.

Sure Graham has his own power plans tho

To start with, I wont be chasing power.... looks, drive and sound will be the goals!

Don't want to spend a fortune on engine or power mods, but will see how much I like the car and decide then.

Exactly that, with the raft of modern reliable and cheap 200 odd hp engines out there paying big bucks for a YB often makes no sense and as you say everybody's done it to death.

I had carbs on my old engine a pair of weber DCOE 40's whilst they looked and sounded good I'd never go that route again. There was a constant battle to keep the damn things in balance, which I accredit the end of that block to tbh, a single pair fine but banks of carbs is hassle, injection is more efficient, more precicise and really is a fit and forget part in the main. Yeah injection doesn't look so good or sound so good but neither does sitting at the side of the A35 with a blown engine

such a shame, but I would prefer to not be stuck on any road!

A 66 Mustang fast back and a Mk2 RS2000 X Pack

nice..... 66 fastback is on my list too

 

[grahamjc]

Well, been a while, so may as well update... had 2 cars land in the UK and both have cleared customs. The white one above and a blue escort mk1 the white was started last week and needs a few more things doing, then it will be up for sale. This will then fund the restore of the blue one and a few parts for my 350z.

Only got this of the 2:-

 

[grahamjc]

White one has a sapphire 2l engine (same as pinto)

The blue one has an incomplete 1600 crossflow engine, this will more than likely get dropped out and replaced by something else a little more special

 

[z32bolt]

That will be the same engine i had then the 205 block pinto, thicker walls etc better for a build.

As for new lumps in the blue one, what about a s2000 engine or the engine out a a focus ST, both are very doable and I believe parts are available through Burton power. Regardless Burton are extremly helpfull, if not a touch expensive.

 

[z32bolt]

Here's a few pics of my old ford for you.

 

[grahamjc]

Looks good, thanks... s2000 is being considered

 

[AliK]

Graham,

I had my S2K as a daily driver for three years. The engine made it an every day Playstation and it regularly saw the redline in first and second - such an addictive sound and gear change.

I had her from 4k miles to 65k miles and being driven like it was stolen on a daily basis not a SINGLE thing went wrong with it so you'll have no reliability issues.

The Mugen conversion saw a different airbox, manifold and exhausts which while it didn't add anything to the headline figures, brought much more welcomed torque spread to the lower end (being a relative concept in a 9000RPM engine) and made the transition to the vtech at 6k RPM smoother.

I don't know if you can get the Mugen kit anymore but worth considering something similar as it made the car more tractable and more TVR sounding!!



Ali K

 

[grahamjc]

Graham,

I had my S2K as a daily driver for three years. The engine made it an every day Playstation and it regularly saw the redline in first and second - such an addictive sound and gear change.

I had her from 4k miles to 65k miles and being driven like it was stolen on a daily basis not a SINGLE thing went wrong with it so you'll have no reliability issues.

The Mugen conversion saw a different airbox, manifold and exhausts which while it didn't add anything to the headline figures, brought much more welcomed torque spread to the lower end (being a relative concept in a 9000RPM engine) and made the transition to the vtech at 6k RPM smoother.

I don't know if you can get the Mugen kit anymore but worth considering something similar as it made the car more tractable and more TVR sounding!!



Ali K

Thanks, a friend has had one for 5 years now and his story is exactly the same.... issues with a few other things like the roof, but nothing wrong with engine or gearbox.