My little project **Updated 01/12/10**

[massivewangers]

Right, as this place is as dead as doornail at the moment, with only Daz doing anything seemingly, I thought I'd put my project car on here.

Before you all get your hopes up; it isn't an RS. Most of you will know my penchant for random Fords, and I'd always call myself a Ford enthusiast rather than an RS enthusiast, but I thought I'd show you what I'm going to be getting up to over the next few months. This is going to seem a bit patchwork possibly, but I'm putting it together from a couple of other threads, so bare with me whilst I get myself together.

I'll also bore you with a bit of an essay about it, as there isn't much else new to read on here  

Anyway, moving swiftly on. Sadly (very sadly actually) I had to move my 850 T-5 on in January. I was very disappointed to have to sell it so quickly, as it was an epic car, hugely comfortable, massive inside, but with subtle aggressive looks and performance that really surprised people. But, due to Student Finance England being complete mongtards, I haven't had a student support payment since before Christmas, and finding a job at the moment is proving impossible with all the doom and gloom so I sold it for some cheaper transport.

Step in my love of random booted Escorts, and I picked up this 64k Escort Equipe for £550 from a lovely little old lady in Gloucestershire. Generally very clean and tidy and in a nice shade of Pacifica Blue, it seemed up to the job of ferrying me about on the cheap, and had potential.











Now, most of you will be wondering why I settled for a pretty poverty spec Escort with the wankest of wank CVHs under the bonnet, so it's time for a little history lesson. My first car was exactly the same as this, so I've always been attached to this type of Escort, and then before I moved to Stafford, I also had another for a few months. I also had a lot of parts to upgrade that car, including a 2.0 black top Zetec from a Focus, forged pistons, steel rods, T34 etc etc. But, trying to be sensible before coming to uni, I sold it all off, including the car (which was written off a couple of months later). In the end, I bought a MK6 with a 2.0 conversion, which I chucked loads of money at, and found myself wishing I'd just kept the blue Escort and gone ahead and finished it.

Since being here, I'd always kept half an eye out for another blue Equipe, but they aren't ever so common in this shade. I actually won one on ebay last year, but it didn't meet it's reserve. I contacted the seller, agreed to pay the full price, but he gave me two days to collect it, in the middle of the week and it was about 200 miles away. Prick.

So, after having to sell the T-5, I'd been looking at cheap Escorts and things to tide me over, but when this came up, I couldn't say no. It's the cleanest of all the Equipe's I've had so seemed a good basis. Obviously it was pretty mediocre to drive; slow and highly unexciting, but I put up with it as it was cheap to run and insure, so did the job for a while.

Just to continue the history, here's a couple of snaps of the old ones...

First car:



The last one before moving to Staffs:



So, with the new one in my posession, it became my daily runner, clocking up a couple of thousand miles. With continuing retardness from the people in charge of Student Finance, it was a good job, as the T-5 would have killed me. The Escort did it's job until the MOT expired in April, and it was discovered it was going to need some work on the sills to pass it's test. Given my position, I couldn't really get it sorted initially, so the car has sat idle until recently.

So then it became more of a project (or should that read ornament?) than a car, and work was to be done...

[massivewangers]

I had a very set picture in mind of where I wanted to take the car from a styling point of view, so I have been collecting parts on and off for a few months. I very much want to stick with factory looks, just picking my favourite bits from various cars in the Escort range, and adapting from other Fords where needed. It will mainly look quite factory orientated though, retaining amber indicators and things which should keep Mr Jaye happy!

The list of parts for the body work so far stands at these...

RS2000 bulge bonnet. I picked this up for peanuts, but I may well be swapping it for a blue one in the next couple of weeks. Although the RS2000 was a slightly different shade of Pacifica Blue to my car, the underside finish means they look virtually identical, so I can just get away with having the top side matched to the car by a mate, which will save some dosh.



Escort Cosworth grill. I paid peanuts for this again as it had a couple of broken clips on it. They were soon repaired with a spare grill I had floating about, and now it's just fine. Even got the mesh insert with it too:



I also picked up a set of RS/XR headlamps, and an RS2000 front bumper (I may try and get a better condition one though, as this one isn't perfect)





I also found myself some electric/heated mirrors from an RS2000 as well. Decided to stick with the MK5 type mirror, as I think it will suit the early 90s look I'm going for.



This is the most recent addition to the body work pile, an RS accessory rear skirt. This was always going to be one of the hardest parts to find, as it isn't ever so common these days. Weirdly, I've actually owned this very bumper before. Some of you may remember a certain Imperial Blue Orion owned by Craig a few years ago. Anyway, I later bought the car from the lad he sold it to. When I got it, it was in a really bad way, so I just broke it up and sold the body kit to a lad on the Orion forum. He stuck it in his garage and never used it. So when he decided to sell, I snapped the rear bumper up, as it was something I really wanted. It's currently all wrapped up for safe keeping, but here's a picture of it on Craig's old car:



I'm still missing a few bits on the body work front. I want to get a set of MK5 RS2000 side skirts, and I'm also still deciding what type of boot spoiler to fit. I'm leaning towards using a Saph Cosworth one at the moment, so will try and pick one of those up some time.

Other than that. I want to try and get a new bootlid, as the one on the car is from a MK6 saloon so has the badge recess. I want a proper Orion one with the black number plate surround (as pictured on Craig's car above) as I think that will suit the period styling.

The only other dilemma is a front splitter. I don't think the RS2000 bumper is deep enough on it's own, and the standard little rubber corner splitters don't do much for it. I have an Espace one to fit as a temporary measure, but I want an RS500 style one really. Sadly, there has only been three of those ever made, and they all have happy owners, so I'm not quite sure how I'm going to beat that issue at the moment!

There may also be a few carbon fibre details going on as well, just to make it a bit different to your usual onion.

To be continued...

[massivewangers]

Next up for consideration, is the interior of the car. Not much has happened here so far, but the plan is much like the outside; to keep it all very factory-esque, picking bits from the Ford range to tart it all up.

Basics first, upgrade where possible, so I have electric window regulators to go in, Ghia interior light, electric sunroof and bits like that to bring it up to Ghia spec.

The main change is going to be the move to a MK6 style interior. Being a very late MK5 means it shares it's floor pan with a MK6 Escort. I think I'll be going for a set of Recaro front seats from a MK6 RS2000. There's a few reasons for this choice; such as the bolt-in fitment (unlike Cosworth or MK5 seats), they have a better trim pattern than the MK5 alternative, they're relatively cheap, supportive, and another key advantage is that some early MK6 Escort SIs came with the same trim pattern, meaning you can get a door card to fit a four door with matching trim to the Recaro seats. Rear seats will be from an RS/SI, but with headrests fitted. The change to MK6 seats will also mean a change to a MK6 carpet, but I've got one of those ready. Swapping to MK6 door cards is a simple task, and I've sourced most of the parts for that, so I just need to get the new seats and door trims when a reasonably priced set arise, as breakers seem to charge a lot for the seats whilst ebay will occassionally wield a cheap set.

Other interior changes will be pretty basic; a MK6 RS2000 steering wheel, rev counter dials, new gearknob etc etc.I'll be keeping the MK5 dash and centre console as I much prefer it. I had initially thought of fitting the 170mph clocks from a Cosworth, but at something like £200 a set, they can jog on. I'd also like to fit the Cosworth centre console with arm rest, but that's a case of finding a cheap one and then all the work to get it to fit the FWD tunnel.

Some of the parts I've gathered are below...

Window regulators:



Brushed alloy look door handles from a Puma:



Few of the MK6 trim bits:



To be continued some more...

[massivewangers]

Next up, we shall move on to some of the oily bits, which is where the important stuff lies.

As a short term suspension solution, I bought a set of Gmax shocks and springs. Amazingly, I paid £40 for all four and got a few engine bits thrown in for good measure. I sold an injector rail that I got for £20, and then when I looked at the suspension and found one of the shocks is a little worn (still useable), the guy I bought it from gave me a refund and told me to keep it all. That's the kind of deal we like! It may not be great quality, but it was free, so who can complain at that for a starting point.



Outside that, there will be further suspension upgrades. The front lower arms, which are notoriously poo on MK5/6 Escorts, will be thrown away, and I'll be making up some adjustable items with spherical bearings instead of rubber bushes. I'll also knock up a front strut brace at some point too.

Rear end-wise, at the very least I'll swap to a modified MK6 rear beam (stiffer than the MK5 one), or go even further, but that's something to explain about later.

Braking wise, I won't be going for the common RS2000 set up as the MK5 beam isn't as good as I said above. It will either be rear disks from a Focus, or something different entirely if more drastic suspension changes happen at the rear.

For the front the plan is to use 325mm Focus RS disks with Brembo four pots. Missed a set of four pots for £50 quid last week, gutted!

I also picked these up very cheap as well. Not to everyone's taste, but they were cheap and came with three new tyres. They'll be painted a subtle silver and fitted to get the car rolling, and some more motorsport inspired rims will follow later:



To be continued...

[massivewangers]

Onto updates with the car itself. Well, not much has happened to it so far. Outside, it remains as I bought it, except the faded chrome insearts in the bumpers and trim became black:



It also spent a morning up on axle stands at one point:



So these could be fitted:



The tow bar was also removed:





Another thing I wanted to do, was improve refinement a little. A starting point to this, is to replace all the rubber seals with the improved versions from the MK6, so to start I fitted these on the leading edge of the rear doors:



I have got the others to go on at some point, and I think I'll fit some extra sound deadening in the doors and things to help reduce road noise and the like.

[massivewangers]

Minor changes have occured inside so far.

I fitted my trusty Alpine CD/MP3 Tuner to find that it's bloody broken! Just out of warranty, but only had six months use. Not pleased  



I've also got some 6.5" Components mounted in the front doors, with some tweeters mounted in custom A-pillar trims. These need refinishing, but the driver's one will see some further modifications first:



I'm not sure where to go with the audio quite yet. In an old car, I had the components powered by a four channel amp that was also running a 12" sub in the boot. I'm not sure whether to keep with that set up, or ditch the sub and mount some more speakers in the rear shelf and use the amp to power those instead. That would get rid of the sub box, from the boot, but I wonder if I'd miss it.

[massivewangers]

You'll notice so far that not too much has actually happened to the car itself. As it was a daily runner, it was more just a parts buying exercise initially, so I just left it be, but now it's been sitting idle for a while, I'm keen to make some progress, so Saturday after the F1 qualifying, I started to remove some bits ready for the work to begin on the sill issues.

So the seats came out:





Then the centre console, carpet, kick panels, side trims and a couple of other bits:



This is how it looked when I first got to it:







Then after some poking, sealant removing and wire brushing:









The floorpan is mostly intact which surprised me. I may replace some of it though, as it does have rust in it, and I don't want to have to redo it again later. I've got a new sill skin, so with any luck, the grinder will be fired up tomorrow, and the sill will be coming off to see how bad it is underneath. Then repair sections will be made up and the new skin fitted.

This is the passenger side which is no where near as bad:



I was annoyed to find these issues to be honest, as the car is generally very very clean. The boot floor and rear chassis rails are immaculate, and the arches aren't bad at all. The arches will be sorted soon, and the boot floor etc will be taken care of and sealed to protect it all in future.

[massivewangers]

Right, last bit for now 

The plan is to get the sills done this week (maybe spilling into next if need be) and then get the car in for an MOT as soon as possible just to ensure all is well.

Then I'd like to press on with the rest of the body work, get the arches sorted, and get all the underneath cleaned up and sealed. I don't want to be battling rust endlessly in the future so want it as clean as I can reasonably get it. It is very good generally, but due to some retard jacking it up badly in the past, the sills have taken a beating and rotted out a bit. All will be sorted there though.

With an MOT on, I'd like the body sorted by September time at the latest, so if need be, I can press the car into service if the worst comes to the worst (which it seems to regularly lately). Then with that done, I can be progressing with chassis modifications as well.

The latest bits to arrive are courtesy of my lovely lady, and are hiding in the boxes below:



You'll notice I've not yet mentioned any engine plans. This is down to the fact that I haven't quite decided the direction in which I'll be going. There are a number of options out there. The simple option is to replace the current engine with a turbocharged CVH, which is probably the best option in terms of bang-for-buck, and I can source most of the parts pretty cheap. My preferred route would be a bit more serious than that, but nothing is set in stone as yet, and I'm happy to pile on with the body work and interior and make a definate decision later in the year, once I've done a bit more research on the topic.

I'm sure this won't be to everyone's taste, and many will say that I'm wasting my money and should buy an RS Turbo or something instead, but I like to do things a bit differently, and I think this should have something a bit extra over your average RS Turbo when it's done 

[RST-Steve]

This is all shaping up nicely Jon, be interesting to see it all as it comes together!

It will mainly look quite factory orientated though, retaining amber indicators and things which should keep Mr Jaye happy!

That what i like to hear

[Emblem]

Looks good John

Btw i do love a good read, so your threads are always good.

Lookin forward to the updates

[massivewangers]

Right, update time!

Nothing too dramatic, and not too many pictures so far, but just something I was filling the weekend with and while I wait for pay day 

As seen above, I've got some gauges for the car, so needed a position to mount them in. I didn't want to use the centre vents as I wanted to keep them all functional, and didn't want them down really low near the stereo either, so the A-pillar seemed the logical choice.

This should be simple in theory, as I'm sure you can buy an A-pillar trim for mounting gauges in, but as you can see in my previous posts, my A-pillar trims are already customised for fitting tweeters. I didn't really want to lose this feature, as I think it's quite neat, so I had to work around it. When I got the gauges, I also got a mounting pod for them as the basis. I didn't shop around particularly, just picked a random cheap one as I thought I was going to end up modifying it anyway.

So, as my car is in bits a bit, I fitted the trim with the tweeter in to my MK6 which made it a bit easier to work in and I could work out where to line everything up. Due to the tweeter position, I am a bit compromised on where I can mount the gauges. They would usually be lower down the pillar, but I got them as low as I could, and it shouldn't be a problem.

The first step was to offer it up and see how close it was. The answer was not very  :lol: The pod I started with had quite an angular look to it, and the pillar trim is quite rounded, but never mind. I trimmed some of the edges off first so I could get it as flush as possible and mounted as close to the tweeter mount as I could get away with. With it roughly lined up, I then used a couple of self tappers and screwed it to the pillar trim so it was lined up and secure.

With that done, I now needed to secure it properly. I didn't fancy just risking the fibreglass/filler holding it in place, I wanted them mounted as solidly as possible to minimise the risk of cracking and things. So, I fired up the soldering iron, and melted them together  This may sound messy (and it looked it too), but it did mean they were effectively the same piece of plastic, rather than just being stuck together. With them firmly together, I could then trim off the excess plastic from the pod unit, just leaving the two gauge mountings and none of the base. The screws could then be removed too. With that done, I then put it back in the car to check all was well.

Few pictures of the test fit. I know it looks untidy and the plastic 'weld' is a bit messy, but I was more worried about ensuring solidarity as opposed to neatness, as it would need to be fibreglassed and filled anyway:









As you can see; there is some over-hang, but this was unavoidable. Although I could of altered the angle of the pods, it would have compromised their visability somewhat, and that's obviously the key aspect! With the test fit done; I could then get on with trying to get it all neat. The crappy bits of plastic from the melting process were sanded back, and then I started to build the joints up with fibreglass and get some proper shape to it. I haven't got any photos of that particularly, as I was just doing it on and off throughout yesterday.

With it left over last night to go off, I started to sand it all back today to start to get the shape. It took some time and fiddling, but it's now starting to become a half reasonable shape. Late this afternoon I just gave it a very quick blow over with some high build primer, just so it was all one colour and I could get an idea of the overall shape of it. It isn't very neat so far of course, as it's in the very very early stages, but the rough shape isn't a million miles out.

Few snaps:







Obviously there are still a few holes and things  :lol: But this was just a very early guide coat to see what the shape was like and where it needs to go overall, rather than worrying about small details. Where the overlap has occured, I'm going to shape it a little more so it blends back into the trim again, but I haven't worried too much about that at this early stage.

Next step is to continue shaping where they blend into the trim to get a smooth curve, and then shape the overlap sections so it looks a bit more neat. Once the shape is there; I'll cut out behind the pods to allow good access for mounting the gauges. Then I just need to find some paint to try and get a vague match for the interior plastics!

This pod will house the oil pressure and temperature gauges, with the boost and ACT gauges going on top of the steering column, but I haven't started to worry about that pod yet 

[massivewangers]

**Updated 11th August 2010**

Ford Fair has got me all enthused for this again, so I've been living on ebay since Sunday  But, in between that, I've sorted a few other little things out. Popped to Ford and got the necessary bits so I can install the electric window motors. £20 just for 8 little bits was a bit strong, but there we go, needs must! Going to fit those tomorrow if the weather is ok.

I'm hopefully going to see a guy with a blue RS2000 bonnet on Saturday, so if it's decent, I'll be picking that up and fitting it. It will be slightly the wrong shade, but I can get it on, get it lined up and it can be painted on the car so it can be blended in properly. That means the white one in the shed can be sold and clear some space!

Anyway, if I'm going to be fitting a MK5a bonnet, I thought I should make a start on sorting a grill out. I bought a genuine Escort Cosworth grill a few months ago off ebay very cheap as it had a couple of clips missing. I had an RS2000 grill floating about, so that sacrificed a couple of parts and the Cosworth grill was repaired. It had been painted red at some point rather badly, so the first job after the repair was to remove all the nasty red paint.

So from this:



To this:



Then a quick spray of primer to see what's good and what's not so good:



I've given it a quick flat back since then and another coat of primer. It isn't too bad so should be ready for paint soon. Got a can on order from Ford (the joys of Pacifica Blue) so will give it a quick paint so it still looks half decent. Can't stand cars with bits in primer!

Going to get the electric mirrors sorted as well, so they're on and working. They also need a lick of paint so will try and do that. One needs a new glass too so will try and pick one up sometime.

I've also got an update to come on the steering wheel side of things fairly soon, should look tasty 

Outside that, I've just been trying to get an engine plan in place really. That's going to hurt the wallet big time, but hey ho, be worth it in the end   

[bil n kel]

i've got an escort cosworth fibreglass bonnet in my garage if your interested also an xr3i 130bhp zetec with loom and ecu

[massivewangers]

Does the bonnet have vents mate? Be interested to see that!

Engine-wise I think I'm going 2.0, but thanks anyway 

[bil n kel]

yes the bonnet has vents they are moulded in
i get you a pic tomorrow

[massivewangers]

Cheers mate 

[massivewangers]

**Updated 12th August 2010**

Another update. Not ever so big, but it's progress! It's these fiddly little bits that take the time, but need doing! After spending £20 at Ford just for 8 little bits of trim, I decided to get on and fit the electric window motors I had for the car. The great thing about the Equipe is that it has a high spec door loom fitted as standard, so electric windows and mirrors are plug and play. Saves some hassle!

First off, remove the door card and all that business:



Which means you can get this out:



Then, fire up the drill and remove the seven rivets that hold the regulator in position. It also helps if your drill bits aren't blunt, which mine were. Fail. But, then you can get this out:



Then grab your electric replacement:



You'll also need some new ones of these (£15 just for these  ):



Screwed into place:



Then the motor riveted into position:



Once that was done, it was just a case of refitting the glass, popping a fuse in, plugging the switch and and hey presto!

Also did the passenger side (obviously):



I also fitted on of these to each door:



They're needed for the new door cards, as my car doesn't have them, due to having low-spec door pockets.

Not bothered to refit the door cards as I didn't really see the point. There's more work to be done to the inside of the doors yet and as MK6 cards are going on anyway, I thought I'd just leave them off for now.

Grill has also had a bit more work, but no pictures of that yet. Hopefully be ready for paint by tomorrow anyway.

[massivewangers]

**Update 16th August 2010**

Another update! Exciting stuff this isn't it   Well, whilst down at Lauren's over the weekend, I purged her GTI of a few more bits that I needed. I'll add pictures of those in time, but I now have most of the MK6 bits I need for the interior, just need a few of the weather seals, but I have the carpet and a few other bits and pieces for when the interior starts to go back together.

I also met up with a chap from the RS2000-16v forum who had a spare bonnet in blue. I bought it cheap, as it does need a bit of work doing to it, but I can get away with just having the top side blown over, unlike needing a complete repaint like the white one did. So, this afternoon, I ditched the MK5b bonnet, and test fitted the replacement. It needs a little more lining up, but it will most likely have to come off again anyway, so it's no big deal.

Couple of pics:





Just need to find someone who can deal with the areas that need attention, but that can be done in time.

The Cosworth grill is hopefully in it's final primer coat and, with any luck, might see some paint tomorrow, so I'll fit that when it's done, though I need to get hold of a new badge for it too really. Also want to start on sorting the headlamps out too, but that will require some wiring modifications to get them to work correctly!

More to follow tomorrow hopefully

[RST-Steve]

This is coming together rather well

[Fireball]

Looks really tidy mate, must be real fun upgrading her piece by piece

[massivewangers]

Yeah, gonna take a while to get it all there. Just so many little bits and pieces need upgrading, but it's all worth it in the end.

Anyway...

**Updated 16th August 2010 AGAIN!!!!!**

Two updates in one day!!!!!

I haven't got any new bits as yet, but I've been sent these so I had to post them. I shall be collecting my freshly retrimmed MK6 RS2000 steering wheel tomorrow evening and here's a few sneak preview pics!

From this:









To this:







Really pleased with that 

[Fireball]

next question - who retrimmed it, and was it dear to do? I've got a Mk6 GTI wheel (4 spoke design) i really love, and that'd be awesome to get it retrimmed on day. That's looks the nuts, good work!

[massivewangers]

It cost £70 to have it done. I got it done through a guy on another forum who works for a very reputable company, so the work is top notch as you would imagine  

[cozmeister]

Would he mind doing another...?

[massivewangers]

Send me some pics of the wheel in question Chris, and the type of finish you'd like (standard or non-standard) and I'll ask him about having it done