Kevin Mk2

Ah, thank you, hadn't thought of that approach.. sounds like a plan. Cheers! Kevin

NVM chaps, got it sorted. Special ebay edition strut tops in the post.

Car is on axle stands, with engine in situ, gearbox and flywheel are out. It looks like if I remove the steering rack I might have enough room between the crank and the sub frame to slide the sump out towards the rear of the car. Anyone done this before? I don't have access to an engine hoist at the moment, unfortunately. I started out to change the clutch, but it looks like both the sump and rear crank oil seal are leaking a fair bit (Bell housing is filthy), so I thought I might as well swap those while I'm at it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions

^Nice job, looks the nuts.

With the standard rubber bushed type, should the top nut be tightened down fully, or left loose enough for the strut to turn freely? The reason I ask is I've been fitting some -1" springs and I noticed the top nuts seem to have been tightened down fully, and it just doesn't seem right to me. It would certainly explain why the steering was so bloody heavy, and the car has always pulled to the left. Another question, anyone got a standard late model strut top in reasonable nick they might consider selling? One of mine was seized completely solid to the stanchion, so I had to butcher it and apply some flame to get the bastard thing off.

I did drive my Van a bit (although not a lot) between selling the BMW and getting the Mitsubishi road legal. Not something I'd like to make a habit of mind you. By my reckoning, the final drive on my van is approx 4:1, four speed box, running on 175/50/13s. I really want to sort that out at some point. (Which I assume involves swapping out diff internals?)

I google it and came up with this http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ykt

An honest white van man?

Looks very tidy, health to enjoy!

I think I'll save for a bit longer and get someone local to put together a stainless system for me. I am gonna order a few small bits and bobs from Burton though.. hopefully things will go smoothly. Thanks chaps.

There was a doris selling a pair of old trainers on there a while ago, (don't ask me why) and she picked up a couple of troll bidders. In the end she ha to remove the listing, as the bidding had reached several hundred pounds. There are some real arseholes on ebay nowadays..

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I was just sitting putting together a shopping basket on burton's when I thought I'd research them a bit and I arrived here.. Not so sure about buying from there now. Do you guys know of any good online shops that sell aftermarket bits? I'm in the market for an exhaust and manifold, but the only brand Burton have within my price range is Ashley.. Not so sure about them, I know you get what you pay for with this kind of thing, but I've read about people buying manifolds that don't even fit? Not much use if it doesn't even fit ffs.

Sounds not unlike the motor from yer typical 1 litre sports bike.

Best wishes to the wee angel and her parents.

I renewed my policy with Footman James a couple of days ago and while I was on the phone the guy told me that they wouldn't be taking on any new policies in Northern Ireland, it will be renewals only from now on. Bit of a kick in the teeth TBH, there are few enough companies offering cover here at a reasonable price.

Thanks chaps. Yep, it was just me being thick. I ended up putting some 3mm spacers on the front as I couldn't find studs to match my hubs. Guy in the shop said he'd never seen this particular problem before.. tends to be my luck in life, if it can go wrong, it bloody well will - every time!

Hi guys. Anyone got a part number for them? I think the studs I've got aren't 100% correct, as the shank protrudes from the hub by 2mm, enough to foul fitment of the front wheels. The hubs are approx 10mm thick. Or is it just me being thick?

B*stards! I hate thieves, with a passion. Get yourself a couple of these; http://www.surplusstore.co.uk/12-gauge-blank-firing-trip-wire-alarm-gate.html ..Should make enough of a racket to scare off any thief. Get some ip cameras up so we can all watch and laugh at them on youtube.

Very sorry for your loss. RIP

Do you feel comfortable leaving it parked at the supermarket? I've come out from Tesco, shopping in hand, more than once to find fresh dents and scuffs on my everyday car. It's even happened while I was sitting in the car eating a sandwich, the person who bumped me just waved then drove off!

Had a similar idea a few years ago.. I had a mk1 1200 Bandit sitting in the garage when I saw a video on youtube that got me thinking.. Probably a good thing it didn't happen, I'd have killed myself on something like that.

My hat goes off to you, gents.

@Mk2 Mike. Good to know. I'll probably go with 1"-1.5". RE: Fuel tank, the Escort Van has the tank mounted to the underbody, fairly centrally IIRC. Besides, you seen the price of Petrol lately? @Everyone else. Interesting, I hadn't thought on it that way. Makes sense to swap the springs around as wpe suggests when I get around to doing the lowering blocks. Probably fit some poly bushings while I'm there too. Cheers guys!

I finally got around to fitting my new wheels today (it's been several months since I bought them). I've gone with 13/7 superlite replicas, offset=ET -7 with 175/50/13 tyres. So with that said, I decided to measure up for some lowering blocks and springs to make it look right, but while I was doing so I noticed the near side rear sits half an inch higher than the off side. Is this just due to unevenly worn leaf springs or is there something else I should know about? How low have you guys gone with your escorts? -1" looks ok on the tape measure, but what are your opinions? Cheers Kevin

I got my mk2 Escort van insured with Footman James for ~£160. I'm 29, but they were the best quote by a country mile.. several actually. Might be worth giving them a ring.