Lightweightsteve

Off roading, earlier this year. Edited - You'll have to take my word for it being a nice photo - bloody iPhone

If I could offer some advice, finding something 2 door for that money will be hard work - you could well find, like mine, that it may look pretty, but hide a multitude of sins (I'm into about £3000 extra on mine now, plus my labour), so be very careful. In hindsight though, I do love the damned thing, so don't regret it at all - just be careful, as buying cheaply WILL cost a chunk to put right. 4 door is a good option though, as I think that you could get something quite nice as you won't be paying the loopy 2 door premium.

I have a 3.89 that I've just taken out of my car.

It's a difficult one (I'm going to poke my head above the parapet here, as I'm an estate agent), as we are legally obliged to put forward every offer and, very frustratingly, most of the time vendors actively encourage the horse trading, as it ultimately gets them the very best price (especially on open days, as you can't cancel the next viewings once you have an acceptable offer). Moreover, an aggressive buyer will often know this, and try multiple times to outbid the competition by the smallest increment possible (some people will keep upping their offer by £100 sometimes until they get the result. There are a lot of shabby agents out there (some will let the opposition know what the high offer is, which I find a bit off sometimes), but for me, the whole gazumping thing is still one of the most awkward and embarrassing situations that I find myself in even with 15 years of experience. The only advice that I can give (other than call me anytime if you want a bit of a heads-up), is to fight fire with fire - accept that it is cut-throat, set yourself a budget just like in an auction and play it like the competition - when my wife an I bought our house, we ended up paying 12k more than the asking price, but we still love the house 12 years on and don't regret it in the slightest.

Knock off what if would cost to replace the wheels and seats and that sounds about bang on to me

I use the gateros zinc plating kit and have to say that the results are pretty good if you put the time into the prep. Just don't expect quick results as the parts have to be cleaned, degreased, polished, plated, then dried for a good amount of time. I've had some great results though, but I did go for the more expensive kit with the fish tank pump agitator.

I would have thought they definitely would have needed a bias valve, but it did come straight off a working rally car I'm told. Do look very meaty though!

Due to a change of direction I have for sale my Mk1 Escort rear axle bits. They comprise : RS axle casing (with original anti tramp brackets) - the axle has the normal spring saddles, but also has mounts for coilovers and brake calipers if someone wanted to use them. I've bare-metalled it and painted it wih POR 15. Complete with half shafts, bearings and 3.89 diff in pigs head (only thing missing are the nuts that hold the pigs head on). It also comes with decent Cosworth front calipers and discs that fit, so is ready to bolt together. Furthermore, it comes with a set of 2wd Cosworth rear calipers with mechanical handbrake attachment which will need a refurb and slightly smaller discs. £250, collection from Devon Can strap to a pallet if you want to arrange a courier Cheers, Steve 07730 512532

hi Chris, mine started life as a 1.3, and I don't think the roll bar has been changed. I measured the bar with a vernier at 20mm

Great, thank you. Steve

Poly race from Motorsport tools. Have dunked them in boiling water, which seemed to make them a little more plyable, so might have sorted it!

Hi all, Could someone give me the heads up on fitting poly anti roll bar bushes to my mk1 - they seem to have a hard plastic insert which obviously wont push around the radius of the bar from one of the ends. I could cut a slit in them, but the inner plastic looks brittle and I don't think would stretch over the bar. Is there a trick that I'm missing. Cheers, as always, Steve

Great weekend and good to say hello to a couple of you, even if it wasn't over a beer! Stand out Ford bits of the day for me : Red/Gold Mk1 Cortina Zetec - fantastic Attention to detail on Black Escort Cosworth van Engine in the light blue Mk2 RS2000 - serious jealously there Couple more photos as well (though I'm not sure if the Mk3 Capri is within Old Skool regs!) Look forward to next year - on the stand hopefully, Steve (Green MK1 with Mex stripes)

Here you go .... There's few more on the projects and restorations page as well. Steve

Welcome mate. I got involved today and am in Cullompton just down the road. I'll be at Powderham over the weekend as well, on the Exeter Mini club stand with my green mk1 Escort, so feel free to come and say hello. Steve

Yes, Powderham is on the cards this year (managed to squeeze a weekend pass from the wife and children!). Ironically, I'm on the Exeter Mini club stand, so will definitely try to catch up, possibly even for a beer on Saturday night. The car is a bit of an ongoing project, so I've posted a essay and plenty of photos on the refurb/rebuild/projects thread. Devon look : plenty tread and ride height, plus big spotlights to see the wildlife in the hedges on the evening blast in the lanes!

Hi all, Recently discovered this site and thought that I'd say hello properly. Firstly, massive thanks to Vista, who has just helped me dig out the old previous owner's build thread for my car. My car started out as an Olympic Blue 1300l which was rescued in 2011 by an OSF member from S. London. The car had been extensively rebuilt and sported the proper South London look, with lowered suspension, no spots, front bumpers, smooth line and the obligatory peep door mirror! It was the cover car on Classic Ford magazine in mid 2012. I went to see it after selling my RS1600i and fell in love with it, knowing that there were a few corners cut and jobs to do (bodywork a credit to the PO, mechanical work not so, but water under the bridge!). I've started changing it from the South London to the Mid Devon look, so it's grown a few bits and lost a few others, but I'll post some pictures over on the member's rides section if anyone is interested enough to have a look. Great site, thanks again to Vista and hope to have a natter with a few like-minded souls as some point! Cheers and here's a pic of what it was like when I got it, Steve

Thank you so much Vista - it's exactly what I was hoping for. I sincerely appreciate it. Steve

Thank you Vista, much appreciated. Link to previous owner's profile : http://www.oldskoolford.co.uk/ipb/index.php?/user/3811-revival/ I done a lot more work to the car, which I'm going to post up shortly, it would just be nice to see if there is anything to fill in the history. Cheers, Steve

Hi I'm trying to search for a bit of history on my car and have searched the previous owners' posts, but the search only seem to go back to mid last year. Is there any way to look back further (the data seems to suggest that there are quite a few old posts)? Cheers, Steve