Scortedvan

That looks really neat! Im going to use an an10 90 fitting from the bottom of the adapter. So what does the banjo bolt on yours thread into - have you opened the hole in the large threaded part that goes into the tank and tapped it to suit?

Hi there, Im in the process of fitting an st170 engine so i wanted to open the diameter up. I also wanted to use off the shelf AN fittings - really for no more than asthetics if im honest. Thats where this all started and I'm afraid now, finding an adapter to fit the large thread, and convert to an AN fitting has become an obsession! The original fitting i have modified and welded an AN fitting on which will do, but I'm awaiting some technical drawings back from a company that are going to custom make what im after. Ill have 10 @ £25 each if you are interested!

Hi there, im in the middle of doing exactly this, i have a bit of a mini thread running about 8 posts below this one - “Mk1 Escort - St170 Conversion - To be or not to be..?”. kind regards joe

Evening all, i hope everyone is well? I was wondering if anyone has ever successfully sourced a fitting for the large threaded outlet on a mk1/2 escort (and presumably some other models)? Many people seem to believe its a 3/4 bspp, but the diameter is not quite right and also 3/4bspp is 14tpi whereas the original fitting is 12tpi. In fact I make the required thread exactly 1”-12unf, and for love nor money i cant find any adapters that will fit... ive spoke to many hydraulics companies, fuel tank restorers, pre war steam engine restorers ... and no one has ever heard of anything that will suit. I do have a temporary solution in place but trying to find something that fits has become an obsession! Ive attached a picture of the original fitting for reference. If anyone is interested, i can get some custom adapters made (1”-12male -> 10AN male) but i need to order 10 @£25 each so i can only do that with interest from elsewhere! kind regards joe

Hi all, Im currently working through an st170 conversion on my mk1 and i now need to plumb the fuel return back into the tank. If anyone else hd an original sender with the return connection then please let me know. I can modify my original but would be nice to use an original part if possible, Kind Regards Joe

Managed to get some time yesterday to get the engine and box mated together and dropped into the car. The grp4 tunnel certainly makes fitment far easier than with a standard tunnel, and im really pleased with the retroford mounts and sump. There isn't much tolerance around the bulkhead and subframe, yet everything fits perfectly. They also look factory finish which is pleasing! The only thing that needs adressing is the gearbox mount which has ended up a few mm from where it sat before but to be honest thats a complete non issue all things considered. One thing that may come back to bite me is my choice if starter motor. All research pointed me toward an lrs707, when using a zetec flywheel. And thats what ive used, but i went cheap and it doesn't seem very good... i did power it up whilst on the floor and it engaged the ring gear and span the engine over but it doesn't fill me with confidence to be honest! Plenty of stuff i can do now, but i do need to save some cash aswell - outstanding items now are exhaust, throttle bodies and engine management so not exactly cheap!

Evening all, few more bits done. The cam cover has been modified to trim some unneeded excess from the back of it, move the breather port. Ive also painted it, and despite it turning out well, its mot really the colour I was after (much too dark). But it will certainly do for now! The breather, i just cut the original port of the back of the cam cover, drilled it out from 10mm to 10.5 and ran a m12 tap down it, to take a odd slim bolt i had lying around. I then drilled a new hole to take an an6 fitting on the side. It has to go right in the corner so the original splash plate in the cam cover can retained, and continue performing its function. I will probably end up with a catch tank somewhere but id like to avoid tanks all over the place under the bonnet - i was hoping to find a combined unit so coolant expansion tank/oil catch tank in one, but they dint seem readily available. If anyone has any suggestions here, they would be welcome? The new spigot bearing is in, so its just a case of bolting the box to it for hopefully the final time and planking it all in. I can do this Friday fingers crossed.

Few jobs done over the last week then. Firstly the engine kit arrived from retroford, and its all really good stuff. Very well made and will suit me down to the ground. The engine got a check over, cleaned and paint and then the sump, mounts and water manifold fitted. I then gave the flywheel, clutch and type 9 a test fit and everything seems good. The lrs707 starter appears to be correct, the clutch release arm is sitting in the same position as with the pinto and the clutch cable bracket fits nicely. I am still waiting for a new spigot bearing so thats all i can do for now. I then turned my attention to the wiring and fuel system. The wiring under the bonnet is already in good condition as i have worked on it previously, really it was just a case of taping the no longer required coil and dizzy wiring into the loom ( so everything is always reversible easily!) and moving the temp sender connection to the bulkhead. I already have a kenlowe electric fan fitted with a relay, which was activated by an inline sender. Ive removed this, and ran the earth for the relay also to the bulkhead where the new rad fan switch will live on the water rail. I plan to use the rad fan switch to switch the relay earth, because that way i will also be able to use the me221 management to also switch the same earth (probably via a diode but ive not looked at the me221 wiring yet) so i can fail safe the circuit. With the fuel system Ive took the original fuel tank outlet out, cut it back flush and opened the feed hole up. Now i can weld an an10 fitting to it once i have some gas! The return, im just going to run a pipe through the sender, replicating the original setup on the senders mk2 escorts came with i think!) Still need to strip the cam cover back and paint that, its a real eyesore at the minute, but i also need to block the breather port on the back and fit my an an10 fitting on the side. I also moved the fuse box off bulkhead to the passenger footwell to ensure clearance, and cut the heater matrix hoses back flush with the bulkhead for the same reason.

Hi All, After a set of throttle bodies, preferably with a manifold to suit an St170 engine. Let me know if anyone has anything suitable! Kind Regards Joe

This is the one, i don’t have a part number for it, but it is adjustable between 1-5 bar so should be fine for my application. Do you have any views on this?

Evening all, little update just to track things for my own record if nothing else! The new engine has been stripped of ancillaries, cleaned and the block given a decent coat of ford grey engine enamel. Its come up really nicely to be fair! Ive had a look under the cam cover, which has pleased me as it looks brand new, and the oil looks really fresh which is a good sign. I will inspect the bottom end at the weekend when the sumps being swapped over for the RF one - my fitting kit should arrive tomorrow so if all goes well id like it sitting in the car on the mounts by Sunday evening. That said I'm not in any rush really. Regards the breather, Ive done a bit more digging and i think its fine to leave the original one as is, the engine mount should clear fine and it seems much better than some of the aftermarket solutions. Thats been cleaned and painted also. In regards to the fuel system I've managed to sort that now i think, i found a reasonably well rated pump from a company called racing lines - it was new but never fitted so I got that for a great price. And I got a bnib Fram filter for £3 which was nice, and a malpassi regulator and pressure gauge bnib. Fuel lines wise, Im using an-8 nylon braided line for the supply, an-10 for the pump supply line and the same but an-6 for the return, all from an ebay seller named torques_uk who seems highly regarded. To be honest its cost a fortune but its not an area that should be scrimped on.

Evening all! So some more progress made and as always another question :) The packages have increased in both size and frequency, and most pleasingly my engine turned up. This was duly stripped of things no longer needed which are now on ebay. I also got the flywheel modified, which in all honesty i ended up doing myself, both to save a couple of pennies and also because I wanted to. It turned out well, all holes drilled and tapped in the correct places, to identical depths etc so it will certainly work to an extent. Im happy in the future to re adress this if I need to. Todays question though, is regarding the crank case oil breather/separator and pcv valve. Can the original setup be retained with the pcv modded to flow without vacuum - does it physically fit in that location with the starter and exhaust in the same area? Alternately i have seen a plate that i could make myself with a 10mm barb connection - is this more suitable in terms of physically fitting? i have no real preference, and im happy to leave the original setup in place if it fits. Thanks everyone ! Joe

Thanks for that - I've found him on the internet so I'll call him in the morning and see what he says. Thanks for the suggestion!

Not at all - all thoughts/suggestions/criticisms are more than welcome. Balancing is a consideration, but I've made a few calls and I'm struggling to find anyone available to do it for months. So in the interest of getting some progress and getting the engine in the car in a timely manner this seems like the best approach. Obviously if the cover isnt perfectly centered then it wont get fitted but I feel confident I can get it right. And ultimately - if i get it in the car and there are vibrations when I come to drive it, I will hopefully be in a better position to spend the money on a pre-drilled one from retro ford

Hello again all! Firstly is this the right place on the forum for this, or should it be moved elsewhere? Secondly (and pleasingly) the packages have started arriving, cue the disapproving looks from the rest of the family! The first being my 1800 zetec flywheel that I am going to modify to take a pinto clutch (this was suggested above and i have now managed to get hold of a drill press so should save a fair bit of money!). Ive measured the witness mark on the flywheel at 220mm which is correct for a standard 1.8 zetec, so im hoping this proves its the correct flywheel as i only have the ebay descriptions word for it otherwise! Its certainly not a 2litre and looks correct based on other images online. There is a very slight overhang of the pinto clutch cover plate over the chamfered edge of the flywheel (3mm around the edge) but this doesn't look to present an issue and seems the same as other pictures I've seen online. Ive got a brand new m8x1.25 tap on the way and a couple of decent bits so once they arrive ill get that done. For the time being ive just dropped the dowels out - i will refit these once the clutch plates holes are sorted.

Hi there, thanks for the pic, thats very helpful! Yes I can definitely chop it off and fit a fuel cell/bulkhead type AN fitting on the side of the cover without too much bother if thats the done thing. I just want to known in advance of lifting the engine if it will foul, which I think it probably will. If I cut it off beforehand it should make life easier! Kind Regards Joe

Evening all! So after selling my entire pinto engine, carb and ignition setup yesterday... the guy that supposedly had the st170 engine and some of the conversion parts on a pallet ready to send today let me down. No idea why, but suddenly he went from 'everything's ready, heres the shipping company details' to 'its too much hassle i'm not going to send it'. Which pissed me off somewhat. Id double and triple checked that it was all good to go before selling mine. Luckily though, the engines are cheap and common enough so I managed to find one pretty easily and for a good price, and I've ended up buying the stage 1 fitting kit from retroford. I swapped the clutch and flywheel from the kit, for the standard Lucas alternator fitting kit they do which looks good. So today was pretty stressful, complete despair to relief in a short space of time. I do have a couple a new questions if anyone has the time to answer: 1. The standard cam cover breather protrudes from the back of the cover, which seems as though it may foul on the bulkhead. Is this the case - and whats the usual workaround? Kind Regards Joe

Yeah this is a definite option but i need to get access to a pillar drill as you say, otherwise i can see it going particularly well! I may but the bullet and order one from retroford, but they seem incredibly expensive. I have a bit of time to figure that anyway, theres plenty of cleaning up and preparation to do in the meantime as I’m sure you know all too well!

Well to answer the question in the thread title, ‘To Be’! My engine and parts should hopefully arrive in the week, and then I’ll need to order an alternator fitting kit and a set of engine mounts from retro ford - they seem to do the job really well from what I’ve read. That should be enough to get the engine mounted in the car. The only question mark is the flywheel, I have an 1800zetec flywheel that i want to use with my pinto clutch but i understand i need it drilling to suit - and none of the guys that i woild normally use are working at the moment. Im sure ill figure something, but if any one has any suggestions please let me know! Thanks again for your help, i will undoubtedly be asking many more questions!

Thanks both! Yes I'm not dead set on an 044, they just seem to be favoured when researching pumps. Really i am happy to use anything that can deliver sufficient pressure and flow for standard power. These were the setups i mentioned earlier, one from a w202 merc and one from an early Porsche (928 i think?). Either would clean up well with a new filter, and would mount quite nicely i think? They seem to sell for around £50 complete. Joe

Brilliant, thanks for taking the time to post those images. Something like that would be ideal, ill have a look into the listings and start speccing things out! Joe

Hi, Thanks that would be great. Ive seen some items on ebay that look ok, but the prices of them vary so much its hard to know what is quality and what is not! Any pics would be great though. By the way thanks again for the pointer on ebay, the one you mentioned is the one I have provisionally bought. I have my pinto setup for sale now, so all being well it will sell at the weekend and i can make a start! Joe

Hi there, And again thanks for the reply. Good news about the swirl pot, that fits with my plans! Regards the fuel pump, i was also considering one from an early merc clk/slk as they are fitted in a neat little cradle along with a filter - do you have any views on this or recommendations for a more suitable pump? Definetly not bothered about power! If it will come from the top thats great, funnily ive just spun the car around so its in a position where i can get the engine crane to the front of the car now and get the engine in and out the garage. I can drop the subframe down lower no problem, and like i said the tunnel is huge, it starts more or less in line with the heater matrix connections. This should make life easier do you think? One last thing that springs to mind - where would the gear lever finish up in relation to where it resides now, does the st setup move it backwards or forwards do you know? And does the prop generally need modifying afterwards to fit? Thanks everyone for your time, Joe

Hi there, Thanks for the reply. Yes im hoping it would fit without issue, but as always there are anomalies so im interested to see whats been encountered before. Good point on the swirl pot - i have been scouting around and a lot of people suggest one is not needed due to the shape of the tank, providing its never ran too low its pretty efficient at gravity feeding the pump. Id rather not have one to be honest as i would like the boot to remain standard to look at inside, and also i have no intention of tracking the car. Im happy to be told differently though? And thanks for the heads up on mounts etc, most if the parts i mentioned i already have (pending a successful sale of my parts) but i’ll have a look now as i do need an exhaust, Ive not found anything suitable yet. In terms of vvt, i definitely want to use it. Mainly because looking at the spec sheet, the me221 allows for full closed loop pwm control of it, as opposed to others where the solenoid is simply operated as a binary open loop output. And as i said, I'm not chasing numbers in the slightest, just keen to go through the process if that makes sense? Kind regards Joe

HI All, I hope everyone is keeping well in these strange times! I hope I am putting this in the correct section? Basically I am looking at replacing the pinto engine from my mk1 escort with an st170 unit. I've considered it for a while, and I'm trying to work out if its a good idea or not! I should point out that Im not doing this for power at all really, I just enjoy the process more than anything particularly installing an aftermarket management system. That said I don't want to sell all my pinto setup only to find there is a big issue with fitting the st170 setup... My plan is to use a standard st170 engine with a retroford water rail, and a motorbike throttle body setup from danst engineering, which will include an me221 management system and fpr. I want to use the standard mk1 escort fuel tank with a return connection fitted, and I'll drill out the outlet in the bottom to suit the larger connection to a bosch 044 fuel pump. The car already has a type 9 fitted and a grp4 big (really does seem huge!) trans tunnel, and a standard cross member - and i plan on using the retro ford engine mounts and a retro ford sump. Based on the above, can anyone see any issues that I am likely to encounter? My biggest worry is that ill find the engine wont fit for some reason - as I don't really want to bash/chop anything around! Also in terms of fitting the engine, I'm space limited so once the car is in position i wont really be able to move it around - will the st engine and type 9 go in through the top OK? Sorry for the long post, I just want to have everything right in my own head before I commit! Oh and if anyone has any parts that could help - mainly an exhaust -let me know! Kind Regards Joe