escortwithsunroof Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 well mate that is certainly looking the part some find when ya bought her, quite nice i dunno now wheter to put minilites on mine or leave the RS alloys _________________ Mercedes Benz W107 350SL
MG-Ford Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Seen this in the flesh a few months ago and it just uber cool.
Mick The Cabbie Posted November 17, 2008 Author Report Posted November 17, 2008 Time for an update! So the sick old crossflow's now been hoiked out in order to make space for something new and more thrilling Once removed, I decided to tidy up the already fairly tidy looking engine bay. The lower areas of the inner wings etc had traces of Ziebart and general grime all over them so a splash of unleaded and a brush soon had the area looking a bit more presentable. Next job was to have a rumage around my stash of spares to find something to sort out the old girls handling etc. I dug out a brand new full set of polybushes Heres a TCA now polybushed I also dug out a pair of 2.8i Capri Billies. Although in good working order, they looked a bit tatty so gave I em a tickle over with the shot blaster and gave em a lick over with some nice new paint and fitted em up with some -2" 190lb springs. I did the hubs too and fitted a pair of cross drilled discs. Next job was to make way for the forthcoming 5speed box which means minor surgery to the tunnel. First job was to remove the interior. Check the nice sparkly floor. Carefully cut out the gearstick hole Turn it around and tack it in place Then seam all the way around Welds tidied up with a softpad Splodge loads of seamsealer around the area just like Ford did, and apart from not having a matching grey colour, you'd never know I'd been there Sound deadening and center console brackets back in Interiors back in now too. Looks just like it did before exept the console is ever so slightly further back but still looks ok. Pic later on. Not wanting to drill holes in the floorpan to bolt up the to be repositioned gearbox x-member, I made these brackets which effectively mount the longer box onto the original body mounts. I had to widen the tunnel ever so slightly to make the box clear the bodymounts. I used a scissor jack to give it just a little tweak. The engine was originaly painted red with traces of yellow so I spent 2 days stripping and cleaning it all back to bare metal + the gearbox too. I then re-painted it all black. I've also done the ancillary items and pulleys too. Its all nailed together with brand new Zinc plated nuts and bolts and new gaskets, so it all looks quite new and sparkly now. I did take some pics of the various stages but they seem to have got deleted somewhere along the way so I can't put em up here Heres a couple that I have found though. Will try to take some better ones when I remember Fuel pump blanking plate. I made these myself from some 3mm plate and a cornflakes box That's where it up to right now. Just need to do the fuel lines, some wiring, exhaust, carbs and other bits n bobs and she'll be a runner again
RWDmad Posted November 18, 2008 Report Posted November 18, 2008 lovin this thread your not the only 1
Mick The Cabbie Posted November 22, 2008 Author Report Posted November 22, 2008 lovin this thread your not the only 1 Glad I'm keepin ya entertained!
Savvi Posted November 22, 2008 Report Posted November 22, 2008 Great job mate ............... it's coming into winter now and this was a "Summer" run a round ? Guess you have left the other projects alone for a while then
Mick The Cabbie Posted November 23, 2008 Author Report Posted November 23, 2008 Great job mate ............... it's coming into winter now and this was a "Summer" run a round ? Guess you have left the other projects alone for a while then Cheers Yeah I'm growing quite fond of it so I think it'll be staying with me for a while longer now. I'll have to change the heading to somethin more appropriate Yep, this one has distracted me from the other projects for a while. Will soon be crackin on with the van again though. Plus, one of the other Escorts will be up and running again very soon too. Soon to be back from having some paintwork done and just needs re-comissioning
Mick The Cabbie Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Posted January 23, 2009 Time for a long overdue update Not too many pics to put up here mainly because I always forget to take em in the first place.. Obviously, mods to the loom were needed to accomadate the Pinto. I bagan by goin down the local scrappies and chopping the looms out of three late model cars. The interiors were out so it was just a case of hacking away with the cutters! This lot should keep me stocked up enough to do several projects. And all for a fiver. I've spent quite a while doing the wiring loom mods and tried to make the whole job look like a factory job. Where the loom had to be extended, I've done soldered joints. Not easy to do a neat job with only one pair of hands. It took 10 times longer than it would had I used electrical connectors. ..and finished off with heat shrink sleeve. The beauty about pilfering the looms from dead cars is that you always have a choice of cable in the correct colours and guages. I used to work in electronics a few years ago, so that experience came in handy here. Just need to get me a more powerful soldering iron for next time to help make the job easier/neater. Another job was the relocating of the leccy fuel pump from the engine bay to the back of the car. I didn't want it on the boot floor for this particular car. Didn't want to drill any more holes in the car than was really nessesary. Also didn't want it underneath amongst all the road muck. So Stuck it here. Clean, dry and out of the way. As there is now no fuel return back to the tank, I utilized the now redundant hole under the tank to re route the lines. Some of the old (and still perfectly good) plastic fuel pipe had the correct bends and curves to be used for the new routing and made for a very neat job! Another job was the exhaust. Up to now, I've done this whole conversion mostly using bit's that I had kicking about. So to stay in keeping and not wanting to spend unessesary £££'s, I robbed the exhaust and mainfold off the white/blue Mk1. It was worth using this one as I have plans for bigger & better things for that car (one day...) However once removed, I decided against using it. It looked a little tired. It would probably have cleaned up ok but I do remember it sounding a bit quiet/crappy. More than likely due to the too big middle box. So I improvised and modified the Ashley system that I had ran with the old crossflow. A lick of black paint for the new section and it's as good as new. I robbed the manifold off the same car. That was ok but all surface rusty (forgot to take a pic.. ) My mate blasted that for me today. It's currently hanging up to dry in the garage. Will try to remember to take it's photo tomorrow before it gets bolted to the car.
Mick The Cabbie Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 Had the old girl up and running a couple o' weeks ago. Not been too far though as yet. Been sorting out a couple of teething probs and generally tidying everything up. It's all pretty much sorted now tho. I've taken great care to make the install as neat and factory looking as possible. I wanted the end result to be discreet and to retain as much of the original "Ghia-ness" as possible.. Kind of a Ghia with a funky stance and a hidden agenda!! All along I've been determined to refrain from nailing RS lookylike and rally bits all over it. I guess it's time for a few more piccies. Pic of exhaust manifold as promised done in 700 deg C paint. Some new bits n bobs to restore back some of the "Ghia-ness" which had gone missing, including a pair of brand new "square" headlights to brighten up the front end. The old ones where quite dull.. A passenger door mirror, a brand new genuine Ford rear fog light and a mint Ghia back bumper to replace the "L" one which the car had come with. All very minor details but important to achieve the desired end result. Dull old light Been out raggin it about today. Tried to take some arty pics. They didn't all come out as I'd hoped. Need to get me an SLR.. Interior all standard and exactly the same as it always was Engine bay all fettled and not quite the same as it always was
X-pack-Glyn Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 Pinto defo way to go mate, lovely car. 4 doors are cool again!
escortwithsunroof Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 looks sweet mate, love it!!! one day, more door ghia's will rule the world with standard interiors
YOUNGY Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 mate that is one lovely looking escort,just looks so right colour wheels ect even the missus likes it
bigglesmk2 Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 Dude thats a sweet motor ,you should've popped round to my gaff for a cuppa am not far away from you. I was playing around with my mk2's on the front all day today,i should have been breaking the four door but my heart just wasnt in it. Still took it for a blast up the dirt track near ma house tho
Mick The Cabbie Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 Pinto defo way to go mate, lovely car. 4 doors are cool again! looks sweet mate, love it!!! one day, more door ghia's will rule the world with standard interiors Thanks chaps! Yeah GO ON THE 4 DOORS!!
Mick The Cabbie Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 Dude thats a sweet motor ,you should've popped round to my gaff for a cuppa am not far away from you. I was playing around with my mk2's on the front all day today,i should have been breaking the four door but my heart just wasnt in it. Still took it for a blast up the dirt track near ma house tho I'm always up for a brew! I'll ave to drop by.
sarkie83 Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 very nicely done - looks stunning. I love the standard interior as well - good man!
oldskool4me Posted February 19, 2009 Report Posted February 19, 2009 everything about that looks so right, proper sleeper LOVE IT!!
DAZZA Posted February 24, 2009 Report Posted February 24, 2009 lovely motor Those chrome passenger mirrors are rocking horse too!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now