The mk3Ghia story so far! (lots of pics!)

[Anonymous]

Hi all thought I would post a small update on how the transformation is going on my mk3 ghia. Turning it from a grandad car to something respectable Plus if you lot are anything like me i just like looking at pictures of peoples bits (oooo errr missus!) When I got her it was a completely standard mk3 with 60k on the clock(pretty much still is at the mo, frigging weather ) to refresh your memory's: ewww mines red tho (everyone knows red paint adds 50bhp) Heres what she looks like at the mo: (note no lights or grill in & high rear sus due to wheels just being fitted. Haddnt settled yet) And heres a photo chop of how I want her to look when finished! (note de-striped, lowered, cossie disks, 1600i spoiler, de-locked and de-handled) Bits ready for fitting!: Twin choke webber, and K&N. Cleaned it all up & new gaskets etc... A wheel I refurbed, just 4 more to go Brand spanking Pnumont (dunlop) pn550's. i did a lot of comparisions with tyres with thanks to www.mytyres.net, There must be 100+ tyres all tested by the same people and these came out in the top 3. Only time will tell if they are right! Spiffing 1600i rear spoiler. I drilled the necessary holes in the boot lid (hmm whats that brown stain in my pants??) So its pretty much ready to go! Due to a small amount of rust on the bootlid and holes where it was de-chromed, It wont be fitted untill I get a chance to respray the boot. MISC PIC's: New plates! Gotta have some choons refurbed grill... Lights and new fogs Re-furbed headlight close up Ok ok bit max powery but they are hellva nice mats! Something I was playing around with in mspaint. MC-Rallying grill and lights. Im not so sure what do you lot think? ----------- All my spare time lately has been spent cleaning out my nans disused TRIPPLE GARAGE!!!!! Has been used for the last 20 years to store everyone's crap that knows her Floor to ceiling shite, and knackered gates to top it off. Its nearly done now though so soon I will have somewhere to fit all this junk! I have a cossie disk conversion (all round) with s2 front calipers in the pipeline, although Ive just been offered a Stage1 head and full janspeed system for £200 from a private seller\so the brakes might have to wait (yet again) untill next month. Thats about it for now

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[Anonymous]

Nice car mate reminds me of the 3 door 1.1l i had as a 1st car which i done up like an XR3, actually it reminds me of a couple of years ago when XR3/RS lookalike mk3 escorts were popular a bit like pap novas are today, where have they all gone?
Have you thought about painting the chrome bits black though?
What engine you running? 1600 cvh or the rare ( on the ghia models ) 1300 ohv?
How about S1 RS turbo stripes down the side? sounds weird but they do look good.
Cheers
Gray

[Anonymous]

1600cvh m8

Comparing my baby to a nova hehe To answer question though they probally have all rotted to bits\stolen\written off Boy racers\new drivers dont tend to be the most caring towards their cars.

Im liking the chrome around the window, but if I change my mind when its finished, Ill spray it.

Dunno if s1 stripes would suit a red car??? Better fire up Paint shop pro again and find out

Cheers

[Anonymous]

They look alrite i had them on my last car a rosso red XR3i somone had already put em on before i had it looked nice.
In no way am i comparing escorts to novas though, novas are plain pants, im just thinking back to the days hanging around maccy d's and seeing all the mk3 escorts either 3 or five doors all partly modded from XR/RS lookalikes the one i remember which was a clapped out five door sky blue 1300L with cloverleafs and a bodged on XR3 spoiler. Nowadays its the same just with clapped out novas!.
A quick and cheap way to hide the chrome bits is to use some careful application of black electrical tape, worked for me!
Oh by the way im not too keen on those morrette twin lamps, they look silly on the mk3 IMO, keep it stock and get an RS1600i or XR3 front spoiler, maybe paint the metal bit of the bumper body colour.
Cheers
Gray..

[Anonymous]

I got ya with the nova thing was just messing with you


Picking up a lightened\balanced and rebored bottom end, stage 1 head with piper cam venier pully ported\polished & janspeed system sunday Its a new head (not re-con) and the lot has covered minimal miles. Car was written off while parked, smash to the side\rear.

yea I wasnt sure on the mc rallying front end, fooking expensive too. Just something I was playing with in paint.
Ive got my eye out for a rs1600i front spoiler though.. Thats something thats definatly going on when I find one.

Think I'll keep the chrome, ghia badges are staying on the front wings, and bumper is staying all black I dont want to 'try' to hard to make it something it isnt, I'll be happy with a whoop ass ghia

[Anonymous]

The morette twin lamps look good on a mk4 as they look like part of the bodywork, but on a mk3, well they just look like those silly stick on things!
Another idea for you, how about painting those RS turbo doglegs black? Went mk3 hunting around the scrappies today, didnt find much, but in one the was a silver B reg ghia, quite tidy but bin scrapped as it was too old ( waste!) anyway theres also a series two RS turbo in there with black doglegs, put one of em up against the ghia and it looked well nice!
Cheers
Gray

[Anonymous]

If the car was yellow I'd definatly do the doggie legs black without a second thought, would probally do it it if was white or black too. I personally prefer them silver on a red car

What breakers was the mk3 in m8? im in kent too (nr dartford) and im desprately seeking susan.. ermm i mean a grey dash mines cracked to fook and its a lovely brown

[Anonymous]

If your from dartford you might know Ace car breakers in Northfleet, Near the Gravesend and northfleet footie ground, its in there ( the only mk3 in the yard ) dashboard is in good condition, i dont think its even cracked. If you go you can ave a look at those rims in the flesh!
Theres also an mk3 RS turbo fake in Strood Car and commercials, i think thats got a good dash too
Cheers
Gray

[Anonymous]

ta m8 much appreacited

[Anonymous]

See i knew i was gud for somthing
Cheers
Gray

[Anonymous]

Like your project mate! Glad to see theres some people out there running the older stuff instead of taking the walk of shame to the Citroen dealership! Yours is just like my 5 door mk3, except mines a black un
Its true about the mk3's dissapearing though, i baught mine as my first car 6 years ago. Back then they were everywhere, and the mk4s were still advertised as 'new shape' in the small ads!
All i did was stick a set of cloverleafs on it and a big exhaust and i thaught i was the man! It then got resprayed black, driven round like a loonatic for another couple of years till i drove it into my garden and left it there, keys still in the ignition. By that time it had no second gear, a hole in the fuel tank, both hubs severely bent (it had serious positive camber and both wheels pointed in opposite directions!) and was burning serious oil!
I pulled it out said garden last year and ive just about finished rebuilding it, and it was worth it just to see my curtain-twitching neighbors little face light up when she heard the sound of the big bore exhaust and twin 40's firing up in anger, setting off their poxy cars alarm shortly after, just like the good old days! How they laughed
Not keen on the front end idea either, but the rest of it is looking well good
keep us updated!!

street

[Anonymous]

Hello mate!
Get some pics up so we can have a look!
Was oh-so tempted to buy one myself but ive kinda moved on from them and gone upmarket, my next escy gonna be an S1 RS Turbo to go with my RS1600i
Cheers
Gray

[Anonymous]

Street I would love to see some pictures m8!

As far as updates are concerned.. Ive stripped down cleaned and painted the bottom end, Going to get new everything (oil pressure switch\waterpump\oil pump\seals etc..) this weekend, and fit them on. Then the head and bottom end are going off to be checked over, have the usual suspects replaced (rings etc..) and rebuilt. EVERY nut and bolt will be brand spanking as im very anal with silly things like that.

While thats going on the car will be off to the body shop to get a new scuttle pannel\slam pannel\osf inner wing as they have small amounts of rust comming through. Could probally get away with getting the grinder out but I want it done propley. Im very tempted to go for S1 arches and skirts blended in too although the rear arch sections are going to be a pain because of the doors

When its back I'll be doing a full respray hopefully in time to drop thge finished engine in

Then when im retired lol my bank balance might just be in the positive figures once again and its getting Xr4x4 disks all round with S2 calipers up front and xr4x4 ones on the rear and the suspension sorted.

This is a very long and expensive journey for what I know some if not most people look at as a 5dr taxi mk3 turd, but when its finished it will command respect

Heres some misc piccies!

Rear section of janspped zorst stripped


Painted and powerflex rubbers


Dont worry oil cap is going!


Janny Mani

I'll get some of the engine soon!

[Anonymous]

MK3Ghia Nice mate get some pics when its proper done!
Where you getting your engine checked out? get some kent cam solid adjustable RS1600i tappets for it, itll rev much better!!
Janspeed exhausts a good buy mate, got one for the 16i, not too keen on the back box though, i had my old de-baffled 4inch ashley back box fitted to mine, sounds good!
Check the fit of your system though, mine was well pap, it was too long and it was rubbing my petrol tank before i had it sorted!
Got tabs on a series one kit if your looking for one. You could maybe chop the front off and sort it so it look like 16i one maybe?
Oh an if you dont want the oil filler cap on your rocker no more ill have it off you m8!
Cheers
Gray
P.S. get it on the road and start kicking Paxo backside!!

[Anonymous]

The engine will be going to either hayes engineering in erith or specilized engines in grays. Specialized are the people that orginally built the engine and they did a great job, but the geeza I bought it off said they used cheap seals etc.. exactly the kinda thing that really pisses me off. Hayes have been getting the whole familys cars for around 10 years now, one of the geeza's looks after us and they are suppost to be very good with in depth engine work.. although I have my resivations with things like dialing the cam pully in propley and the quality of their skimming\honeing etc.. as they arnt really a preformance engine place.

Im undecided yet, where ever it goes is going to get a 'speach' on what I want and how I want it

How much am I looking at for the kit m8? I was going to use the arches and sill's only, chop off the front and get a rs1600i black front spoiler to match the rear. Think Id much prefer a propper 1600i front then sodding about with the s1 jobbie.

Thanks for the heads up re the janny!

The oil cap is yours free if I can get a fancy one that will fit propper Any ideas m8?

[Anonymous]

Some pics of the bottom end as promcised:

[cosevo]

mk3 ghia - where is specilized engines in grays as i live in grays and am wanting some engine work done in the near future so I may consider them as im close

[Anonymous]

Specialised Engines Ltd
15 Curzon Drive
Grays
Essex
RM17 6BG

01375 378606

Says the orginal recipt m8, that was a few years back now tho.

[Anonymous]

Cosevo-cant believe you live in essex and dont know where Specialised engines is!
MK3Ghia - Bottom end looks sweet, you gonna get it 'bored out' to 1700? Stick with Hayes if you know their work, not too keen on specialised engines but thats my opinion from stories ive heard! Have you tried Race Power Motorsport in Northfleet? Got the RS going down there soon for engine rebuild, cant decide what the spec will be but Festa RS1800 or 2 litre ZVH ideas being considered ( depends on whether the twin coils will take it ), but its defo gonna have Nitrous! RPM are pretty good, qutie friendly, and they know their stuff. They did Keith Wood's S1 ( the geezer who used to do Performance ford, now does track and race cars ) when Performance ford did the S1 v S2 rs turbo feature.
Im gonna have a look at an S1 my mates says is for sale with a few spares including spare kit, could be a repro one not original, so whe i see it ill get back to you on that one. I'd advise you to use the whole kit, otherise itll looked chopped about and basically cr@p! and believe me ive seen a 16i 'bodged up' like that in the scrappie!
Oh yeah as for the janspeed, its maybe wise to repaint the manifold on it cos the paint on mine wiped off when i first put it on and ragged it. You'll defo tell the difference with it on though, powers seems to be alot smoother, i wasent too keen on the backbox, sounded pap and im sure it isnt as freeflowing compared to when i swapped it with my old ashley box.
See other post as regards to oil cap mate.

Cheers
Gray

[Anonymous]

Yea I resprayed the mani already m8 I belive the bottom end is already bored to 1700 although im not 100% sure on that, more like 90%. Im sure the place I take it too will be able to tell me.

Like you say I know hayes's work so if they dont want silly money I think they will get the job.

I get you with the kit, although rest assured 'if' I did chop it it wouldnt be finished untill it was absolutely perfect. I cant tell untill I trial fit it up what would happen to it, but Ive been having a Think and it may look better all red, would make the eye belive the stupid high front lower pannel is a hell of a lot lower, lots lower than a black front spoiler would.

Mk2 golf oil caps huh haha! mountain of handy tips anint ya Theres a volkspares near me I'll check it out.

Cheers

[cosevo]

i could walk to that place in under 5 minutes and I never knew they existed

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, yeah i'll be sure to get some pics sorted of the old girl, although the quality of the work going into yours will put mine to shame! but always good to have something to aspire to though!
Streetsleeper: RS1600i is definately on my wanted list, but a series 1 to go with it is some quality drive-filling!
MK3Ghia: If you cant get hold of that series 1 kit, ive got a brand new reproduction one in my garage surplus to requirements, and its conveniently missing the front spoiler (just the sills and arches) so its cheap!

What interior are you going for out of interest? Some Ghias came with some nice velour trim, i pulled my grey one out of a ghia and im quite pleased with it. Never did get on with recaros somehow.
regards

street

[Anonymous]

Street - pics, pics, pics, get em up!
Mk3Ghia-the front skirt on the S1 is similar in appearance to the RS1600i, so probrably no need to chop it about.
Theres a mk3 escy 1.3l with a full series one fitted to it if your interested!
Cosevo - dont you ever read Performance/classic ford mate? cant believe youve never heard of it!
Cheers
Gray

[alex xr3 modded]

just finished my xr3 going for a performance ford photo shoot soon look out for it????

[Anonymous]

Got a day off work today and in anticipation of the new fancy blue oil cap on order I refurbed the rocker cover. It came out better than I hoped for!:



street, the interiour I have at the mo in the car is mint (or was untill my ex put a fag burn in the passanger seat ) unfortunatly though its cat puke beige I managed to get a rear seat in grey also from a mk3 ghia off ebay for £1 and its mint (really mint). Sooooo thats now in the back and I was getting recaro's in grey for the front. The pattern on one of the erst recaro's is extremely simular to the ghia cloth if not identical, so thats the bad boy im going for.
My dash is brown and cracked to bits so im going for a mk4 dash conversion on that. Door cards will be retrimed to match the rest.

Could you PM me a price on that kit street please? Im not 100% sure i'll fit it but if its cheep enough I'll buy it anyways

On another note i've got to give a big up to Brampton motorspares in bexleyheath. I took the very nice helpful chap an ASDA carrier bag with over a pint glass's worth of nuts bolts and washers to match up with new ones, a huge headache from his point of view but he got on it stright away and with a smile! Also the price's hes quoted me for:

Oil pump
oil pressure switch
water pump
head bolts
rear main oil seal

and a load of other bits is nothing short of amazing. Espically as I specifically asked for no cheapy 'powertrain' bits or simular, so we spent 20 minutes going over all the different make stuff he can get and the quality of each. This is the sort of shop you want as an ethuaisast.

Alex hell yes I'll look out for it! If I can get my car in preformance ford when its finished I'll be the happiest man alive. Well done bud.