stu20004x4

hi all,

thought it was about time i started this thread, i bought old rusty off a rather clueless fellow in coventry a few months back. she had been left under a tree to rot, and rot she has! as you will see in some pics, its set in quite badly, i decided to strip completely down to the shell before deciding what my options are, but i fear a full restoration will not be an option with this shell atleast.

anyway, before buying i did a bit of research and found a previous owner, who was gutted to hear of her current condition. he sent me a couple of pics of when she was in her prime, so i see it only fair to start off with those before showing off her guts



as you can see, he did a few shows with her



ive never been a fan of the lexus lights but each to thier own. they are available if anyone is interested!
so yeah, back in the day, lovely example. fast forward approx 7 years later and this is what i found when i first saw her







ok, thought i, not the end of the world, il just check the boot out. oh, thats fooked then! pushed my hand right through the bugger. couldnt bring myself to take a pic of that lol. heres a couple of other areas i found needing attention once i got her back to the yard





that arch looks a lot worse in person lol
both door seals fooked









first thing i did was take the voodoos off and put some old rs2k alloys on for ease of movement. the garages i have at the moment arent the most suitable for stripping a car in, no lights or power, and the doors need replacing. work in progress much like the car. so anyway i set to work stripping her out. wheels changed, bumpers and skirts off, then i attacked the interior.

PLEASE NOTE this is the first car i have ever stripped, if you think ive done something back to front or incorrectly, do say so, this is a real learning curve for me. enjoying it though



got most of the interior out in a day, solo! ive put the seats and door cards on a pallet in my garage at home for now, everything else is in a ton bag in the boot to save on limited space<br />
<br />
she was still firing up nicely this morning, i ticked he over for a couple of minutes before i got the front axle up on stands and attacked the engine bay.<br />



started bagging and tagging every nut and bolt, hoses, then i hit a wall, i didnt know what half of the engine bay componants were, nevermind the million wires and plugs coming out of them, so i disconnected all of them, earths aswell, and will deal with it later!

what the hell is this?



managed to get the rad out, frame supporting it is totally rotten, also drained power steering and took out the hoses and filler thingy, windscreen washer stuff, water bottle for rad and a few other bits and bobs that i dunno wtf theyre for lol<br />
<br />
darkness loomed, where had the time gone? before i knew it it was time to wrap up, i left the removal of the wiring loom half done, with the passenger arch liner still to come out, but i reckoned ive done ok considering my knowledge??<br />
<br />
so thats that for now chaps, i may try and get a couple mor hours in tomorrow afternoon to do the arch liner and the rest of the loom disconnected in the engine bay, then i guess it will be the mechanics to get out!<br />
<br />
let me know what you reckon, what you think i should attack next, how a certain componant should be removed, or if you think im an idiot for attempting this with no previous mechanical knowledge.<br />
<br />
cheers,<br />
<br />
stu

chris cdti

That title sounds familiar Stu

stu20004x4

haha i know mate, they could be twin rusters! actually, did you find out your ones build number yet? be interesting to see how far apart they actually are

chris cdti

Mine is number 469

20004x4

That black box your holding is a carbon canister I think that's what it's called, helps stop vapours entering the cabin

stu20004x4

aah this one is 197. my moondust silver one is 446 though. you would have thoughtbthey would have done them in colour order wouldnt you?

chris cdti

Its Ford, they where never going to be in any kind of order

Fordmad!

Well worth saving i say. If it was just a rs2000 then id just reshell it but defo save the 4x4s!!!

natehall

iTrader: (2)

Nice Work - Stripping a car is really easy, hopefully she will be back to her formaer glory soon!

Personally, when stripping a car I usually do the following.

Interior, strip it back to a shell
engine anciliaries (clear both inner wings leaving wiring in place)
remove front body panels (bumper, trim and bonnet)
remove engine & gearbox
remove rear axle
remove loom as access is now really easy.

Admire the pile of pieces and wonder how i am ever going to get them back into a car

atm

I had a 4x4 (n654 fww I think). Most rusty ford iv ever owned, rear chassis legs completely fell apart, Check the front bulkhead immediately under the windscreen (underneath where the screen meets the bulkhead) and the outer A posts behind the rubbers.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Bloody hell its rotton.Thay black box is a fuel vapour canister.Its to stop the smell of fuel.

stu20004x4

proper rotten, the inside however was in showroom condition. even the floors under the carpet are good, and the exhaust system looks brand new, will get a pic of it next time im up there.

thanks for that glenn, couldnt work it out lol, thought it was the cars brain or something!

might need to use it on the moondust silver rs, as i can smell petrol whilst driving. see my soon to be started other thread

rog

iTrader: (2)

I don't think it's that bad tbh, I've had two saphs a lot worse than that! Good luck with the resto or whatever u decide to do with it.

stu20004x4

ive been optimistic about restoring her from the beginning, a mate of mine begs to differ though.
he thinks there is too mch rust.
so far its boot floor,
both rear arches
inner and outer seals
door liners
sun roof
around windscreen
battery tray
front sub frame? around radiator
rear tow eye
front tow eye

and thats just what we can see without getting it up in the air! so quite a bit, too much for me to do, and too much to be able to afford ro get it done by someone in the know

oh and one of the door pillars is fooked with rust aswell!

Dubs44

iTrader: (1)

looks like it needs a lot of work

fair play for getting stuck in mate

stu20004x4

Cheers fella, so far im finding it quite theraputic, sure that will be replaced with frustration at some point though

now that all the wires and plastic bottles and rad is out of the way, what should i do next? shes up on axle stands, so should i take wheels, suspension off before tackling engine and gear box, or leave them til last?
also, are there any specific tools i will need to take the engine and gear box out? all ive got is a 100 quid set from halfords lol

Fordmad!

Your tool kit should more then do the job!

Headache will start when you put it back together trust me! You'll put stuff on then realise it needs to come back off so you can fit something else etc

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Just think anything can be fixed if the right person with the right skills is doing it.

stu20004x4

bit of an update but forgot to take any pics!

stripped out, bagged and tagged more engine bay bits today, starter motor, altenator all out.
from what i can see all thats left to do now is driveshafts off and then the engine and gearbox can come out.

couple of questions,

can the engine and gearbox be lifted out together? looks pretty tight, but then i hear gettimg a gearbox off is quite a big job so would rather lift the lot out as one lump if possible?

can anyone reccommend a good firm that can do a full rebuild on the engine/bore out etc? need to hear some options on whats best to do with it really, want to turbo it up!

final question, anybody fancy lending me an engine lift for a weekend?

Fordmad!

If your not changing the clutch then pull them out together i would. It'll be tight but should come out, remember one unbolted and on the crane you can maneuver it and get it out.

Id imagine it will cost a fortune to turbo it as i dont think the rs2k engine is easy to tune.

Personally as its a 4x4 keeping it standard it will hold its value more id say!

stu20004x4

ive got one thats standard already, i want a toy lol :P

not sure if the shell is salvagable yet, once its just a rolling shell il get a specialist to take a look. ideally be best if i could repair it, but got to weigh up the costs involved. if its fit for the scrappers then so be it, and i plan on doing an rs2k hybrid, me and a mate have been toying with all sorts from a fiesta to a mini cooper lol but it will probably be an escort van as its the easiest option

STeve

iTrader: (11)

as for a engine rebuild stu theres a good few companys about but as ever it comes down to your budget and spec and theres is a gulf in Ł between std & uprated, engine and box can come out as one and best way I have found is drop the whole lot on the floor and lift body up over it

Acidburn

if they are that rare stick with it, just take longer to do it and get it right first time, you will thank yourself in the long run once its done.

either take them out the top or drop them out the bottom.

try and keep the car rolling as much as possible to help get it in/out and move around.

Acidburn

agree, all the escorts i've done in the past its came out the bottom, so much easier

stu20004x4

just a small update, went up there this morning and took the drive shafts off, disconnected gear linkage and put the wheels back on, she is now ready for engine/gearbox removal. i need and engine lift if anybody local has one they can lend me for a day? after your responses chaps ive decided im going to drop the engine out the bottom, so i will jack the front end up and add blocks under the axle stands for extra height, then loosen engine and gearbox, lower to the ground onto an old skateboard or something similar, and wheel her out of harms way!

SMILER258

Nice stuff. And that's saveable. Check my sierra project. That shouldve been binned but it's bouncing back! Looking forward to updates

Lee Grout

Interesting to see where you go with this. Like a bit of restoration like this.

stu20004x4

just a small update chaps, had hardly any time over crimbo to do anything.
picked up a galaxy engine this morning, already strapped to a pallet for Ł140! so thats ready to roll. had fun assembling my shiney new engine crane and lifting the pallet outbof my transporter van lol but it did the job. crane and spare pallet is now in the van, aiming to get the rs2000 lump out of old rusty sometime next week, then it will be sent up to gary up at blacksofstichill. i wont give anything away on what he is planning to do, you will have to keep an eye out for his rebuild thread i can say that it wont be ciming back to me standard!

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

No pics lol.

Mk4 Rick

Fucking hell that's rotten hope you didn't pay a lot for it.

stu20004x4

it came all wrapped up on the pallet glenn so i saw no pint lol. going to try and fit both engines on one pallet so il get some then




rick i got rusty for 600 quid, definately a lot of rust but worth it for the parts, going to have a stab at getting her fixed up keep watching lol

Mk4 Rick

Not bad then for Ł600

stu20004x4

got the engine and gearbox out today, sheeted and strapped to a pallet, alongside the galaxy 2.3 engine. unfortunately in my haste i forgot to take any Photos! So I've taken one of then both wrapped up ready to go and il be backbup there tomorrow to do some more stripping, so i will take a load then i promise!

blacksofstichill

Evening everyone, this is where I step into this project with the task of building an engine for Stu. Massive thanks to him for letting me loose on this as it meant him having to ship 2 engines on pallets up to me in the Scottish Borders and I appreciate that he chose me to carry out the work.

Having discussed a few options with Stu he sent up an RS2000 Engine and a Galaxy 2.3 engine as promised, I love it when I have an engine delivered and it's the start of another build! From the 2 Engines supplied we will be building one Turbo Engine using the 2.3 Block as a basis.



My Old Man getting busy with the Forklift -




Can you guess which engine this one is?




It's a 2.3! -













Firstly I needed to get it stripped down to a bare engine ready to put on the engine stand, starting off by removing the Alternator and Auxiliary drive belt -




Then the Inlet Manifold, etc was removed -




Coil Pack Cover off -




Coil Pack, Leads and Thermostat Housing off -




Don't think this flywheel will be much use to us!




Quite a pile of parts gathering already -




Moving round to the front of the engine now -







Auxiliary Drive Mounting Bracket, Idler, Tensioner, Power Steering Pump, Air Con Pump and Water Pump all removed -




Exhaust Manifold removed -




Starting to look a lot barer now -







And the pile of parts is getting bigger -




Engine Stand bracket bolted on -




Engine hoisted up -




And onto the stand ready for stripdown -










I'll leave the engine stripdown photos until another night but hopefully this is of interest for starters.....Cheers!

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Looking forward to seeing progress on the engine.

bagginsRSturbo

iTrader: (1)

Keep up the good work forward to the updates

stu20004x4

woohoo! great pics gary! awesome seeing it getting stripped down, you dont mess about

chris cdti

Bloody hell Stu you wanting this engine to rip rusty a new arse lol

parky405

Great start gary, look forward to seeing it progress...Keep your eyes on this thread guys, it will be a great build and interesting. Gary's work and attention to detail is second to none and always does a top job.

stu20004x4

allways been a firm believer in do it once do it proper mate, cant get more proper than this!

i still havent finished stripping rusty so dunno if she will be able to handle it yet, i can foresee a lot of welding happening in to add strength to the chassis, thats if the chassis hasnt crumbled to dust

bought a mig welder, just had power and lighting installed in my double sized garage so ive just got to get this gti stripped, parts sold or skipped and body cut up and then rusty can come home