i own a REALLY nice escort cosworth, its a late 1996 with 29k miles on it, underneather is pretty much amazing and totally as ford intended with the black underseal, its still shiny under their but needs afew brackets replacing, the car is totally 100% standard. Even tho its a great base start i will need alot of work to bring it to the standard i want. the engine bay is veru clean but as its white alot of the dirt is in the paint now. so just wondering can you guys give me some pointers on where to start?? im well up for getting my hands dirty. heres a pic to whet your apitite. im really chuffed with it, but am desperate to turn it into a concourse winner.



i will take some pics of underneath so you can see wot you think.

 

 

 

as you can see its pretty clean underneather with no dirt at all, just tarnished and dirty metals

 

another, unfortunatly the flash is taking the shine off the underseal but in reality it looks shiny, the only parts that let it down are all the tarnished metals ect ect

 

 

alot of hard work mate....

all underseal wil need stripped and replaced than all removeable parts power coated...

 

Going concourse mate is hard work, believe me. I've done it. Never mind about it being clean, you'll have to take all that off and get it sand blasted and powder coated, the underside you'll need to strip all the underseal off and get that and the arches painted, the engine will need to basically be taken to bits and cleaned - and then you need to keep it like that. That means every time the car goes out on the road you'll be spending 2 days cleaning..........very rewarding but you have to be 100% totally dedicated. If you're not then leave the car as is !!! Keep her clean and whatnot but unless you're going to be a decficated bufty who will only use the car for shows, maybe even trailer her everywhere don't bother.

 

can i ask why i need to strip the underseal off, its in fantastic condition under their. but i defintly couldnt not use it. what i want is to get the car AS good as possible, but still have the balance of being able to use it in the dry ect cet.

hopefully you'll understnad what im aiming for. i wish you could see underneath this thing in person its very very clean, and also totally bog standard, not many like this, i think with a right amount of work, all brakets removed, powder coated, replace all suspension parts, ect ect i think it will be a grwat balance between concourse and summer usability.

can you not see the potnetial for this car? i see it as a blank canvas, im well upf ro getting my hands dirty, alot of maintanance is somethink i expect and look forward to!!!

 

IMO there is alot of diff between a nice clean standard car and a concourse show winner.

sure some of the bufftys wil point you in the right direction

 

Mate, you either want a concourse car which is as I said above or you want a clean road car. You can't have both. If you want to do then go for it, great feeling but just beware it won't just be a case of getting your hands dirty, there's alot of blood, sweat, tears and money required...........concourse ain't cheap as you will also need to replace alot of stuff as well.

 

The reason i took the underseal off my XR2i is becasue i wanted to see if any rust was lurking under there, the original underseal will clean up perfect with Spirits and a good scrubbing brush or tooth brush, but if there's rust under there, all the hard work has been for nothing. So if your gonna have it minted and know its perfect take the underseal off.

 

Remember you could go in for working class concourse, that way there would be no need to strip underseal etc.

 

Very true, but I think he wants full blown concourse area trophies !!!!

 

mr s1 working class concourse would suit me to the ground!! perfect!

 

In that case you don't need to worry about the underside of the car.....it's all panels, interior, engine bay etc. You could do that without too much headache and that's the route I'd recommend to you.

See a post in this room about cleaning (link below) - I've put a guide as to how I do things there, not comprehensive and each to their own but will give you some idea.

https://passionford.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=180456

 

thankyou very much, hopefully the underside being as clean as it is already will help maybe, i would like to do a degree of work underneath as it could be really special under their with minmal work.

thanks for your guide and help, i will post pics as i progress.

 

Just remember to take your time..............and attention to details is everything. Make sure the bits that are hard to reach are as clean as the doors on the outside..............if you want any advice or help, give me a shout

 

A very good read this post im looking for a sapphire cosworth ATM and was interesting Concourse but this working class concourse sounds btter as i wish to use the car on nice days too.

Is there anywhere to find the info in different levels of concourse and whats involved with them and where there hosted????

 

Working class is held at the same meetings that full concourse is mate. Only difference is as described above.

 

Cheers Dude.

Just one more question thats always buged me on concourse does the car had to be completely standard and the same goes for working class concourse does the car have to be standard???

 

You have standard and modified - classes for both so if you've got a 500 brake monster that's working class concourse it goes in - modified working class !!!

 

so mr s1 if you was me, where would you start? how do i start?

 

Firstly, my names Stuart

OK, this time of year is perfect for you to make a start. The shows will start soon. Now you can begin to really start to sort the car out. The temperature at the moment is too cold to start using any kind of polish really, but when it gets warmer have a really good look at the paintwork. You may think it's good but look at it in the daylight with the sun shining down the sides etc. Swirl marks I suspect and plenty of them. They need to come out so you need to use a cutting polish (a mild T-Cut in simple terms). Give the whole car a thorough going over with that. Polishing is an art, and the art isn't doing it in circles. all you'll do is put more swirl marks in. Straight lines is how I do it. Sounds odd and looks odd but it works. You need to make sure that basically every piece of metal is as clean as the outside panels, door shuts, window surrounds, sunroof aperture................the lot. Same with the engine bay and engine. Detail is the difference between 1st and nowhere..........

Go to the shows, look at other cars. It will give you an idea of the standard you'll be up against and what you need to do to beat them !! Talk to the owners, they're pretty sociable people who will help you !!

That's where I started..............

 

ok stuart, im looking forward to getting started, nervous alittle, but looking forward to it. im bound to find the car will need paint somewhere. but i think ive got a very good base to start with!!

by the way im byron

thanks for all your help youve been brilliant.

As its not the best time to start polishing due to the cold, should i start by stripping the engine bay and replacing with new parts? ive already replaced the turbo heat shield, header tank, as these were badly scratched and grazed by heat. the engine bay need just a good clean and i no it'll be pretty much amzing in their!!

the interior is like new basically, smells lovely, the seats are so mint they could be passed off as new ones!!

really looking forward to getting going. so i assume i'll go in sections stuart, say bodywork, engine, underneathe, ect ect. which is the EASIEST to sart with to let me to the world of bufty?

 

with it being sol cold start with the engine bay - as you say replace whatever needs doing but you could also start cleaning that. It's such a confined / small area cleaning that will be OK, but just because it's hidden don't think 'oh it won't matter' because it will.

Take your time, do it properly.

Are you going for standard working class or modified ? If standard, everything will need to be as it rolled out the factory..............

 

stu check out the interior!!

i havent touched this car yet by the way its vey clean

 

stu this car hasnt got a single modification, its totally bog standard and it will be kept that way.

 

It's clean and as Ford intended. That's a good start. Don't use all the shiny dash products - they're crap and all they do is attract dust. Keep the leather supple by using Autoglym leather care and get a damp cloth and wipe the surfaces down. That's all you need to do. Don't forget to keep the floor mats clean - treat them the same way you would the rest of the interior.

 

stu i think me and you will be talking alot over the next few years!! lol

im guna need you advise!!

 

No sweat mate - there are others far more experienced with concourse than me, all I can do is tell you how I do things. You will develop your own ways and routines over time but if I can help then I will.

All part of the service

 

right im off to get started on this then. whats the best way o get rid of years of baked on grime? im talking at the back of the engine bay,

 

Depends..............are you going to get the engine bay painted ? I'll assume not, so the best stuff for removing crap is Gunk. But beware, it's petroleum based so you won't be able to polish straight over the top. You are then going to need to T-Cut the whole lot, and that is bloody hard work..........trust me !!!

Wear latex gloves when using both, as Gunk is a solvent and T-Cut will make your hands smell for days.............top tip !!!!

 

gutted, im going to need some gunk, i guess i'll have to start tomorrow!!!

i mite get the bay re-painted properly, mmmmmm wonder what that costs!! lol

it feels like such a huge task!!!

ive just gone to have a look at the engine and its mega clean by road car standard but by bufty standard its a fookin mess, lol.

 

Could use WD40 as well, that'll work.............

 

well ive worked out a plan, see what you think

engine
strip all tanks out of engine bay and replace with new ones
replace as many clips and bolts/nuts as poss
clean and add engine detailer to all hoses to get that glossy look.
remove as much dirt as possible from engine bay, if this fails get the engine removed and the bay re-painted.
Any rust found will be professionally sorted.

bodywork.

use carbanara wax (not sure about spelling) on the whole of the body, inner doors, door bottoms ect ect
remove bumpers and side skirts, again any rust found will be professionally sorted (hopefully not to much rust) clean and polish the exposed areas. Remove all seals and replace, under the seals wax and cut back rubber marks.

interior.

to be honest its that good, it will just need maintaining at its current standard, its that good. as you can see in the pic above!

underneath

take off original exhaust and rub down (as you can see its in very good condition fro Mild steel.

replace ALL suspension components for brand new units, bushes, dampers, wishbones everythink
remove and rub down prop shaft then repaint gloss black.
clean the underseal, (its already shiny)lol.

wheels

remove and refurb all wheels, one has what looks like bubbling by the valve.

so thats my wish list as it were. im hoping after this has been done the car will be pretty much one awesome, standard road car. just as ford intended!!!

is this a good line to follow stu?

 

If you're going working class I really think there's precious little point in doing too much with the underside. Just make sure the arches and suspension units are clean. If you're going to go to those lenghts with powder coating everything you might as well go full concourse. Certianly the plan for the engine / engine bay is spot on.........but be aware that Ford stopped producing the Escort Cosworth 11 years ago so some parts may be VOR at best..........maybe not available. Just be aware before you start ripping clips off etc..........certainly get the wheels re-cut and standard fit tyres on. Bodywork wise you're on the right lines, any small dinks can be taken out by Dentmaster if there are any. I wouldn't take the arches off - if they're still originally fitted by the factory I'd leave them unless they have to some off to paint the body. Pig to fit back properly - can be done by a good body man (incidentally if you need a superb painter I know a man - he painted my S1.......) but if you can leave the kit I would. Bumpers are no big deal though, they can come off.

No doubt there will be those who disagree with me, but all in my opinion..........

 

is your sprayer, top notch?? if so can you pm me his details please mate?

think im going to get the bay re-sprayed tbh.

 

stu i defo want to go for "working class" but i WANT to do the underneath, nothink severe but enough to make an impression, the car, along with my other classic will never see the rain in my ownership, so i wont need to worry about that. think im going to get the bay done first, get it totally re-painted, then totally mint, at least with the motor out i can get all the bits of rust that may be found sorted.

 

Fair enough - start with the engine bay.................