Here are some early pics of my latest project, a XR3 of 1982 vintage!!!

Travelled almost 600 miles in total yesterday to get it here and took best part of 14 hours which included a early start in the morning... was up and away by 3.45am

Got it home and in the garage and am well pleased with what i have seen so far, especailly considering the car is 25 years old !!!!

Am planning on completely stripping it and starting from scratch and putting it back to as standard looking and original as possible.

Will be struipping everything from under the car and cleaning back all the old flaky underseal then resealing it and painting it all.

Engine will be stripped and worn internals replaced as required, also going to change the old basic 4 spd box for a 5 speeder so anyone with a 5spd Mk3 gear linkage for sale drop me a pm !!!

Will be posting up pics all through the resto.









Am well pleased with the condition of the shell and only have some fairly minor welding to be done, going to tidy up all the other small bits that have been recently welded and repaired as want to have it looking like its never been welded and is original !!!

Quite a lot of work ahead of me but looking forward to getting stuck into it and having something worthwhile at the end of it that hopefully wont be costing me an arm and a leg to have on the road

Check out my dalmatian having a look in the engine bay in the second pic!!! Think he approves of my choice in old Fords as was having a right good rumage around it !!!!

 

like the old xr3's get some cloverleafs on it

 

I'm glad you're restoring it. Not enough attention is paid to the old XRs.

 

Looks like it'll be a good project mate. I have 2 dalmations they like to have a good nose around my cabby project, I have muddy paw prints and scratches all over the sides (good job I haven't started prepping for paint yet).
I may have a mk4 gear linkage in storage, are they the same as the mk3?

 

Should be a good restoration always had a soft spot for the mk3 escorts

 

Like these you mean.......................



Got these with the car and will be having them blasted and painted so look as good as new.

Used to hate these wheels with a passion years ago but now think they look kinda cool.... very retro

 

I think the Mk4 linkages are different IIRC, seem to remember something like this years ago when i had Mk3 and Mk4 escorts on the go all the time !!! I could be wrong though...anyone know about this ???

Both my dogs were having a right nose through the car today!!!

 

Yeah and me, honestly cant remember the last time i seen an old XR3 on the road as most seem to have suffered a case of

Shit load of work ahead of me and its not worth a great deal when its finished and on the road but thats not the reason im doing it, want to preserve a dying breed and save another old Ford from the scrap heap

 

gd luck with it

 

Made a bit pf progress with the car tonight and now have the engine and box out and both front suspension legs off.

Have also taken the nearside front wing off as not happy with the welding and need to tidy up the inner wing a bit.

Here's a couple of pics.





Also have some tidying up to do on the nearside A pillar as been welded before but not done very well





All in all its not too bad and the shell is in fairly good nick i think considering its 25 year old!!!

 

not a bad mate not bad at all

 

Good luck with it
Good to see another being put right

 

My Brother has also got a Mk3 XR3, also with a 4 speed box.

Its sitting in my garage and only needs a couple of sills.

How much did you pay for yours ?

Steve.

 

sils ent expensive mate there 20 quid as i got some for my previous xr3

 

The guy had it up for Ł380, got it for a lot less than that and got loads of various bits and pieces thrown in with it including a full powerflow stainless steel exhaust system, 3 sets of alloy wheels, some fiesta Si seats, a good dashboard and loads more

They are only really worth what someone is prepared to pay for them so hard to put a price on them really !

I just bought this one as have fancied an old Mk3 for ages and this one came along at the right time so just went for it.

Am still not 100% sure what to do with it yet, keep it totally standard or change it slightly, did think about maybe painting it performance blue and putting a set of 15in 7 spokes on it and maybe front and rear RS1600i spoilers..... opinions welcome!

 

the race blue orignal badgeing and rs 7 spokes in 17inch if u can find some that wil look just the bollocks

 

Have to agree with you there mate

17 inch 7 spokes are stupidly expensive though

 

look for a good deal i got myns for 50 quid

 

Fooking hell mate what a bargain

Im miles from anywhere though mate and thats the problem with finding parts, you are at the mercy of buying parts unseen and trusting peoples judgement and having to beg people to post things which most folk cant be bothered with

Let me know if you ever hear of another set would you mate, or sell me yours!!!!!

 

wil do mate i went all the way to nottingham to get myns LOL!! but il drop ya a pm if i get a set or sell mines

 

Nice one mate, cheers.

 

FOR REAAL

 

You mean this one?



Paid 375 for it and as my bro said only needs outter sills and thats it totally std and staying that way few silly bits to do but nothing major runs fine cant believe i got it so cheap i almost ripped the blokes arms off to get it lol

Good luck with yours you got a shit load more than me to do

 

DRRIBBBLEEEE

 

Oi not on the car pmsl

 

pmslll

 

ONE RIGHT UP THE ROAD FROM ME IM BEGING THE GUY TO SELL IT

 

Im really glad i got mine dont know why i ever sold my last mk3 lol should be out this summer as long as i get the time lol

 

looking good

 

 

Was just going to say that the pass side wing was only tacked on.

Welding on the A pillar isnt/wasnt mine.

TBH if it had been my car then I would have done a new front panel and possibly both pass side floorpans rather than repair them.

The inner sill section just at the rear arch is rotten, never got round to doing it for them. Did the drivers side when I replaced the outer sill section.

Good shell none the less and well worth saving

 

looks cool i'll keep an eye on it

 

Nice looking project

 

Its def worth saving alright, thats the reason im doing it !!!

Im just really fussy when it comes to welding as that was my job for few years so want all the welding on this to be perfect

The front panel where it meets the n/s wing is easily repaired and wanted to tidy up the top edge of the inner wing at the same time so thought it easier just to take the wing off again and have more room to do it properly that way. Have now cut the top section of the inner wing out and making up a replacement lip for the wing to be secured to, after taking the wing off i noticed how poorly the a pillar had been repaired I just ran over it with the grinder to flatten the welds and the repair patches started to fall off

Good thing about doing a project like this is that my time dont cost anything and there is no rush to get it on the road so i can take my time and do it all properly so it will be worth doing and will last for a long time

Im now maybe thinking about changing the colour to performance blue and wondered how it would look with the S1 turbo kit,wheels and interior on it ???

Opinions welcome

 

What a bargain find mate

Think the old XR3's are maybe even rarer now than the rest of the Mk3 range!!

Post up some more pics mate

 

Got a couple more ill open my own thread rather than hijack this one

https://passionford.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=259956

 

Made some good progress today on the nearside inner wing, here's how it started out!




Made up and welded in a new lip for the wing to be welded to.


Then welded up the corner of the front panel where it meets the wing.


Started on the rotten A pillar then which had been repaired before and by the look of the welding i reckon it was Stevie Wonder that did it !!!!

Made up a nice new patch to strengthen the door hinge mounting on the A pillar.

Then welded it in place and tidied up the surrounding area including welding a repair patch onto the end of the scuttle panel that had previously been repaired with filler!!


And thats the nearside inner wing all nice and strong now and ready for some seam sealer and the can weld the new wing back on.

Inner wing on the driver side is solid so wont need any welding i dont think so next thing to do i reckon is start on the rear arches and sills and get them all nice and neatly repaired.

Am now thinking about changing the colour to possibly Imperial Blue and fitting the kit from a S1 Turbo along with the interior and wheels and reckon it should look rather done this way !

 

An old classic being restored, doesnt look too bad when its stripped down.

 

nice one matey