Well I currently own a 1.4i Escort Mistral which I have decided to turn into an XR/RS look-a-like, I know people tend to look down at reps, but its going to be a bit of a learning curve for me, I know its nothing big but Ive never taken on such a task and Im going to do it all myself, so here is the car I am starting with:











As you can see its a bit of a mess in places, but generally a straight and tidy car, Its Java blue which looks nice in the sun, one thing I have done to it before I started this thread was to change the lower suspension arms.

Hopefully when I have finished it it will look like an XR/RS with a bit of a twist but I might track it when I have played with the suspension and brakes and when I have more experience I might even pop in a bit more power

 

gotta start somewhere chap, nice one (even if it is a mk5 )

 

Mk 5b

Cheers, cant wait, dont have a huge amount of money but loads of enthusiasm and not worried about getting stuck in so it might take a while but it will get there!? though looking at some of the other threads in this room it will never compare to them

 

go for it mate, good luck...

 

no thats a mk5a

lower arms are a common problem on the later escorts mate all three of my rs2000`s had to have lower arms (2x mk5 and 1 x mk5a)

i have a pair of rs2000 front headlights and sides if interested and a front bumper from the silver rs2000 in my sig

 

you might as well have a go, if it goes good then u'v got a nice motor, if it goes tits up then its only an old mk5 at the end of the day.

no1 likes my rep either, dont worry about it lol.

 

All the best and ill be watching this

 

I have the front lights ready to go just need to wire them in, though im going to be cheeky, you dont know where i might get a rear beam so i can upgrade to rear discs??

Cheers for the comments guys

 

Jd motorsport in carlisle is your best bet mate darren is a sound chap

Nice base for a top motor there

 

i wouldnt bother with the rear dics just yet to be honest,you'll be over breaking way too much!

but good luck witht he project mate,i shall be watching this one

 

Looks like a good base to start from mate Have you thought about doing a RS 2000 maxi rep?

 

I have, Ive got a couple of ideas floating around at the mo, Like I said I havent got a huge amount of money so I will be doing it for a cheap as possible and as much of it myself cos Im not afraid to have a go, first off will be to tidy it up for now, things like paint the mirrors the right colour wire up the RS lights get the bumper on, so only little things now.

I know what you mean with the rear brakes thing is I want to buy after market suspension for it soon, so will i have to wait until i have the RS beam and get RS dampers or will i be able to get the dampers now, fit them and then swap the whole lot over when I have a powerful enough engine to justify the rear discs?

obviously as Im doing as much myself it may take a while, but thanks for the comments guys and watch this space.

 

Engine Choice?

Com'on then peeps, what engines do you recommend? at the mo it has a 1.4i CVH, but I was thinking maybe a Zetec that I could later upgrade to a Zetec turbo? any other suggestions?

Oh and where is best for security in the south wales area? gonna need some form of alarm.

 

2.0 zetec from a mondeo mate,cant go wrong,cheap enough from a breakers yard aswell also get the 2.0 zetec fron breaks from a mondeo aswell they will help it stop a little better!

 

Many mods needed to convetr the the fronts to take Mondy brakes?

 

dont think so,think you just need the calipers and the cariers

 

Awesome will check that out

 

Good project mate good luck with it

 

Cheers,

What Zetec? Black top or Silver top?

 

Good luck with the project mate

 

Small update comming tomorrow

 

escort cossie brakes will go straight on...

 

Will I need to change the master cylinder?

 

hi good look with the project
ive got a full escort cosworth bodykit with the full wings not the cheap bond on type. pm me if intrested

 

nah...

 

Thanks for the offer, but im not really looking to make it in to a cossie rep, nothing against cossie reps, but then are very difficult to get right, thats why i never commited my project to a specific car

 

WELL!!!!

What can I say, here is a very late update, not alot going on at the moment, lack of funds and the weather being crap as I dont have a garage to work in is really cramping the project but it will get there, just slowly
So in pictures:















So as you can see, off came the old bumper, then a few coats of java blue for the new bumper topped with laquer. refitting the spots and indicators, finally the number plate before putting it back on the car. Before anyone says, yes I know the lights dont sit right but the bumper seems to be pushing them up, it wasnt until I looked at the XR/RS lights I have that I realised the are fractionally shorter (from bumper to bonnet height) so hopefully that will bw cured when they go in. only niggly thing other than that was the fact that the drivers side indicator wires wouldnt reach so I had to cut the wires and extend them, but it all works now.

Like I said slow but IT WILL GET THERE!!!!

 

well done colours abit out though

 

Yeah doesnt seem as dark as the body colour, though hopefully i can get the car blown over when i have saved up so it will all be the same then

 

its been a while, but after being in work too much and not having funds and thinking of saving up for an RS not alot happened in the last year or so, until now that is. The Rs lights are wired in, I have now put a gti rear bumper with spats on and I have the skirts ready to go, I have an RS2k bonnet which I am currently removing a dent from and the car is sporting the later shaped mirrors. this is all in anticipation of a respray next month to get it looking up to scratch with an alarm install on the cards too. I have an rs2000 rear beam, but that wont go on for a while, need to save so i cna upgrade the brakes and the suspension at the same time.

The plan for the future is gaz coilovers, wilwood fronts brakes, and put on the rs2000 beam. then it is just the engine, still floating on the zetec, but whatever convesrion I go for I will have to get an auto electrician in as I am shite with car looms, the othe possibility is ST170 engine and box, but we will see.

quick pics tomorrow.

 

no mate it is actualy a mk5 b . its got the mk6 back end .



Good clean looking car you have got their. best of luck.

 

it reminds me of how mine started out as, looks good

 

the pics i promised, like i said it looks a bit rough at the mo, but will look smart when painted.

 

Couple more pics:



Front Grille, taken an XR3i grille and decided to imitate a cossie grille but just to be different, plus the badge will sit different and it will be going back blue, only thing is I want to put something behind it like on the cossie it has quite a nice subtle black square mesh, but I cant really get anything other than halfrauds boyracer mesh :s



Skirts, just need a final rub down and re primer before top coat, missing jacking point covers though, would these be easy to get or will I be able to just pop a bit of fibre glass over them?



RS2000 bonnet ready to go, got it at a cheap price cos it had a dent in the front which as you can see in the next pic is now gone, just wish I had taken a before pic now, it was just infront of the bulge right to the front where the bonnet curves down.



and finally, not that it will be going on for a while yet as there is too much else to do, but here is the RS2000 rear beam, I will be stripping it down to clean it up, is there any other way of tidying it up ready for paint other than sandpapering it? getting sick of the sight of sandpaper now!? lol.



also when its ready for paint can I just use Waxyoil stone chip in black or is there better ways to do it, I know it could all be powder coated, but I dont know anywhere near swasnea that will do it and it is a bit more of a cost than I can really afford right now.

 

good work mate, will look similar to mine when its done lol yuo doing the same sort of mods. you planning an engine change or keeping as it is.

 

I must admit I do like the look of yours, there will be some subtle differences, does yors still have the side moulding? mine is going in for a lick of paint next month so everything will need to be ready for then. Going to stay Java blue though.
Planning an engine change in the future, but I will have to save a fair bit first, Im toying with either a 2L Zetec or an ST170 engine and box. but before that will be the brakes and suspension, Money money money........

 

Quick update,

popped the RS2000 bonnet on and the modified xr grille (though the grille is not finished) but found the passenger headlight is sitting too far back from when my mate Ben bumped it, so I will have to take the lot off and straighten the mount.
I will put photos up when I have done that. Just need to remove the side moulding strips, put on the skirts and fill and smooth any small parking dings ready for paint.

Oh and no-one told me that the rs2000 bonnet needs a different bonnet catch!? nevermind modifiyed mine until I can get one.

 

Well here it is, still need to sort out the passenger side light, but i will get that at the weekend when i can take the bumper and air box off. nearly ready for paint....





Will be meshing behind the grille, and also removing the spots and meshing them, where can i get mesh similar to the grille in an Escos, because I dont want boyracer small mesh!?

 

Decided to sort some of the dents before its goes for paint, that and the fact I finally had a day off where it was sunny?! heres some pics as I just cleaned, keyed and filled them:















I will put more up tomorrow when I have sorted the primer.

 

Side moulding is off, primered over the filler, almost ready for paint, will get more photos up when I get a mo.