Yes!

Me and AJC have a small collection of Mk 3 Escorts and decided that we should combine a Series 1 with the drive train (or most of) of a rear drive Sierra!

Here is the shell we decided to convert.




And the transmission tunnel



tunnel




We had to make some engine mounts to fit the engine onto.






Then we had to make some mounting arms to support the engine.




Then once we had the engine mounted, we had to look at the gear box. It turned out that the Mk 1 and 2 Escort tunnel wouldn't be sufficient and that we'd have to get another made, or risk it looking like a patch work quilt.




Currently this is how the shell sits. We need to get the tunnel made and welded in. Then we can look at mounting the gearbox. Once that is done, it's onto the rear end.

 

looking good daz dont stop now

 

keep the pics & updates coming . this looks like a great project mate

 

there will be more mk3/4 escorts running cosworth lumps than sierras by this rate, keep the updates coming

 

We was going to build 2! I'm duplicating everything I have made so this can be replicated on another shell!

 

lookin good , love the engine mounts they look proper motorsport
Ill be watching this thread

 

y doesnt every one build them like this instead of putting in the whole floor ?????

 

nice work, good to see something a little bit different from the norm on this type of conversion!

 

Are you going to fit the Sierra rear beam or an atlas ?

 

well daz if it anything like the standard of AJC,s and your S1 restoration it will be a cracker

 

keep them pics coming,christ its better documented than my Haynes manuel.....

 

Love these! Hope you can find a way to keep the front grill in though^^ Noticed a lot of the converted mk3's lose the front grill (Either that, or I'm not looking hard enough!)

 

suppose its all down to choice really , i went the full floor bulkhead route as it gives more of a finished factory look to it rather than the just enough to do the job look ,

thats not a dig daz mate,

also ,simplicity re engine mounts , arb , and gear box mounts, its all there already allinged ,

aye you bracing the floor to the new tunnel section ??

what route you going re the steering rack bud ??



good build , will keep an eye on it


beef

 

Excellent project


Brian

 

will keep an eye on this

 

Cool project looks like you've made some good progress!

 

Those engine mounts look mint

 

Just cuious now,which way did ford do it on the RS1700T ? Did they fit a floor etc like Beefys project or did they do it like DazC is doing here?Both cracking projects by the way. http://www.rsownersclub.co.uk/car_info/esc31700t.htm

 

Thanks Less.

It should retain all it's Series 1 looks including the front grill.

Not taking it as a dig Beef. It's all down to personal preference and I wanted to do it this way to keep the rest of the shell as factory. Plus I couldn't be arsed to cut a floor out and make it all fit!! Although I can see why it's done that way as once it's in, everything bolts up.

The tunnel will be made of 3mm steel and braced to the chassis that I've cut out of the bottom of the bulkhead. I'll be adding stength where I can and plan to brace the tunnel at the rear to the chassis legs. I plan on making a WRC type set up for the rear once I've decided what diff to use.

Rack wise, I'm going to use a spare 2wd rack AJC has lying around in the workshop and make a crossmember to support it once I have a matching 2wd column and pedal box. I'll need them all so I can get measurements.

They had a gearbox in the rear on the RS17T and some fancy independant set up similar to the WRC Escorts from what I can remember. See my reply to Beefy above for the rear end plans.

 

Looking good that lads will keep a close eye on this build, I notice my brothers old 16 i is still hanging around BLJ 619Y

 

That belongs to my apprentice now. It's being slowly built up an and when he gets money to spend on it.

 

Thanks for the reply Daz,will be watching the updates as they come in

 

Good work daz and andy saw this when i was up

 

I think daz stitched new tunnel in last night

 

should be on its wheels now come on daz

 

nice

 

I'd love to do this, keep us updated

 

this is nice carnt wait to see it finished

whens the next update

 

Looks like plenty of fabrication to do to this.Looking forward to rwading the updates.

 

you do not need to make the trans tunnel out of 3mm steel its way to heavy 1.2 or 1.5mm is more than enough .done some nice work on the engine mounts though .

 

coming along well

 

I think it's been made out of either 1.8mm or 2mm. It was copied from a wide tunnel for the Mk1 and 2 Escorts but with a template shaped to the contours of the Mk 3 floor. Unfortunately it was slightly short at the top of the tunnel so I will have to get an infill piece made to join the top into the bulkhead but it's nothing major. I still need to trim some of the floor pan along the edges of the new tunnel underneath but internally it's fully welded in now.

I'll get pictures when I've made some more progress. I've been pretty busy at work so haven't had the time to nip out and get things sorted. I will be running out of things to do up to the point were I decide what diff and rear hubs to use.

 

Ill be keeping an eye on this keep up the good work

 

On it's spit getting welded.

 

bloody hell daz c caught doing some think. that,s a first !

 

Looking good Daz, keep up the good work and updates

 

can't wait to see it finished, keep the updates coming

 

great project daz

 

It's been seam welded on the front end externally (unerneath, bonnet area, inner wings/wheelarch are) and the tunnel has been 90% welded in. As the tunnel was made from a Mk 1/2 tunnel it's not quite right. I need to make an infill piece at the top to bridge a gap to the bulkhead.

I'm going to look into starting on the back end next. The reason being that I need to get a donor car to remove a pedal box/gearbox and I need to trial fit some seats. I may need to narrow the tunnel near the pedals and also near the seats so that they fit (gearbox to make sure I don't narrow it too much. Seats and pedal box to trial fit to see how much I need to narrow it by). I'd sooner buy a donor than all the little bits as it's just easier as everything is there that you need.

 

When said we have a collection of Mk 3 Escorts lying around.....



Seam welded underneath




Tunnel in



On the spit