Ok so I have very little mechanical know how but the big man loves a tryer right? I have a mk3 1.1 pop and want to build a RS1600i look-a-like. I dont have bottomless pits of money and nor would I sink oodles into this as it wont be worth it. I see this as a trial run to dip my toe in the resto pool with maybe something a litttle more challenging in future

My plan is to repair rust and get a coat of paint, replace the interior, upgrade brakes and suspension, add the spots, fogs, decals alloys and spoilers and add some creature comforts like electric windows central locking all of which I am confident of tackling.

I am also going to drop in a 1.6 CVH engine with 5 speed box and convert to YZF R1 carb - that I am not so confident with - and would really appreciate any advice, tips or potential pitfalls. I especially dont quite understand what is required for the 4speed to 5speed change but that is miles away so I will cross that bridge when I get to it

So please check back to see my progress and feel free to poke holes, ridicule or help as you see fit. I will post plenty of pics regardless of success or failure so at the very least this could be an entertaining read

 

OK so epic fail at first hurdle. How do I upload pics?

 

Ok so here is a pic of how it all starts.

 

Now with some website that allows me to upload bigger pics. So here it is and the little progress I have made so far







And unbelievably these rusted nuts came off no problem all they are absolutley had it. Anyone know where to get replacements? They are the larger nuts about the size of a 50p that secure the wiper pivot arms??


Heres the 1100cc power house

And some rot around the battery tray I actually think this was causing water in the passenger footwell

Oh and I made a template to drill the holes for the rear spoiler - this should be a disaster when I come to do it.

Thats all for now. am recieving an engine stand on Tuesday so will get the 1600cvh up on there at some point and start to strip next week

 

So I also got hold of a second hand clocks set with rev counter as the clocks on the Pop dont have one. Using a white dials kit and some red nail polish finsih isnt too bad not sure if I like it just yet

Also got a rot free mk4 door as mine is knakered so stripped all the handles and locks and reg out and started on the stripe

Who said you need a heat gun

All finished ready for the paint man

 

Why a RS look a like mate, are you too young for insurance purposes ?

Looks like you could of made yourself a nice sleeper which could of been fun. Real 16i bits will come at a premium mate, they are not cheap

Good luck and enjoy it bud

 

That's a bloody clean shell!! Looking forward to the updates on this..

 

I hope I will enjoy it ta. Thats the idea anyway. No I am 30 insurance as that car stands is Ł85 fully comp but there are a few reasons why I went for a look a like. I am doing this on a very tight budget was/am petrified of dreaded rust and the hidden costs involved plus I have no idea just what is or isnt fixable and I dont know any body guys so extensive work will be ŁŁŁs And to buy a S1 or RS with a shell that clean will probably cost 10times what I paid for that. And I have always loved the RS look. So classic.

Also its my first attempt and I didnt want to f*ck up a proper classic

And because of the budget some corners will be cut or compromises made I'm sure and I wouldnt want to do that to an S1/RS.

I know!!! I have been buying RS bits for months now so have bit of a stock pile.

If this goes well then I will probably try and get an S1 for the next project. That or I was reading about Silvertop Mondeo Zetec conversions for my mk3.I was going to do that until I found a price of around 3k but maybe in future

I know!! Basically nothing for me to do!Thanks I will keep them coming

 

ive built a rs1600i rep few year ago still got it and fooled ade brannon out of fast ford but built mine with a mk4 shell converted to mk3

 

Nice one you got any pics?

 

Looks a decent shell to start with, whats it like underneath?

You will get plenty of help from the guys on passionford.

 

Just a small section of my stockpile (I know it isnt all RS stock - hence my earlier post about compromises)

 

Its the same as the inside only muckier. I gave it a rub and banged waxoyl over the lot. No problems.

Cheers I hope so as you will see from my next post I will need it!!

 

Nice project. Good luck and look forward to the updates.

 

So the engine stand (450kg Ł39.99 on ebay) and workbench arrived today. Gonna hire a crane on weekend and lift the 1600 up onto it for the darker colder months of tinkering. My workshop (dads garage) is starting to take shape now. I even have a vice!! All men should have at least one vice!

Am in a total rush now because it goes off to paint on Monday and I want to get the engine out before then they arent painting the engine bay to save money I am going to do that but to make use of the crane twice to save hiring one again until I am ready to drop my new one in.

Tonight managed to remove - in no logical order - radiator, hoses and reservoir, waterpump, plugs, exhaust and manifold. now that may not sound like much but when you have never done this before and you have to look everything up in a Haynes manual while you go that is quite an achievement in a couple of hours!



And I have seen work wonders on old parts on here and wanted to give it a go. Was shattered and only really went at it for 15mins but I reckon this is about half way decent.

 

But now am stuck!! Dont really know what to remove or do next. Whats left all looks a bit complicated. Im guessing disconnect the drive shafts?? And I suppose I can get the speedo cable and throttle cable out of the way. Unplug any and all electrics? Fuel line too..

And do I lift it out attached to gearbox or disconnect?

Any help or advice welcome!!

 

my pics be on show us your escort mk4s or fastford sept 2010 those wheels youve got look 14" not 15"

 

Great I will defo take a look

Yeah those are 14s the deal was for 5 x P600's too plus they are mint! And I couldnt pass up the deal. I have the 15s without tyres but they are ROUGH and will be getting them refurbed and charcoal grey when the car goes in.

 

Old skool festa's are so cool. This one is so mint its untrue lol. Look forward to many more updates and well done on removing everything so far.

 

that looks to be a great shell you have there mate

and a nice little pile of bits already sorted too


i see you've registered on seriesoneturbo.co.uk as well fella, be nice to see you posting a resto thread on there...

 

Thanks I have taken the day off tomorrow to attempt the drive shafts and I see mr weatherman has rewarded me with a rain forecast!

Yeah that pile of bits is the tip of iceberg lol. I have bought a couple of job lots so have some things I didnt even know I had! I really need to spend a day cataloging. Followed by posting photos on here for the bits I cant identify!!

Honestly I thought it was for turbos only!! Maybe next yr if I get my zetec turbo project off ground

Thanks for the comments.

 

mk3 escorts of any shape and size are welcome mate

plenty of help, advice and parts too

 

Ok so a few pics of the replacement door getting some paint. A'la my corner cutting exploits I am getting the inside painted so that I can fit to the car and then the painter can go around the outside with all panels and doors on. Saving vital labour for the painter and ŁŁŁs for me







Right tomorrow is drive shafts out, spoiler holes drilled, engine up to point where I can lift it out on Sat. Wish me luck!

 

Really nice project there mate will be keeping an eye on this.

Re: wiper nuts etc, I got mine direct from Fords, but that was almost 10 years ago but they may be fairly generic so may still be available. Im sure I have seen them on eBay too. If I see them I will PM you.

Good luck with the project mate

 

my lass put few pics in my album lastnight dont know how to put pic on here have look of my rep also s1 van is a g reg mk4

 

Nice little project.The shell looks like its in good nic.

 

Cheers. Battery tray and one wing and both rear arches are gone. Apart from that its all good

 

So you know when you work for hours and achieve nothing?
:w all:
Well that was me today. Took today off at beginning of the week coz it said it would be a nice day. Woke up and it was p1ssing down and has done so all bloody day. None stop. But I'm on a deadline now so had to power through.

Today's task was remove the drive shafts ready for hiring engine crane and lifting out tomorrow. But as well as the miserable weather all day I couldnt find my 7mm hex so had to go to b&q to buy one. Then after I got the callipers off I rounded off one of the disc retaining screws so had to drill that out. Then when I was undoing the ball joint bolt i realised I didnt have a torx key big enough. Mine all ended at T40 and this one was bigger. So another trip out to machine mart this time. Using my new T45 torx key I was able to remove both ball joint bolts. Then the anti roll bar one side took about 30 mins of WD40 and elbow grease but eventually came off. The other side I fucking snapped my ratchet!! Must have been poorly made/designed as had part metal part plastic handle. So after that I gave up and came inside for a cuppa.

Oh i drained the transmision fluid. I did my reading and plenty of people didnt and had a lovely big stain on the drive.

That was 8 bloody hours work to achieve nowt!!

So when I came in soaked through to my small clothes I had both drive shafts moving in the hub but connnected at the diff. I couldnt separate them from the diff when I gave up. This was the sorry sight I stared at all day


So tomorrow I am going to go and collect the crane. Then I am going to buy a breaker bar and a new ratchet from Machine Mart. Gonna give the roll bar a go with the breaker bar but dont mind leaving that on for now. Then I am going to give the drive shafts 60mins tops THEN IM CUTTING THE BLOODY THINGS!!!!!! I WANT THAT ENGINE OUT BEFORE 12!!

Also put my stand together ready for lifting the 1.6CVH up on to it with the crane tomorrow. That is also tomorrows goal.


I go away on Monday for a week. So booked the painter and auto window guy for then. Windows out AM. Car away PM. So I have a deadline.

I really want to go to FordDay in Blackpool on Sunday but I cant miss this paint deadline so will have to play by ear.

Heres hoping tomorrow is more succesful than today

 

Gutting, I think we ALL at some point have had a shitty day like that whilst working on cars. There's nothing worse, especially when you've taken a day off for it! Onwards and upwards, tomorrow WILL be better

 

Had the opposite weather wise but still cocked up my work on the car.

Have been trying to DA polish one of my cars but too hot for the last few days. And today was supposed to be chuckin it down all day so made arrangements to do something else. Guess what no rain and nice and cool...

 

bit rains nowt

 

What a difference a day makes

Got the engine out. Had very few problems today. If I couldnt do as Haynes recommends then as old blue eyes once said - I did it my way. End result was the same







And whats this? negative/positive camber? Loving this ride height. Not


So I ended up missing my 12 oclock deadline by a couple of hours but at least its done.

Tomorrow's jobs mount the 1.6 on the stand and swap the passenger door.

Tonights job - a wash!

 

swap matrix pipes as well for cvh ones there a twat to do when engines in also throttle pedal or cable

 

interesting build. shell looks extremely good condiiton for age.

 

Thats 1 really clean shell best of luck with the build

 

VICTORY!!

Another good day in late summer sun, massive thanks to the old fella for chipping in great help. Got the door swapped. Had a few problems. 1st was actually getting to the bolts but after a bit of fettling it wasnt too bad. One problem was the door stop. The bolt span and with a blind exploration I found that the plate on the other side that is spot welded into place and broke its welds. Had to cut but as the door was scarp was not big issue. Because the replacement is a Mk4 door the door stop is a different desing two bolts instead of one. Gonna sort that when its back from painters.


Also got the engine up on the stand, again another first for me and wasnt straight forward. For a start I belatedly realised that the clutch housing and fly wheel had to come off first. Clutch housing no problem. Flywheel no chance was that coming off. Not only do I think I needed a air gun but also the fly wheel obviously span. Basically epic fail
Then the old fella came up with a legendary bodge. We cut lengths of steel tube that fit inside the engine stand and extended the mounts longer than the fly wheel. Quick trip to B&Q for some longer bolts and bobs your uncle.
You lot are probably gonna tell me I am mad or that I committed some cardinal sin but my motto is "if it works brag about if, if it dont then brag about it too"



And apart from that emptied the car of all the crap I was storing in there. debadged the rough RS7s and got all the trim off the RS1600 bumpers ready for those to be painted too.
Oh and swapped my RS steering wheel for the stock Pop one. Didnt want mucky hands ruining it after what I paid for it!!! The stock one is kinda cool really.


Front windows out so double bagged it tonight!!


So thats it, a very busy weekend. Apart from pilot holes for the spoilers I did everything I set out to do. Windows out tomorrow then trailered off for paint. so hopefully in a month or so a shiny new Rosso red Esco should be back on the drive.

Am away in Glasgow all next week so will be reading and researching and knowing me internet shopping more bits and bobs!

Tune in for the next calamitous episode, When Nico cleans, strips and rebuilds an engine....

 

I like where this is going mate

 

Good read! I will watch for updates...

 

 

Im glad you know where this is going because I dont!

I will try and keep them coming. Loads to do so Im sure there will be plenty

Cheers Wood5tock