And so the story starts:
Came across this very straight and resurrected bantam up in Scotland
Although nice it was not the look I envisaged for her
Unfortunately my mk2 XR2 had to go-only got the one garage
So with a heavy heart the fiesta found a new home and the bantam redesign began.........


Nice and clean





Wrong front end(88 XR3i) but hey ho





Spotless tub





[I]Not a happy cabin-1970's pimp palace springs to mind





Really nice tonneau though



Powder coated sprung tonneau assisters


The internet part sourcing began in earnest and so we arrive at this point







the Body kit side skirts are made from 3sets due to the truck being longer than the hatch





Twin pipes seem to balance the rear





Custom graphics from D.M.B. -great service from a great guy





Custom cards from a 5dr model-surprisingly hard to find in good condition





Old school sounds-canna beat the tinny ness of the tape !!!!





Old school rims with custom gel badges from D.M.B. Dave



She is currently in the shop having her finishing touches to include :

Grey/black leather seats from a 2015 Zetec s metallic edition

Spray on colour matched resin bed liner

Rear arches finished off to a neater stopping point

 

Love bantams,how hard was it to find?

 

Wow that's awesome. Are they a South African car or something? Never seen or heard of one before

 

Came across it by accident she was up in Scotland and the previous owner had renovated her so the purpose of carrying his golf clubs as they didn't fit in his bently gt.
Fortunately for me he developed a hip complaint so had to give up the greens an his loss became my gain

 

Yes they were never made in the UK
Made in Pretoria South Africa were they used that model(I believe) till 93 hence the plate
Commonly known as a "bakkie" in much the same way the Aussies use the term "ute"

 

I've seen you in this a couple of times near sherdley. I was in my burgundy mk4 escort.

 

Hey small world eh,maybe we shud start a Sherdley mk4 club
Wots yours all about is it stock seen a red Capri and an orange mk3 Tina in the area on my travels

 

This is well cool.

 

I actually live I grange park near thatto heath but both times I've seen ya was near sherdley.

your car looks stunning in the flesh

My car is standard 1.3

 

Thank you for the comment
Graham@ g.s. Escorts in Widnes is a font of knowledge and parts
Got my brand new window seals off him when I was told everywhere else that ya cuden get em anywhere

 

Yeah been there a couple of times

 

Do you intend keeping it standard
How long you had it

 

That is awesome.

 

Thank you-she is almost all I hoped she could be but the first body shop fell short of my expectations and hopefully my new guy can get it spot on,thanks gain

 

That is so bloody cool

 

Thanks for all the feedback makes all the effort a little sweeter

 

Hi just got these pix from my mechanic-good man-working Sunday to fabricate the brackets and what a great job



2015 Zetec s metallic edition





Colours fit the interior perfectly





Super comfortable

 

Such a shame these weren't more widely produced, really cool little cars!!

 

Thanks-it's running a 90spec XR3i engine and box so it gets down the road really well

 

Much nicer with the black interior too! Love the rear Bantam decal, really sets it off...
I wonder how many people see it on the road and think whet the hell is it?! Never heard of them till about a year ago, when I saw a mk3 version.

 

Every show we have been too this year she always gets massive attention but 99% of people think it's either a chopped van or a chopped combi-obv the roof line is higher on the van but the main giveaway is the tailgate which for some reason people don't seem to notice !!!

 

Cool learn something new everyday. Awesome looking car mate

 

Thank you,sold a mint mk2 XR2 to make room for this and wasn't sure if I had done the right thing-it's rare and not many know they exist let alone seen one and then I decide to go down the RS route but so so glad I stuck it out
She just makes me smile

 

Always thought a bakkie was when you gave your mate a lift home from school on your bike!?

 

Wow, that is bonkers! Interior looks really smart now

 

Thank you very much

 

So this is the one iv seen parked in merton bank then . Where you from mate?

 

Looks great, do you have contact details for DMB Dave as I need some decals too.

 

Hi pal , D.M.B.Graphics you will find them on Google any probs let me know and I will send you the full address

 

Yes it is its having some tweeks

 

Please turbo it then sell it to me

 

Getting bored of the 1.3 tbh.
Got funds to make a sleeper but...
1. Its too original and clean
2. I just don't have the spare time to do it myself (or a garage)
So therefore after owning for little over 12 months im thinking of putting on a fresh ticket next month and selling in the new year as I need another turbo in my life

I have a focus as a daily which I've owned for 11 years and the escorts keep me happy at weekends

 

 

Your scort looks great
Don't wanna do the engine as the previous guy did a great job on this one
Only prob was he mated it to a pre 90 box so it kept jumpin out of 5th at speed so I sourced a 60k 90 spec with the stronger gearing(so I was advised)

 

Just been down the body shop to check on the progress of the rear arches.
The RS body kit rear arches are supposed to sit on the rear bumper and as the bantam does not have one there lies the problem
Tried a couple of sets of original rear flaps combined with extended arches cut from genuine arches but was not happy with the fit or look
Chris from the body shop offered a solution:
Take the spare arches from the opposite sides and graft them in,effectively putting them on backwards
They have had to be hand shaped to fit the rear bottoms but with a little more blending in I think they will look sweet
Almost got a series 1 RST vibe to them-I'll keep ya posted



Series 1 RST ish???





Needs a little fibre blending





Nice joint





N.S. Rear in build





Good ol gaffer tape!!!!

 

Good idea that!! Looks really good!

 

Very pleased with fit and finish





Seamless angle'1'





Seamless angle '2'





Far better and worth the hassle

IF ONLY MY FIRST PAINT GUY COULD HAVE HAD THIS BRAINWAVE

 

That looks really well.

 

Thank you-got a few winter jobs to tick off

1:Refurbish the tops of the headlights

2:Locate an extra set of speakers to allow the graphic to function to the best of its ability-she has a covered vent on the inside of the door pillars so need to fab a couple of brackets to keep them hidden

3:Fit the colour coded rear parking sensors for ease and peace of mind

Thanks again for your comments

 

Had a look tonight driving past, looks good mate