Hi all firstly apologies for the long post after seeing many good restorations taking place decided to start mine.
Bit of background info bought my escort 8 years ago for £600 knowing it needed work I was keen to take on a project, work started well a steady flow of new parts and fitting began but about 6 months down the line work began to slow expanding family, working 6 days a week and the fact the car was stored away from the house made it difficult to work on and before I knew it weeks turned to months and the car hadn't been touched lost faith it would ever get done....

One day had a phone call off mrs she needed to pop to see me at work, little did I realise she would roll up in a rs turbo at first I thought she had bought one till I saw the ref number and couldn't believe it it was mine! What I'd found out she had arranged with a close family friend to have the car take it away and with his own money and time paid to get it running and get it all road legal for me to use I hadn't been near the car for months didn't even realise it was missing !

The car quickly got the nick name westy after the man who got it done ( named by my two boys ) however not long after completion he passed away after being ill for some time which gutted all of us.

I used the escort everyday as my daily drive and apart from a fuel pump and a couple of repair work for the mots it had never let me down, which leads me to where we are now I stripped back all the interior bumpers and body kit and found it needs a lot of work so I took it to a ford restoration specialist to look at the shell and body and been quoted £12.000 engine s+s brakes interior I can do but didn't work and paint want doing properly I have niether body work skills or space to attempt it myself so left with a huge dilemma start again with new shell try other body shops as you can imagine I'd love to save the car holds huge sentimental value hate to see it scrapped , any help or advice greatly received a lot of you guys have been here before what prices did you pay or anyone you would recommend that are good restoration specialist cheeRS