Project_Bonus

Just got myself an RS1600i complete front arb setup on flea-bay for a bargain which will be going onto a MK4 escort.

Knowing that it came off a MK3 are there any modifications i will need to make to the shell or custom brackets etc to make it fit.

I have a MK4 Popular if that makes any difference, also i know this question has been asked a million times but what suspension would anyone recommend to work in harmony with the arb. Im preferably looking at a fully adjustable setup so coilovers are probably gonna be the choice i go for just not sure on which ones.

studabear

mk3/s1 gearbox and mounting brackets, front crossmember needs modding iirc

zippyobrien

iTrader: (2)

You need to drill a few wholes is front cross member then weld tubes in to stop them being crushed when you do the bolts up ( as per factory)

And you can either cur and weld the gearbox craddle to fit or run either a ib5 from a mk5 escort or a s1 box as mentioned

vroooom ptssssh

Don't know why it would be any different to fitting to a mk3 other than the gearbox? I could be wrong but im sure the holes are in the same places for S1/rs1600i (Infact I know they are exactly the same) and mk4...

all I had to do to fit one on my S1 was get some longer bolts for the crossmember holes (cvh head bolts are perfect) Know people who have fitted them to mk4's and never knew anything about drilling holes or welding anything at all.

muz

Only 5 of the holes line up on a MK4. The ARB set ups are completely different on MK3's and 4's. You need to drill and tube 3 new holes. Two in the front crossmember and one in the offside chassis rail at the back.

nigel b

Drop new holes in the arb bracket,saves adding tubes to the shell
Use a mk3 or mk5 casing with mk3 front and back gearbox mounts

Project_Bonus

Ok cheers for all the replys guys, so the basis of it is the front crossmember needs to be modified with extra holes and tubing, im going to be changing the front cross member anyway so that shouldnt be too much of an issue.

The only thing im slightly confused about is the whole gearbox situation, I dont see why i would need to change an entire gearbox casing just to fit an arb especially for a mk3 s1 box which no offence to people who use them is over 25 years old!! Im going to be fitting a 1.8 zetec from a MK5 with a 5 speed box aswell so what will need to be done in order to get this to fit, I.E what mounts will i need and will i need to modify the gearbox cradle.

In terms of alignment is it a simple line up and bolt up job, or is there any fabrication needed here. Im going to be seamwelding the shell so what would you guys suggest for some extra strengthening perhaps, some extra weld plates welding in etc.

Keep the comments coming guys this is really helpful.

muz

The gearbox cradle won't work with the ARB. You have to use MK3 escort chassis mounts and a MK3 or MK5 escort gearbox. The mounting points for the front gear box mount is part of the MK3 ARB mount so needs the right end casing.

PeterRST

iTrader: (1)

What on earth happened to that sump?

vroooom ptssssh

No idea, was like that when I got the engine from another car, probable from when its been taken out and sat on pieces of wood etc, its not actually as bad as it looks.

Project_Bonus

So if im using the ARB with a MK5 gearbox i will be needing mk3 gearbox mounts, Hopefully they wont be to hard to get hold of. I know one of the advantages of having this ARB is that they are adjustable but what aspect of the handling can be adjusted and how??

Will i be needing anything else to get it to fit or is that just about it??

Also i am planning on grabbing some adjustable TCA's from Compbrake to allow for more fine tuning of the suspension, do i need to order them for a MK3 RS1600i or for a MK4 or are they all the same??

muz

Yes, you need the MK3 Escort front and rear gearbox mounts. The ARB tie arms give Caster adjustment.

The TCA's are all the same and will give you camber adjustment.

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

Is the rear mount a straight swap?

Definitely a winter project for mine too

luke19790_3

i used the old mk4 rear mount, modified a little. using a ib5 from a diesel van.

vroooom ptssssh

It's also 7Kg lighter as it's made of Aluminium and not steel ARB is much thicker also...

muz

Yes, the rear mount mounts to the existing gearbox cradle chassis bolt holes. Deffo worth doing, Rob.

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

Sweet cheers Muz, as soon as i hunt one down (1600i ARB) ill bag it, tbh i forgot to bid on the one projectBonus won lol, and there was a mint one that sold a few weeks before that for £70

If i cant get a 1600i is a s1 ARB an acceptable compromise? except for it weighing a ton....

Project_Bonus

Awesome so a set of MK3 gearbox mounts, RS1600i ARB, adjustable tca's and polybushes will make for a very decent front end setup.

Rob im sure another one will come up again soon, ive been looking for one for a couple of months now and i bid on one a month or so back which went for £260 so i consider myself very lucky to have got hold of this one for £92.

On to the point of weight it isnt actually that heavy i was quite surprised when i picked it up, however the suggestion of a S1 item will have its pros and cons. The bar is 2mm thicker but the whole setup weighs and absolute tonne!!

What would you guys think about me offering this up to someone who can make aftermarkey suspension goodies to make up a couple of copies of the original unit maybe even with some slight improvement and lighter materials??

All i need now is a completely adjustable rear trailing arm set and im ready to go, unfortunately no-one makes them anymore and no-one will sell theres

Project_Bonus

Also who knows of anywhere that does adjustable top mounts for the MK4??

Im trying to make every aspect of the handling adjustable to get it as good as i can.

vroooom ptssssh

I was considering making adjustable rear arms for my S1 over winter, but I want to use good quality rose joints which are expensive, and would also need to buy coilovers so it would end up costing a good few hundred.

muz

The RS1600i has the thicker ARB

botters

iTrader: (2)

jano at oddkid creations makes the adjustable rears

botters

iTrader: (2)

compbrake

Project_Bonus

Ive looked on the compbrake website and they dont do them for the mk4 just the mk1 and 2 escorts?? ill just give them a ring and ask i suppose.

Muz i meant the S1 is thicker than the S2 ARB but i mite be wrong i know the RS1600i is the thickest of them all but by how much??

About the adjustable rear arms, MEF motorsport use to do them and ive been contact and he has none left and wont make a one off set due to the price of rose joints, 909 motorsport dont do them anymore either for the same reason.

How much is jano wanting for a set and more importantly does he still do them?? And where can i get hold of him as he doesnt seem to have a website or any contact details to speak of.

What do guys recommend on the coilover front?? ive got my heart set on some gaz golds but would like some advice on any experiances people have had with them or any other make they would recommend.

Cheers for all the comments guys keep them coming this is helping a bundle

Gonna use screen names as i dont know anyones name lol vroooom ptssssh what materials are you gonna use for the rear links if u bother making a set, i know rose joints are like £50 a pop now but i have a matey whos an aeronautical engineer so he might be able to grab me some aircraft spec aluminium for the arms if that would work??

Project_Bonus

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/escort-mk3...item3f0efb89f2

Are these the mounts i need in order to get it all to fit properly???

vroooom ptssssh

Was actually going to make them out of solid ally, I've got one arm that a mate made up quickly just to test and it worked out well, dont think it's just any old ally i'll need to ask him what it was he used.

botters

iTrader: (2)

http://www.oddkiddcreations.co.uk/

this is jano's website he quoted me last year cant remember how much tho ill see if i can find his post

botters

iTrader: (2)

found the post off jano he quoted me £650 for the 6 rear rosejointed arms
and £250 for the 2 front arms with rosejoints on a 16 i setup

zippyobrien

iTrader: (2)

I was going to use cds tube to make Mine.

My only question was, are 12mm Rose joints strong enough?

muz

I'm going to be making my own and was going to use CDS, but needed to know what the best sized and make of joint would be.

russ rs

Anyone tried running without ARB and compression struts??

luke19790_3

thats the setup i have now ^, but havn't tried to on the road yet

Project_Bonus

Ok £650 sounds like a fair price considering the cost of the rosejoints.

Muz if your serious about making some of your own ill muck in on it as a little project, i can ask the guy at MEF Motorsport what size and brand of rose joints he used and see how much they are in singles and in bulk.

As for the tubing, if you can find out what type of ally your mate used we might be onto something as i can probably get that in bulk for quite cheap, if not someone else mentioned using CDS. This is probably more than strong enough for the job but will be very heavy as apposed to using some T45 steel which is what is used to make the cages for BTCC cars. Can probably source that for quite cheap considering a 10 point cage is £1000 all we need is some much smaller bits of tube and we are away.

Who would be up for getting a set for the car here cos i will make some serious enquiries if people are actually interested in having them on there cars if not i will just have to buy a set off of oddkidd and im pretty sure we can do it cheaper ourselves???

gus

iTrader: (1)

i run comp struts with no arb

i foumd i had a little body roll when pushed hard

now have adjustable arb's front and rear

not driven it yet

muz

I would not want to use ally if possible as I don't have access to a TIG welder which would make it not so much of a budget set up having to get the lads at AH to weld them all up. I would think T45 would still also be very expensive. You would need 10 rose joints at about £30 a peice which is where the cost comes in.

Rogeyboy

iTrader: (2)

What is available in terms of an uprated rear ARB?

stuart collins

iTrader: (7)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M10-Male-R...item2c4c1d264c

heard good things about these for joints

i dont run a front roll bar , i run rear facing 2wd cossie compression struts

jamsport had some rear bars made dont no if they have any left tho

Project_Bonus

I didnt think about needing a TIG welder so that puts that out of the question, if T45 is expensive then maybe CDS is the route to go down.

Those joints are £5 each?? Surely they cant be that good if the usual price for a decent joint is £30??

Gus where did you get your adjustable rear ARB? ive got a MK4 popular which doesnt have a rear ARB at all so what would i need to fit one im assuming the rear setup from a RS if i cant find an adjustable item.

muz

CDS will be about half the price of T45. To be fair, I'm not sure if it would even need to be CDS? With a rear ARB I was going to use the standard item as a guide but make it 2mm thicker and make up some rose jointed drop links.

Rogeyboy

iTrader: (2)

Muz - Sounds a good idea, 18 OR 20mm diameter rear arb would be the ticket - with the mounting bushes milled/drilled out to accomodate it. Rose jointed links... Not sure how i'd attach them to the bar, weld i guess - never used them before! I have a TIG welder available so that could open up some possibilities...?
Was thinking of making a thicker front ARB to replace my S2 item...