Matt_16v

Going to have a look at one tomorrow that needs some work, looking for a bit of inspiration!!

Danwood79

Had mine about 10 years ago only the 105bhp model but still fun


only bad point on 2 mk5 escorts i've owned is lacquer can start to peel off

Matt_16v

This one im going to see is the 130 model so will be a nice step up from my 90bhp 1.6 Escort!! Like i said needs a bit of work though which id do before driving it every day. Will get some pics up when ive got it home (providing its not a total shed! If it is it wont be going anywhere!)

Danwood79

My brother has a mk5 rs2000 and needed loads of welding under side but fords are all rot boxes lol


Looks good on pictures but there still few body work problems.
With some hard work you can make them look good

Matt_16v

So, got the car at the weekend!

For the price i paid, even though it needs a bit of work it was well worth the money, not least just because of some of the parts on it and the fact it had 3 months T&T.

The drive home was happily uneventful and the car drove fine, always good, but i have to say i was a little bit dissapointed by the speed. I was cruising along at about 60 odd and id put my foot down and was a bit like 'hmm, ok, but not exactly quick', BUT, when we got off the motorway and i knew we were almost home i gave it a bootful! F*ck me, i thought the thing was going to take off!! Wheelspinning off the power in second gear and all sorts! My mate said i flew past him like he was standing still. Annnyway, got it home no problem, happy days.

Known problems;

Fan is rigged to be on constantly as the thermostat is knackered so the car overheated. Easy fix
Starter is knackered so when it gets hot is siezes
Slight oil leak somewhere aparently
Bodywork isnt the best but by no means the worst ive seen
Bootlid has had it
Random electrical issue, most likely the indictor stalks which tend to go
Unoriginal rear bumper, painted badly!

Problems identified on the way home;

Brakes are a bit iffy
Exhaust is blowing big time
Very lumpy tickover

Some piccies!


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Next to my ever faithful mk6


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Those wheels will also be going by the way as the guy wanted to keep the alloys that were on it (they werent original btw) so 'lent' me these wheels (i knocked the price down a bit for the hassle!). So im on the hunt for some wheels.

First thing i always do when getting an old car, especially when it doesnt tick over properly is to clean out the TB. Such an easy job but makes such a difference. This was one of the worst ive seen to be fair


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After


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Yes, i broke the blody gasket! Irritating, but doesnt matter. What do you know, it now ticks over absolutely fine. Will still be getting serviced in the near future though. Cant really see in the pic, but its much cleaner now!

Where it previousy had overheated and by the looks of things the coolant bottle exploded! Surprised it runs at all judging by the state of this!! The cooling system will be completely flushed through next weekend to get rid of all that orange crap in the system. Head gasket is ok so looks like it got away with it, but what a mess!!


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Cleaned it up a bit, but the engine needs to be steam cleaned


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Massive chavvy backbox (i can get my size 11s up it!!), this will probably be the first thing to go...


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Closely followed by the 'innit' window tints!


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Thats about it so far. The idea is to keep it off the road and do the bits and pieces it needs and then probably sell my mk6 and keep this. I love new projects!
Especialy when they look like this!


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mk1trb

my old 3i 130



rs2k



and ghia si estate

Matt_16v

WOW, loving those Mk5s they look mint! Top marks.

Madgit

Sound like typical 2k niggles matey, nothing major hopefully.On the overheating part it could be that the fan only kicks in right at the top of the gauge, it is worrying but quite popular, happens on quite a few, mine included but I wouldn't like to guarantee that on yours best get it looked at lol.

16vzetec

mk5 rs's are one of my fave cars but they dont half rust, oh and they wander around like a bitch due to the poor front suspension design.
i think ive had about 20 mk5s, and i would still like another one one day.
take the battery out and have a good look behind it and i bet there is a hole into the cabin, they all go there

749steve

iTrader: (1)

here is my old 5b rs2000 rep,based on a 1.4

Matt_16v

Cheers for all the pics guys. Some cracking looking cars there!

Progress! *note updates will be copied and pasted round a few different sites so apologies if some of it isnt relevant.
As i said above, the wheels that were on the car when i bought it weren't mine, there were the guy i bought it offs mate, so they had to go back. The hunt for some wheels was on! After much messing around (totally my fault, but this is a learning curve for me ya know!) I settled on a set of Mondy 16s and duly found a set on the XROC site. Popped down and got them from Welling last weekend, got back, lined them up with the car, oh dear! No way were they going on, the tyres were miles too big (see brackets above!!). Besideswhich, even if they had of fitted i think the car is too low for 16s, they would rub. So that as that plan out the window! I thought oh thats alright, ill stick those on my Mk6 and put the alloys from there on the XR, wrong! They wouldn't go over the calipers as they're only 14s. Back to the drawing board! Here they are on the mk6 anyway, looks pretty good no?




Unfortunately, they're not staying though. I cant afford to be buying multiple sets of wheels i dont need, so they're now off the car and on eBay!
Back to the XR. As i mentioned, the rear bumper on the car unoriginal and the wrong colour, so that had to go!

After much hunting around I found and won (i won't disclose the price, lets just say it was low, very low...) on eBay a bumper in the colour i needed. Another road trip, this time to Reading this morning. Back at home and here it is

Bit of a state, but it had been sitting in the guys garden for the last couple of years since he bought it!! He also had a MINT front bumper still in primer and i was SO tempted. Had to remind myself i dont actually need a front bumper!!
After a quick wash

Old bumper off

Shiny new bumper on

Ive tried to catch the difference in the colour of the two, bit difficult to see in pics though

The eagled eyed amoung you would have spotted the wheels in the boot! Picked up a set of RS2000 alloys in pretty remarkable condition (yet another road trip to pick them up!)



Not what i originally wanted, but at least i knew they would fit! Fitted;


And a quick wash (and i do mean quick, it was bloody freezing!)






I dont think it can ever be underestimated the difference a set of half decent looking wheels makes to a car!
From this;

To this!

Yes, i know it looks like an RS2000! But i happen to think thats not actually a bad thing! With the wheels on and it cleaned i actually really like the 'innit' window timts now! The legality of the front windows is somewhat dubious though!
Other news is exhaust related. It was blowing, big time, and needed attention. Took it to my local Kwik Fit (yes, i know, but i know the manager, he used to have a Mk5 XR3i too. Actually took it down there to change the wheels over the first time round and got chatting and he said to pop in any time i needed anything, so i did!) and they replaced one of the exhaust gaskets, spot of welding and jobs a goodun. Sounds muuuuuch better now.
Still to do;
Engine clean
Replace thermostat
Re-rig the cooling fan so that its not constanly on!
Sort out the electrcial issues
Replace starter motor and dash clocks (after sorting electrical issue, as i have a sneaky suspicion these may be linked to it!)
Get a quote for sorting out the passenger side rear arch, gulp!!
Get a new bootlid in the right colour. This actually IS as difficult as it sounds! I did find one on eBay but it was miles away. I was still toying with the idea of getting it, but by the time id emailed the guy and ask him to check the colour and about some other bits it had gone :-(
Possible jobs but not critical
New drivers seat (ripped)
New leather gear gator thing (shagged)
New parcel shelf (mouldy, ewwwwwww!)
Touch up the paintwork a bit (not me, someone who actually knows what they're doing!!)

colinxr

my old mk5 130 sold it to a guy was buying it for a cosworth rep but havent seen it since