Really! Car looked very simular to yours was at that meet, Escos wheels, same colour, Pretty sure it was a H plate... must be its twin lol.

 

fair play. sadly, most sapphs follow the same route of modification lol

mines on sharktooths atm, anyway

 

cool, let me know when it is back and I will speak with the other guys and see what we can do, could have a blast down to Weymouth or meet in Yeovil as that is about halway for all? I am easy.. lol dont tell the Mrs

 

Well getting bored of driving the car and finding it a chore to take out, been sorting a valuation out for the old girl and decided it was time to get the service history sorted

This is what it was like before











And this is what it looks like after















Pretty bloody good if you ask me, this car is in the lower end of the price scale and people think history is not very good on the cheaper cars!! Makes me laugh, is this enough history for you?

And just to make you question things...

This is a photo of our BMW E46 330i Sports service book, documentation and full history folder... This car is on 166,000 miles with full BMW service history






















Scarey!!!

 

Can't believe this hasn't sold yet !!!

 

It's not up for sale mate? I must of worded it like she is up for sale lol. Had a couple people say the same thing from this post on other sites.

I must admit, when I had it up, I couldnt believe it never sold... So many people messaging me who see these threads and say they want it but never materialise.

 

While I was looking through the service history I found 4 receipts for engine rebuilds!!! Car is a 1995, first rebuild in 1997 to the price of Ł5500!!!!! Second in 2002...Ł3500 another in 2004 for around Ł3500 and then a different engine and rebuild in 2010, parts alone was Ł1500. No doubting the car has had some serious cash spent on her

 

Today I wanted to do some checks on the engine.

So while she was cold, checked the oil and water, all fine, oil was slightly higher on the dip stick due to the engine oil being correct when it is warm.

Fired the old girl up and let her tick over for a bit, took her to get some fuel and had a quick run around the town, the car has not been getting any kind of hard acceleration due to the weather etc but today it was a nice day so gave it a blat, spat a little bit of smoke from the back the first time I did this but again to be expected. Cleared straight away and went like fook as always.

Got home and let her sit for 20 minutes, checked the oil again and bang on the mark Checked water again, bit of pressure on the tank which seems normal to me, again all fine.

Now I wanted to check to see if we had any air leaks in the water system so left her ticking over with the cap off, the car has always been amazing at not heating up, fans have only came on once and never been above halfway, will sit on quater unless pushing it hard and then will sit just under half. I get lots of hot air from the heater but just wanted to check it.

So the temp gauge gets between quater and halfway and then starts boiling like a kettle... it then over flows all over my engine I was shitting it at first but after a quick search found its either got a air lock or the thermostat is staying open/closed... I also found out that it has a lower boiiling point with the cap off so that explains that.

I let her cool down before I went putting my hands in, as my car did have air con but has been removed I tried the old putting the air con on to check the fans work, did this and it worked a treat, nice little thing I can try if it gets hot

Checked all the pipes, full roose silicon hose kit and all in good shape, I filled back up with antifreeze as I was unsure how much she had in her anyway, fired it backup and got it warm again. Turned off, put the lid back on, fired her backup. Sat fine again as it always has. I am going to take the stat out and test, just need a photo to confirm where the stat is, pretty sure I know but want to double check before I do.. also any tips or hints would be great...

While I was there thought I would havbe a sniff, no smell other than antifreeze, no smell from the exhaust of antifreeze, no sludge in the cap, never burns oil, never burns water, oil is the right consistancy etc etc.

So was happy with this side of things, stat is to be changed for peace of mind.

Next I wanted to check the turbo, I know its not done much but it runs a good amount of boost and wanted to check, took the cone filter off and the hose, checked the turbo, hardly any movement which was nice, only thing I did notice was on a couple blades looked like a bit of oil... but unsure.

Photo



So while this was off I noticed this...

Excuse the mess, not touched the engine bay on this car yet, I have no covers on the bonnet vents so water and dirt gets in with ease... I promise to clean it lol

Now is this supposed to connect to anything or at the very least have a pipe running it out to the bottom of the car?



And my next question, what is this tank? it is next to the turbo...?

And next was my alarm, now not going to get into too much detail with this as I am sure some thiefing little P***k is watching this but had some issues getting a new fob to work with my car, a few emails going to and from the company and running some checks, again wont go into any detail... turned out it was the boot switch, a good slam of the boot and it started doing what it should... so now I have a nice shiney new fob...



Going to get another key cut as well, any ideas how much Ford charge for this these days?

********************RESULT********************

Just noticed the boot release button and thought "that wont work" bingo, only went and worked!!! Happy days

 

Anyone got one of these please, reflector that goes in the passanger side door near the lock?

 

Update:

Today I tackled the new thermostat install.

My temp gauge only really goes to around quater when warm and the fans only ever kicked in once.

So I was thinking maybe the stat was staying open and causing it to sit cooler....

So ordered from Graham Goode a 4x4 stat and o ring and bought myself some new spanners, the ratchet type but on a normal spanner... if that makes sense..

Anyway, removed the bolts, was tight but not silly, my unit was not leaking etc so wanted to keep it this way.

I didnt bother removing the hose from the stat housing and just undone the bolts, a little knock on the head and it came off, bit of fluid came out. I had a pair of plyers and pulled on the old stat and this fell out.

This is the photos of the two states together









I tested the new stat before I fitted just to be sure, and I tested the old stat when I removed... both worked fine

Anyway, put the new one in, I questioned where the o ring went and after putting it on top of the thermostat and between the housing top, did everything backup and no leaks. I later found out the o ring was not for this part...but as it is not leaking... I am going to leave it in.

So undone the bleed valve on top of the housing, took the cap off the header tank and started the engine, I squeezed the inlet and outlet for the rad and put some more coolent in the tank. I undon the bleed valve a bit more until only water was coming through. Nipped this backup and let the car get to full temp.

This took 30 minutes!!! My car is a beast when it comes to keeping itself cool. I was concerned about it to start with but I left it and left it ticking over until it eventually got to halfway and the fans kicked in. No water leaks, no smoke, no hot smell, nothing!! I am very impressed with how well this engine keeps itself cool. Not once have I had it heating up. The fans have only came on once before!

So after the fans kicked in I squeezed everything again, no air in the system, and the fans took the temps back down to quater on the temp gauge.

So overall... I am very impressed with this car. Muy old car was constantly heating up, fans kicking in, cooling down, heating up etc. This car will deal with traffic, never heats up when giving it the beans... its like she is egging you on to drive her harder and harder!!!

I know all the bits on this car have been assembled to improve this kind of thing which is great.

I also am confident she has plenty of antifreeze in her too for the winter which is nice, another tick off my list.

I spoke to a mate who works in the trade and asked to get me some Fuch Titan Pro s 10w50 which he said he had, went to collect and it was 5w40 so left it. Need to get some in at some point and change the oil.

Car is filthy again, farmers around this area are taking the piss with the dirt on the road. Car is a handful as well, third gear spins on part throttle so have to go careful. But enjoying her none the less and happy now I know sitting on quater is right for the car

 

Well today the Mrs got me with the usual "DIY Jobs"



So I got her to clean the car



This is the result!!



Please not, I told her not to bother with the tyre shine as it will be going down some lanes tomorrow so will be filthy again



























Not bad if you ask me, light was getting short hence the dark photos, could of overexposed a bit more but not really in the mood at the moment

 

O yeah, also took her out for a bloody good drive today with a mate, car was faultless.. I am pretty sure the stat I took out was a 82 degree stat though as my temp gauge now sits a little higher, between quater and half way. Gave it the beans up through the gears and didnt rise, stuck in traffic etc spot on, no movement at all. So happy about that, checked for any leaks again today and nothing, had to top up slightly on the header tank and that was that. Checked the coolent again after a good hard drive and cool down and all still there

 

looks good, buddy

 

Looks really nice. I'm bulling that I didn't get up off me hole to do mine today. It's pelting down here now, it was a bit sunny earlier. Fcuk the weather.

 

hey nice car you got there bud looks well more shiny than my ash black escos does
it comes up realy realy well in you pictures, had it been re sprayed or is that still the factory paint,,
also have you any thing in you receipts or history file for that turbo heatsheild as id be very interested in getting a hold of one

chip

 

Hi Chip, mostly original paint I think.

I know one of the rear arches had a rust bubble removed and the front bumper had some paint for stone chips. I think one of the previous owners was very handy with a mop, it has a few swirl marks but nothing you wouldnt expect.

As for the heat sheild, sadly no. The guy who owned the car had a friend who worked in the trade, he used the car I think as a test bed for the parts. I know he made a few of the heatshields as someone else said they had one... I know the car was around Southampton area if that helps mate. It is a good piece of kit! Really improves under the bonnet as the black plastic on the standard items always fades

 

ok cheers bud and good luck with it

 

Cheers bud, been really good so far, but it is a cosworth so who knows

 

looks awesome

 

Love it , very nice useable car .

 

Just looked through all this mate and I am in love with it what a beaut

 

Cheers guys. She's not bad if I do say so.

Tried extra hard not to get her dirty today and got lucky... got a feeling it will be dirty by the time she reaches the driveway

 

Keep the pictures coming - dirtier the better !

 

The last real ford model for me! awesome car mate!

 

Cheers guys, I love putting dirty pics up, you should see the reaction to them from the people who have them as garage museum pieces etc etc I laugh at them.

Thanasis - I agree... Not too many Fords have what the Cosworths have. Good to see the newer RS cars having a good following though

 

Mate this is absolutely gorgeous! Exactally how I'd want mine to look (if i had one lol) Do people on here run ecos's daily?

 

Only me lol. Cant stand to have a car like this in the garage. They was made to be driven. I can correct the odd stone chip or rust spot on the body, the underside is caked in underseal so no worries with that. Suspension and engine parts can all be had so cannot see why not. Only downside is it spends more time on the road so more chance of getting hit and written off.

I feel I am doing something 90% of owners do not do, that is keeping the Old school RS Badge alive! So many people do not know what it is! It is so sad

 

Wanted to get another key cut as I only had one

Called a local mobile key cutting company who after speak with him gave me some great advise, very honest guy. He was based in Stoke Sub Hamdon, will not mention company names etc.

So off I went to get a price from Ford, as always over twice the price of another local company. Got the key cut and sorted, happy days. I tried it in the ignition and on the back of this key where it goes into the ignition it has like little teeth... you can feel them grab when moving the key in and out. I am sure this will be fine after a few months but none the less, it works and is a nice spare sat with the spare key fob I have for the car.

Starting to get all these little jobs sorted now which is nice, makes it less of a pain as less needs to be done and all the little things work or have been resolved.

 

At least you use it mate.Thats what the car was built for.I use mine everyday and love it.It a stunning car mate.

 

Glenn, always admired you for using your car. I am the same. They go wrong if you let them sit for 9 months of the year, seals go dry and hard etc. I use mine most days, it starts first time every time, drives nice, heater works lovely! Front heated windscreen is amazing when you have some ice, only downside, it makes alot of noise lol but we secretly love that

 

Class mate! Totally agree, iv got a Renault 5 gtturbo I use daily, don't see the point in having a lovely motor just sat in the garage. Really been thinking about getting an ecos though, and would want to use it as my daily.

 

I would do a sex wee if I seen a car like the GT T on the road. Old school cars are so cool.

Do it bud, buy a cheaper one though with good mechanics

 

Love it!

 

Did work mate, that's come along really well just read through...

 

Cheers guys.

Bloody floods down this end made it an interesting drive today!

 

Hi Booner sorry if im abit slow on the uptake but i take it your keeping the car now?

Lovely motor by the way, been following your threads! I have recently sold my rwd escos project as never get any spare time and am in the market for a built one

 

Alright mate, if someone offered me what I wanted I would seriously question it :-(

 

I cant remember exactly what you had it up for originally. Whats the spec again? i have 9k burning a hole!!!!!!!!!!!

 

How much would you want for it mate?

 

9k aint enough guys. I would feel robbed letting it go for 10k