CWA

Hey guys, i spoke to some of you before about a field-find orion that i was thinking of working on as my first ever project.. and trying to get it to pass on MOT mainly as a bit of a mechanical learning curve..

Well, now that summer is (supposed to be) here, i have dug it out and am going to start working on it..

Just thought i would start this thread to post you all some pics, mainly to find out what you all think of its condition and whether it has any potential in becoming roadworthy.

As the sum of all my mechanical knowledge pretty much amounts to zero, I'd really appreciate all help/tips etc, and really i need to know where to begin..

I've not got many useful photos of the underside etc to show at the moment, but I will post some very soon. Are there any main areas of concern that always cause common issues with orions / fords in general?

Here are the pics anyway, would really love to know what you all think..


It was seriously buried!
















The actual socket for the fuel pump with the pipe has become detached from the body panel presumably due to the rust.. is this a big issue?







Many thanks,

CWA

Orion_Gav

Blimey that fuel hole looks nasty,common areas on the orion are the rear arches,sunroof area/roof,front panel,sills and boot floor if your window seal has gone..Not sure how you would go on about the the rusty fuel hole though other parts dont look bad from the pics though so good luck.

Orion_Gav

Oh yeah the battery tray and around the fusebox are common rust areas also.

hai07222

Nice find!

doesnt look to bad, good luck with it

EssexMikeSi

iTrader: (3)

Whats your budget? If u have the money to chuck at it and your prepared to take on a project then thats ideal. I for one, would love to see something looking like that get fully restored.

Anyone else imagining respray in same colour with 90spec front bumper and lowered on some 17inch rs 7 spokes??? or am i just mad lol.

RobL

i think your mad lol ,he can Ł130 for that off the scrap man and theyll pick it up
thats what id do with it tbh

burnzy

I'v just brought a mk5 escort that had been sittin under a tree for a couple of years n wasn't as bad as yours but was quite tatty in places, your engine bay brought back memories lol. like some ppl have said it depends on wot u wan't to spend on it n how much it means to you but if u already have the car u should strip everythink out take the bumpers off seat's, dash n carpet's out n as much trim as possible to have a proper look at things, just try n keep all the bolt's n fixing's in order cos it can be a nightmare if u can't remem witch bolt goes were, it'll also give u a chance to sort out wot need's replacing n can clean all the crap that has colected over time.

this is the time were if u don't do it right it'll bite u in the arse when u least expect it, so have a good look at the floor cons it's been sittin in a field for a while by the look's of it, n if its n e think like the mk4 escort's then there prone to rottin, i'm havin to sort my mk5 out atm even though when i came to buy it i missed all the rot, so give it a good poke with a screwdriver wherever it looks brown or tarnished aswell cos it could be rust lurkin behind mastic or thick underseal like i'v found. also like orion gav said check all the arches the sunroof, all in the engine bay basically every nook n cranny u can find, and n e were that look's rusty give it a scape with a screwdriver to see if it's eaten through, cos like all fords they rust from the inside out, just make sure n e good metal u scrape u spray with some sort of rust proofer, so u don't get a problem in the future.

all this will just let u no were u stand cos if it's too much work it might not be cost effective to sort out, n lookin for a better base to work with would be a better option, but this also depend's on wether gettin this car on the road means alot too you, cos n e think can be fixed at a price like with your fuel filler, i'v seen a repair panel for the mk5's so i'm sure if u have a search on the net u'll find one for your's or a mk4 escort one might be the same but not sure, n it'll involve just cuttin out the old part of the panel so the new repair panel can be welded in place, n is about the only option to stop the rust comin back, but the panel isn't alot n the price of havin it fitted depend's on wot u can get done yourself.

make sure you'v got a haynes manual aswell cos it'll be your bible when u get stuck with undoing somethink or takin out difficult part's of trim aswell as havin usefull wiring diagrams inside, n don't do n e think u think is too hard cos it'll usually end up costin more to put right than it would to just get it done properly in the first place, the rest is all just a learnin curve so hope you end up with a nice motor

burnzy

oh yea n get that bird shit off your bonnet aswell if u wanna keep it lol cos it'll be burnin a mark onto your paint

CWA

Cheers for the responses guys

Burnzybubbles thanks especially for the detailed pointers - very helpful!
have started by stripping out all the interior etc, nearly everything is out but not all of it yet so havent quite got to the floorpan..
..am stripping it out in the field at the moment just to see whether it is worth moving into a garage yet or not and keep getting caught out by the rain lol

Just having a little issue getting the back of the rear seats out, have taken out the crosshead screws at the bottom of the sides of the bench, and most of the top ones, but the top part won't come free and i'm not really sure how it is attached..

..i am guessing that you need to get the black plastic head rest sockets out so that the rest of the bench can come out? but i'm not really sure if that is it.. and if it is it, how the hell do they come out?!
i don't want to force anything that i'm not sure is actually meant to be moved! lol

Would be grateful if any of you can shed some light on it, have some photos underneath to kind of help explain what i'm on about!

rigwrecker

aaargh i keep seeing orions i realy want a project one now good luck they are great motors ave had a couple

Ade

Had a couple with filler necks just like that!

Good luck with it....... Why not just bung a mega engine in it and not even wash it?
Natural proper rat look is the way ahead!

orionmojo

iTrader: (1)

theres 4 bolts you need to get at from the boot, then get a pair of mole grips, and twist the headrest restraints 45 degreees, they'll pull loose then. then get a torx bit on either end of the seat and eventuallythey'll pull free. it takes abit of fiddling.

B19LRW

www.theorion-register.com. you will get a better reception over there! aye Jo?

CWA

Cheers guys, got it out in the end!

seriesoneboy - thanks for the link, have made another post in there too.

Just thought i would post some pics of the floorpan etc to show you, just to see what you guys think the potential is, and how much work is going to be involved.

It seems generally solid to me, the hot spots i've found so far are both outer front seat mounts, and the tops of the rear wheel arches (which seem to have been previously welded?)

What do you guys think?

















p.s. - what are the two holes in each passenger floorpan (in the above pic) for?

1.9 xr2 on 40's

drainage during manufacture

i agree with the above up there tho

weight it in and get a better 1

those patches are hiding fuck off huge and deep holes in bad places

rostill2007

you finally got a post up looks a bit eaten by the orange devil but the real question is do YOU want this car not what every one else thinks grab your self a welder and take your time with it and you could keep as your next car with an rs turbo lump when the insurance comes down with ncb etc and if you think thats bad you need to see the work i gotta do on my golf and thats newer whatever you decide to do best of luck

trusty xr

looks like its seen better days . shame as i have had many a orion in the past inc an early d plate ghia with wide door mouldings & white wheel covers. that ended up as an rs turbo lumped rs kitted orion!!!
orions are cheap 16i ghias becoming thin on the ground but still there , might be worth getting another oine & using this for parts but upto ypu !!

orion_crazy_carl

iTrader: (3)

good luck with it mate, its perfect for a first project, its not worth much, so if it goes wrong, no problem, so i wouldnt get a better one, save that for the next

CWA

Thanks again for the responses guys, I think i will definately carry on with the car even if it is just so that i can learn to weld properly on it lol

Slight problem though, still haven't been able to start it..

To be honest, haven't put much effort into trying to get it running at the moment but it's still quite worrying, the times we have tried to start it.. it has just turned over a few times but REALLY slowly (sounds like 2 revs per second max?), and nothing caught..
Have re-charged the battery a few times but it still turns over really slowly, too slow for it to catch i'm guessing.. would there be some kind of issue with the battery where it cannot hold enough charge for a long time? when the battery is connected though, all the other electrics work fine..
Put 2 litres of petrol in, oil level seemed fine and topped up the water level and still nothing..
Today, changed the spark plugs.. and when i tried starting it it turned over a few times like before, but then it didn't want to turn over any other times i tried it after that.. what happened?

Basically, what could be wrong with it, why is it turning over so slowly, and how could it be started!?

Finally, I'm looking at how to take off the roof interior, without ripping it to shreds as it is the only part of the car that looks in near mint condition! How can it be taken off properly? I haven't got a clue! (sorry for the terrible pics below)

rostill2007

if your still doing it and having sorted the starting problem yet get a new or battery or one proven to be working if that doesnt work start looking at the condition of your starter motor

danny_boy699

iTrader: (5)

front and rear windows out and alot of paintents