When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Only gone a bought myself an absolute rotter haven't I Joys of buying cars blind! It was cheap so thought I'd take a punt!
Car is a 1989 Black S2, 80% complete but full on rotten. Can't be arsed with the hassle of welding, I can't weld and don't know a decent welder. Cost wise its not even worth thinking about!
She arrived Tuesday and we got her into the workshop yesterday and got cracking. This is my first ever resto thread so we'll see how it go's and whether i actually update it
I know nothing about the history of the car, alls I know is the same fella owned this and a white one too. I'm assuming he found this rotted and started to transfer into the white one. I'm missing all my samco hoses and rear disc conversion which were on it but now on the white one which a friend has bought. If anyone knows the car or any history let me know G980 LUJ from Wales.
From what I can see and work out I have a T3 turbo with Superchips chipped ECU. Still got the LSD box in it with the ABS still on too! Engine internals are unknown for the time being.
On the lookout for a decent shell first, then I'll concentrate on everything else. Bear/Complete whatevers out there I'll take a look, ideally just want minimal welding, I know 90% of MK4's are gonna want something but hoping to find someones abandoned project
Engine will be ripped apart and fully rebuilt. Turbo will get sent off to AC Turbos for recon. Exhaust can stay, full recaro interior is mint. Carpet may clean up but if not I'll be needing one of those too! As for brakes and suspension these will all be brand new. Fully polybushed all round ETC
New shell will be getting painted Rosso Red.
Oh and I want it done for May, wish me luck
Any bits, advice and opinions greatly appreciated!
Who can set me up when I'm up and running, I'm in the North West so I'm assuming my nearest is gonna be MSD?
Alls the remains is the rear quarter plastics inside along with the rear speaker grills and handbrake. As for engine bay and loom, I'd like to leave them as they are for the time being, when a shell comes I'll drag them over, don't want to get lost in all those wires lol.
I SERIOUSLY miss my old rs turbo (and my rs turbo rep's) and would love another but finding one that doesn't need welding at least somewhere is a hard and costly business.
Will you reshell into a rs turbo shell or just any shell?
Bonus is fairly cheap, XR3I is way out of budget although spotless!
As for reshelling I'm not sure, is it legal to transfer the ID from the RS to another shell if I own both the cars, cause I know it happens ALOT, just not sure of the legal implications etc etc. On some levels its ringing, but neither car is stolen. I KNOW it won't be a real RS Turbo, but on paper it will be and if it ever came to sell this thread would be a record for the next owner I wouldn't hide the fact its shelled. Just don't want to pile all my cash into a kitted turbo'ed 'Bonus'.
Last edited by MikeyRobbo; 11-01-2015 at 10:16 PM.
Bloody hell! Where did that live? In the north sea?!!
Defo the right decision to look for a new shell.
As for the ID thing, as far as I'm aware the only legal way to transfer an ID onto another shell is if the new shell never had a previous ID assigned to it ie: never had a chassis number stamped into it. I looked into all this before I bought my Crystal blue saph shell.
Good luck with it all mate, I shall keep an eye on this
ID thing makes sense I suppose. I'll claw some funds together and has a serious think about what to do. Don't want to plunge all my cash into what effectively would be an RS Turbo rep, but then I'm not prepared to spend brewsters on a mint genuine RS shell. Lose lose situation for me at the moment
I hope a lot keep an eye on it as this is a whole new world to me, i'm only 21 so only ever worked on modern stuff day in day out, things like this have my head battered
My main concerns at the moment, which shouldn't be as its farrrrrr too early to worry about are;
Whos gonna set it up and will it be able to be driven there or is that too risky without it being set up proper.
That bastard fuel metering unit has seen better days, really hoping it still works as there not bloody cheap.
My turbo has slight play in the shaft, terrified of recon costs.
Power constantly plays on my mind, running a standard intercooler, T3 turbo and an ECU with a superchips sticker on it ( ) what will she put out!
I still have ABS on mine yayyy! Does it even work or shall I get rid of it.
One of my old xr3i's had it still fitted (stock power but cossie brakes) the first time I killed a gearbox it was left fitted when the box was changed, second time I killed the box it was just removed. Can't say I ever missed it tbh.
Out of interest how much did an "absolute rotter" set you back and what was the 20% of bits missing?
If it was me and I was serious about keeping it:
find a new decent shell
see what is actually fitted to both shells that is worth keeping
decide if you are leaving it stock coloured or changing it
start fitting the decent bits to the new shell till there's nothing left on the old
if it looks suspect it probably is
and just go from there, if you are not too far into the project money wise now is the time to think about just buying one that is in a lot better condition, at least if you do decide on reshelling this you will have a lot of the stuff you require for the project and can chip away at the end cost over time.
Get rid of the ABS (not that you can really call it that! ) as it is a dire system! I had it on my Fiesta RST and it did function as it should and it was horrid!
You not thought about putting it on an aftermarket management?
I paid enough for this rotter Bits missing are full hose kit, rear hubs, all wheels, dizzy. I think that everything!
It will be reshelled, it will be Rosso Red.
I'm not far into it, but don't want to abandon it and buy one 'in better nick' as it just defeats the object for me. I want the satisfaction of seeing what I started with and looking back at the end product and knowing I built it, certainly not afraid to get my hands dirty. Reshelling obviously isn't the same level of work as repairing this, but money wise its just not worth it to me to pay someone to weld it. I'll deffo be buying a shell in better nick, but not a full car. I have every panel bar a 90 spec front bumper & spoiler.
As for after market management, I don't know what to do tbh. I've never driven an RST, never been in one only ever went in a cammed XR3i and that was fucking rapid when you was 7-8 years old For now I think I'll stay on standard management and see what power/gains I can live with, then when the need for more power comes I'll take her off the road again and upgrade all the brakes/cooler/turbo etc etc.
Last edited by MikeyRobbo; 12-01-2015 at 09:50 PM.
Also bought a fully working metering unit, inlet with sensor, baileys dump valve, Ahmed Bajoo 200BHP ECU, fan, Full S2 Loom & a few other odds & sods for an absolute steal!
Alls I'm going to need for the shell is a 90 spec front bumper, 90 spec spoiler and the plastic trims that screw to the sills that the kit clips onto if you know what I mean? Skinted myself now though
Thing is these cars are getting thin on the ground so people will have to start tackling ones like this sooner or later
Fully agree with that, and from what i see this car looks very save-able.
New floor panel sections inner and outer sills, chassis leg or a section of it. rear arches and the other minor bits. A mobile welder can sort that out easy in a garage that size.
11-01-2015, 06:42 PM
1989 Escort RS Turbo Resurrection
Joys of buying cars blind! It was cheap so thought I'd take a punt!
Take all the bits off , squash it and find another or sell the parts .
