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Plans over the next 3 months:
Suspension refresh. It's had some new parts but still has a few donks and clonks over bumps
Then get each wheel well cleaned up and painted, before moving on to the floor.
Plans over the next 6 months:
Battery tray and fuse box panel repair. Neither are terrible but there is a small hole in the battery tray that will need attention, along with a small area of corrosion in the spare wheel well
Other than that, I just plan to enjoy it! I wanted an XR3 when I was 17 when they were £500 cars, but I couldn't get insured on one.
After 6 weeks out of the country I got back yesterday unsure if the old beast would start. It did!
Took it for a blast to Aldi, it's amusing how dainty and angular it looks next to modern traffic:
Noticed that when it was resprayed they didn't bother with the bumpers which is now annoying me because they don't quite match the new paint - I want to get them done soon.
I also need to take off the RS1600i splitter, the rear wheel spats, and the bumper end caps and paint them with black bumper texture paint to even the finish out - the PU rear spoiler can stay as it is.
The bumper overriders are all a bit tatty and at around £100 each if you can find used ones I won't be replacing them. The recommendation is to fill and sand them like conventional metal/plastic and paint them with the same texture paint to match the bumper trim and end caps, so that will keep me occupied for a weekend.
Took it home and gave it a wipe down with some quick detailer as it was too cold for a proper wash. Wheels are filthy!
Then I decided to replace the front TCAs. This isn't a particularly hard job but the various nuts and bolts were all seized solid and took a lot more effort to free off than I'd have liked.
Here are the new arms:
The old ones weren't totally knackered but definitely worse for wear:
The car drives better on the new arms, but still knocks and donks a bit. ARB bushes and top mounts next, but I was out of power and it was starting to rain!
I also managed to uncover a bit about the car's history.
It was abandoned in France for 12 years and brought back to life in 2013 with no real work other than a clean. No welding, bodywork etc.
It was then imported to the UK and sold to a garage who painted it. All the panels, arches, sills etc are completely original, the only welding it's had is a replacement front crossmember at some point in the UK.
Next steps:
Replace the puny spotlights with correct sized ones (I can't justify the mental cost of Carello 640s so it will get a pair of Hellas)
Lower spotlights
ARB Bushes
Green dashboard lights to replace the horrible blue ones
The car is fitted with white dials. Not for boy racer styling reasons, but because it's the cheapest and easiest way of converting MPH clocks to KMH. Obviously doesn't fix the odometer.... so I will look out for a set of MPH clocks in the future but for now this is what I am stuck with.
Previous owner fitted blue LED bulbs (the standard bulbs are extremely dull) but I thought they looked horrible.
80's Fords should have green illumination, so 4 2000 MEGAWATT 900SMD LED bulbs later, I was in business.
They are also bright enough to be seen in daylight which is nice.
I might also repaint the speedo needles. They are supposed to be a sort of dayglo orange and have faded in the sun. They are brittle though, so I might not risk taking them off until I've acquired a RHD clock set.
Following a truck on the A46 this week and it had a blowout - the tyre carcass hit me and smashed the grille, cracked the number plate, and the broken grille stabbed through the radiator, so I had to limp to work and get the car recovered.
Amazingly there seems to be no other damage.
After sourcing a new radiator I decided to do some other stuff while I was changing it over.
Fan shroud & motor
Intermittent sticky starter which has annoyed me since I got it
Replaced with a Transit Connect one, what a difference! Awesome starter compared to the lethargic CVH unit
Exhaust manifold
I used Stove paint, wanted something a bit more textured really, but it will do
New distributor cap
Replacement expansion tank decal and painted the cap
Refreshed the air inlet
Also a new oil cap and a few other bits cleaned up, and of course the new rad.
The Escort has been doing well, here are the latest changes:
Off with the RS1600i splitter which was looking very sorry for itself
Off with the rear wheel spats which were in a similar state
Car looks very basic and naked without them
Repainted with K2 Bumper Structure paint, which restores the spark eroded finish of the original parts
Plastics back on, replacement grille, pressed number plate to replace the broken plastic one, and some Hella Comet 500 lamps to replace the dinky Ring ones. Still sitting low as the brackets are on the bumper rather than in the proper location.
Just can't justify the cost of Carellos!
I've also replaced the front springs (rears ready to go on too), fitted poly ARB bushes and poly top mounts.
The rear bumper on the Escort was starting to get on my nerves.
1) The overriders are in really poor condition and crumbling apart
2) The plastic sections are worn smooth and marked
3) The bumper metal is distorted and flared at the ends, making the plastic end caps not fit properly
4) The bumper was not painted at the same time as the rest of the car, and the colour is way off and the finish dull in comparison to the rest of the car.
Here is the bumper "before" - a picture hides a thousand sins, but hopefully you can see the poor fit of the end caps and the dull finish
So I popped the bumper off
Removed the rotten overriders and plastic end caps and crash pads.
Spent what felt like forever bending and hammering the bumper into some sort of shape. Sanded and primed with some high build celly
Painted the end caps, crash pad and number plate lamps with K2 black plastic structure paint
Painted the bumper metal with some Halfords Sunburst red (an alright match, not perfect)
Lacquered with Tetrosyl Trade Gloss (BRILLIANT aerosol lacquer, best aerosols I've ever used - comes out like a spray gun finish)
Reassembled and refitted with warm white LED number plate bulbs
Really really happy with the finish considering this is a DIY job. Annoyingly the pictures don't make it look much different, but in the flesh it's a big transformation.
The overriders will probably make a reappearance once I've restored them to a satisfactory finish.
Fantastic mate. Always wanted another one of these but not sure I could bring myself to sell the cossie to buy one! Amazing the value of them now. U could pick up a really nice 3i for £500 when I bought my cossie lol
With the rear bumper done, it was time to look at the front.
Took it off, prised off the end caps, removed the crumbling overriders, and popped out the crash pads.
This gives you an idea of the general condition of the plastics:
Everything was cleaned, scuffed up, and coated with K2 Structure Paint (I might as well buy shares in this company)
The bumper, which initially looked alright, was trashed. Rust everywhere, bent out of shape, fit for the bin to be honest but I haven't got £80 knocking about for a new one.
I started attacking it with a variety of tools - hammers, grinders, DA sander, rust converter, Hydrate80, all sorts:
More grinding, filling, sanding, filling, sanding:
Finally it was ready for primer. First some grey high build - then some Tetrosyl Red Oxide (you are supposed to use red primer for Sunburst Red paint)
While I was at it, I soaked the rusty brackets in a citric acid solution and did them in black. I know they aren't the proper Ford brackets but they were already fitted when I got the car:
Followed by a good few coats of Sunburst Red (not the best match to be honest) and then a few coats of Tetrosyl Clear.
It isn't perfect, but it will do me:
And back on the car with the recoated end caps:
Although the colour match looks good here, it isn't really.
It's no worse than it was though, and the finish is now a lot better than the original bumpers.
Overall, happy with the result, even if in the pics it looks basically just like it did before!
RS1600i splitter went back on today. I also have a brand new headlamp coming for the driver's side (mine is a bit tarnished inside) and new indicators which will be fitted at the same time.
16-12-2018, 03:36 PM
1982 Escort XR3
