My Mk2 Escort... Getting there !

Good to see she's out and about again. Great car

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Originally posted by Mk2_2dr_2L
[br]I'm now noticing how crooked my bumpers are [88]

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I've seen far worse[:u]

Looking nice still

Thanks all for the replies.

Yeah not too worry, those bumpers will be straightened up quick smart.

Craig, it's a triple cored LJ Torana radiator and yeah the lights under the back bumper are for reversing as the standard ones alone don't provide enough light to see when reversing at night (maybe i'm just blind)

Damion.

I just noticed the C-pillars and quarter panel. You've done brilliant work on thos Escort.

hey mate thats one nice mk2 and cossy, be good to see you out cruisin when its done and chop a few v8's and a hell of alot more cars. good luck with that mate very nice.

Hay Damion nice escort love the c pillars and no fuel cap did my last one like that now wish i did new one same looks gerat

Damo, Looking great, bet you can't wait to drive it, its been along time coming. Wow i love the look of it, not over the top just a very clean and tuff esky.
stan

Thanks everyone.

Yeah i got the wheels straightened professionally and gave them a bit of a polish.. they could do with some finishing off tho.

yeah i probably wouldn't recommend doing the plenum too much sanding / polishing is involved.

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Originally posted by nigel mk1
[br]Car looks great Damion, from what ive read youve had a fair bit of bad luck with this project, hope you actually get to enjoy just driving it for a while! Flat fronts look tough[}:)]

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Thanks Nigel, yeah it has been a bit that way mixed with a bit of bad management aswell

I sent the turbo off to be rebuilt yesterday and following trend it was not in good order.. even the shaft is too worn for re use.. but anyway, it should be back in my hands within the next two weeks.. so hopefully I can start her up again soon

The car is looking great

thats reeaaaly nice love everything about it those pillars and no fuel lid look so much better

Its a sweet ride alright. Sounds like plenty of hard work went into it.

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Originally posted by Inferno115
how hard is it to do the conversions and roughy what would it cost to do, just say for a stock cosworth

cheers

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how hard? not at all. how much? very much.

though your biggest problem would be finding a complete motor

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Originally posted by Bloodyeck

Damion that is a nice car and a credit to you. Well done.

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I might get to see it one day if I'm lucky.

Let us know if you decide to do Willowbank one day.

Enjoy driving it dude.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Inferno115, the conversion is a bit of messing around and there are many ways of going about it. Cosworth engines are getting older now, so finding a good engine to start with is getting more difficult.

Being an RS owner you have much more space to fit an intercooler which is nice, There are many little bits and peices that require alot of thought.

If I was looking at doing another conversion I would use the original sump, which requires custom engine mounts and some trimming of the firewall lip to get the engine further back, I would also use the T5 gearbox which requires a larger gearbox tunnel. And an aftermarket ecu is something well worthwhile as well.. as the mine has never run as well as it should with the standard computer and there is a lot of messing about with old wiring looms etc.

Bearing in mind that you will also need to upgrade your brakes and diff on top of this I would say that $15k is a realistic price for such a conversion if you are smart. I wouldn't bother trying to cut any corners as it comes back and bites you (as I have learned the hard way over and over (uni budget, haha)) Make sure every single component you use is new or rebfurbished.. otherwise it just ends up costing you more in the long run.

So I guess do your research and do it once, there are many of us out there now that have done the conversion so there are a lot of people to offer you advice on how to go about it.

Cheers,
Damion.

thanks damion that was great, yeah id make sure id do everything right the first time, ive learen't the hard way that cutting corners takes longer in the long run


now time to start saving

out of curiosity what colour blue is that?

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Originally posted by 550hp mk2 cortina

really nice work there mate! Good to see you have the guts to keep on with the car even though it seems like you always get kicked in the teeth with it.
Believe me you are not the only one!

Keep it up mate.

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Yeah, it certainly comes with the territory.. The worst part about it is that when I have some decent cash flow happening again I am planning on pulling it down and doing everything how I want it to be, terrible addiction this one [:p] I want to keep enjoying it for now though.

Inferno115: The colour is Ultramarine out of the standards chart.. although mine is slightly darker than what it is supposed to be as the paint supplier stuffed up when they mixed it up the first time. I found this out when I repainted the engine bay the first time and the colour was two shades lighter [:0]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.

Cheers.. It doesn't really move too far off the mark until third gear.. so i guess some decent tyres are required.

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Originally posted by 550hp mk2 cortina

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Originally posted by Mk2_2dr_2L
Yeah, it certainly comes with the territory.. The worst part about it is that when I have some decent cash flow happening again I am planning on pulling it down and doing everything how I want it to be, terrible addiction this one [:p] I want to keep enjoying it for now though.

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Now your statring to remind me of myself.... A fussy Son of a B@#ch whos always thinking of things to improve on

LOL

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ahahahahaahahahahahaha

Sexy looking Mk2 Mate!

Question...why the reverse lights under the bumper?

Thats a nice practical modification then and million % better then original items if the switch decides to work as we know.

I took the car for a 600km round trip to Noosa and back on Saturday to go and have a look at the hillclimb and the car ran well, although as expected it doesn't like climbing steep hills or traffic.. so I think that a fancy ally radiator will be on the cards in the near future.

I think I will also endevour to move the engine further back, if I trim the lip along the firewall I should be able to get the engine another inch back, which will hopefully allow for me to fit some bigger fans in there aswell depending on whether the new radiator is the same width as the current one. I am not sure if my gearbox tunnel is going to allow me to go much further back, but time will tell.

Just have to start saving some money again [;^)]

Damion.

Damn thats one nice Mk2. I think im going to steal your idea and fill the C-piller vents, What are the side effects of doing this? Ow and i will also cover my fuel filler things as it does nothing. Hope you dont mind. Just makes your car look so damn tough!

The car is a credit to you. Its bloody awesome =)

I guess it is time for a bit of an update aswell.

The car has been off the road since June. I have nearly got everything for the new engine now (finally) after the cracked block fiasco, it is nothing fancy, pretty much a standard engine. Had a few dramas with the new block but hopefully its all sorted now.

Unfortunately 4 months is a long time and in that period I have started pulling up everything else on the car so I have got my work cut out for me when it comes to putting it back together again.



My new pedal box arrived last week as well



Unfortunately I felt a strong desire to purchase this a couple of weeks back, so I guess the tidying up of it will be the major hold up on the blue one for the next couple of months. And then it will be back to saving for a new ECU for the blue one !



Cheers,

Damion

Man I still love the Mk2. It's got a serious attitude to it. I have to see it one day!

Yep, I think this one will remain crossflow powered too

Hi Josh, I will be needing to do some brisbane / coast trips in it when it's alive again, so I might bump into you one day.

Hi Phil, I think that sometimes it's just as fun building them as it is driving them.. Although nothing beats the first drive ! And you get in less trouble when they are tucked away [:p]

Cool as, they both look very cool.

Do you know who originally made those wheels ?

Here are some early photos, I first bought the car in 2001 like this


The first incarnation was in 2003 when I first got my licence:





This was the first "hot" engine in early 2005

Well done, not one but 2 lovely Escorts, congrat's.

Can I ask where you purchased the pedal box from? I like that original style instead of the Rally Design type with square tube.