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2011/07/23 22:21:02
fahley

MK1 73 Escort 2 door

Hi all, I have been hanging around this and other forums for a while now and thought i had better contribute with some details on my car.

I purchased this car about 3 years ago. I have had Escorts most of my life as a 75 MK1 2 door was first love and i had it for some 17 years before practically giving it away after being in storage for the best part of the last 7. I sold in Nowra NSW and would like to know how is travelling if anyone has any info.

Here is the my first car prior to selling it.



Here is the new love. as purchased form Armadale WA. the guy i purchased it from had done alot of good work and much to his credit i haven't changed alot until more recently.

2lt pinto - unknown build but fresh from the sellers info. Does have a kent vernier cam pulley.
4 speed with quick shift
quick rack
capri struts and lovell lowered springs, monroe inserts
after market recaro style race seats
13x7 superlites 7N offset 235 yokohama rubber all round
also come with somer nice new twin 45's









The only real change in the first 12 months was the fit a decal kit. This proved to be a real challenge and the firbreglass gaurds are not all identical and the kits come ready to install on a standard arch car.
This really transformed the car from this



to this



to finally THIS




I bought the car with the intent of driving it as a dont believe in locking it away.

I will write some more when i get some time.

Fahley
66 comments Leave a comment
Mrs Magic
Very Nice, Its great to see one looking in great condition and well looked after
2011/07/24 08:39:09
RallyPack
Both of them look great, the wheels on the first one are interesting never seen four spoke ones before only five spokes
2011/07/24 10:53:55
fahley
Thanks guys for the kind words.

the wheels on the yellow car are dragway draglites, pretty common back in the 90's, these are the 4 stud version.
2011/07/24 11:26:25
fahley
I felt the need for some more power and built myself this little gem.





Cosworth engine
2WD head
205 block
Lightly ported head
Kent CW22 cams
Wossner piston
CR 10.3
High volume/pressure oil pump
Will run 45DCOE Carbs
ashley exhaust
Machined cam cover
Vernier cam wheels
I'm hoping for around 200HP that will be complemented with a celica 5 speed box (not yet fitted) and this hilux diff, fitted to the car last week.





The diff has Nissan A32 Maxima single piston calipers and discs which fit nicely on the hilux diff without modification. I made some new aluminium brackets and used the nissan hand brake cables.The lower ratio diff placed a lot more torque on the standard springs so I have fitted a reverse eye lowered setup. I will have to see what happens with this. Fitting the hilux diff also meant that I had to change to a 5 stud pattern, so I also purchased a big brake kit for the front from UPC on ebay.





The kit fitted onto the capri struts well and i believe they are VE commodore calipers. This forced me to fit the pedal box riding the engine bay of that ugly booster. I like the engine bay a lot more now that the booster is gone.



Along this jouney I have started doing a few superkhanas and other tarmac events with some other escort buddies.





Competition soon started to hot up so I fitted new 250lb front coilover kit (with the help a good mate who owns a welder) and a Kmac 24mm swaybar and adjustable camber/caster strut tops; I didn't want to overdo the stiffness as the car is still used regulary as my daily drive.



Along with the upgrades to suspension I wanted an all around package and decked out the boot with the rally look but kept the carpet to soften and maintain the road use standard.





I'm not sure when the cossie engine will hit the car as the pinto is still strong and many historic events will frown upon the late model engine. Here are some recent shots of the car taken this week. I still have the interior to complete.





2011/07/24 15:16:52
RallyPack
Mate it keeps getting better the more you post, the cossy looks nice and i think matches the car perfectly, loving the white with blue stripes too
2011/07/24 16:57:41
fahley
Thanks alot mate. Always great to get some positive feed back.
 
 
2011/08/11 11:59:21
fahley
Thanks alot mate. always good to get some positive feedback.
2011/08/11 12:00:52
PaulMk1
I love those last two pictures....
 
But shall we put the ford badge on the front grille to a vote?
2011/08/11 20:50:20
escort racing
The looks great, well done. I like the badge. Light covers would look cool too, If you go to coming events on this forum you will see my car with the covers. Your car looks great ,cheers Pete .
2011/08/12 00:49:59
fahley
Thanks mate, I like the badge as well. Never really considered light covers.
 
Some other good news - Ive had some feedback on the yellow car. A guy on here still has it from when it was sold and its still going strong.
2011/08/13 05:43:47
cosworth 76
love those bubble arches man.........
2011/08/16 03:29:24
Mark1 Escy
I love the stance of your car!
 
Do you have adjustable TCA's or the right offset? What size and offset are those bad boys (wheels)?
 
Looks mint!
2011/08/27 12:10:25
fahley
Thanks mate,
Yes i have adjustable TCA's. The wheels were 13x7 with 7N offset shown in the earlier photos at the beginning of the thread. They have since been updated to the 16x7 12P offset. Im running a 55 series tyre to counter the lower ratio diff. Trying to maintain the drivability on the highway.
2011/08/27 23:16:17
stevieg
Hi Mate,
 
I just love your white Escort please sell it to me.  Anyone else with one sell it to me.
 
Steve
2011/08/30 17:03:33
fahley
Thanks Steve,
 
It would cost you alot mate.
 
Fahley
2011/08/30 19:48:48
stevieg
I expect so, let me how much when and if you are ready mate.
 
Steve
2011/08/30 20:14:21
Luke
Hi Ian good to see someones car is progressing
What events have you been doing?
2011/08/30 21:02:08
Juiceman
Such a stunning car!
2011/08/31 08:38:43
fahley
Luke

Hi Ian good to see someones car is progressing
What events have you been doing?

G'day Luke,
I have been entering a few superkhanas and other tarmac events. I participated in the Albany round the houses this year. It was great fun. I plan to get to Barbagello more often in regulaity events as well.
The next event is the shannons classic rally on the 11th September.
http://www.classicrally.com.au/shannons_1_day_classic.htm
Cars only need to be street legal and have a fire extinguisher. Must have long clothing and approved helmet.
 
Fahley
 
2011/08/31 10:39:49
ITGRIPS
looks so nice! very jelous
2011/08/31 11:44:40
fahley
The Shannons Classic rally has been won and lost. I didnt win my class but had a great day.
here are some action shots of the day.
 
My inside wheel was spinning loose all day. The extra torque via the 4.5 hilux diff has magnified the problem. I will need to do something about that. New brakes performed well and i was getting more and more confident as the day went on, they we certainly working better as they bedded in during the day. It was the first drive on my new 15x7 platinum superlites and toyo888 rubber, Wow what a diffenrece they make to the grip. the new brakes and rubber inproved my times in the same course by over 2 seconds from last event. Very happy and more time to be saved when the driver get a little braver on the braking confidence.


 


2011/09/16 10:34:06
fahley
Another weekend another event this time was the Autotrader Sprint Championship – Round 6
The day was very wet and slippery. I had one off into the grass in the back section of the track.

 
 
2011/09/18 18:45:18
PaulMk1
Looking very good
2011/09/19 09:37:55
fahley
I took the car out for run today. Another round of the Autorader Sprint series in Perth.
Here is a link to the action. Thanks to the wife for hanging off the camera.
http://youtu.be/46jiRWkaDD8
 
2011/10/23 22:02:21
stevieg
Very cool and well done the camera operator.  Can't wait to find a good mk1, it's bloody hard to find good ones.
2011/10/25 21:03:54
fahley
Thanks mate.
Good bodies are hard to find . Good luck with the search. Just need to be in the right place at the right time.
This one looked pretty good. If i had the money i would have been keen.
http://www.classic-ford.org/cfp/tm.aspx?m=45778&high=
Racing again on the 6th so will post some more then.
 
Fahley
2011/10/25 21:34:50
fahley
I had a crack at the AEM long couse superkhana on the weekend. The weather held out after a dismal forecast.
Here is the only pic i have.

I have also added some video foottage of my run.
http://youtu.be/O9m2TSEO52s
 
Im still fighting a bit of understeer. will increasing the castor help this problem ?

Fahley
2011/11/08 00:21:26
fahley
Its been a while since an update on my fun. A new family member has certainly changed my perspective on what's important (well the wifes at least).
 
I traveled to Northam for the flying Fifty event around the houses and Mt Ommanney Hill climb. This gave me a chance to use my new incar camera.  Unfortunaltely i learnt an important lesson (Always read the book before operating the camera or you get nothing). All my hill climb video was missed due to me not knowing how to start the recording.  I did manage to get some incar footage of the regularity events.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8AiPDPWX2M
 
The video is a bit wobbly due the suction cap fixture to the door window (another learning)
 
Here are some other shots of the car on the day.




 
The day ended up with me snapping the extractors just before it joins the main system. Bugger, i expect that was a product of it hitting the trailer when loading.
2012/04/03 12:51:47
Matt75
Looking Excellent!
 
Matt
2012/04/03 15:04:45
PaulMk1
Sounds like you need to borrow a lower trailer next time!
 
The car is looking great as always!
 
 
 
 
2012/04/03 15:49:17
msymes
Good to see you using it for what it was designed for!!! Looks like the car ran well :)
2012/04/03 17:39:13
fahley
Thanks guys for the kind words.
I figure there is no point in owning it if your not going to drive it.
 
 
I have also added some more photos in the photos section.

Fahley
2012/04/04 18:00:24
fahley
Im preping the car for the up coming Targa South West.
http://www.targasouthwest.com.au/ this is run on the 25-26th of May.  Is the fisrt tarmac rally event i have entered. As i dont have a roll cage yet the regs limit my speed to 130km/h. I guess fast enough on wood lined roads without a cage. I figure the next purchase will be a cage. I have been trying to keep it a road car but i think i have finally hit the cross roads. Anyway there were a few thing that need to be done after the preliminary scrutineering, thanks to Ivan at Go Gear in Perth.
I had to close off the rear fire wall.


I also removed all the interior and flat blacked it all out. Fitted new rear wheel bearings and disc brakes and fitted some newly purchase goodies in the cockpit.



I also took it to the shop to get it tuned up. This is the first time i have paid for anything to be done the the car. I had to get a new manifold as the old unit was doing me any favours with the 45's. All good now with a few extra horse power for the trouble.
 
 
 
2012/05/06 00:11:05
Luke
The cars coming on nicely Ian. If you ever need a hand at the rallys I would be glad to help.
2012/05/06 12:59:17
fahley
Thanks Luke.
Might take you up on that one day. I get up to yours next time home. This car has been keeping me real busy for the couple of weeks. a new baby hasnt helped either with available time.
 
Fahley
2012/05/07 20:13:29
ratta tat tat
Do you have the correct wheel nuts for that spare falcon rim? They require both shank and taper. I have some to fit that exact rim if you need.
2012/05/07 22:58:56
fahley
Hi mate,
 
Im not sure exactly what you mean but i have some 1 1/4" long open ended wheel nuts to fix the wheels.
2012/05/07 23:19:17
ratta tat tat
They should have a tapered edge and a shank so the wheel doesn't slop around.
 

2012/05/07 23:26:34
fahley
Wow, I hope not as they are nothing like im using. My wheels have tapers seats fitted in the wheels themselves.
 
Touch wood they havent fallen off yet.
2012/05/07 23:31:42
fahley
I finished the preps on the car today and fitted the event sponsors stickers. I have to get a few made for my own sponsors. I also took it for a run tonight and im very happy with the tuneup and the smoother acceleration.



 
 
Fahley
2012/05/08 19:50:06
ratta tat tat
That looks awesome Fahley
2012/05/08 21:02:53
fahley
Thanks mate.
2012/05/08 21:21:17
mk1escort73
yep amazing
2012/05/09 20:06:18
PaulMk1
Looks a bit like mine
 

 
 
2012/05/12 17:35:36
fahley
I had a great weekend in Pemberton just gone. The Targa South west event was run in perfect weather, cold crisp morning allowed the cars to run at thier full potential. After a nervous start i managed to finish the rally on sunday lunch time eith the car in one piece. The car proved very competitive on the challenge class finishing faster than a GT40 and 911 Porsche regulary. Having a 130km/h limit certainly helped.
There are a few pics of the event, I will place some links for the incar video abit later when i get time.  Next event in Albany around the houses this weekend.
 




2012/05/28 21:23:49
PaulMk1
Looking very good mate!
 
 
2012/05/29 08:56:08
fahley
Here are a couple of the links to the action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZu5LaQcJ-c was an early morning tun and i was second car. Great fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcokW3TguSY&feature=youtube_gdata reverse order of the above
 
Fahley
 
 
2012/05/29 23:25:34
PaulMk1
That 130kph limit is a real killer!
 
 
2012/05/30 09:07:45
fahley
No, not at all.
There were a few places that you could go faster. However very happy with the experience. Wrapped to have finished without any major incidents. Im not even sure ill change anything for next year.
 
Fahley
2012/05/30 09:16:03
Luke
Nice work, did  it feel good to beat a Porsche
2012/05/30 11:33:10
Luke
Nice work, did  it feel good to beat a Porsche
2012/05/30 12:29:00
fahley
Luke

Nice work, did  it feel good to beat a Porsche

It always good to beat another brand of car. Thats the beauty of the speed limit. all cars are on a pretty level playing field. It then comes down to the cars handling and acceleration.
 
and of course the driver.
2012/05/30 12:34:29
PaulMk1
>>comes down to the cars acceleration
 
So you need to fit the 5.3 diff then... 
 
 
2012/05/30 12:46:42
fahley
Here are a few of the action shots taken by some of the many sports photographers. I managed to find these on the net.
Here are the links to other great shots from the event.
http://circlework.com.au/2012/05/26/targa-south-west-2012/
http://www.pixelculture.com/?page_id=12355
http://www.brianwhite.com.au/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=10107#page=1
 



2012/06/01 10:09:48
mark56
the only great thing about WA is the fact you can get awesome personal plates. as seen on your car. My mk2 RS2000 is in melbourne and still getting about with the WA plates. 2 reasons, 1 its cheaper, 2 im changing them to custom plates from WA soon too ;)
 
PS, bloody nice MK1. my first car was a mk1 that i sold far too cheap and regret it to this day, but still loving my mk2 RS !!!!
2012/06/03 00:11:55
fahley
Thanks Mate,
 
this is a keeper. I sold my first Mk1 as seen on page one. Thats how i ended up here.
 
Ian 
2012/06/04 20:59:46
RS2000
I thought you were sending the motor to me for christmas
Awesome bro, would love to tweak one of these for a resto one day
 
 
fahley

I felt the need for some more power and built myself this little gem.





Cosworth engine
2WD head
205 block
Lightly ported head
Kent CW22 cams
Wossner piston
CR 10.3
High volume/pressure oil pump
Will run 45DCOE Carbs
ashley exhaust
Machined cam cover
Vernier cam wheels
I'm hoping for around 200HP that will be complemented with a celica 5 speed box (not yet fitted) and this hilux diff, fitted to the car last week.





The diff has Nissan A32 Maxima single piston calipers and discs which fit nicely on the hilux diff without modification. I made some new aluminium brackets and used the nissan hand brake cables.The lower ratio diff placed a lot more torque on the standard springs so I have fitted a reverse eye lowered setup. I will have to see what happens with this. Fitting the hilux diff also meant that I had to change to a 5 stud pattern, so I also purchased a big brake kit for the front from UPC on ebay.





The kit fitted onto the capri struts well and i believe they are VE commodore calipers. This forced me to fit the pedal box riding the engine bay of that ugly booster. I like the engine bay a lot more now that the booster is gone.



Along this jouney I have started doing a few superkhanas and other tarmac events with some other escort buddies.





Competition soon started to hot up so I fitted new 250lb front coilover kit (with the help a good mate who owns a welder) and a Kmac 24mm swaybar and adjustable camber/caster strut tops; I didn't want to overdo the stiffness as the car is still used regulary as my daily drive.



Along with the upgrades to suspension I wanted an all around package and decked out the boot with the rally look but kept the carpet to soften and maintain the road use standard.





I'm not sure when the cossie engine will hit the car as the pinto is still strong and many historic events will frown upon the late model engine. Here are some recent shots of the car taken this week. I still have the interior to complete.








2012/06/12 06:16:14
fahley
Wow, thanks for thew refresh on the car.
 
Fahley
2012/06/12 22:07:12
fahley
It been a while since a post. I have been busy giving the engine bay a tidy up and fitting the much longed for cossie lump.
Here are a few pics of the refreshed engine bay. 
 
 
2012/11/06 22:01:34
ratta tat tat
It's looking great Fahley. The webers are gleamin!
2012/11/07 00:10:53
razzle308
Nice work Fahley.
Those ashleys look great.
2012/11/08 17:46:04
fahley
Thanks guys.
 
They did look a whole look better when they were nice and shiny with the ceramic coating.
 
They have sinced dulled off when the headers started to glow cherry red after starting it up for the first time.
I think i may have it sorted now and will work through the carb jet sizes from the link i just added to your post Razzle 308.
2012/11/08 17:56:19
Flocky
How's that 24mm sway bar with the 250lbs fronts?are you happy with the handling?
2015/06/16 11:43:46
fahley
The 24mm sway bar I find really good. Unfortunately I don't know anything else.
My mate who has 300lb springs downsized his sway bay to a 19mm from memory. He says this is a lot better.
2015/06/22 11:24:18
ratta tat tat
Anything above 22mm (twin cam) is overkill for most escorts
2015/06/22 17:36:11
pat mc
Love it. Want one in these colours some day
2015/06/22 20:12:21

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