Hi there.
 
So i recently picked up the shell of a 1959 prefect as my first project car. Body seems to be in pretty good condition, and it came with a set of 13x6 Superlites with new tyres, which is handy.

Here's a few pics.
 

 

 

 

 

 
The car has a MK2 escort front end, 105e diff and a previous owner has notched the firewall and fabricated a new gearbox tunnel to accommodate a pinto/4 speed.
 
I'll have to fit seatbelts, a split braking system, two speed wipers + windscreen washer, demister, and a collapsible steering column for registration/engineering purposes, other than that, the car is a blank canvas.
 
Initial plan was as follows "Fit either a Duratec or a Zetec, running on throttle bodies. and a suitable gearbox to go along with it (type9/s5 rx7 turbo box). Pondering twin fuel tanks to keep it looking somewhat stock, while increasing the fuel load and not intruding too much on space. I'd like to fit Air Conditioning and keep the cabin as quiet as possible... or buy some noise plugs."
 
Of course... plans change, and this happened.
 

 
It's a long term project ;)
 
Cheers.
 
Lee

Cut the front section out to get the engine and gearbox in easier. It'll be replaced with a frame that'll let me mount a larger radiator/fans/air conditioning parts.

 
Then cut a bunch more out.

 
The engine sits in the bay like this.

 
Gearbox sits nicely in the tunnel. The s2000 gearbox isn't that wide, but the bellhousing is quite large.

 
And from the front, it'll sit nicely in there.

 
 
Next step is to modify the escort engine mounts and steering rack mounts for clearance. Then make a couple of engine mounts and a gearbox mount.

This is going to awesome.....
 
Will be following this one.
 
Shaun

N/A Rocket Ship in the build!
 
I'l be following too.
 
Rhys

That engine in that car is going to be a monster! I bloody love it.
 
Keep the pics coming please.

Thanks guys, as mentioned, it's my first project car so I'm not expecting progress to be quick. I spend a bunch of time thinking about the best way to do things, reading threads, looking for parts etc. Right now I'm wondering how difficult it would be to fit the s2000 fuel tank between the chassis rails, under the boot. (I have one in the garage)
 
Will keep the thread updated with text and pics when things progress.

After investigating what I'd have to do to get the sump clearance I need (since we'd only put the engine in with the steering rack removed), I mocked up what it would look like with a lowered cross member. All looked good until I put the steering rack back on,  at which point the sump was sitting on the steering rack. Not quite sure i want to lower the cross member and lower the steering rack. Seems like it'd be quite annoying to fix the issues that this would introduce.
 
So I borrowed a crossmember from a local suspension guy, and decided to mock up what it would look like if I reversed it, similar to what Niscort has done on his mk1.
 
So i went from this:

 
To this:

 
And pics of the sump clearance

 
Steering rack clearance

 
And now, this is the only issue I'm having now, the rack and mount hit on the sump. I figure if I lower the cross member slightly, it'll give me enough clearance.

 
I realise I'll have to get a LHD rack, or find a rack of a local car that's rear mounted and of similar length, but it seems like a decent option. Thoughts/Opinions on the placement etc?

After checking things out/talking with a couple of people, the consensus was that running the rack on the rear of the cross member was a good idea, but leaving the rack where it is without changing anything else would lead to a negative ackerman situation, and since this car is going to be on the road, isn't ideal. A solution was required!
 
Decided that I'd go ahead with the rear mounted steering rack, but I'm going to lower the rack to be level with the cross member, and run steering arms that are cranked to give me back roughly true ackerman. Of course after deciding this, I noticed that my steering arms are not detachable, so that's a thing ;)
 

 
On the plus side, it does mean I can modify my existing cross member to fit backwards, get it all bolted in and then mount the engine/gearbox.

Seeking opinions!
 
I've been thinking about what to do with the cluster. The two off the shelf things I could use would be the s2000 cluster, or the cluster from an dc5 Integra/RSX (both would need something like a Dakota Digital SGI-5 to correct the speed readings)

S2000:


RSX:


The RSX one is a touch more 'oldschool', but the s2000 cluster is just so very funky (also easier) 

Picked up a s2000 cluster and dash loom for a reasonable price, so that answers my previous question.
 
Not much has been going on with the car for the last little while. Over the past two days, however, we managed this, so progress has been made.

 
And a few more pics for good measure.





 
and here's the clearance to the bonnet

 
Feels good to have that in place. Still a long way to go, and it needs strengthening/cleaning up etc, but for now, it's enough :)
 
Oh, and if it ever doesn't want to start, i could always use a hand crank ;)