Went on the hunt for a Cortina mk1 or mk2 bonnet release mechanism, one came up on gummy at Gummeracha for $20 , he posted it for another $11 , even tho he is about 45kms from me if rather it posted, cheaper than the fuel used !!

Next was mark out the position it will sit and cut the part off

Here is the removed piece , of anyone wants it let me know !

I made a template and built a replacement flat blank and welded in place

Once all measured up and marked, I used a 34mm hole punch to stamp the hole out, neat job..

I got the radiator isolators from AliExpress last week but been busy on a mates Escort to get ready for sale which sold a few days ago.

Test fitting the Gemini radiator in place, I raised it from the bottom landing so later on I can put a strip of black high density foam.

Hole punch tool got some action again on the side brackets, here the Honda Civic rubber isolaters are installed

Ok, my Tig ally welding isn't as pretty as bike frame and the like but it seems to hold solid, I did also plug weld the bracket

I think I got the radiator more upright than the factory arrangement.
For mounting I used a length of tube with a 10mm Id for crush tubes, which meant I need to use m10 bolts
Welding nuts on the rad support side panels and the radiator will be bolted as a normal Escort rad.

Here's the radiator mounted up and checked for fouling by giving it a decent shake, all it's good and nothing touches.

Something still to do is trim and shape the excess mounting ally so it doesn't interfere with oil cooler hoses etc. Doubt the car will be turbo so I'm not going to shoehorn an intercooler in there. And this shows the fibreglass bonnet still closes .

Radiator mounting looks nice Marty.
Poor people like me still use a step drill bit. (Actually really cause I'm sick of accumulating tools).
You've got the radiator earthing issue all sorted there as well.
Its always a struggle to have every last detail mapped out and cover every contingency in your planning. Better be happy with N/A now

the lime green bonnet looks like a nice colour choice. Will make a change from the orange one seen everywhere.
Add some silver mex stripes, your white revo 4 spokes and you'd have an easy seller later on if you ever wanted to.
 
( I know the 'true' colour being mooted, but anyone want to guess if its lime green? Maybe The period Plum will get a run?)
You have about 2 weeks to guess before the paint guns dragged out, going by Marty's rate.
 
PS. Forum posters seem to be  slowly dropping away, or maybe just out and about driving?

Hey Mark, yeah there's a bunch of new tools I've bought since starting this car, manly from want more than need and this car is suitable mule to try some tools on.. the hole punch set, I was hoping to convert them out adapt a collar to make them flared/swaged. Thinking of it after I need to harden the adapters .... Nah, too hard!

Deano, lime green mk1, never thought the idea, in not a real fan of green cars. The bonnet gelcoat colour is called green apple, but lime is more near the right colour.
No more Mexico copies from my shed, I have a new trend to start in mk1 Escort stripes....
I wish I could have it ready to paint in 2wks , that would be fantastic !

Yup, forums are a dying breed, going back about 10yrs everyone who was joined to this forum was on at least most nights, we was having real time talk sessions but not no more. I'll be sloping off this forum once this car is done, I'll still check in once or twice but no epic build threads with an audience of 3 or 4... As it seems, very sad .



Let's see how many are reading this and chuck a quick 'I'm here' or something to know you've been here , this goes for the Capri and Cortina guys, gals as well .

a rollcall the;
present.
 
I think 2 or 3 is probably likley. :(

Yep have to agree with you both. With all the social media platforms about, the forum is probably too limited in its reach. And we are so time poor these days
A definite advantage with the forums is that we get to know each other a bit, and the progress through our builds etc.
 
Advice is not handed out like confetti (aka FB). The FB posts are here one minute and then disappear into the ether so there is never really any historical context....
 
Whoever coined the term "keyboard warrior' couldn't have been more on the money. Perhaps we are not as anonymous here?
 
Onto other things. I have been doing all my brake and fuel lines (hard and braid) and sorry to say Deano, have bought the Link kit from the UK. I really researched Speeduino with a couple of gurus and they were finding holes in each others methodologies. So I thought F^%$ it, life is too short and I don't think this build is one where I want to be learning by my mistakes.
Plus it looked like I was going to have to use a tuner who was remote, so that was a definite fail.

Here's an engine for you Marty
 
 
https://www.my105.com/sea...4?source=SEARCH_RESULT

There are a couple of nice MK1's on there at the moment too