Hi All,

Just got my first escort van, 1979 Sundowner. I’m familiar with escorts, just never had a van before.

Needs a little work but is going to be awesome.

I’d appreciate any assistance tracking down some information and if anyone has any of the parts below please PM me.

 

Info needed:

· Brochures or ads - white sundowner, where is black vs. white, sundowner features etc. Such as did sundowners all have spotlights?

· Do vans normally have removable vent/grill above heater plenum / below window?

· Was there a full roof lining on any model to use as template or aftermarket/ custom ideas and options?

· Was a cargo cage behind drivers seat a factory option or only aftermarket? Anyone have a lead on decent ones?

· Seats are orange and brown stripes. Was there a special seat pattern for the sundowners? If so anyone know if fabric is still available?

 

Parts needed:

· Reverse lights

· Rear quarter bumpers

· Front quarter bumpers

· Left side mirror

· Rear valance (I’ve seen the new ones from expressed steel, seeing if anyone has a decent rear cut?)

· Front spot light mounts and switch

· Sundowner window seals

· Sundowner graphics

· Factory A/C parts

Congrats on the new car,
Haven't had a Sundowner for many years so I'm just going by what I remember from the 90's lol.
 
They should have all had spotlights, Carrello items in common with Cortina and XD Falcon of the time, not sure if the mounts were the same.
 
All had the grill under the windscreen.
 
Not sure on the full rooflining, thought it was unique to Sundowner, could be wrong, try UK suppliers.
 
Cargo cage? was that the fold down bit behind the seats to extend the sleeping area? If so they all came with one,  it was just chipboard and carpet with a supporting rod, should be easy to make.
 
Not sure again on the seats, sound like fashion pack, Flighter could elaborate on those. As Far as I know they varied over the years some had plain interiors some houndstooth inserts.
 
As Far as parts go, bumpers ebay, gumtree or fiberglass/ carbon repro easy to find.
 
Mirror, rare spares repro them now, about 100 bucks from memory.
 
Nos spotlight switches were available last time I was looking, it was the others that were hard to find.
 
There were a couple of sellers on ebay doing graphics, if you get stuck give me a yell I have a mate that'd know.
 
 I can help with a factory a/c facia and the unit that goes in the console, ashtray etc may need to do some measurements though, the van dash is narrower due to being based on a MK1 so the under dash facia from sedan/coupe may not fit.
 
Somewhere I also have build numbers and colour/decal/trim options I'll try to dig them up some time.
 
Hope that gets you started, be sure to start a build thread. Cheers Drew.
 
 

Thanks Drew
 
Just been learning about the sundowner today. I'd forgotten that they had the fold down board. I've found specs to make the board but still tracking down the hardware, none of it is there, i'd like to make it as original as possible. Originally I'd intended on putting a full cargo cage there for my dogs to stay in the back, laws gotta have a barrier or them be restrained in a vehicle. I'll have to figure something out for that.

Being narrower does that mean the dash top and window are different on a Mk2 van to mk2 sedan?
let me know if you have a link to the NOS spotlight switch.
 
I've PM'd you about the AC.

Hi ed
Congrats on doing a van , as for dash top they area few inches shorter than a mk2 sedan. Windscreen and doors are direct from mk1 escort 2dr / van .
If you need bumpers I can make them in Fibreglass . Also check my build thread on my yellow pinto panelvan load lugger

I'd love a copy of the specs for the board, as I'm slowly doing up a van too. Do your seats look like those in my profile pic?

Yep. Same colour as in your picture, trim B3 - Orange Cadiz.
 
Link to board measurements in the Ford Sundowner Appreciation Group Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/...8603206584&type=3.

The fabric was not exclusive to Sundowners (first put in the so-called 'fashion pack' in the late 70s, as Drewdog mentioned), although I think they used them in some red ones at one time. There was also a similar pattern with yellow and green tones, which I think they put into some yellow Sundowners. Fabric seats were considered upmarket back then (rightly so when air conditioning was an expensive option), and it amuses me to see some sellers of older cars passing off vinyl as leather (perhaps unknowingly).
 
As for the grille, yes, vans were removeable (which is a bonus given the problem with rust in the heater bubble), unlike the Mk2 sedans and coupes.
 
Here's a page from the 1980 catalog showing what you got for your money back then.
 

Oh, and although Mk1 coupe doors fit a Mk2 van, do note that they have different internal door handles.

Some of the seat material has popped up on gumtree Western Australia
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/roleystone/other-parts-accessories/ford-xd-xe-s-pack-cortina-nos-seat-trim-material/1240803270
I haven't forgotten about those measurements Ed, I'll be digging the bits out over the weekend.
Cheers Drew

How interesting - after looking for years, I never thought I'd see spare fabric for sale. In my limited experience though, Falcon and Cortina fabric was a little different, being noticably fuzzier than in my Escort; I suspect from being a different weave (my Escort is a very smooth twill). So buyer beware, especially at that price!