Hi Drew,
Seem to have missed some of your recent posts for some reason, probably from my shift work. Love your pipes and exhaust and the overall finish on the car is coming up a treat- top work!
Cheers,
Len

Wow. Epic much? So close!

G'day folks,
After 5 odd years of love/hate, welder burns, skinned knuckles and a empty wallet it was all forgotten yesterday on our maiden voyage Theres still a couple of minor things left to do, (wheel alignment, find a circlip for the speedo cable) but I'm calling it as "finished" Great to be back in an Escort after a few years although I'd forgotten how small they are, it all came back soon enough, the sound, the short shift, the smell and of course the indicators being on a different side, lol I even put the warning sticker on the windscreen and still got it wrong!
Looking forward to some  summer cruising along Perths Northern beaches now...
Cheers Drew...

Drew, you must be so proud and pleased with the outcome. Big YAAY for you and the effort that went into it.
Len

I was calling it finished in february last year but in reality the car still has a ways to come... Had a couple of issues with fueling in march and felt pretty 'worn out' after the build I so put the cover on it and walked away...
The new years bought a change of heart though, sorted the initial problem, the fuel cap was non venting and would seal itself up occasionally and make it impossible for the pump to draw fuel, it would only do it from time to time but it was enough for me to loose trust in the car.
From there I got the speedo working (found the circlip cleaning the shed a while back) hooked up the fuel gauge (wires shortened from previous side fill tank) put in a much larger battery cable and earth (original factory a/c type too feeble) fixed a door latch that'd slipped the rod out and tidied up a few loose ends.
So with the gremlins cleared up and the car back on the road it became obvious that the initial tune was just that, an initial tune, just enough to get it driving.... Now let the games begin... I had its previous dcoe's down pat and when I swapped to the idf's I was looking forward to a new learning curve. So with it being to hot to do any body work on the Cortina at the moment I've started spending some quality time in the shed learning the fine art of the idf carburetor.
Say tuned, lol, Drew...

Hi Drew, I hadn't see this thread before, as a newb it was before my time.
I just re read the 10 pages and what a journey.
Thanks for posting all of the various stages, its amazing to see what people can get done and learn new skills by having a go.
Your attention to detail spins me out, and now if I want to know how to do something properly, I can just refer back here.
Now enjoy the driving/ washing  bit. 

Thanks guys, this thing has been the great 'unfinished galleon' of my life so far... we go back 21 years next month...
But moving forward. Started playing with the carbs, it was running a 135 main jet and the mixtures were out way too far at about four turns. Fitted some 140's which bought it down to three and a quarter turns. Power increase was significant and its alot smoother. Got greedy and tried some 145's but that was a backwards step.
I still think the mixtures a little rich, you can smell it and theres a little trace of black smoke.
So where to next? Can't find too much about tuning IDF's for Escorts but theres a wealth of information on the various VW forums. After reading pages and pages of info the next step(s) will be to try a bigger idle jet from 50 up to 55 and change emulsion tubes to F7. I understand this will richen the mixture down low where I'm having the problems and I may be able to wind the mixture needles down a bit.
Any suggestions? Am I on the right track?
Cheers Drew...