richie_mck
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Keeping the standard bonnet but I’d nearly try and harvest one of these kidneys for the engine you’ve advertised
mk2 escort build
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Keeping the standard bonnet but I’d nearly try and harvest one of these kidneys for the engine you’ve advertised
richie_mck
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Another bit of hidden rust unearthed, sandwiched between the louvres and windscreen rail. Now cut out, new piece fabricated and welded in. New lip for the top of the louvre panel made too
On to the rear quarters where there was two new arches put in. Both sides had a couple of minor pin holes but at some point the lip had been cut out rather than rolled. The car also had trim holes welded up which caused a bit of warping so John set about straightening them to leave it all as straight as possible rather than rely on filler
On to the rear quarters where there was two new arches put in. Both sides had a couple of minor pin holes but at some point the lip had been cut out rather than rolled. The car also had trim holes welded up which caused a bit of warping so John set about straightening them to leave it all as straight as possible rather than rely on filler
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Jason
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It’s a work of art! Deal can be done if you are interested.
richie_mck
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As much as I’d love a 300bhp n/a roaring away it’s just not in the budget unfortunately. Is your dad shelving the project or going a different direction?
Jason
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Sold the whole thing, bodyshop kept the car nearly 2 years and he wasnt getting any younger. Was atleast another 6 months of build ahead so lost interest in it.
richie_mck
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More progress and we’re on the home straight in terms of bodywork. It’s safe to say there’s very little chance there’s any rust anywhere on this car.
With the front sitting in place on the jig attention went to the rest of the car. Same old story, drill through one layer of metal to find rust behind, cut it out and stick some new metal in. A mixture of off the shelf bits and bits john made up himself.
I definitely haven’t got used to seeing work being done on this, it’s come on at a great pace despite have 240hrs in it to this point.
Perfect example, solid looking piece of metal until you see the bottom of the drill whole for the rust
There’s a new rear panel as the one had a few dents and it was more economical to replace than repair, outer tubs went in, floors came out along with the chassis legs. The legs weren’t in bad order but there was a few places they’d been patched before and a few areas where it was swelling between the skins, new ones front to back.
The boot floor was solid enough but riddled with wholes from having things fixed through it. Pockets had been patched and the only way to leave it right was to put a new one in. There’s a full front floor pan to go in next as well.
Rear chassis legs sitting in the jig
Inner tubs, shock tower and floor set in place. It’s not even tacked in and the fitment John got is first class.
Panel gaps and fitment have been fettled as he’s gone along too so even at this stage everything is sitting the way it should so will save time when it gets to bodywork
With the front sitting in place on the jig attention went to the rest of the car. Same old story, drill through one layer of metal to find rust behind, cut it out and stick some new metal in. A mixture of off the shelf bits and bits john made up himself.
I definitely haven’t got used to seeing work being done on this, it’s come on at a great pace despite have 240hrs in it to this point.
Perfect example, solid looking piece of metal until you see the bottom of the drill whole for the rust
There’s a new rear panel as the one had a few dents and it was more economical to replace than repair, outer tubs went in, floors came out along with the chassis legs. The legs weren’t in bad order but there was a few places they’d been patched before and a few areas where it was swelling between the skins, new ones front to back.
The boot floor was solid enough but riddled with wholes from having things fixed through it. Pockets had been patched and the only way to leave it right was to put a new one in. There’s a full front floor pan to go in next as well.
Rear chassis legs sitting in the jig
Inner tubs, shock tower and floor set in place. It’s not even tacked in and the fitment John got is first class.
Panel gaps and fitment have been fettled as he’s gone along too so even at this stage everything is sitting the way it should so will save time when it gets to bodywork
Laundrymike
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Some tidy work there
svensktoppen
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If you go looking you will find 
Coming together nicely. I bet you are relieved to finally see some proper progress.
Coming together nicely. I bet you are relieved to finally see some proper progress.
Always best to find it. Imagine spending all that money just to leave rust to appear after a 3 or 4 years.
Actually takes quite a bit of time if you are doing panel gaps properly, surprised how many hours went into the panel gaps on mine. But doing them well brings the finish to another level.
Actually takes quite a bit of time if you are doing panel gaps properly, surprised how many hours went into the panel gaps on mine. But doing them well brings the finish to another level.
Graham
RMS Photographer
John is a wizard!
I've told him many times, I just don't know how he gets the panel gaps that good on an old Ford, top class! Going to be a really nice car that when finished. 
richie_mck
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A few more updates from John
Main floor set in and screwed in place. It still need to be drilled for plug welds but at least it fits. The gearbox tunnel will need to be cut out to fit the larger automatic tunnel to give enough space for the cosworth T5.
Chassis legs with spring hangers and RS chassis skid plates. Chassis legs are all welded in place and painted with epoxy before the floors get welded in.
Boot floor also painted where it fits over the chassis legs. Holes drilled ready to be welded in.
One of the other challenges was what to do with the intercooler. I had previously bought a radtec intercooler and radiator setup when it was with the previous fabricator but it went walkies. I had planned to go that route again but after seeing the new inner front panel in I decided against cutting it all out to get it to fit. The plan is to try and make the cosworth engine look more like an oem install so I’ve scowered the internet and bought an intercooler that I can sandwich behind the inner and outer front panel and sit out of sight behind the front grille for maximum cooling. The pipe work will come through on either side of the radiator which allows me to go with a more period looking rad
Some eagle eyed viewers will have noticed the massive hole in the dash. That hole used to have a cutout for the heater controls but they’d been chopped out at some stage. I picked up a cheap LHD dash on eBay so will get that all put right again.
There’s a few bits and pieces but we’re not far off getting a coat of primer on it and looking toward paint.
Main floor set in and screwed in place. It still need to be drilled for plug welds but at least it fits. The gearbox tunnel will need to be cut out to fit the larger automatic tunnel to give enough space for the cosworth T5.
Chassis legs with spring hangers and RS chassis skid plates. Chassis legs are all welded in place and painted with epoxy before the floors get welded in.
Boot floor also painted where it fits over the chassis legs. Holes drilled ready to be welded in.
One of the other challenges was what to do with the intercooler. I had previously bought a radtec intercooler and radiator setup when it was with the previous fabricator but it went walkies. I had planned to go that route again but after seeing the new inner front panel in I decided against cutting it all out to get it to fit. The plan is to try and make the cosworth engine look more like an oem install so I’ve scowered the internet and bought an intercooler that I can sandwich behind the inner and outer front panel and sit out of sight behind the front grille for maximum cooling. The pipe work will come through on either side of the radiator which allows me to go with a more period looking rad
Some eagle eyed viewers will have noticed the massive hole in the dash. That hole used to have a cutout for the heater controls but they’d been chopped out at some stage. I picked up a cheap LHD dash on eBay so will get that all put right again.
There’s a few bits and pieces but we’re not far off getting a coat of primer on it and looking toward paint.
richie_mck
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I maybe should have elaborated a bit, we’re not 100% sure on how the intercooler will fit as it’s fairly tight back there and will require some trimming so I’ve bought an intercooler in the size that should fit and some bends so we can mock it up.
KeithRobinson
RMS Regular
Incredible work! It's crazy how much rust lurks inside old cars. The majority of restorations don't even scratch the surface.
This will outlast you when it's done! Can't wait to see it!
This will outlast you when it's done! Can't wait to see it!
mayweather
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I really want a look around this when it’s done, you just know it’s going to be the dogs bollox!
richie_mck
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Some more progress in December.
Inner surface of the outer sills and new chassis legs prepped and primed
Floor prepped for plug welds and primed
All welded in place. Plug welds will need to be linished and there’s only a few floor braces, rear tubs and little bits needed welded in to complete.
I’m calling down on Tuesday to leave the engine and gearbox as we’ll need to put in a bigger tunnel to take the cosworth T5 box. For this we’re going to use a mk2 escort automatic tunnel and with some minor modifications it’ll fit the box. I’ll also get the components of the intercooler wedged in to see what way it’s going to work too.
It’s a good feeling to be signing this year off with the amount of progress that’s been made this year.
Inner surface of the outer sills and new chassis legs prepped and primed
Floor prepped for plug welds and primed
All welded in place. Plug welds will need to be linished and there’s only a few floor braces, rear tubs and little bits needed welded in to complete.
I’m calling down on Tuesday to leave the engine and gearbox as we’ll need to put in a bigger tunnel to take the cosworth T5 box. For this we’re going to use a mk2 escort automatic tunnel and with some minor modifications it’ll fit the box. I’ll also get the components of the intercooler wedged in to see what way it’s going to work too.
It’s a good feeling to be signing this year off with the amount of progress that’s been made this year.
KeithRobinson
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Love seeing updates 
richie_mck
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Love seeing updates
You just reminded me that John sent pics of more progress.
Spot welds all linished back and primed. Big old auto tunnel sitting waiting patiently to get welded in to take the cossie box.
You can see here that someone had previous cut part of the dash out with a bread knife. That’s the bit that holds the heater controls so the LHD dash I got was chopped and the bit transferred over
I wanted to have the chassis number stamped onto the top mount plate. As I bought the inner wings already fully dressed I tried to get someone to stamp the plate that was already welded in but no takers meant getting a new plate stamped and swapped over. Whoever was in charge of the spot welder was getting paid by the day, not the job.
We also got the intercooler fitted, I just need to get it down to @PeteMoore to get it modified it a bit
I need to get engine mounts to get engine and box mounted so we can fettle the tunnel.
Having serious doubts about what colour to paint it and I know that decision is looming.
Stay tuned, hopefully these updates aren’t too boring.
No update has been boring on this the work gone into and work going into it is awesome.
This is a sublime build and it shows how good and his work John is many would of said no to this but he has done an outstanding job so far.
This is a sublime build and it shows how good and his work John is many would of said no to this but he has done an outstanding job so far.
richie_mck
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I was just going to go back to the atlas axle with tramp bars but I see hallscort have released a ‘A frame’ setup for a mk2 which I need to look into as I assume it’s in place of the tramp bar setup. I’m a little bit confused with their setup though as they are running both leaf spring and coilovers but the leafs are maybe just to locate the axle for welding of the brackets
Cheers, always conscious of posting stuff up in case it all looks the same, but I suppose it’s not for everyone anyway
FM155
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Might be different but there used to be A-frame kits for Capri's that had a pretty poor reputation. Any bar that isn't going forward aft is going to struggle to do both jobs of side to side location and resisting axle wind-up. The outboard rose joints are in the wrong orientation to cope with up and down rotation too. The simplest solution would be RS tramp bars and a panhard rod if you are keeping the leaf springs, good compromise for a road car. Everything else gets very complicated very quickly imo. I'm sure you'll have plenty of options though.