RS Motorsport :: Classic Speed Restored

Hey there, just recently signed up and i'm getting into the fun and good times that is the Ford Escort! Only 21 and i've never owned one before so i'm slowly learning all i can about it.

I'm the most recent new staff writer at Street Fords Magazine so you should see some small tech articles on the car in the future hopefully! Only been here for about 3 months now but it's a great lot of fun every day.
I'm also Fev off the Fordforums.com.au - if you visit there you've probably seen me around.


I bought it about 3 weeks ago off ebay. I picked it up on Saturday from Wagga Wagga, NSW and drove it straight home. All 500km's in about 6 hours. Only problem was the ENORMOUS amount of fuel consumption(45lt in 100kms hehe) It made it all the way to my driveway before dying on in the middle of the road in front of my home. Turns out the power cable came off the starter motor. I was very lucky it happened when i got home haha

It's a 1978 XL with a 2L Pinto and a 5spd Sierra gearbox. The front suspension i've found to be all replaced with new Pedders gear which i was happy to find. The interior hasn't got a mark or stain on it. All black and it came with a CD player and stereo already installed which i'm fixing.
The rims are 15x7in Dragway's with 195 tyres on the front and 225 tyres on the rear looks very old school tough.

I've now added a few bits and pieces. Repainted the front grill black and added a genuine Rally Pack chin spoiler i found.. I know some people don't like the rear wing but it's grown on me. And if i take it off the boot will need to be resprayed which i can't be bothered doing.
Heres the latest photo of it.











Now the engine bay is a mess! The mechanic that worked on it over the last few years thought he might be an autoelectrician but in reality i think he was slightly nuts. There are wires everywhere, ones that go no where, others that have been cut and replaced with different, smaller gauge wires which have burnt through etc etc. I dumped the coolant and it was literally water and rust - no coolant included hehe.
It's also leaking oil at high temps - it's coming from somewhere around the dipstick - or it's coming out of the dipstick itself. It's actually spurted up onto the bonnet!!

The carb needs a service bad - It all but chokes the engine with fuel and leaves black patches of unburnt fuel all over my driveway since someone cut the exhaust off at the axle to fit the drop tank.


If you look closely you'll see the taillights are filled with mud - The one on the right is more obvious. I replaced them and when i pulled them about about a handful of mud fell onto the floor! There is a large gap between it and the taillight due to a smash some years ago i think. I'd hate to see the body if i sandblasted it!



Anyway, let me know what you think! It's a bit of a toy at the moment. On the weekend i'll be doing the spark plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter and see how it goes. Hopefully it will start after that, it's developed an annoying habit of not starting until after about 10 mins of kicking over.
I've already replaced the fuel filter, distributor points(they were pitted and destoryed almost. Surprised it ran) as well as the heater hose which had a leak.

I've just received twin sidedraft 40mm Webers with linkage, originally off a hot L18 Datto. Just need a manifold and get the fuel lines sorted(Some are cracking. They will be replaced ASAP before it burns to the ground)
I guess i'll need an exhaust system and headwork/cam to support the bigger Webers hey? Any idea's where i can get that sort of thing done around Sydney's north west?

Thanks for lookin!

Hi Dawson,

Love the color! Looks much better with the Rally Pack spoiler on it too.

You're not wrong! this is a picture off the Ebay listing. It looks shoddy but it's way better now.

Welcome Dawson.

Your car looks great. Mk2's look good in a 4dr. The change of grill colour has made a world of difference, as has the Rally pack chin spoiler. And the 15'x7' Dragways look tuff as well.

I Seen this one on ebay. Nice pick up.
Agree with others, the grill painted black makes it 100% better as does the chin spoiler. Just get those niggling little issues sorted and you will have what appears to be a decent car there. Good luck with it.

Just back from Autobarn - The Oil filter i got looks as if it was sitting on the shelf for about 20 years heheh. And they didn't have any spark plugs - they had 2 of one temp and 3 of another Hopefully my other Autobarn i go to have them

I've got the new 40mm Webers sitting next to me right now. No Camera at work (odd for a Magazine i know but they are all out on assignment atm) so when i get home i'll throw some pics up. Surprisingly in good contition, not sure if they need a re-co or not. I'll probably end up doing it anyway.

Waiting on the 32/36 reco kit to come, hopefully today some time so i can fix the original carb and get it running.

Does anyone have a dual Manifold for a 40mm DCOE Weber? I've been told it's the same as the 45DCOE manifold as well.

RE: Spark Plugs - Just buy NGK AP6FS plugs that suit Cortina, Falcon, Fairlane 6cyl. etc. You get 6 in a pack, but 2x equals 3 lots of 4.
And on the plugs, I've never had any problems with them breaking down like Bosch and Champion plugs.

G'Day Dawson,

Do you know if this car is orignally from SA? It looks like one I had a look at when it was for sale about 4years ago? Give or take a year for memory loss.

Rhys

Welcome to the forum Dawson. It is amazing how little you have to do to make a car look so much better

hahaha yeah it still surprises me how much better it looks. The only thing that lets it down is the copious amounts of smoke that pours out the rear end(unburnt fuel)

That rebuild kit didn't come over the weekend so when it gets here today i'm hoping, i'll pull off the carb.

So i need a manifold to suit(45dcoe manifold suits it apparently) and to get the throttle sorted out and some fuel lines. I think thats it?

We're always looking for more people to get featured! Every issue there's a send us your pics in there so if you think your car is appropriate let us know! And now that there's a Small Ford enthusiast at the mag i'll be pushing for more Escorts too hehe

Roy's a Falcon GT Fan, Sam's a Eseries enthusiast(although he's an encyclopedia when it comes to Ford and most things Automotive) and the other Matt here, he's a bit of everything like me.

Just email Roy Velardi(editor) at [url]roy@streetfords.com[/url] and he can send out a tech sheet and organise and schedule photographers to go out and get the photos done.

2.5lt Duratec!!!

Looks like a nice car you've got there Dawson, good luck with getting it running.

Well done on getting the gig at Performance Ford Mag also. Can I ask you to please think of the people trying to read what you've written in the mag, and use some punctuation? It seems to be disappearing rapidly these days.

For example, there's more punctuation in Danny's post above than he's used in the last year!