another story of the hidden horror

[anddon]

took the plunge today and took the rs down to "the escort agency" (west wales) for him to give me some advice on her condition, because i am no expert.
it went wrong when i took her for pre-mot and the guy told me parts of the chassis and floor to sill area needed welding. eeek!! alarm bells, cos i thought she was good and a nice freshen up was turning into something else, like i said i'm no expert.
stripped the inside right out for him to look and i was worried because he was finding bits everywhere, except from the doors back she was very good and the inner wings seem very good.
after going through it all, he stood back and i feared the worst, he said "yeah shes not bad is she" well worthy of putting right and i'd struggle to find a better one in its price range.
so his advice is to get her sorted and he could a superb job of it, looking at the cars he has there. but its all money and i budgeted myself to about £3k - 3.5k, the finished job is obviously gonna go way way past this and i am worried about having a half completed car, with no coin left.
on the other hand he said i'd buy it off you for £2000 as it is (not really a figure i liked) but then i could spend £5-6k on something that has hidden rot, someone else's trouble if you like.

Damn, Why can't i weld ? anyway whats the opnions and thoughts of you guys, i know its down to me at the end of the day but its always good to hear others thoughts :banghead:

[Frosticles]

Mig welding is dead easy. I tought myself to weld in about 20 minutes :bounce:

[Banishit]

i would like to know what hes planing to do for £3.5 +k

you have looked at mine for £1100 inc all materials, and this from a bodyshop owner I had never met until 7 weeks ago

Brian

I would get more people to look at it first off, someone who knows what they are talking about, not that I'm saying he didnt but hes in business to make money not friends ?

[vinny]

Brains right m8 - get some more opinions on her, some one wouldnt pay £2 k for a car that needs £3.5 k spending on her

[Judge_Fudge]

I agree with Banishit, Martin is out to run a business... why else did he offer to buy the car of you? And, would you really want to open next month's Classic Ford and see your car for sale in there for double what he paid?
Get the car round some more bodyshops and have a word. I was quite suprised at some of the reponses I had when I asked if they'd be interested in painting an old MkII Escort.. a lot were quite keen to work on something a bit more interesting than a Vectra, I was even lucky enough to be charged 'friend prices' even though i'd never met the guy before.

[Banishit]

Get the car round some more bodyshops and have a word. I was quite suprised at some of the reponses I had when I asked if they'd be interested in painting an old MkII Escort.. a lot were quite keen to work on something a bit more interesting than a Vectra, I was even lucky enough to be charged 'friend prices' even though i'd never met the guy before.

never a truer word spoken thats about what my fella Richard said

hes said it nice to being working on something that has not been crashed and will be appreciated after the hard works been done,

also if you find a sympathetic bodyshop ask them can you get invovled in the prep work (rubbing all the shit of it and taking apart) as this is where the main part of the labour comes in time is money

Vinny cheers for calling me Brains the Great usually does mate LOL

[vinny]

brian, u must follow me about picking me up on my english, u r not the grammer stalker r u - lol

[Banishit]

no mate, its just my Name I recognise it LOL i dont have to put an X like normal

[Dermot]

I've met Martyn from the Escoert Agency, and found him sound.

By all means shop around, and good luck with the car.

[anddon]

to be fair to him he was giving me his advice and that even if i went else where his advice was to get her done. theres a fair bit of work involved, even i can tell that. it was estimated with him to cost a minimum of £3k to get her ready for painting (£1500) the body then would be fully restored and you wouldn't be able to tell anyones ever been their, no patches everywhere. but its a lot of money because all the other bits would need doing then because they would look old. he has offered for me to go and use their tools on my days off (stripping etc). i think he's been quite fair to be honest, he's expensive because of the quality of finish etc. other workshops in the area don't wanna know, one guy had it for 9 months.
so i am in a right pickle.

[RS2000CUSTOM]

2 x Inner wings
2 x Outer Wings - allow minimum £1200 in parts alone !
1 x Front Panel
2 x Chassis Rails

This is before floor repairs and you have to buy new clips, hoses, fittings etc etc etc

Labour = Think of a number and triple it - If you paying "retail" then double that number as well !!!!

Respray - apprx £1000 !

I know a lot on here will say "I can get it cheaper" maybe but not everyone has access to a MKII friendly bodyshop.

In my role as bodyshop manager I can make more profit from a front bumper wing and door replace than I could from ANY resto job !

The clock NEVER stops on a resto and at £25.00 per hour + vat it soon clocks up a fortune.

My own resto took just under a year as it was mainly carried out on weekends and evenings.

Good luck to anyone undertaking a resto but please go in with both eyes (and your wallet) WIDE open.

Not having seen your car £3.5k starting price sounds fair but a little cheap !!!!!!

[anddon]

parts he found or was not happy about and would require attention were,

A posts, botched in the past
bulkhead in need of repair behind the heater would mean removing the bubble under bonnet
various parts of the chassis needed cutting out rather than a patch job
inners wings were very good.
the same time as doing the outer wings (i have 2 gen wings)he would do the front panel (although that seemd ok too.)
some work on floor to sill area and possibly drivers floorpan
very minimal amount of work to the rear, possibly only a small piece replaced around the grommit in the boot
unhappy with the lips being cut away on the rear arches also
he can replace my roofskin to remove sunroof

Estimated between £3-5k before paint, his paint jobs are £1500 (stunning)

All this scared the sh@t out of me, but he maintains its damn good car to start with, could have a lot worse and thats what scares me because if i past it on now and bought another, is it sombody elses trouble or are there plenty of really good solid ones out there for around £5-6k

[lee bishop]

if you buy a car for £5-£6K, it will still need work done on it, no doubt you will find something you wont be happy with......... i paid a fair bit for mine, and within 2 months i'd shelled out another grand on door repairs, new wheels and a few other odds and sods. i'd get some more quotes, and think seriously about fixing yours up, you know its done then for a few years, how pi$$ed of will you be if you find a tidy £6k car, and find its full of filler 6 months later.......

[Frosticles]

Telephone numbers are beginning to spring to mind as far as costs go...........Luckilly 90% of my original stuff is ok to re-use in my restro. If I was going to go the full concourse route then I would at least tripple my expendature.

[SIGYELLOW]

I paid £2.5k for my Mexico, had similar problems when I started to pry deeper and ended up paying an Aston Martin restorer around £7k to put her right!! We've all had bad experiences, but you just have to make a decision on weather to fill a couple of credit cards up or not and pay it off slowly.

Easy for guys like me to say who don't have a wife, kids etc and rent a little place as opposed to having a mortgage. Best advice mate - patch her up yourself, get her through an MOT and enjoy her (that's what I should have done). You can always get a better car later on, or do a balls out restoration when finances allow...

[Frosticles]

Well said SIGYELLOW

[vinny]

Ditto.

I have decided against restoring the mk2 and more of a rolling resto as she is very solid with only a few bits that need doing, i will re-use most of the stuff and try to restore the bits before re-fitting them.

i will use the mk2 as a trial run and then use her and then take my mk1 mex off the road

[Judge_Fudge]

Best advice mate - patch her up yourself, get her through an MOT and enjoy her (that's what I should have done). You can always get a better car later on, or do a balls out restoration when finances allow...

Thats exactly what i've done. My RS turned up last christmas and my main priority was to get the car on the road by the summer and have some fun. It wasn't in bad condition overall, a few localised repairs were needed and some sills but there were areas that i would've liked to have been more through on and replaced entire panels. At the time I couldn't afford a blank cheque type restoration, or even justify one.. I wasn't sure at the time if I could even afford to have kept it as long as I have.

So ok, my RS is a bit ropey in places up close but both me and the missus have had a real giggle in it and have had a wonderful summer just driving about. That to me is what classic motoring is all about.

[SIGYELLOW]

[quote="Judge_Fudge
So ok, my RS is a bit ropey in places up close but both me and the missus have had a real giggle in it and have had a wonderful summer just driving about. That to me is what classic motoring is all about.[/quote]

I'm sure it's far from ropey!!! It looks damn good from your sig pic anyway!! As long as the enjoyment factor is there, so what if there is the odd patch weld here and there, with 12 months ticket on her you'll always get your money back and will have had 100% enjoyment as well - AKA having your cake and eating it!!! :geek: :cat:

[Judge_Fudge]

Thanks,

I've begun to live with the odd bubble of rust here and there, at first I wanted the car mint.. I was intending on getting the roof re-skinned this winter to lose the sunroof but after this summer i've decided im spending the money on an lsd and bulk buying tyres. Sod the sunroof.

[anddon]

its great to read all these comments and seeing the difference of opnions.
these are all the exact thoughts that are going through my head at the mo. The thing is i don't mind the car being off the road for a while cos i can use the other Rs.
I am more worried about paying £5-6k for something thats looks the b@ll@cks but again has the horrors hidden away underneath.
I haven't really been looking around but whats the general feeling of you guys, of me landing a cracker for that price, or not?

SIGYELLOW - H i mate, was the £7k the completed job, bodywork and everything else that went back on the car.

[Deepest Blue]

Having seen the Judge's car in the flesh, I can confirm it is far from ropey fellas !
CheeRS Neil.

[SIGYELLOW]

Hi Anddon: Yes, that was pretty much the completed total all in - I rather ambitiously replaced everything where rust was found! Inner/outer wings, slam panel, front panel, A-posts, floor pans, inner/outer sills, fuel/wheel wells, radiator crossmember.....and god knows what else!

The costs of course are all in the labour and Gen Ford panels where they can be found. Only the inner wings were Gen Ford on the above, at a cost of £500 pair. Other panels are minimal in outlay, e.g pattern front panels go for about £45 I think nowadays. The problem lyes in coming to install all this lot properly - I'm OK with mechanics like most people, but bodywork no way!! Therefore you pay somebody who really does know what their doing and of course it costs...and before long you end up :drunken: .....

[rsash]

Hello I see you dealt with the Escort Agency.
Well all I can say is that I have never met such a Lying son of a bitch.

I was done just as you was and it is a shame that a low life is making money out ot Escorts. If anyone want the details of what I went through then I have everything on paper to prove it.

Swapped rear axle, swapped tyres, etc, etc,

DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE ESCORT AGENCY

You will be sorry !!!!!

Since buying my RS2000 I have learned a few things and one of them is that in the trade the Escort Agency is treated as a joke - A JOKE - DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS GUY

YOU WILL BE SORRY

[SIGYELLOW]

Anybody else echo these words - I get on very well with Martin personally and have been erstwhile pleased with the transactions I've done with him! Of course, everybody has their experiences and opinions accordingly...

[rsash]

Oh sorry forgot to add, the car was advertised as mint, so it needed inner and outer sills, floor sections which were guaranteed as sound etc. etc - CRAP.

I am used to dealing multi million pound deals with Firms that you can discuss things with face to face, I have never come across such an unprofessional outfit who makes money out of individuals. I admit I should have learned a lot more before taking the plunge but you do not expect to be taken for a ride by someone who sets themselves up as professionals.
I have discussed things with other members and one comment was Everyone has been conned by Martin.

[Banishit]

sorry to hear about your story there rsash does not sound too good mate, what was the outcome of it all ?

[rsash]

Cheers, Banishit,
I complained but had to take it on the chin,
I had a bullshit story about the owner taking a joyride to Tenby when actually the wheels and back axle (with LSD) were being changed over (as I said Martin confirmed the Yokohamas went on his car but I had punctured M&S's.) I admit to being a complete novice at the time but I am ****ed off by taken for a ride by someone who sets themselves up as saviours of Escorts.
Anyway as a member of the club I suggest you stay away from The Escort Agency or suffer what I had to suffer. I have learned a lot since then.

Sorry Banishit, to get back to your question,
The car has had a good going over, has had new back arches, some floor, two new doors (really lucky picked up two reskinned doors off Adtrader) I have kept it as a Basic car and hope to get it back on the road in a couple of weeks.
Hope to take it to some meetings next year.
Ashley

[Banishit]

nice mate :cheers:

[Judge_Fudge]

Having seen the Judge's car in the flesh, I can confirm it is far from ropey fellas !
CheeRS Neil.

Cheers matey, The Stella's on me at Cumbria :thumbright:

[SIGYELLOW]

Sorry to hear of your misfortunes rsash; did have a similar experience myself with an exclusive Escort restorer when I decided to do a full on restoration - hence taking it to an Aston dealer in the end regardless of the increased hourly rates...

[rsash]

Sigyellow,
What can I say, I eventually went to a local recomended sprayer of x years of experience, was used to welding Escorts for their first MOT's, could get all the bits needed and was a good find, slow but good. If you are not in the trade yourself it seems to pay to take things slowly, look around, ask everyone for help. The club and this web site is first class.
All the best.
Ashley

[SIGYELLOW]

Yep; I can echo that! The guy who did mine had, had minimal experience with MKIIs, though had welded the occasional pair of inner wings in MKIs over the years. They really went out of there way to restore my car, and it was as much a learning curve for them as it was me - and I got the impression it was a refreshing change for them from having Mr. £100k a year lawyer walking in with his rotten DB5...

[anddon]

Hi rsash,
well i must say that has thrown a spanner in the works mate.
when i was up there this week looking around, i thought the quality of his work on various cars in the workshops was top draw. Did you buy a car from him or did you have yours restored with him.
i had decided with the missus this evening that i was going for it, how ever long it takes to complete, but now what ! ! !

[rsash]

I bought a car

[anddon]

whereabouts in Swansea are you mate and i assume you had alot of work done in the end, are you pleased with the car now?