1300 Sport Project

[Dave Raver]

Dear All,

Ive decided to put up a thread about the proposed plans for "The Sport" over the coming months, which I will update with pics, reports etc as time goes by.

Over the coming months, Cath and I plan to get various parts etc for the car and have various work carried out, money permitting.

We are really pleased with the car and appreciate all of the comments we've received about it, I think we are very fortunate to have got such a decent car for the money we paid and have already had lots of enjoyment out of it, Snowdonia Tour, shows etc....


**Big Thanks to Laurence for selling us the Car**


When it comes to mechanics, Im a bit but im learning and any advice, suggestions are greatly appreciated.

This is how the car was when it arrived......






The wheels looked really nice, but the ride was very hard and IMO it was too low. They were 13 x 7's, so we opted for a 13 x 6 with a larger profile tyre, the result;




The handling and ride comfort improved significantly. Then on with some mudflaps (courtesy of Pushrod)......



Then it was time for a bit of enjoyment.....driving the car!






So, whats planned for the Sport? Well here's a list of jobs that are currently proposed;


Exterior:

1. Replace existing front lip spoiler with new one, current one has been fitted on with rivets and apart from rusting, they are detracting from the cars look IMO. Spolier is also cracked and chipped in several places.
2. Remove and paint front bumpers.
3. Remove metal grille inserts and leave blank
4. Fit "Dealer Plates"
5. Remove and paint front grille, it's a bit faded and tired looking.
6. Fit correct bonnet stripes (from DMB Graphics).
7. Either fit gutter trim or have gutters painted.
8. Professional Sprayer to sort out remaining bits around the car. Nothing serious, just a few blemishes, scuffs, chips, cracks etc.
9. Fit "Colin McRae" decal to rear.
10. Fit spotlights to front, thinking of 4 Cibie's....Jason Fogg's 1600 Sport looks so well with them.

Interior:

1. General spruce up and a bloody good clean.
2. Fit P21 Radio (thanks to Darran @ Escort-Tec)
3. Replace gear stick & gear knob - currently fitted with a sierra one.

Underneath:

1. Repair/Paint any issues, nothing major last time I checked.
2. Replace Diff - currently fitted with a 4.1 or higher...car is revving very high at 60-70 mph and speedo is all to pot. Purchased a 3:89 from Darran @ Escort-Tec.
3. Remove and spotweld half-shafts at same time as doing diff (thanks to Dale in advance)
4. Paint rear drums, axle, diff etc.
5. Remove front coil-overs and replace with standard springs/shocks.
6. Waxoyl underneath.

Engine:

1. Fit new rocker cover - probably a "Burton" one.
2. Remove current carb and fit Twin 40's.
3. General spruce up and clean of engine bay area.
4. Obtain sticker kit and fit.

Well, that should be enough to keep us going for a while. Aim to get all the jobs done by end of March, with a view to running the car in April, getting it all running fine before next years season.

Any advice and assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Best Wishes

Dave

[taffr]

hole in roof filled in and move the arial to the front, if you have the time and someone to do a good job, keep the rear belts, non locking yellow petrol cap, maybe some black sills, your gonna be busy this winter, nice one dave will be a cracker

[Aled]

Nice pics Dave.....plenty to keep you going there

You forgot to mention new number plates

If you go with Taff's suggestion of filling in the Sunroof, consider a BVR.....would look fab....Cath would love it if you surprised her with that

[Dave Raver]

Aled, note point 4 on Exterior

Taff, is the roof a big job to do? Cost etc? With you on the non locking cap, need to source one of those.

[Dave Raver]

Here it is with the BVR, got these pics off one of its previous owners, "Graeme J".....

[Aled]

Ahhhh...didn't read properly, must have thought 'dealer' sticker...

Changed mind now, yellow roof looks better

[dustydog]

Nice one Dave i thought my project was big your car looks well love the colour.
Mark

[Gordy]

I really like this car and is better i the flesh as the photos dont do it any favours.

we've sold our house down south so as soon as a job opportunity comes up there will be another northwales old ford running around

[wayne]

Aled, note point 4 on Exterior

Taff, is the roof a big job to do? Cost etc? With you on the non locking cap, need to source one of those.

I was quoted about a grand 3 years ago (done local to me)for a roof Dave, but you would need to add a roof lining to that and source your own roof.

[Dave Raver]

I really like this car and is better i the flesh as the photos dont do it any favours.

we've sold our house down south so as soon as a job opportunity comes up there will be another northwales old ford running around

Gordy,

Thanks for the comments, appreciated. Great news on the house sale..... I guess there will be more 11's in North Wales from now on....


Dave

[pushrod]

You have quite a list there Dave.
I wouldn't bother with the 40's unless you know someone who can set them up properly. And I mean really properly, otherwise you just get a heavy drinking, unreliable, hard to get out of bed in the morning partner. You will also have to twist the engine or remove the servo to get them to fit in.

Maybe by the time you have wrestled with the back axle for a few weeks and had it up and down a couple of times to remove oil leaks, whines and knocks that never exisisted before you may start to see sense in the old addage 'if it ain't broke.....'

I'm all for improvements but do them one at a time. If you try to do three or more things at once, none get done properly and you can get fustrated and loose interest.

Maybe not, just my own experience.
Now I always try to keep a road going car on the road and won't take off, unless everything is in place to get it back on the road in a short period of time.

Good luck and enjoy.

[lee bishop]

looks well raver, i'd forget the colin macrae sticker though, so 2007

[emily]

Looks a smashing car IMO , only issue is sunroof tho ........

[RS2000EXPRESS]

You have quite a list there Dave.
I wouldn't bother with the 40's unless you know someone who can set them up properly. And I mean really properly, otherwise you just get a heavy drinking, unreliable, hard to get out of bed in the morning partner. You will also have to twist the engine or remove the servo to get them to fit in.

Maybe by the time you have wrestled with the back axle for a few weeks and had it up and down a couple of times to remove oil leaks, whines and knocks that never exisisted before you may start to see sense in the old addage 'if it ain't broke.....'

I'm all for improvements but do them one at a time. If you try to do three or more things at once, none get done properly and you can get fustrated and loose interest.

Maybe not, just my own experience.
Now I always try to keep a road going car on the road and won't take off, unless everything is in place to get it back on the road in a short period of time.

Good luck and enjoy.

Hi Dave, I agree with what Pushrod says, "one at a time", especially if it's a big job like the axle casing.....I took my time doing mine and it took most of last winter to do the whole rear suspension assembly properly. Get a feel for how long jobs take to do, especially when you are learning as well.

Like the idea of the vinyl roof....sorry Aled!

Good luck with the resto.

Tim.

[graham John]

.............and plenty of pics as you progress,

keep at it

cheeRS