Subaru WRX powered Mk1 Escort

[16vmini]

ok seam welded the passenger rear arch tub up , :



trimmed it back



filled in hole



slapped some primer on it , all of this area will be under the bubble arch



one side done ,apart from seam sealer ( ordered aload ! )



passeenger side went well , and thought lets crack on with drivers side, so turned car around ( dont have enough room to work on both sides



tacked on old part of sill



then cut away escort wing ,



this is the point i found out that the drivers rear arch is not round , and is a funny shape go around the old subaru fuel flap/neck

so it would not be as simple as the other side .. so i called it a day ..

next day , i started by tacking in the tub sheet





hard to see / explain , but i had to add a 2nd peice of metal to the old subaru arch , so it could follow a nice line to match up with tub of arch. , not the nicest , but will be ok, and never seen



all welded up , and ready for primer / sealing



then started to fill in drivers side holes



and thats where i left it sunday afternoon ...best give the neighbours a little quiet ...

so spent allot of time ,with not much to show .. sorry

[16vmini]

again , not much to show ,

finished drivers rear wheel arch ,



been filling in holes in boot , and around to rear wheel arches.





not the best , but it wont be seen once sealer / carpet is over it

went to pop a indicator in , and found that the old rubber seal has shrunk ! LOL , so noticed they where a good 30 quid new , i decided to extend mine with a spare gasket i have and some super glue will do for now



also during the build i lost a repair panel for the bottom of the rear wing ... after a lot of searching i found it , but then found out it was for a mk2 !! grrr



anyone got a mk1 that they want to swap ?

then got bored , and sprayed the back with some primer ... :



hoping the radiator turns up today .. then look at fitting that at weekend maybe

[vinny]

great work, just a shame you didn't use a mk1 dash

[lee bishop]

Or the mk1 floorpan LOL

[16vmini]

lol .. funny guys

1) i did not have the mk1 dash
2) i would have to mod if all for the air con

[16vmini]

ok , rad arrived ! (ford cosworth alloy / china copy etc )





first problem was pipes are in the wrong place , also they are to small a diameter .. so off they came !

love cutting up brand new stuff !



well .. rad is in , :



no room for rad fans yet . will have a play tomorrow , as there is still room to trim etc ..if not .. extended front it is ! LOL

then got bored again .. so test fitted the subaru bulb holders into the escort lights , and they fit well , blob of sealent to stop them vibrating loose and they will save me allot of money buying holders :

[richy c]

hmm that is one packed engine bay

[16vmini]

more filler panels for boot being made



had to make my own drivers side bottom wing , ... hoping some filler will make it look like other side :



end of the day , all the rear end is welded up , primered and sealed !



all that the rear end needs is the bubble arches. , then onto front end

[16vmini]

time to start bonding arch's on

drivers side needed some adjustments ( could well be the body a bit out )



then started by grinding back to metal , laying a layer of glass down , then pop rivit the arch on.



no photos , as was busy with fibreglass

once done , i drilled rivits outs :



then cracked open my small tin of filler



then slapped some filler on , i aint no body work guy

[16vmini]

managed to spend a few minutes last night sanding one arch down . more sanding to do . but its starting to look good :



also cut allot away from front panel , in preperation to fit the radiator , hoping to have it sitting in place tonight .. would love to run engine up to tempature at weekend.



Matt

[13sport]

Good work mate keep at it!

[16vmini]

moved/modded the existing radiator mounts , also made some mounting brackets to come off chassis legs to hold radiator ( rubber mount inbetween )

passenger :



ok , weld aint as good as the chinese child that made the radiator .. but i am thinking they had a better welder in the end , its only a bracket



drivers side mount welded on



now rad sitting on its own mounts , now it looks like have have quite a bit of room , but still struggling to fit the fans in ... so stay posted on that one



next is to mod the inlet and out let pipes and get it plumbed in !

[16vmini]

working on top hose position :



top hose pipe welded in , and also the bleed pipe back to header



quick sand of rear arch



expansion tank and charcoal canister mounted (for now anyway )



managed to mount a fan !



had to remove shroud but will have to make a new one , as the shroud helps the fan so much ! ( also mounts are just temporary to prove things work .. will change them in a few years ! LOL

Hoping to take it for a drive on Fathers Day !

side news , ran out of Argon , got more , got a cheap tire fitted to the spare alloy i bought , as the front alloy is NOT fit for the road.

now bottom hose to do now ... then i can fill it with water ( once i blocked off old holes in rad )

[13sport]

Shouldn't laugh but ..........Chinese child haha

[16vmini]

connected dash up , so i could get temp readings and revs,
just popped centre console in to see what it looked like ... i like !!

dash did not work to start with .. found that i had cut through a bunch of wires ! DOH , once i fixed them , it all light up !

finished connecting radiator up , and filled it with water ... then ran it up to temp !
fans kicked in nice , (ok i know its not a hot day )

then drove it out the garage for some airing







been told i can spend fathers day in the garage ! fingers crossed.

want to work on front archs , and will do some proper driving on some private land i know !

anyone want some videos tomorrow ?