multi-motorsport mk2 escort

[XOO 262F]

Hi Guys,

Ive been a long time lurker on here, but i said i may aswell post my project here for anyone that might be interested!

i picked up this nice example about 2 years ago, its a low mileage 1600 ghia.
the car is built as a do it all machine to get the best use possibly out of it. It will be used as a road car, but the main idea is to use it for as many things as i can and enjoy it - track days, endurance trials, navigation trials and mutivenue autotests, road rallies etc

As it stood in feb (i appreciate its no picture to look at) but it’s a rust free 1600 ghia, with only 60 odd k on the clock, runs like a dream.
It came with some great stuff like a black ghia interior which is in incredible condition, like brand new, rs2000 rims, round lamp setup, mexico front spolier etc
Obviously the first thing was to get the body sorted, so I went at that through the summer last year prepping the body and the underside, fitting tramp bars, strengthening etc lots of undersealing and prepping the body.

The general spec so far is as follows:
Custom made 4 door cage
Cobra Monaco seats, luke harnesses
Brantz trip
RS2000 coilovers, bilsteins.
RS single leaf rear springs
RS2000 back axle
rebuilt M16 calipers, Goodridge hoses, hydraulic handbrake, non servo master cyl.
2.4 quick rack
power steering
Drivetrain:
1600 xflow, ACL bearings, ARP bolts, BCF3 cam, electronic ignition, 2.25 exhaust system, bike carbs, light steel flywheel, HD clutch, steel crank pulley















































so first event for the car was in feb this year, a multivenue autotest at our national racetrack, mondello. it was a fantastic event, with 5 tests spread out around the track on a mixture of the track itself and loose gravel around the outside - each to be done 5 times. The tests were fast and flowing with only two tiny reversing bits. The day went really well with no mechanicals, car drove there and drove home without a hitch














so fast forward march, and its first endurance rally - 300 km of road mileage and 60km of tough stages on forestry tracks, logging tracks, stately homes, horse racecourse grounds, and 4 laps of a national kart track which was great fun.

after the first 12.5km stage around the outer grounds of a golf course, it was so rough and rutted i exited the stage with a broken handbrake cable, a speedo cable ripped out of my gearbox and a fuel leak.

so with wet mud dripping from under the car i had to get the speedo reattached or the rally would be over already with no trip meter. With some bending, bashing, zip tieing and jb weld, i was half an hour down but i had a trip. Covered in mud head to toe we were on the road again. the rest of the day went (relatively) without too many problems, got lost a few times and messed up a few tests, but made it to the end which was my goal

few pics at some stages of the event













So after the endurance rally, i decided to whip the engine out and give it a bit of a freshen up and bit more of a kick.
I renewed all seals etc, and fitted a BCF3, ACL bearings, ARP's and a steel flywheel and crank pulley among some other bits and pieces.

so it went from this



to this



to this






and so to the next event, ALMC's MVAT sunday 07 april.

Was a great day with 21 tests on a variety of surfaces, gravel, concrete, sheds, farm yards and lanes. the engine itself performed superb and sounds absolutely brilliant but my day was cut short due to a catch 22 situation i was in - i was having serious hot start problems due to a problem with the carb on it, and because I couldn’t turn it off unless i was on a hill, it kept overheating with the useless standard fan as the engine was not getting enough air flow on the tests at full revs all the time. So i decided to save the engine and call it a day at test 17 as i still had the drive home.

Immediate modifications before the next event is bin the twin choke, fit my bike carbs and fit a nice electric fan on a switch

All in all a great day of much sideways action

[XOO 262F]

just a quick update after an excellent event we had .
We had the TDC (trial drivers club) multivenue autotest with proceeds going to charity.
It was a fantastic event, with fast, loose flowing tests, 18 in total through fields, farms, lanes yards etc, really was a fantastic event and very well ran with a good bit of road mileage between tests. The car ran faultless all day long, delighted with how it performed, the redeveloped xflow really comes to life now.

Looking forward to the next one, photos are courtesy of FosterMotrsport and Peespeed photography

[XOO 262F]

Some updates folks

Following on from the completion of the bike carb install, I set about tweaking the tuning before the next event came round.

I’ve a good bit of experience with these and know how they react and what works, so I got it nearly spot on after a few hours. To get it much closer to the mark I decided to buy this gizmo. I’ve set it up so it can be transferred from car to car, with not a lot of effort. For the money it’s an unbelievable piece of kit, with full data logging capabilities. Obviously you can see the gauge in real time if you don’t have the PC hooked up to it. Apparently it’s the fastest most accurate wide-band AFR meter available for the money, and it seems to do exactly what it says on the tin. Very impressed.

http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/MTXL.php

After a few more little tweaks it was time to hit the rollers. We did a few runs after a bit of fiddling to get the optimum setup. It was running absolutely perfect in the power-band up the redline, but it was running very rich when the throttle was cracked open full an very low rpm, gradually leaning off until stabilizing at the perfect ratio up to the rev limit.
I knew the fix straight away so there was no need for any more runs, back home to tweak the needles and then I was good to go.




So after the mvat, it was back to the workshop for more developments. As always, competition highlights areas of weakness in a cars performance in minutes that you would never probably even notice on the road.
The ‘to do’ list before the next even was long enough.


1. Electric fan conversion
2. Tran-x LSD with 4.1 CWP
3. Adjustable competition front dampers
4. Uprated front anti-roll bar + bracket modification for more castor
5. Complete rewire of all auxiliary components, + installing gauges, switches, lights etc.
6. Type-9 5 speed conversion
7. Panhard rod
8. Load of other crap and bits and pieces that will take longer probably than all of the above. :/

All of this is nearly done now; bar the gearbox conversion and the panhard rod I just haven’t got time to do before the next 2 events.
First up was the rewire. I had been adding extras to the car over time, but very untidily I have to admit. Although it was all wired perfectly, I was shoving relays and wires up under the dash, in the engine bay, zip-tying bundles of wires here and there, it was a mess. And the more I added, the worse the mess got. So it was time to rip all that out and start from scratch.

I started by removing all auxiliary wiring the car wasn’t made with, plus other crap I wasn’t using like radio wiring etc.
I made up a centre panel, where I would mount the auxiliary fuse box, relay box, switches, warning lights, gauges etc. So that took up A LOT of time, as I wanted it as neat and traceable as possible. So now every wire is numbered, in sequence and traceable very easily.

Now I have the fuse box powered by the ignition through main relay to ensure no voltage drop, and then wired directly to the new fuse box I have the BRANTZ, the map light, AFR meter, electric fan, rev limiter, gauges, Cibie’s, fuel pump, and the electric dizzy. On the panel I have an oil light with an extra high oil pressure switch (comes on a 20psi instead of the factory 5psi) and a coolant light wired to a fan switch, so the light comes on at 87 degrees, and doesn’t go off until the temp drops below 82 which is neat.




Up front I replaced my goosed dampers with AVO adjustable items which has transformed the handling. I also fitted a group 1 24mm anti-roll bar, and at the same time moved the mounting point of the car forward about an inch, increasing the castor, as the standard castor on an escort is basically non-existent, and consequently so is the self-centring effect which makes for a bad feeling when correcting slides etc.
This weekend I was building my diff, well, half build as I'm waiting on the LSD unit itself to arrive.
Ive put in the 4.1 pinion , and just waiting on the unit. Luckily I decided to do this, because when I took it out, even though there was no ill noises at all, the who centre casing was cracked apart in two places,! amazing there was no noises.



That’s basically it for now until I get the diff, set it up and get it back in before next weekend’s event, Declan’s MVAT which I can’t wait for, then the ALMC endurance 2 weeks after that which should be super also.
I also added some nice early 76 badging



my tran-x plate LSD arrived during the week, so i went about fitting it together with a 4.1 cwp.




got all that in and set up, then the final touch was a group 1 alloy front spoiler
just about ready for the next event on Sunday






so the most recent event was TDC’s declans mvat, my favourite mvat of the year. Always a packe entry because the test are so good – open, fast, loose, and just bags of fun. It was a fantastic day despite the car running a bit hotter than I would like, its time for a new rad.




and a small vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRJM1sgFZMQ

[XOO 262F]

small update:

Saturday 19th was the fitsy endurance rally to be held by the Birr motor club in Co. Offaly.

There were 20 scheduled tests and approx 300 road miles to cover during the event, which was
to finish not long before midnight.

Due to the recent bad weather, the tests were all muddy, slippy, fast and fun, just the way we
like it!




For me it wasnt the best start to the day, after the first test i got to the finish and got the
smell of burning plastic. popped the bonnet to find my brand new electric fan smashed to bits by
some foreign body, probably a stick or a rock. Luckily i had got a new rad just before the event,
so the cooling system was in tip top condition. apart from the really boggy slow tests where the
temp crept up due to lack of airflow, it stayed at operating temp all day.

after 11 tests i think, we had a small tea break in a village petrol station where i could do a
few checks. its always a nervous time looking under your car during a rally, and this time didnt
dissapoint. The back shock absorber had come completely away from the axle and was just bobbing there.
the exhaust was squashed and the sump guardwas wraped around the gearbox. lovely.

Anyway got that fixed up after a hair full of cow curse word, and we were on our way to do the night stages.






We completed all the stages (albeit with a horrific amount of penalties) to finish the event which was
our aim. ended up third in the retro class.


The event was very well ran and all done on tulips, with pretty straight forward tests with some tricks
thrown in to keep people on their toes.


as ever the trusty old for didnt miss a beat while others in much newer cars had issues.
i should have some action photos when they go up online.

[XOO 262F]

heres a quick run down of 2014 so far.



First up was the TDC mvat in mondello, probably my favourite event of the year, its great ot have parts of the track to use, tests are great fun and all in one location, its just simply a super event. Ended up in the middle of the field, the weather and the tests didn’t really suit the escort, but I just love it for the fun factor (and the amount of hang time around the long corners)











After that it was the TDC’s mvat in Wicklow, and I have to say the best mvat I have ever done hands down. It was based around the forests and farm lands around Wicklow, many of the tests shortened down versions of what we experienced in the TDC endurance in 2012. With 18 tests, about 90% of which was on the loose – gravel, mud, pine needles, all the fun stuff! It was absolutely brilliant. The escort performed faultlessly all day, and drove home after. Trusty crossflow got terrible abuse, and just keeps taking it again and again.
After a fail, a few penalties and major f-ups on my part (yes I blamed the navigator I ended up 11th overall, 4th in class so happy enough. Had an absolute ball, it really is the best form of budget motorsport out there by a long shot in my opinion.
Going back into the workshop for some development and tweaks before the next event, a pad and disk upgrade in definitely on the cards, an anti-dive kit, and a few other bits and pieces.
Some great pics from the day thanks to peespeed photography

















After a great outing at the TDC event, we had JJ’s charity Mvat, another annual and fantastic event.
The weather was warm dry and dusty, a good combination for most cars, but this event has quite a lot of grippy tarmac and concrete tests, leaving my arms simply hanging by the end of the day and a pulled a muscle in my back. Enough was enough, for this form a sport a quick rack without power steering is not a go-er. So hopefully for the next event at the end of august il have that sorted.
This event didn’t start the best for me, half way through the second test 20ft from the finish the throttle cable snapped. As the car runs on bike cars and the how tight the setup is, changing it is an absolute pig.

Anyway we pushed the car over to the corner of that test and managed to get it working somewhat, but it was never right, it had 3 positions, idle, half throttle, and full throttle…sometimes.
So with test 2 failed, test 3 a disaster trying to get it setup, we decided to write off the day from a results point of view, and spend the day having fun and going as sideways as possible :lindenvillage::P:P
We ended up dead last, due to a heap of unnecessary donunts in many of the tests and basically acting the maggot, which I think the spectators enjoys anyway, as we very much did. My rear tyres didn’t thank me though! Great day was had by all.



















Next up, Declans Mvat 31^st of august!

[XOO 262F]

Another small update, I said I may keep this going for my own records if nothing else

So the most recent event was Sunday just gone, Declans charity Multi-venue – a renound event on the Calendar, known especially for great tests, craic, burgers and sausages.

Just before leaving my house at 7.45, nice and shiny!



Many backroaders were in attendance which made for good fun on and between the tests – the banter was mighty!
First test was in Declans yard, a short fun test around the ground of the farmhouse, most of us got through without mishaps, some were not so lucky

The power steering conversion is an absolute god send, I don’t know how I managed without it. It’s a fantastic addition to the car, especially for the throws, and quick change of direction, I was really enjoying it.

Second test was a fantastic test around another farm yard, with a great mixture of everything – tight parts/open parts/ nice throws/wet/dry/slippy/gravel/sh1te/concrete.







It started well but then went a bit pear shaped for me, I followed last year’s route in my brain and went a bit wrong, but got back on track quickly. Came to the finish jumped on the brakes and BANG, handbrake was wedged against the dash and my foot went to the floor and I overshot the finish. Not good.

I thought my day was run at this stage as I didn’t know what had actually happened. I was raging it was all over at the second test.
I limped to rathsalagh house for the next test to find piers as we had only been discussing a very similar issue happening to him that morning.
He gladly had a look (thanks piers!) and we found that the circlip that holds the piston rod in had snapped clean out. Luckily the dash had stopped the whole lot from shooting out of the master cylinder.
I’ve a lot of experience (sadly) with repairing old cars on the roadside with limited resources so after a bit of head scratching I decided to use the small ratchet strap I had holding the spare wheels down to hold the bits back into the handbrake which would be strapped in by the lever.
Top my surprise, it worked and I had a decent foot pedal, but no handbrake. Still, I was delighted I could continue on and have some fun! I had the mechanical handbrake still attached which was crap at best, non existent on grippy stuff but it helped on the slippy throws so all was not lost.

From then on we had a blast and as much fun as we could, I really just love getting old cars out and using them to have fun!

on the way to a test




The rest of the day went relatively ok with some great test around loads of different farm yards, cattle sheds, sandpits and some farm lanes thrown in for good measure, these were great!

Fast forward to the afternoon when we got to one of the annual tests in a farm yard but someone apparently left a hose running which soaked the already slippy concrete in water and sh!te.

Ronnie G requested a show and called me out, so I had to do my best on this one. Sustained some damage by clouting a bank on the way back round the back by being a bit too enthusiastic, but had so much fun and got a round of applause at the end so it was worth it ! :P

















As always thanks to peespeed for the fantastic pics
Back home for some well needed TLC and prep for the Birr endurance in a few weeks’ time. Looking forward to that!

[jock]

good on ya mate your obviously having fun all the best

[dandibo]

What a great post enjoyed reading that good to see you enjoying the car
and the doing most of the modifications and getting the car the way you want it

keep the updates coming

[XOO 262F]

thanks guys, its great to have a use and a purpose for a classic car i think, really enjoying using it, developing and fixing it!

cheers!