Escort Purchase, Which way to go?

[barclay-89]

Mk1 gaz - doesn't really seem like you hate zetecs and duratecs, more that your jealous, could it be that they have good power from standard? Are more reliable? Start every time no problem? Are much easier to get hold of parts? Have endless parts upgrades available? Pass you on the way to the pod while your in the hard shoulder or topping up your tank?
Seriously why does it matter that people like these engines? I would love an s2000 engine or a duratec or even a Nissan turbo lump! Why spend ££££ on a cosworth when you can spend a whole lot less and have as much fun! I've seen a Nissan turbo powered mk1 and it was an animal! I enjoy seeing different engines put into these cars much like alot of other people, looking at how the hell they make them fit and how well they do it, better than seeing the same old thing all the time.
People need to stop thinking about investments and making money and just enjoy it for the right reasons. You used to be able to buy a mk1 for the same price as a pair of wings nowadays and that's thanks to people 'investing' get off the computer and go and drive the car

[LOUIE]

lol , typical replies from trailer queen trackday superstars that run 14's with half the car missing !!! Ha Ha

gaz mines a stage rally car, once the gage and all the other bits are in the car it weighs more than a road car, theres no sense in your argument

[RUDDY]

as for investment theyll go down at some point so if you looking at the quick cash cow aproach then your possibly 5 years late...

Couldn't agree more son

The days of the 5 figure Escorts flying out the shop are over, good ones holding steady at best, average and poor on the dip.

5 figure ££ classified Escorts on the Bay, not necessarily minters but getting no bids at all, 99p start ones getting bid to realistic values.

Parts prices still stupid.

Mint original low milers are the ones to go for if you want to safeguard your investment.

Son

[Grassracer]

Cheers again guys..looks like I've triggered a bit of a common arguement here regards modifications!!
Looks like its pretty much the same as all toys...they are only going to be worth what someone is prepared to pay no matter how you see it.
So its probably just better to buy exactly what I want, enjoy it and go from there

[mk1gaz]

Mk1 gaz - doesn't really seem like you hate zetecs and duratecs, more that your jealous, could it be that they have good power from standard? Are more reliable? Start every time no problem? Are much easier to get hold of parts? Have endless parts upgrades available? Pass you on the way to the pod while your in the hard shoulder or topping up your tank?
Seriously why does it matter that people like these engines? I would love an s2000 engine or a duratec or even a Nissan turbo lump! Why spend ££££ on a cosworth when you can spend a whole lot less and have as much fun! I've seen a Nissan turbo powered mk1 and it was an animal! I enjoy seeing different engines put into these cars much like alot of other people, looking at how the hell they make them fit and how well they do it, better than seeing the same old thing all the time.

I'm just trying to help the bloke . There's no need to fit other makes of engines into an Escort as they are worse than the proper Ford engines that fit . Zetecs and duratecs are rubbish as the insides are weak and made of chocolate . If you want a standard one then fair enough but if you want to go slow then why bother with different engines when you could go slow with a stock Ford engine ?
If you look at my handy guide i posted earlier you will see that zetecs , xe's , duratecs , s2000's etc etc aren't required in Escorts as we already have better options . Simple as that .

[blade]

I'm just trying to help the bloke . There's no need to fit other makes of engines into an Escort as they are worse than the proper Ford engines that fit . Zetecs and duratecs are rubbish as the insides are weak and made of chocolate . If you want a standard one then fair enough but if you want to go slow then why bother with different engines when you could go slow with a stock Ford engine ?
If you look at my handy guide i posted earlier you will see that zetecs , xe's , duratecs , s2000's etc etc aren't required in Escorts as we already have better options . Simple as that .

Yes lol
lets put an old transit engine in

[windy]

Buying something completely original is a good start. They are about if you look and ask people.
I recently bought a 1300 xflow 4 door mark 2 which is completely standard except for a 5 speed gearbox. It is a lovely little thing to drive, comfortable, quiet and economical (40mpg). Did 1000 miles on the lakes tour weekend with no issues. It is cheap fun transport, insurance cheap, road tax cheap.
I'd be tempted to put a modern engine in it if the x-flow ever gave up but to be honest it's just such a simple thing to work on I don't mind fixing it. If I did uprate it I'd mke sure I kept all the standard parts to go back in it if I'd sell it. I think the value is in the cars originality.
I checked up on howmanyleft and there are only about 150 of these cars in existence. I'm guessing there are a lot more of the RS variants now.

[mk1gaz]

Yes lol
lets put an old transit engine in

Upto 200bhp the old Pinto lump is still the best/fastest . We have a yearly competition and all the fastest N/A engines in street legal cars are compiled in a chart .
Guess what ? Only 1x 2.3 litre Mountune duratec has made it in the last 6 years . No s2000's , no zetecs and no XE's have ever got on it so that might tell you something , lol .
It's full of Pintos , x-flows and 16v Pintos though .

[jimmer]

Upto 200bhp the old Pinto lump is still the best/fastest . We have a yearly competition and all the fastest N/A engines in street legal cars are compiled in a chart .
Guess what ? Only 1x 2.3 litre Mountune duratec has made it in the last 6 years . No s2000's , no zetecs and no XE's have ever got on it so that might tell you something , lol .
It's full of Pintos , x-flows and 16v Pintos though .

No CVH crap then, thats no surprise. They were crap!

[RUDDY]

Gaz, are Zetec internals milk,dark or white chocolate

If they are white suitable for young un's and babbies and I changed them to dark 80% Cocoa bean content would they be much stronger ?

What if I used Aero, would the bubbles be equivalent to a lightened bottom end ?

Son

[grum]

Gaz, are Zetec internals milk,dark or white chocolate

If they are white suitable for young un's and babbies and I changed them to dark 80% Cocoa bean content would they be much stronger ?

What if I used Aero, would the bubbles be equivalent to a lightened bottom end ?

Son

dunno, but i heard Bishops used to use 'Curly Wurly' head gaskets a few years back

[mk1gaz]

Zetec cranks flex at high revs and smash the oil pump gears off = Cadburys Flake , lol .
If you leave them slow and standard and don't rev them then you only have to worry about the plastic pulleys falling too bits !!!!

[barclay-89]

Compare a standard pinto to one of the standard modern engines, your pinto may be quick but how much has it cost you to build the engine up to that spec? The s2000 engine is 245bhp standard and 0-60 in about 5.6, now take the engine out of the 1300kg Honda and poke it in a 1000kg escort. Don't think anyone would complain about that and that's without any mods at all in a solid engine. You slate the st170 engine but have you looked at the tuning available for them? Supercharging etc.

[mk1gaz]

An all steel 16v pinto engine is cheaper than any modern race 16v conversion as it fits into an escort the cheapest . If you already have a pinto conversion done then it fits for peanuts !!!!
A steel cosworth crank and rods is a few hundered quid and they are 10x stronger than anything else that's inside a modern 16v engine (9000rpm or 700bhp) . A head is less than £400 and most places charge £500 for N/A porting . This gives you a good strong high reving Escort engine with plenty of grunt = fast .
S2000 is the best of the modern engines and has a good "peak" pub bhp figure but has foooooook all power or torque until it's flat out so they get blown away in a race . As i said earlier , they will be fine if flat out all the time on a track etc .
Still not as good as a pinto based 16v motor though and they look shite , lol .

[mk1gaz]

You slate the st170 engine but have you looked at the tuning available for them? Supercharging etc.

Supercharging etc is great but once you start getting power from a zetec the crank will flex and shear the oil pump gears off = booooom .
You have too fit a dry sump on them , then you really need better rods , pistons , crank etc etc and the list goes on . You could just keep exploding standard units or run them on low boost at around 250bhp i supose but you may as well supercharge a steel 16v pinto and have 400bhp !!!!