hendrixhc

Almost a year since anything has been posted in here. wowsers. 
 
A lot has happened in that time, to both the car and life. 
 
Lets start with the life stuff. 
My partner and I moved house in December, into our first (purchased) house together. After seeing the summer through, we very quickly decided to make some improvements to the carport that the Escort and my Ghia live in. 
My dad and i designed, ordered materials and built twin sliding barn doors to seal the front of the carport off. We also bought enough material to later build a (roughly) 10m x 2.8m "lean to" carport down the side of our house over the extension of our driveway. 
 
Started by replacing the front two timber posts with 90x90mm steel, and adding a 3rd 90x90 post out over to the side with two 100x50 beams to mount the sliding door tracks to 
 
*the reason for the extra post and rail extension, if you hadn't already figured it out, is so the doors can be opened all the way to the side so the carport can be completely open, or each door can be pushed to either side of the carport as they run behind each other in any direction.**
 


 
The door frames. made up out of 30x30 steel tube. 
I am pretty happy with the result, considering I had never welded before, and these were done all by me  
 

 
And the finished product
 

 

 
The job is not 100% finished. We still need to order and install flashing across the top to stop water coming in but also to hide the steel beam and tracks running across the top. 
I also added spouting to the rear of the carport to stop water from just running straight onto the slab. 
In the last pic, where my Discovery is parked, is where the extra carport will is to be built. from the front corner of the house, back 10m. 
 
Now onto the car stuff 😕 
 
 
 
The car has sadly been on and off the road with suspension/geometry issues all year. Majority of my logbook entries have been test drives, or driving it to have work done on it. very few logbook entries have been driving the car to actually enjoy it. 
 
Essentially the issue started with a stuck brake pad on the left front brake. i pulled the brakes apart, serviced the pins pads etc, and got them going good. the stuck pad resulted in a warped disc. 
Ever since that started, the issue with steering wobble has been worse than ever.
*lets go back here for a moment. for as long as i have owned the car it has had a bit of a steering wobble at speeds usually between 80 and 100km/h. i had been able to tune it out mostly with alignment and wheel balancing*** 
 
The steering wobble coming back again, has lead me down this rabbit warren all year trying to fix it. I found what seemed to be an issue with the new steering rack, so I had the out and pulled apart on the bench. I put a post up on the escort groups asking about this, and i had a few people contact me saying they had just fitted the same steering rack and all of a sudden have the same issue. with a bit of mucking about, and testing, and shimming of the rack I was convinced that wasn't the issue. 

Reinstalled it, went and had the alignment done. the car drove OK, but i was not happy with the way the alignment had been set, nor the fact the issue was still there. I went back and got the front wheels balanced statically, and it got worse. 🤦‍♂️
 
i started looking at suspension bushes. A common issue with the escorts is not having radius arms, yet relying on the sway bar to tie the front end together, means that when the donut bushes for the sway bar to pass through the lower control arms wear out, it can cause all sorts of issues. So, i order Whiteline bushes for the entire front end, installed them. it fixed 1 issue i didn't realise i had, a suspension knock in the front end from one of the LCA pivot bushes being worn out, and knocking on the crush tubes on some bumps, and it also improved how the car cornered drastically. Steering response and direction was much better. did it fix the issue? NO 🤬
 
I then started looking at wheels. I had a couple of spare wide steelies sitting there, so had them re-rolled, and balanced dynamically (weights fitted to the outside). Did THAT fix the issue? NOOO 🤬 *but it got a little better* 
 
From there, I have spun up all 3 full sets of wheels i have for the car by putting them on the rear, with the back on axle stands and letting it idle over in 4th gear. I numbered all the wheels and took notes on how good or bad they were. 
From there, I picked out the best 2, had them balanced dynamically again, and have them on the front. Fixed? NOOOOOOO 🤬 *but the issue is there now from only 90km/h and upwards. 
 
by this point, the alignment is all over the shop because I had played around with it to see if I could induce, or reduce it with alignment. 
 
I am now at a point that the only things that I have NOT done, is alignment again, and hubs. So yesterday I purchased a set of turn plates to do the alignment at home, and I am gearing up to do a string line alignment at home, so i can really dial the front end in. 

I recently also saw a post on FB about someone losing a hub during a his climb on a Mk1 Cortina. It failed, shearing off and causing a fair bit of damage. It came to light with some testing, that the original cast iron hubs had evidence of cracking behind the mounting face in which the wheels mount to. So, if my alignment does not fix it, or improve it enough to be bearable to drive on the highway, I may look at replacing the hubs with brand new billet alloy hubs. 
 

I cant remember how i did mine but if you like i can have a look at what colour wire goes where tomorrow.
 

Very nice work Aaron.

Spring may have been cut.
 
While you at it check round the shock tower on the inside facing the engine and check there are no cracks in the tower. If it was lowered too much and had been bouncing on the end stops the tower may have cracks.

The ebay alloy radiators work fine. Ive had one in Lucy Lu for over 5 years without any issues.

The ebay alloy radiators work fine. Ive had one in Lucy Lu for over 5 years without any issues.

Well I have the radiator out of the car again, pressure tested, and found the leak. 
The strange part is, that after a few minutes of being under pressure with the pressure tester on, it stopped leaking, and began to hold constant pressure. 
 
So I will pressure test again and go from there. I think unfortunately it will need to be recored. 
 
In other news, I have the car booked in for its exhaust to be made in a couple weeks. 
 
And I also have all the exterior lighting working, and the boot interior light. 
 
The restored and LED retrofitted reverse lights should hopefully be more than bright enough. 
 


The NOS H4 Hella headlights are in and working well. I fitted the globes that came with them, still brand new in their boxes. Old Philips 55/60w globes, that are god knows how old, but new in box. Wonder how long they’ll last. 
 

 

 
Boot light is working also. 
 

IT RUNS! 
Thats right, it fired up first go, but did have trouble getting fuel to it to keep it running. *see video below* 
The video below is as I cranked it the first time. 
 
 
Now for the bad news...
The radiator has a major leak. It was fine when I pressure tested it, but I wonder if the pressure test caused a week join to open up  
 

 

 
 
 

From Wiki - a nice list of chemicals used!
 
 
Between the years 1831 and 1832, Goodyear heard about gum elastic (natural rubber) and examined every article that appeared in the newspapers relative to this new material. The Roxbury Rubber Company, of Boston, had been for some time experimenting with the gum, and believed it had found means for manufacturing goods from it. It had a large plant and was sending its goods all over the country. It was some of Roxbury's goods that first attracted Goodyear's attention. Soon after this, Goodyear visited New York, and his attention went to life preservers, and it struck him that the tube used for inflation was not very effective nor well-made. Therefore, upon returning to Philadelphia, he made tubes and brought them back to New York and showed them to the manager of the Roxbury Rubber Company.
The manager was pleased with the ingenuity that Goodyear had shown in manufacturing the tubes. He confessed to Goodyear that the business was on the verge of ruin and that his products had to be tested for a year before it could be determined if they were perfect or not. To their surprise, thousands of US$ worth of goods that they had determined to be of good quality were being returned, the gum having rotted, making them useless. Goodyear at once made up his mind to experiment on this gum and see if he could overcome the problems with these rubber products.
However, when he returned to Philadelphia, a creditor had him arrested and imprisoned. While there, he tried his first experiments with India rubber. The gum was inexpensive then, and by heating it and working it in his hands, he managed to incorporate in it a certain amount of magnesia which produced a white compound that appeared to take away the stickiness.
He thought he had discovered the secret, and through the kindness of friends was able to improve his invention in New Haven. The first thing that he made was shoes, and he used his own house for grinding, calendering and vulcanizing, with the help of his wife and children. His compound at this time consisted of India rubber, lampblack, and magnesia, the whole dissolved in turpentine and spread upon the flannel cloth which served as the lining for the shoes. It was not long, however, before he discovered that the gum, even treated this way, became sticky. His creditors, completely discouraged, decided that he would not be allowed to go further in his research.
Goodyear, however, had no mind to stop here in his experiments. Selling his furniture and placing his family in a quiet boarding place, he went to New York and in an attic, helped by a friendly druggist, continued his experiments. His next step was to compound the rubber with magnesia and then boil it in quicklime and water. This appeared to solve the problem. At once it was noticed abroad that he had treated India rubber to lose its stickiness, and he received international acclamation. He seemed on the high road to success, until one day he noticed that a drop of weak acid, falling on the cloth, neutralized the alkali and immediately caused the rubber to become soft again. This proved to him that his process was not a successful one. He therefore continued experimenting, and after preparing his mixtures in his attic in New York, would walk three miles to a mill in Greenwich Village to try various experiments.
In the line of these, he discovered that rubber dipped in nitric acid formed a surface cure, and he made many products with this acid cure which were held in high regard, and he even received a letter of commendation from Andrew Jackson.
Exposure to harsh chemicals, such as nitric acid and lead oxide, adversely affected his health. Once, he nearly suffocated himself by gas generated in his laboratory. Goodyear survived, but the resulting fever came close to taking his life.

From Wiki - a nice list of chemicals used!
 
 
Between the years 1831 and 1832, Goodyear heard about gum elastic (natural rubber) and examined every article that appeared in the newspapers relative to this new material. The Roxbury Rubber Company, of Boston, had been for some time experimenting with the gum, and believed it had found means for manufacturing goods from it. It had a large plant and was sending its goods all over the country. It was some of Roxbury's goods that first attracted Goodyear's attention. Soon after this, Goodyear visited New York, and his attention went to life preservers, and it struck him that the tube used for inflation was not very effective nor well-made. Therefore, upon returning to Philadelphia, he made tubes and brought them back to New York and showed them to the manager of the Roxbury Rubber Company.
The manager was pleased with the ingenuity that Goodyear had shown in manufacturing the tubes. He confessed to Goodyear that the business was on the verge of ruin and that his products had to be tested for a year before it could be determined if they were perfect or not. To their surprise, thousands of US$ worth of goods that they had determined to be of good quality were being returned, the gum having rotted, making them useless. Goodyear at once made up his mind to experiment on this gum and see if he could overcome the problems with these rubber products.
However, when he returned to Philadelphia, a creditor had him arrested and imprisoned. While there, he tried his first experiments with India rubber. The gum was inexpensive then, and by heating it and working it in his hands, he managed to incorporate in it a certain amount of magnesia which produced a white compound that appeared to take away the stickiness.
He thought he had discovered the secret, and through the kindness of friends was able to improve his invention in New Haven. The first thing that he made was shoes, and he used his own house for grinding, calendering and vulcanizing, with the help of his wife and children. His compound at this time consisted of India rubber, lampblack, and magnesia, the whole dissolved in turpentine and spread upon the flannel cloth which served as the lining for the shoes. It was not long, however, before he discovered that the gum, even treated this way, became sticky. His creditors, completely discouraged, decided that he would not be allowed to go further in his research.
Goodyear, however, had no mind to stop here in his experiments. Selling his furniture and placing his family in a quiet boarding place, he went to New York and in an attic, helped by a friendly druggist, continued his experiments. His next step was to compound the rubber with magnesia and then boil it in quicklime and water. This appeared to solve the problem. At once it was noticed abroad that he had treated India rubber to lose its stickiness, and he received international acclamation. He seemed on the high road to success, until one day he noticed that a drop of weak acid, falling on the cloth, neutralized the alkali and immediately caused the rubber to become soft again. This proved to him that his process was not a successful one. He therefore continued experimenting, and after preparing his mixtures in his attic in New York, would walk three miles to a mill in Greenwich Village to try various experiments.
In the line of these, he discovered that rubber dipped in nitric acid formed a surface cure, and he made many products with this acid cure which were held in high regard, and he even received a letter of commendation from Andrew Jackson.
Exposure to harsh chemicals, such as nitric acid and lead oxide, adversely affected his health. Once, he nearly suffocated himself by gas generated in his laboratory. Goodyear survived, but the resulting fever came close to taking his life.

Ive got one but have installed it yet.
 
Im just going to put the aerial under the dash as close as possible to the top.

Post edited and one removed. Carry on...

Yes scheel seats have the spacer

Very nice, love the colour.

Very nice, love the colour.

TBH i wouldnt strip it completely unless it is really bad. you can just clean up the rust affected areas and key all the other paint if it is sound. Really depends what you want to acheive. certainly stripping to bare metal etch prime, prime, body work, base and clear is the way to go for a restoration but if you are just doing a  tidy up theres no need to bare metal the bay.
 
Ive done both ways and each looks equally as good, one just take 100s of hours more than the other.

Go for it. rub the rust back and prime it and then spray out the whole bay.
 
Dont waste time filling holes or smoothing unless you are going for a show car. Its amazing how much different a clean bay looks.
 
Id just use some 80 grit on an orby or a 120 grit flappy disk on a grinder to clean up that rust and spray it out.

TBH i wouldnt strip it completely unless it is really bad. you can just clean up the rust affected areas and key all the other paint if it is sound. Really depends what you want to acheive. certainly stripping to bare metal etch prime, prime, body work, base and clear is the way to go for a restoration but if you are just doing a  tidy up theres no need to bare metal the bay.
 
Ive done both ways and each looks equally as good, one just take 100s of hours more than the other.

TBH i wouldnt strip it completely unless it is really bad. you can just clean up the rust affected areas and key all the other paint if it is sound. Really depends what you want to acheive. certainly stripping to bare metal etch prime, prime, body work, base and clear is the way to go for a restoration but if you are just doing a  tidy up theres no need to bare metal the bay.
 
Ive done both ways and each looks equally as good, one just take 100s of hours more than the other.

Go for it. rub the rust back and prime it and then spray out the whole bay.
 
Dont waste time filling holes or smoothing unless you are going for a show car. Its amazing how much different a clean bay looks.
 
Id just use some 80 grit on an orby or a 120 grit flappy disk on a grinder to clean up that rust and spray it out.

I looked into this years ago and found out there are some kits you can get to remove scratches. Never got one though. Ended just getting different glass from a wrecker.

Id be pulling any filler out to make sure the rust isnt in behind it.

Id be pulling any filler out to make sure the rust isnt in behind it.

I use brass wire wheels on the angle grinder and also 120 grit flappy disks. these are faily fine and dont bite in too much. etch prime the bare metal, prime and seal it.

Cool Story.
 
I found the original purchase documents for my grandmothers house a while back, all 2000 pounds or something like that.