2redrovers

TO BE CONTINUED (when i repair what i broke, trying to fix the clock globe) 

CRUMBOLIUM (is what i'm calling the plastic housing on the back of the heater controls)
* be super careful and only remove if necessary after reading the below. 
it took me looking in every AU at Pick a part,  4 remaining broken ones to piece together another cracked heater control that might work (mine only has a broken cable mount, so i may not even use it yet as it's unknown if it will work on the other parts)


i'll add some more photos in the next week 

now, you probably SHOULDN'T need to remove this cable behind the glovebox normally, but that's only because when new, the cable holder was strong enough to unclip without breaking. 
it's similar to the XF type, but instead of a metal clip that flies off and gets lost, it flips up(quite tightly clipped down, lever with a small screw driver to flip it up from the sides)
the other clip to the right is released by pushing the small screw driver over the cable outer and under the bitey bit of the clip and levering it out until it pushes the cable out. 
(image below was from a helpful facebook group member that took a video of it) 



the facia, which i'll detail a bit further when i go in to fix it again will be able to swing out further without breaking as easily (if not already broken)
DEAR ON EBAY (sold prices below) 


 

Images and videos need to be hosted elsewhere and linked into your posts to show here. This is the same policy for everyone and has been from the beginning. It keeps our footprint down and therefore the costs involved in hosting the forum to a minimum.

For mobile use, the tapatalk app is the easiest way to upload photos. I use an old version of the app which has no daily limits on posting etc, downside is I get no notifications but that doesn't matter much to me. For video, use YouTube to upload then post the link in your thread to share. You can also use other sites like imgur to host photos. There is a thread showing how to do this on the forum (look at Dean's signature for link)

update on this, 
it's all reliable and fine. nothing to note other than if i had an XG i'd probably stay with the EA to ED engine just to keep a simple swap with no custom junk. 
 
this setup just means if another engine is needed, AU engines are plentiful currently. and with the MLS head gasket, unlikely to need a head gasket changed.

This forum is (in my opinion) one of the best out there when it comes to active users as well as the quality of information on the site. It would be nice to bring that to some of the newer stuff.

If it's easy enough to set up, then I'd say the three generations in their own sections would make searching/finding easier. There could be a rolling Q&A thread for people to use then copy paste into the relevant pages if desired.

I recently decided to do this Job myself.. until i stumbled upon a retrimmed headliner at the wreckers, so just bought it and swapped it.
 
I first removed My old one, because My plan was to drive to the wreckers without it and fit it in the carpark (would barely fit in the car any other way)
 
using the videos below as how to's, i managed to remove the old one fairly confidently, and then at the wreckers i got the reconditioned one out in less than 20mins.(didn't time it, but didn't break anything, and used a screwdriver to lever out the plastic plugs, no fancy trim tool)

I haven't got to fully refitting the new one in, been focussing on other jobs, but it's in and holding itself up. 

in My wagon, the headlner had a sunglasses holder(broken) and the new one didn't have the map lights or sunglasses holder.. and i decided not to mess with it.
the BA style sunglases holder is double the price of an AU one on ebay ($200 Vs $100 ish) so be careful if messing with either, as the BA style one that was in my series 3 AU crumbled on removal. 


 

 
 

Welcome to 2025 with a good suggestion Dean.
 
We have sections for F-Trucks, Cortina and Escort so I think it is a good idea to expand into the E- Series and AU.
 
The three Falcons my father drove in his lifetime were XD, EA and AU so I have a bias towards those three generations which aren’t always well received. It does hurt every time I see an AU getting tuned into a budget skidder.

post your suggestion below, and I'll find some time to add them into the forum. 
 
there will be a detailed and specific AU section for sure, as i am a new owner and would like to see info easy to find for Myself any anyone else lucky enough to find themselves a non skidder classic to own and enjoy. 

so should we have an EA to ED,  EF and EL and AU, BA BF and FG section added? 
is there any structure you'd like to see or just a facebook style rolling Q&A style for the moment (much easier initially for Me/admin to establish) 
 
Thanks for your time and input, 
Dean.
 

This is a trial thread, as many X series owners also have modern fords. and info is starting to be harder to come across. 
 
What i'd like to do here, is begin a useful reference to certain common issues with links to other forum topics or Facebook groups or YouTube etc. 
 
As a new owner of an AU, i found it quite difficult to find easy to follow steps on things without a lot of time googling and searching. 
 
such as, how to remove a headliner so it can be either dropped off at a trimmer, replaced with a second hand one or retrimmed yourself. 
 
this post is locked, and i'll start a suggestion box thread next.

I have also today picked up two more original cortina steelies that match the front (different slots around the outside of the centres) and are in better condition than the rears. 

In due time i will get them blasted and coated to match the front two, and then ill put one of the current rears in the boot as a matched spare

This week, I had the Escort in with a detailer to add the "final touch" to the body work. 
 
It has had a 2 stage paint correction and decontamination, then ceramic coating. I expected it come up good, but it came out better than I could have ever imagined. I was speechless when Simo from Bez Detailing sent me the photos. 
 
I dont know what else to say other than wow 😍 😮
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Well time for an update. 
 
I was having ignition issues again, with a random misfire under load. I replaced the points in the dizzy, which helped but didn’t get rid of it. 
So I bit the bullet and bought an electronic ignition module to convert the Lucas points dizzy to electronic. Install was easy but wiring it (properly this time) into the car was a bit of work, and the car is definitely running better. 
- Lets start with the wiring. It turned out that the Escort is a resisted ignition system, so at the coil it only gets 9v. Much less than the 12v the electronic ignition required. It also turned out that the GT40 coil I was running was a 12v coil, not a resistor type. So, i did some trickery with the ignition. 
Ive installed a 12v relay which takes a feed direct from the battery, and used the resister wire (9v) to turn the relay on and off. The relay is then supplying the coil, and im powering the dizzy off the coil. 

Has it got more power? Not really. But, it has better power delivery right across the rev range, and is more linear. 
 
Funny thing is, I still have not replaced plugs, leads or air cleaner. Bursons sold me the wrong plugs twice, and thats as far as i got. 
 
I have finally got the 13” steelies on. The car looks completely different now. 
They didn’t come out as dark as I wanted. They are a bit grey, but they are metallic. 
 
I installed new, longer studs. Funny enough, they were off the shelf from Autobarn, 10mm longer. The spline was just 0.2mm larger, and pressed into the hubs fine. 
Spacers are on, and it all clears. 
They fill the guards nicely. 
 
The two rusty wheels were a bit too pitted for the powder coating to fill, so up close they are a bit bumpy. 
 
anyway, the pics can do the talking 
 

 

 

 

 

 

I picked the car up this morning and spent this afternoon putting it back together. 
 

 

 

 
So what is next? 
 
I can go back to doing what I was doing before this little hiccup. 
 
The car needs a good clean inside and out after being in the panel shop. 
 
I have new spark plugs and points for the ignition system, need to get new ignition leads. All of that stuff is still off the old 1300. 
 
It desperately needs a new air cleaner, looking to run a K&N weber air filter, just have to find one that fits. 
 
Its then the wheels. Before all this happened, i was getting the 13 x 6 steelies fitted. I need extended studs to take the 5mm spacers, then get the wheels blasted and powder coated. I cant wait to get them on the car. It will definitely be a different look for it. 
 
The more i drive the car on the 15s, the more i realise how, not up to the task those tyres are. They are getting on for 10 years old for starts, but also they are eco tyres due to the unique size. With the Escort having a fair bit more grunt, even on dry roads, and even from a rolling start, it will spin the back tyres. Like today, mid intersection, (turning right), 2nd gear, and started accelerating out of the intersection, granted i put the foot into it get going, and i felt the back started to step out. I guess with the old 1300, i could barely break traction, so those tyres didn't bother me. Now, well yeah they don't hold on at all with the 1660. 
 
my 13" tyres, are a much better tyre, semi performance tyre. I think I'm losing out on general grip, but also handling because of those tyres on the 15s. so I can't wait to get the 13" steelies done, and on the car with some decent tyres. 
 

Ummn my skill sets were outstanding today. First couple attempts & just thought I'd leave it. 
Few hour's later with some subtle encouragement from a colleague on messenger 

I'd be inclined to cut and splice them to alter the angle they meet the rear edge. So you get the wider space between them but still have solid support. I don't know if that's an option within your skill set, it's just how I'd go about the problem.

Ive been a little quiet again, because well, i can't catch a break. The poor little Escort is back in the panel shop at the moment...I'll get to that further down 
 
So going back to where I was up to in my previous post, fitting these wheels, and having brake issues...
 
I found a place in Moorabbin who CNC billet slip on spacers for thousands of different cars, as well as other random parts and stuff that is not car related. They are made to order, but they had a listing for hub centric spacers for Escorts. less than $100, and i have billet 5mm slip on spacers so the front wheels will clear my brakes. 
 

 
This is where the wheels sit with the spacer in behind. they do clear. I have had the car out on the street with it all sitting flat and in level etc etc, and they do not scrub anywhere, but they do fill the front guards perfectly. I can't wait to get them on
 

 
I had been bench testing the master cylinder to make sure i got rid of the leak...how? well I ended up finding the old o-ring from before i rebuilt the master cylinder, which is a round profile instead of square. it was in good condition, so reinstalled that, then had the reservoir filled with fluid, and was using a pulling tool to recreate the motion of applying the brakes on and off. I left it on the bench with fluid in it for a few days to be sure it wasn't leaking. and success. 
 

 
So I reinstalled the master cylinder, ready to bleed the brakes and get them working and car driving...
 

 
 
..... then this happened ......
 

 

 

 

 
Where do i even start?
 
I was pushing the car around the shed by hand, getting it into position to jack it up and put on stands so i could get underneath to bleed the brakes. I was rushing 🤦‍♂️ and I rolled it a bit too far forward. The car rolled off the concrete slab shed floor, onto the (downhill) driveway that leads to the laneway that the shed exits onto. Now before you ask, I did have wheel chocks, they were purposely just down the driveway a bit so i had more room to move the Escort around, however it was raining, so when the car rolled into the chocks it managed to push them out the way on the slipper concrete driveway.
The Escort proceeded to roll across the laneway and into the wire fence of the office building behind 😥 
I did manage to slow the car down by doing the silly thing and getting in front of it, getting out of the way in time to not be pinned against the fence. so the damage could have been a lot worse if i didn't slow it down. i couldn't reach to grab the handbrake quick enough either. 
 
As you can imagine i was furious, at myself more than anything else. it took me weeks to bring myself to call Mark and tell him the car was coming back to him. He was furious with me too. 
 
After cooling down, i finished bleeding the brakes, and decided id have a go at fixing the worst of the damage myself...
 

 
 Using a heat gun to warm things up and a ratchet i pulled the dent out, reversing the initial impact. 
 

 

 

 
I could at least get the bumpers back on, and get it looking presentable again so I didn't feel so upset. 
 
When this all happened, after bleeding the brakes the same day that i did this, I left the car on stands for about 2 weeks. I would walk into the shed, see it, and walk back out. i had no motivation to fix it, or even look at the car. 
 
When I finally did get it off stands, fix the dent, fitted the bumpers, washed it and took it for a drive, i finally had the guts to call Mark and get it in for repairs, which is where the car has now been for a week. I have no idea how long it will take, or how much, i simply left the car with Mark and told him to just repair it and tell me when its done. 
 
 
 
 

 
So apart from the paint damage around the headlight, the car still presented really well, and once I gave it a wash, was nice to just stand back and look at it and appreciate that it still looked fine even with the damage, and when its repaired (again) it will only be better. 
 
This 👇 was a shitty day, pulling it apart again to go back to Marks.  
 

 

Here's an old video circa 2007 with my phone taped to the steering wheel running from zero to 180 kph (i was inventive back then) of my pick a part special 4.0 it made 144rwkw around this time, and it made 177 rwkw with a tune later on (video quality is representative of its time) it was in my xh ute with an ex taxi au short motor (from memory had more than 860,xxx ks), ef xr6 head (94 dt) ea cam, el bbm intake, super cat extractors, crow vernier cam gear, yella terra billet flywheel, high flow cat 2.5 inch exhaust, t5 and 3.45 gears, it was a lot of fun to an 18 year old me, I put over 180,xxxks on that engine before it let go when the stock valve train decided that 2 years of turning to 7000rpm was enough and it dropped a valve, after it was tuned the rev limiter was set to 7200rpm and it saw it every time it was in 1st gear (18 year old me was hard on the equipment) and sometimes more often than that, I wouldn't mind getting another e-series one day and replicating this combo, although it would be really fun in something lightweight like an xp falcon

For more peace of mind about whether you sealed the holes, get something like penetrol or similar wicking agent. Squirt a bit around all the clips, repeat a couple of times over a couple of weeks and it should get a good barrier layer in there to help prevent (or at least dramatically slow) any corrosion.

For more peace of mind about whether you sealed the holes, get something like penetrol or similar wicking agent. Squirt a bit around all the clips, repeat a couple of times over a couple of weeks and it should get a good barrier layer in there to help prevent (or at least dramatically slow) any corrosion.

For more peace of mind about whether you sealed the holes, get something like penetrol or similar wicking agent. Squirt a bit around all the clips, repeat a couple of times over a couple of weeks and it should get a good barrier layer in there to help prevent (or at least dramatically slow) any corrosion.

Absolutely amazing results and credit to you for turning around another write off decision by insurers. 
Been a pleasure following the restoration here and hearing the ups and downs of the process. 
So glad it's transformed by the tasteful modifications into a better road car too!

Ok I should probably update you all. 
 
its a month since my last update and well, the car is very close to finished, with only relatively minor things needed to finish it off. 
 
I only have the photos on my phone, so i will get to them in a seperate post, but I'll give you the run down. 
 
The interior is all back in, including the new mass sound deadener/carpet underlay, which made a massive difference to cabin noise. 
 
The brand new reproduction inner sill trims/carpet trims are in. 
 
I was under pressure from the RSOCV guys about getting the car "finished", or at the very least ready for display at Small Ford Sunday 2024, which happened Sunday just gone. So I had a lot of work ahead of me, with less than 4 weeks (since my last update) so get the car sorted. 
 
Needless to say, i made it. I had the car at SFS24, running and driving under its own power. 
 
Although it made it to SFS, the stereo wasn't wired up, thats not a big deal, but as of Friday morning the car nearly didn't make it. As of Friday morning, the car was not drivable. I was shattered. 
The car was having gearbox issues, which scared the crap out of me, given Rod and I had modified the gearbox, I was terrified something with the gearbox went wrong, but it was the aftermarket short shifter. 🤔
How? well i wouldn't have believed it, if I didn't read it on a number of UK based forums, that some cheaper or lesser quality short shifters randomly fail, causing issues with being able to select 1st gear. In my case, I could not engage 1st gear at all, and it was crunching into 5th 😑
The fix, was to refit the standard shifter, and sure enough, problem solved. 
 
Friday, 2 days out from SFS, i still had a few things to sort out. 
- Fix the gearbox issue
- finish polishing the outer sill trims, replace black stripe, and fit back on the car (pop riveted on) 
- and change the wheels to something presentable. the 13" 4 spokes are nice, but the black paint is flaking again, so need a pro resto job. so the car is back to running on the 15s. 
 
 
 
Ive been putting some decent kms on the car, driving back and forth to my folks place to reassemble the car in stages. the fuel consumption is the best it has ever been in the time ive owned the car, returning 9.8L/100km on the first tank i recorded. It will definitely go lower on the open road, and when I stop using so much throttle 🤣
 
with the new carpet underlay in, the Recaro seats, and the 5 speed, the car is comfortable, and really nice to drive basically anywhere. i can sit on the freeway and cruise in it at 100km/h no worries. its not noisy, it feels tight, its not working too hard, and it doesn't get hot. 
 
So, whats left to do? 
 
- I need to add headlight film to protect the lights
- look at the thermostat/cooling system. its not building temp. i suspect the thermostat is stuck open. 
- Stereo is all wired up, and sounds great
- Front seat rail adapters have been painted today, so tomorrow the front seats can go back in for the last time, 
- waiting on front bumpers to come back from chrome platers. 
 
Other than those few things, the car is mostly done. interior is complete, once the front seats go back in. 
 
exterior is 95% there. 
 
 
So on that note I am just going to leave these two pics below as teasers. In my next update I will add more pics and details of what I went through the last few weeks. there was definitely some challenges. 
 
The top pic is the first drive around the block with the stock shifter back in the gearbox, and the 15" wheels back on. as you can see its a bit later in the day, so it was my only chance to test things out before SFS. 
 
The second pic, is a bit like a proud dad moment, driving the Escort into Small Ford Sunday to display the car. first time I have been in over 3 years, and in my own car again, was a such a great feeling. and the number of people who came to me and wanted to talk to me about the car, because they had heard its story, and what it had been through, was a little overwhelming. 
 

 

Would be way cool, and friggin' expensive, if you had 2 big ar$e flat screens on the sides, playing vast amount of stars moving sideways. Give you the feeling that your'e travelling through space. LMAO.
 
Great work, mate. Should be proud of your achievements.  

Could be points bounce, could be coil, could be vacuum leak, could be timing, could be old fuel, could be spark leads, could be i got no idea what I'm talking about.
Let us know what ya find.....  Love this little Esky.
 
...........and this one too.!
 
 
 

Been through some changes since this photo.