2redrovers

If it hasn't been pulled past the original casting then you could drill and tap the case to run in a lock/set screw. Another thought I just had, drill a pin hole behind and pump in some epoxy glue to fill the void so it can't push back in.

I didn't think you had more than 5mm to play with. Reference photos of your pin housing

3 maybe 4mm past the round casting node is where the end of the pin was.

I also had my reproduction stickers turn up today. 
Dealership sticker and rego sticker
 

 

Fixed. 
 
In total i think ive moved it about 8mm. 
temporarily put the box back together and it works well nicely. Strangely smoother than before. 

Ok ive done some quick measuring of the casting thickness, using the method Rod mentioned above with the straight edge. Its approximately 20mm thick in that spot for the pin, so i should have plenty meat to pull the pin out a bit and not weaken it too much 

If it hasn't been pulled past the original casting then you could drill and tap the case to run in a lock/set screw. Another thought I just had, drill a pin hole behind and pump in some epoxy glue to fill the void so it can't push back in.

Once you get that pin in the right place, is there a way you can cross-pin it or stake it, seeing as it's now sitting shallower in the hole than before, with less interference fit holding it into the casing?

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Yep I won’t be going any further with it until I have done some accurate measurements regarding the full travel of the shift rod, in both directions 

I didn't think you had more than 5mm to play with. Reference photos of your pin housing

3 maybe 4mm past the round casting node is where the end of the pin was.

Homemade tool to the rescue. 
After doing some googling, there are tools available for this exact job, but only go down to 8mm. so i had to make something smaller. 
 

 
Step 1: make the device to clamp to the pin 
 

 
 
Step 2: Drill and tap a 10mm hole in the opposing end (thank christ for the drill press) 
 

 
Step 3: drill an 11mm hold in a solid bar to pull against
 

 

 
So far the pin has moved about 5mm forward. I think it still needs a bit more but i need to do some precise measurements before I know exactly far how it needs to come out as a minimum 
 

Yeah that's the first option I said, or a collet chuck, same thing. I'd use a thread /bolt to pull it out slightly like a gear puller.

looks like something like a small drill chuck could grip an pull out with a slide hammer
 

100% i never removed it. And it doesn’t look like the roll pin has ever been removed 

oh whoops should have specified. the photo of the pin is not mine. its someone else's housing. 
 
Notice in the pink circle it has that oil tray that mine is missing. I was talking with the owner of the box in that photo, and he said dont worry about the oil tray. it wont make a difference to oil supply to the back of the box. 

There would have had to be some, but not like that. You and I both worked pretty intimately with the selector rod, I feel I would have seen those marks on it. Plus, they are fresh, with the nice gold colour, while the rest of the fork is a dirty brown brass colour  

Well here we go again. The gearbox is in bits again
 

 
You can see here on the side of the brass fork, the score marks where its been slipping off and down the side of the centralising pin 
 

 
And here the dent where it lines back up going into 4th gear and slips back onto the pin. 
 

Well my fear has come true. 
I do have to remove the extension housing again on the gearbox, but it is not as simple as realigning the neutral return spring on the pin. 
 
The pin appears to be too short, allowing the spring and fork to actually move forward enough and slip passed the end of the guide pin. So im not sure how this is happened, but I will need to remove the pressed in pin, and replace it with a longer one somehow. 
 
I should explain what is going on....
 
When I run through the gears, after shifting into 2nd gear, then out of 2nd gear, the gearstick will not return to neutral. Rather is under spring load to move the lever to the right, where it should be in neutral. but moving it left, back to the 1st/2nd gate, there is no spring load at all, and once it gets all the way to the left, and audible metallic *clang*
 
If I shift into 4th, I can manage to realign the neutral return spring and fork with the pin again, and it will return to normal. 
 
Essentially whats happening is the fork travels far enough forward to slip off the guide pin, then comes back down the side of it instead of inline with it. 

I thought that was against the law

I'll have to look up what was done to this one, dad had it done when I was in high school, I may be remembering it wrong

New extractors
 

 

So this is where I am at with the Exhaust/extractor thing. 
For the purposes of firing the engine up, I have removed the gearbox mount so i can fit the extractors. basically where the end of the extractors are, is right where the passenger side of the gearbox mount sits. 
 

 
They have a fantastic shape to them, but the back of the gearbox being a little wider, and the mount being located a good 100mm further backwards, they don't clear. 
Also with the 1600 block being taller, it has brought the extractors up. im certain the exhaust ran under the gearbox mount. its not level with it. 
 

 
After soaking in petrol for about 48 hours, then attacking it with degreaser, a screw driver and a hose, the PCV canister has been restored back to as good as new. 
I am going to plumb in a sealed return catch can between this and the intake manifold, but for the purposes of firing it up at home ill plumb it straight into the intake. or maybe let it vent to atmosphere for now 
 

 
All fitted up and looking schmick. 
 

 
I also pulled the top off the fuel pump to have a look inside. I knew it wasn't a genuine Ford one, so it has been replaced at some point. Turns out it is brand spanking new. its never had fuel in it. so that was a nice little surprise. 
 
 
Yesterday I picked up my restored switches, and at the same time bought 3 of the 4 reproduction engine bay and (inside) boot lid stickers I need to bring the car back to 100% factory look. 
 

 
Glenn who has supplied the stickers and done my switches is a legend. and I had some serious shed envy going on. Currently he has 4 Escorts in his shed, 5 at his place in total. 4 of them are his personal cars. 1 of them, the jewell of the collection, a genuine, 1 of 25 Australian delivered Mk1 RS2000. It was a race car for a long time, then retired and sat stagnate for a long time before he bought it in 2001. He is almost finished doing a full nut and bolt restoration on it. so it hasn't been driven in around 25 years, and should be finished and ready for the road by the end of the year.  
 
His shed, can comfortably fit 4 escorts in with room to work on them all, and at a squeeze fit 6. 
 
As I was getting ready to leave, he also offered me 1 and a half sets (6 wheels) of wide steelies....for free. one of the sets were genuine Lotus Escort slotted 13x6 wheels. the other 2 were a bit unknown. After i spent years searching. 
 
I didn't take them yet. I need to check mine out for condition, and then compare to his set. they all need restoring either way. 
 
and the last little surprise from him, was the price for the switches and decals. I totally read his quote wrong. I read it has he was charging me half price, at $50 per switch to restore, so x 3 would be $150. Plus decals $175. 
When I went to pay him the $175, he says no mate, you're $100 over. 🤨 huh? he then showed me his original quote, he charged me $50 for all 3 switches to be done. 
We have known each other for a few years, and I gave him a 4 speed gearbox a while back, which id forgotten about, so that was why he was helping me out on the price. 
I am just waiting on the 1300HC decal, which he had unfortunately run out of, and will need to get more printed. 

I thought that was against the law

Good news, if you set it up for a t5 its not very hard to go tko from there in the future

Some good info here, looking at getting one for the new project XP.  Cant afford 5 grand for a TKO...!!!

Watching The Skid Factory (youtube) I've seen them use heat gun to winkle up the winkle paint,
*after a bit of looking back through your thread, as a temp exhaust, cut through the expanded part on the collector & rotate to the left (guessing 4-7mm) then reweld, should work
Those extractors also look to tapper down to fit in that small "collector" that looks to just be a flared bit of pipe from when they were made,
if so, I'd cut them back where they are still round (maybe extend the secondary's a bit & put a pair of mandrel bends from where you cut) then put a twin 1 ?/?" in to 2" out collector, also with the extractors does the 4th cyl pipe go into the side of the 1st cyl, or is the collector just hidden by 2&3 (hard to tell from photos).
 
As to pipe size Vs engine as a EG. VE SV6 3.6lt has 2 1/4" twin from factory, 1800cc per bank, so 2" will be fine for a 1660cc.
also to 2" single on 4.1, from memory BF E-gas utes have 2 3/4" exhaust, & EA onwards were always 2 1/4".