Jump to content
Server maintenance Read more... ×
Panko

Panko's Mk1 Escort (Round 2)

Recommended Posts

OK, more testing and tweaking done today. 

 

I fitted an air cleaner so i was more comfortable driving the car further than just around the block. 

 

3QBfhkE.jpg

 

took the car for a drive, and it had a bad hesitation down low, and flat spot at around 3000rpm. as the secondary opens, it seems to cough then take off. 

I advanced the timing a bit more, test drove it, got it better, advanced it a tad more, and i think ive got it as about as good as i can regarding the timing. now, it is off the timing scale again so I need Sparky Dave's fancy timing light so i can see exactly what advance ive set it to. 

I am now 100% convinced that the timing was out. As well as testing the timing, ive been keeping a close eye on the temperature, and guess what, for the first time since owning the car, its now running at correct running temp. between 82 and about 92. seems to be averaging about 85-89 degrees Celsius. usually id be lucky to get it above 82. 

 

Where ive left it, the car is awesome at WOT up the top end of the revs, pulls harder than ever, but down low its hesitant but ok to cruise on, but has a big flat spot between around 2500rpm and 3200rpm. So im leaving it there for now, until i get someone to help me tune it. 

Obviously the primary is the side that needs work, secondary seems good and happy. 

 

something new here? ;) 

 

xBy2Lj8.jpg 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ok still no luck getting the escort to run 100%. 

I put the original jets all back into the 32/36 in the primary. 

so, 140 main, 165 air correction, F50 emulsion tube. so the primary is all back to how it came from weber, but i still have a flat spot :( 

the car is parked for now, and in the new year ill look into getting it tuned 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

well good news. 

 

Finally the Escort is running pretty good. I will drive it tomorrow properly to confirm, but I am pretty sure its running pretty close to right. 

 

I went and took the car to my mate, who is a mechanic at The Healey Factory. He owns a Microtech exhaust gas reader (sniffer), but unfortunately a colleague of his has it at the moment. However, he was quick to pick up what the carby needed to get it right. 

he jumped in the passenger seat, and we went around the block, and I mean around the block. barely out of 2nd gear and he could already tell me what I needed to do with jetting. not the size of jetting, just whether i had to go up or down. 

 

The car was lean on the primary, and too rich going onto wide open throttle when the secondary opens. 

 

What I was running: 

140 Primary main

125 Secondary main

Pump jet 50 single squirt

 

What I am running now to get it going: 

165 primary main 

135 secondary main

40 size pump jet, twin squirt (squirts down both barrels at the same time) 

 

I didnt expect to have to go up so big with the primary main. 

At WOT it feels good, but i suspect ill have to go bigger yet in the secondary main too. But I will leave it for now until i can use the sniffer to get an AFR read out. 

 

I borrowed a jetting kit from Angry Anglia so I had access to jets from 110 to 180. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
21 hours ago, deankdx said:

video not loading ;) 

 

sorry no video.  :( 

 

I finally got around to the changing the antenna to a lock down antenna so i can put my car cover on it finally. 

 

VaOhaqs.jpg

 

all clean and covered up. no more sitting under the carport getting dusty and looking like a "barn find" lol 

 

Bu3Wnyk.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just a small update. 

 

On the 21st of Feb, my girlfriend and I head for Adelaide with the RSOCV for its annual SA tour for 4 days. Elise and I are going to head south from Adelaide on the Monday and take a few days coming home along the south coast, instead of going home with the rest of the guys. it will be about 2500-3000km in a week in the escort. 

In preparation for the tour, I have an extensive list of jobs to be done; 

- Washer bottle

- Tune

- Thermostat housing gasket

- 13" spare wheel and tyre that will fit in the factory spot 

- Fan belt

- Fuel tank breather 

- Wheel balance

- Headlight protectors

- Oil change

 

So far I have done about half of those things. 

 

New fan belt. its longer than factory length, because the correct, new replacement for the factory length doesnt fit due to the profile of it. 

 

5kf4iRW.jpg

 

I used adhesive headlight protectors for the headlights. 1.5mm thick. absolutely shit to cut and work with, but it should do the job of protecting my headlights quite well. 

 

OrFaP5Q.jpg

 

EakfzIg.jpg

 

 

Last weekend we had Small Ford Sunday. 

I gave the escort a good clean, finally fitted a chrome exhaust outlet, re-sprayed the black paint on 2 of the RS wheels, and gave them a freshen up with the polish. To say im happy with how it came up is an understatement. Ill admit i keep it clean, and it always presents well, but it makes a difference when it has a fresh polish, wheels tidied up, and some fresh tyre shine added. 

 

8TURwb9.jpg

 

I used clear book contact that you would use on school books, to mask off the wheels this time, and it worked surprisingly well. First time ive tried it, and its much easier to work with than masking tape. 

YV8da3H.jpg

 

v2bBEeK.jpg

 

Whilst the 13s where being sprayed, i had one of the 15s fitted to replace whichever wheel was off being painted. 

And I started toying with the idea of re-fitting the 15s. 

 

KLCDrPH.jpg

 

lfLpKNI.jpg

 

hbTzRfS.jpg

 

And i came to the conclusion if i wanted to run the 15s again, Id need to be able to fit a centre cap similar to that of the 13s. like this...

 

zR7JwV5.jpg

 

fitted the chrome exhaust tip/exit. its literally sitting on there, not held on at all. its a perfect fit, so was tight enough fit it stayed there driving it to and from SFS no worries :P

 

BWhaE8s.jpg

 

all clean and ready for SFS :D

 

ReKZbFH.jpg

 

YdiCCqR.jpg

 

Now, getting it ready for SFS didnt happen without its dramas :( 

 

I fitted the exhaust tip and got the freshly painted wheels on friday afternoon right before the rain came down. 

Then on Saturday, I went to start the car to move it down to the garage to get it cleaned, polished etc for Sunday, and it wouldnt start. I spent an hour trying to start it, cranking, flooding it, then i pulled the dizzy cap off, to find the pickups in the dizzy cap heavily corroded and the rotor button was rusty. WTF. it had been running and idling in the backyard the night before. I can only conclude that it was the extremely humid weather that caused the dizzy to go that way. So, some sand paper, WD40 spray, and off it went. BUT, it wasnt happy. 

The car was backfiring through the carby, farting, wouldnt idle properly etc etc. 

 

Come sunday morning, it fired up fine, but once it was coming up to temp, again wouldnt run happily. i put fresh fuel in it, and drove it to SFS, driving it with a heavy foot on the way, to "clear its guts" per say, which seemed to help make it come good. then waiting in line to get into the show, it wouldnt idle, and started back firing through the carby again :( 

 

After the show, it drove home fine. I then drove it back to Elise's house that night, and home again. so drove it about 150-200km over the course of the day, and it seemed fine again. so not sure what happened. 
I do think its over-fuelling still, so in need of a better tune. 

 

Monday this week, day after SFS, I went and got my wheel balance checked by Tyrepower, who havent done them before. but I know the owner personally. 2 of the wheels were out by 20 grams, AND, both out of round. one of those wheels happened to be on the front :(  the other two, were balanced perfectly. so ive put the wheels back on the car with the 2 good ones up front, and the others down the back. and its pretty good now. BUT, i discovered today, the rear left tyre, has gone down to near dead flat :(  so ill need to take it back to Tyrepower again to get it sorted 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Panko said:

The car was backfiring through the carby, farting, wouldnt idle properly etc etc. 

 

pack a spare coil.. just in case. 

 

i've had enough of them die on Me that if i was doing that run i'd carry a spare.

 try a different one first.. might confirm the issue

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

well we are home, but the car may be up for a new engine 😕 
Ill do some testing tomorrow. 

 

The 2020 RSOCV Adelaide Tour. 

22 cars

27 people

Our club president had to pull the pin at the last minute due to family emergency. And, because our tours always have a mascot, we figured why not our president be our mascot. 

 

Mario is very fitting for a range of reasons. 

 

EfLM09L.jpg

IBawWsy.jpg

 

 

I crunched the numbers when we got home, and they are as follow;

Total KM: 2539km

Total L of fuel: 234.4L of 98RON

AVG consumption (entire trip): 9.2L/100km 

 

About half way from our start point on Day 1 to our destination in Murray Bridge in SA. Can see it sitting pretty low in the back...

Well it was sitting about 10mm off the bump stops the entire trip, low enough that sitting still the exhaust was sitting on the handbrake adjusting bar that runs across the back of the diff. the noise was like a ball bearing in a tin can lol and it would hit on big bumps etc. 

 

7OdC1d0.jpg

 

Auu9rWA.jpg

 

F9mIUoX.jpg

 

Day 2, sitting waiting for the ferry to cross at Wellington. all that was in the boot this time was the tools and spares. Obviously there was more weight in that than i thought. 

 

not a bad line up

 

lslx71S.jpg

 

aVW49H3.jpg

 

the white 2 door is a daily driven car. 
Its running a n/a Mazda BP 1.6L DOHC engine (MX-5), and 5 speed gearbox. 
Also fitted with A/C, and cruise control. 

Thats my kind of daily 

 

IOCJEnD.jpg

 

on the ferry crossing the Murray River 

 

4Kf8rsn.jpg

 

end of Day 2. all washed and detailed for Day 3's Small Ford Show 

 

3L2q0eB.jpg

 

Morning of Day 3. lining up to leave for the small ford show 

 

87c4WI4.jpg

 

This coupe, is a GENUINE, 1 of 25 imported (Aus delivered) Mk1 RS2000s :o 
Over the years its had a range of different engines from its original Pinto, to a turbo Pinto, to what it has now, that is a carby fed, n/a YB Cosworth. it is a gorgeous car, and being a genuine RS2000, it also has the larger side fuel tank. i wish id taken a photo. extremely rare item.  

 

QuO5Fk0.jpg

 

TTvoLaF.jpg

 

all the victorian Mk1s lined up at the Small Ford Show. 

 

4RMUPj4.jpg

 

 

On Monday, the rest of the cars and members who attended the tour headed back to Melbourne, Elise and I extended the trip until today. 

 

01JBypR.jpg

 

we got spotted in Kingston, thanks to @GspecZL for sharing this after he saw the photo come up on facebook 

 

MXPOTPe.jpg

 

Robe, SA

 

169coLQ.jpg

 

The car had a thermostat leak before we left, and I fitted a new gasket and fresh silastic the day before we left. it didnt work. it progressively got worse over the course of the trip, until when we got to Portland, and this is what I found. it had really decided to let go. Thankfully in this case, I was able to tweak the bolts and it went back to just a weep. 

 

VxyDbvI.jpg

 

the thermostat housing very quickly became the least of my worries, when I found the head gasket had let go too. It was leaking pretty quickly, and we had a long way to get home. 

eventually i came to the conclusion that it was only leaking when the engine cooled down, at night time. under pressure and at temp it didnt leak. 

 

ygEertg.jpg

 

we arrived home today, after 8 days on the road, and today the car started to idle a bit rough, and seemed to have a bit of a miss fire at part throttle trying to accelerate. my first thought was the head gasket had let go on the cylinder side, and started leaking coolant into the engine. nope, coolant is still nice and clean green. its been feeling a little down on power, so now im wondering if its lost compression on a cylinder. So tomorrow I will do a comp test and see if its ok or not. if its "kaput", i think ill just park her up until i find a 1600. its not the matching numbers engine, and its of unknown history anyway, so if its dead, its as good as a boat anchor to me. 

 

QbifDhs.jpg

 

this is for reference to show how full the boot was. still had room behind the sports bag on top there, but otherwise that was it. 
tools, spares, water, oil etc etc were in a tub below all our luggage. so yeah it was heavy in the back. 

 

1ARFmpL.jpg

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i probably should show this. 

 

we wouldnt have fitted any of that stuff in the boot if i didnt get the spare wheel in the correct hole. 

 

its meant to have a 12" spare wheel in there from factory, so fitting a 13" spare in there can be hard. 

I ended up going to Jolly's and spent a while looking at their tyre racks until i found a single, 155/70R13 for $16. it was a brand new tyre. had never been on a car, never used. took it to tyrepower in Berwick, who we know personally, he didnt charge me for fitting the tyre. and all of a sudden i had my boot space back. 

 

Aa2TC2r.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

cool roadtrip indeed

looked at your photo.. is that a crack.. not in a place i'd expect an issue with running though

 

do you have a photo of the mazda 1800 in the escort? could be just the perfect combo for @2redrovers assuming they come with a 4 speed auto option for his panelvan. 

 

3jhX957.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, deankdx said:

cool roadtrip indeed

looked at your photo.. is that a crack.. not in a place i'd expect an issue with running though

 

do you have a photo of the mazda 1800 in the escort? could be just the perfect combo for @2redrovers assuming they come with a 4 speed auto option for his panelvan. 

 

3jhX957.jpg

Made me look. 
 

no its not a crack. All about perspective i guess. 
 

its a shadow? What youre looking at is where the engine mount bolts to the block, and thats the stud that comes out from the engine for the mount 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here we go again. in the shed to get the head gasket replaced and head swapped with the spare. 

 

bCot9yW.jpg

 

yep the current engine has some seriously filthy water jackets 😕 

 

sF6EQPP.jpg

 

getting there. rocker gear off 

 

RNvWPJA.jpg

 

rocker gear and pushrods 

 

upm1HBl.jpg

 

bye bye head. 

 

looks a little rich on 2 & 3, but that is the primary barrel intake. plus, it has only been idled on choke recently, not actually driven. 

 

quickly looking and feeling the condition of the bores, this engine is in better condition than the matching numbers engine, which i now have in the shed :) 

 

g0Orekr.jpg

 

replacement head on the left, old head on the right. 

 

the spare head has different valves in it, and is a lot cleaner. 
to be honest im not sure which one is original and which has been recondition. this head had a 1600 rocker cover with it, with a sticker on it from a reco shop, so that tells me the spare has been done. 

however, the existing head, the valve springs are a lot cleaner, but im guessing thats because its been used, so clean oil is keeping it clean. 

although the spare head has rust in the water jackets also, the build up is nothing by comparison. 

the block has some serious build up also. 

 

so bit of cleaning to do, and playing with the carby. i now know what I fucked up with the carby jetting before going away. the twin squirt pump jet is squirting fuel all the time into both barrels, even with the secondary butterflies closed *facepalm* so i need to go back to a single squirt so its not flooding the shit out of the secondary barrel. 

 

xS45aMG.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Last night, I made a very interesting discovery. 
Both heads, appear to be GT heads. they both have the larger GT intake valves. weird. 

 

Everyhting I could find on the googles suggests that with the 38mm intake valves, they are the GT spec. workshop manual would suggest the same. but both heads? 

 

I started off today by cleaning the tops of the pistons, and the block face etc. 

 

Anyway, it turns out this engine in the car has been rebuilt at some point, with the pistons being 40thou oversized. 

 

6du6vba.jpg

 

not perfect, but a lot better than they were. 

 

ebzauao.jpg

 

new head gasket on

 

h8VjtTU.jpg

 

head on

 

ZgR3DWz.jpg

 

and this is where i got to, today. It will be finished tomorrow (i hope :P ) 

 

the new head, i dont think has ever been used since being rebuilt. just sat for a very long time. all rockers were adjusted to their extreme lose, or off in regards to valve clearance, and after i cleaned it up and got rid of all the oil around the outside, i could see the brand new welsh plug in the back of the head. 
Im really keen to see how this goes with the new head. 

 

cEi8eKw.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well its finished :D

 

My temp gauge now does not work. i think the sender in the new head is dead :( 

that means draining the cooling system again to swap it 😕 

 

I have taken it for a drive for about half hour. 

 

The car doesnt necessarily feel any faster, but it is so much happier to rev now. 
it seems to build revs a lot faster now. It now seems smoother with its power delivery too. so maybe it is faster and i just dont notice it. 

Giving it a run onto the freeway, usually it would take what seemed a long time to get to 5000rpm where my shift light comes in, and i would shift at around 5500rpm. now, 6000rpm is nothing to it. and the shift light seems to come on very quickly :P 

So I think I am happy, but I will take it for a longer drive tomorrow to stretch its legs and see what its like then  

 

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, deankdx said:

maybe it has better valve springs?  

 

who knows. this was an unknown head remember lol 

 

but all the signs told me it had never been used since being rebuilt. and evidently GT spec head, so it would already be flowing better than a standard head. I also went back to a single squirt pump jet in the carby, and that seems to have helped. less cough and hesitation, probably because its no longer flooding the engine every time i hit the throttle  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Saturday, i decided to take the car for a proper drive to stretch its legs. 

 

at the last minute i had company on the test drive, and we went up the Reefton Spur to Lake Mountain and back. 

So how did the car go? 

Well, on the flat straight roads, it really gets up and goes nicely. if I keep the revs up, by shifting higher, between 5500-6000rpm, it lands right on its peak power at 4000rpm in the next gear, and just wants to keep going and going, BUT, it is still losing torque in the hills. but thats the 1300 just running out of puff. 

Towards the top, there is a left turn at an intersection we make to head towards Marysville, and the road from here is a long straight, slightly down hill for about 1km. I was out front, so I let it stretch its legs, with the Mini in chase. In this circumstance, yeah the Mini kept up, but definitely wasnt catching, and the Escort comfortably wanted to pull beyond 130km/h, but ran out of road, although the follow couple of bends were open enough that I went round them at over 100km/h. So generally speaking, giving it a pretty hard going run, it seems to be going better. Its now parked for its next round of fix ups. Seeing as we are in lockdown, now is the time to do it. 

 

Obviously the Mini (especially THIS mini) and the Escort are two completely different cars, and require different driving skills. I could only keep up with the Mini for so long in the bends before he pulled away. it has a lot of power and torque, with its 1330cc worked engine, and being FWD it certainly handles the tight corners better. 

 

3qyuDP8.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On saturday, I accidentally dropped my phone on the remote for my head unit in, randomly putting the head unit into protection mode. which means it was completely locked and I could do nothing. The head unit is about 10 years old, so figured maybe it had come to the end of its life, but nope. I reset it today, and it came back to life. 

While i was doing that, I started looking at the horrible wiring going on behind the dash, and decided maybe after owning the car for 3.5 years, maybe its about time i fixed up the wiring. 

 

SRmB3Uj.jpg

 

Something something can of worms...thats how the saying goes, right? :P

 

Ok so some of the wiring IS mine, as I tapped into the cigarette feed for power and lights for the tacho. BUT, i never modify factory wiring, i tend to adapt by making Y splits etc. 

 

x603WnX.jpg

 

As you can see there is random bits of wiring (speaker wire in this case) going everywhere. 

I have a reproduction, blank centre dash facia sitting here. the idea is you can cut whatever holes into it you like for gauges, switches etc etc. 
So, I am going to finally set that up (pics will come in next update) 

I plan to have the radio back in its factory place, mounted to the under side of the centre dash facia, then in the flat section directly below heater controls, I plan to have 2, or 3 gauges mounted. 

Oil pressure, Volts, and then maybe my tachometer up there too. If not, ill mount my tachometer down the bottom angled up at me like it is now, and then the 3 "gauge" up top will be a nice analogue clock. then my 2 factory dash switches closer to me. (wipers and heater fan) 

There should be enough room for when I install my Ford Carello spot lights to the front of the car, to add a spot light switch in there too. 

 

While i have the centre dash panel out, I am also going to pull the heater box out and fix that. 

 

ZMeAkZr.jpg

 

I was looking for the wiring diagram for my Kenwood head unit, and I had it in my mind that I owned a set of NOS pistons and rings for the escort, but hadnt been able to find them, so started thinking maybe I had sold them...well today i found them up on the mezzanine in the shed :D 

 

they are Repco brand, 40thou oversized :D 
No good for the current engine obviously, being already 40thou over, but perfect for my original engine 

 

j7IvDKz.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites



, and I had it in my mind that I owned a set of NOS pistons and rings for the escort, but hadnt been able to find them, so started thinking maybe I had sold them...well today i found them up on the mezzanine in the shed  
 
they are Repco brand, 40thou oversized  
No good for the current engine obviously, being already 40thou over, but perfect for my original engine 
 
j7IvDKz.jpg


I remember getting those and delivering them to you at All Ford Day a couple of years ago

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 minutes ago, Mr Polson said:


 

 


I remember getting those and delivering them to you at All Ford Day a couple of years ago

 

 

YES! thats right. 
They have been in storage in the shed, so had kind of forgotten about them. so glad i found them now. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

on the note of the new pistons. 

 

Im pretty sure the engine thats in the car, which has been rebuilt as we discovered, has been rebuilt using the same pistons as i found today. the part numbers appear to be the same lol. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×