Panko's Mk1 Escort (Round 2)

[Panko 2,480]

Just now, Fingers said:

That idea has been around for years. Proven upgrade.

 

yeah sure is. 

 

still a very popular upgrade too. 

[Panko 2,480]

Ok now we are back, a bit of an update on the car. 

 

I finally finished stripping the paint off the engine block and painted it black...

 

 

 

Im yet to do the sump, and the timing cover, which im painting "aluminium" silver, which will contrast nicely on the black engine. The head needs rebuilding anyway so while thats at the engine shop ill see if they can acid dip it and strip the paint off it that way. 

 

I also painted the front crossmember "subframe black". I have used this paint before, but do not remember it being so glossy. its not what I was expecting, but oh well. 

The paint is epoxy based, so its sticky as hell coming out of the can, and dries very thick. 

 

 

 

I have a couple more bits to pick up tomorrow, to finish the bottom end of the engine off, then i can bolt it onto the crossmember. Steering rack can go on tomorrow also. 

 

then clutch and flywheel can go on. 

[Panko 2,480]

i forgot to post the "before" photos. **post paint stripper** 

 

 

[Fingers 463]

Was it green at some stage, or is that blue paint affected by the stripper?

[BGDAV 1,873]

looking good - paint it black and hit the track (Y) 

[Panko 2,480]

11 hours ago, Fingers said:

Was it green at some stage, or is that blue paint affected by the stripper?

 

yeah so someone had painted it green previously, and did a good job of it. the green wouldn't come off, even with paint stripper. 

 

The blue was a s*** rattle can job, so the green is what stripping the blue revealed. 

[Panko 2,480]

10 hours ago, BGDAV said:

looking good - paint it black and hit the track (Y) 

 

Yeah man, once this is all back together, and driving, and ive sorted any bugs out (im sure there will be plenty) I plan to run it on the track (not competitively, just test and tune) to stretch its legs and really get a feel for the car. 

the main thing i want to learn is suspension setup. mainly in the dampening, with the adjustable shocks, to see how soft/hard each end of the car should be to make it handle properly. 

 

I bought the adjustables for the reason it takes 5 seconds to just under the back of the car and adjust them, and same  with the fronts. I suppose I should use them for different types of driving. 

[gerg 10,871]

The green might be epoxy, that shite is indestructable

Sent from my CPH1920 using Tapatalk

[Panko 2,480]

Today was a good day  

 

I got a preview of the car in colour today. I actually had butterflies in my gut as i walked into the prep bay to check the colour out. 

 

No i didn't take any photos, because they have only sprayed the inside of the boot thus far. 

 

The stone guard coating is done on the underside, colour is going onto the body on monday. the days following will be doors, bonnet and boot. 

 

Once they are all painted, the rear suspension will go back in, because they need the rotisserie for another Mk1 Escort going into the spray booth asap. 

The front of my car will just go on a dolly, because I am still a long way from having the front end and driveline ready to go back in the car. 

 

Also today, I finished spraying the engine parts. 

I started bolting the bits back onto the engine, starting with the fuel pump, and im missing that 1 gasket from the "full engine gasket kit"  so thats a bit of a bummer. Im not sure if i have any gasket material either that I could cut one out of. 

 

So instead, I bolted the steering rack onto the crossmember. It looks so amazing. Its going to be way to clean and shiny to want to drive haha BUT, I am super excited to actually drive it, but will be reluctant to drive it in the rain lol. 

 

[Panko 2,480]

2 minutes ago, gerg said:

The green might be epoxy, that shite is indestructable

Sent from my CPH1920 using Tapatalk
 

lets hope so, because the subframe black that i used on the crossmember and brackets was epoxy based. so hopefully it stays on there and stays black for a long time 

[Panko 2,480]

I had the day off work today, so spent the day on the Escort, and it just got better and better as the day went on  

 

I started the day by getting the 1600 bottom end back together. 

 

 

 

Once that was done, I dropped the flywheel off to be machined ready for the new clutch. 

 

Then spent the afternoon with Rod working on the gearbox. 

We nearly finished making up the jig to weld the shifter in its new location. 

 

We have basically set this jig up so that this conversion can be done with or without the need of the entire gearbox, but rather just the extension housing and shifter rod. 

 

 

Now, for the moment we have all been waiting for (or at least i have ).....

 

IT'S IN COLOUR! 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't seen the car yet in the flesh. these are just photos that Mark has sent me. 

 

The front still needs to be blacked out behind the grill. 

[deankxf 20,286]

32 minutes ago, Panko said:

Now, for the moment we have all been waiting for (or at least i have ).....

 

IT'S IN COLOUR! 

It's project Bonky IN COLOUR ? 

doesn't have the same ring to it

[Panko 2,480]

Just now, deankdx said:

It's project Bonky IN COLOUR ? 

doesn't have the same ring to it

 

One day I will watch Project Binky  haha 

[deankxf 20,286]

1 minute ago, Panko said:

 

One day I will watch Project Binky  haha 

OMG! if you started watching it you'd be hooked.

 but not only is it entertaining, they've come up with some brilliant ideas over the years.

it's painted now, actually further progress than your car is at the moment, which is AMAZING considering what they've done to it, and how little time they have to work on it(weekends only, and maybe that's one day only a week)

[Panko 2,480]

1 minute ago, deankdx said:

OMG! if you started watching it you'd be hooked.

 but not only is it entertaining, they've come up with some brilliant ideas over the years.

it's painted now, actually further progress than your car is at the moment, which is AMAZING considering what they've done to it, and how little time they have to work on it(weekends only, and maybe that's one day only a week)

 

yeah its funny because its in my subscription list, but i havent sat down to watch it 

[2redrovers 21,400]

Just as well the conversion doesn't require us to drill holes in precise locations..... Oh wait

[deankxf 20,286]

Just now, 2redrovers said:

Just as well the conversion doesn't require us to drill holes in precise locations..... Oh wait

just needs a reverse negative jig.. refer project Binky how to make it.

[2redrovers 21,400]

just needs a reverse negative jig.. refer project Binky how to make it.

Let's just say that three sets of holes were made....... The die grinder was involved in all of them before the lot would bolt together

[Panko 2,480]

2 minutes ago, 2redrovers said:

Just as well the conversion doesn't require us to drill holes in precise locations..... Oh wait

 

haha yeah....

i dont know what the s*** happened there. i thought it was just me, but then you too...on the same bit of steel. 

 

something up with that bit of steel

[Panko 2,480]

5 minutes ago, 2redrovers said:

Let's just say that three sets of holes were made....... The die grinder was involved in all of them before the lot would bolt together

 

hmm maybe we'll set up the drill press next time

[2redrovers 21,400]

 
haha yeah....
i dont know what the s*** happened there. i thought it was just me, but then you too...on the same bit of steel. 
 
something up with that bit of steel

Hang on, we'll use the digital caliper to get this right..... *drills hole in exactly the marked spot*
What the? How the heck did that end up too low?

[2redrovers 21,400]

 
hmm maybe we'll set up the drill press next time

We could have but I don't think it would have helped much. I need it for the plug holes in the extensions though. There's the other one I got but it needs some repair and a belt before it's operating.

[2redrovers 21,400]

It's project Bonky IN COLOUR ? 
doesn't have the same ring to it

It's a metallic pesto coloured escort... It's Pesky, IN COLOUR!

[Fingers 463]

It's beautiful

[Panko 2,480]

I went and visited the car yesterday to confirm we definitely need to black out behind the grill. We held the grill up to the car, and it looked odd seeing the green behind it. 
 

for the trainspotters, you may have also noticed there was no provisions for the reverse lights. 
this was something that Mark and myself completely missed until we saw it in paint  

the new rear panel did not come with holes for the reverse lights, because early cars didn’t have them (the new panel is technically from an early Mk1 not a late Mk1 like mine). Thankfully there is a twin to my car in the workshop at the moment, so they will make a template off that to then drill the holes in the correct locations for my reverse lights. 
 

Mark also had a little surprise for me. He asked his painter to paint the underside side of the car body colour over the stone guard. I was expecting black, and the colour took me by surprise to say the least. He isn’t charging me for the extra paint because he made the call without asking me. 
he did raise a great point. The stone guard itself would be a turd to keep clean, but now it has paint on it, it will be easy to clean and wash under its belly. 
Am I disappointed about this? Not really. It definitely took me by surprise, and its not what i was expecting, but im definitely going to enjoy the extra detail and cleanliness underneath. 

I also got the 1600 down off the workbench and bolted it to the subframe. Looks a little better than the dirty old 1300 in the background