1974 Ford Escort mk1 - Restoration Part 2
With the car running again, and basically roadworthy, there were a few last minute things to do, before we could call it a 'rally' car in the loosest sense of the word :-)
Safety came into play and we decided to fit a roll cage even though we weren't planning on being competitive or even entering competitive events. Its a 4-point bolt-and-weld in Safety Dynamics rear cage at the moment, but it gives us the opportunity to upgrade to a full cage in the future without removing it.
We also tackled the rest of the interior...
We threw it out!
Actually, at this point, we decided that the car really wasn't going to be a road car anymore, and we were'nt going to go the classic restoration route. So out came the back seats, trim, carpet, headlining and all the other gubbins that you find in a 1300L or E (we're not yet sure which it was actually born as!)
For seats, we were limited in choice to the ones supplied with the car.
Good thing that the previous owner had found something better than the rubbish
chequered pattern Ford bench seats that would have originally been fitted
in the car.
The seats, though initially a bit grubby, are proper Recaro (the badge and back adjustable handle proudly proclaim so!), and I *think* are from an early Vauxhall Astra GTE. For someone who can't afford FIA buckets, they are plenty supportive and when they were cleaned up, they weren't too bad at all.
Again, with safety and the interior in mind, I splashed out on a set of 4-point Sablet clubman harnesses. These are quite easy to fit: front two eye bolts screw straight into the front seatbelt anchorages, and the rear eye bolts go through the rear seat mounting holes and are secured with flat washers and nylock nuts on the underside of the car. Remember to spread the load out with large washers.. you don't want to pull through the floor!
And then, with a lick of paint, cleanup of the 6x13 RS 4 spokes, a nice quickshift gear lever, a set of Colway rally intermediates and finishing a few exterior bits and pieces, the car was looking superb!
This page updated: 4/Feb/2007