1974 Ford Escort mk1 - Upgrades & Track preperation 3
With the transmission modifications complete (including a brand new heavy duty single piece RS2000 propshaft) and the suspension all back into place, we moved back to the engine bay. First stripping everything back out, we cleaned it all up, undercoated, undersealed and then finished it off with a new coat of shiny two-pack flame red to match the bodywork!
With all the drivetrain in place and the now a pair of adjustable gas 'Gaz' shocks fitted to the rear everything is now tightened up at the back end and the wheels are trial fit.
Wow! that Capri axle is wide! Arches were definitely needed, plus some bigger wheels to fit under them... luckily we picked up a set of 15x8 ET0 Compomotive MO's to fill them. The wheels needed a paintjob, but are otherwise straight and in good condition. Should give the MK1 a bit of a more aggressive look from the side!
The engine, carbs, manifold and other bits are starting to fill the engine bay now. We've also fitted a strengthening brace to the bulkhead (and stitch welded the chassis rails and gusseted the corners), as you would often find on a Rallycross car, just to put back a bit of ridgidity taken away via the bulkhead hole.
We also put the main engine/strut brace back on... looks good!
We uprated the cooling system - taking out the old mk1 radiator, cutting off the radiator shroud and fitting a band up to date alloy radiator from a mkV Escort RS2000; they match the XE for power output so should be able to cope quite easily. I also fitted an electric fan on a manual relay switch.
This page updated: 4/Feb/2007