1974 Ford Escort mk1 - Second Rebuild

I had run the Escort in its original 1600cc configuration for a year or so, and though it was fun, I new in around 2003 that I wanted more. We talked over what exactly to do with it and settled on doing an engine conversion that lots of others were doing at the time - fitting the Vauxhall/GM 'Red top'.

The Red top is a fairly strong engine, with a 16v cylinder head designed (and produced, in some cases) by Cosworth. It's pretty similar to what a road-going, normally aspirated Cosworth YB engine would be, with a healthy 150bhp as standard.

At the time the engines were fairly easy (and cheap) to get hold of (times have changed!) - the only real issue being the custom bellhousing, clutch and bearing needed to mate the Vauxhall block to a Ford gearbox. Many people do these components now, but at the time SBD Motorsport were the only people with the parts available off-the-shelf.

Removing the original crossflow engine:

The Vauxhall engine can be ECU driven, but we didn't have the budget for that so we stuck with a a distributer - which meant cutting back some of the bulkhead for clearance. We are starting to cut!

New crossmember fitted:

Trial fit of the replacement engine:

Engine bay repainted and starting to dress the engine:

A larger transmission tunnel had to be fabricated to fit the bigger 5 speed gearbox:

1974 Ford Escort mk1

• Chassis stitch welded as per Ford 'blue book'
• GRP bubble arch extensions fitted
• 2.0 16v DOHC Vauxhall Astra GTE/Calibra/Cavalier GSi 'Red top' engine
• Ford Sierra Type-9 5 speed gearbox
• Twin Dellorto DHLA 45 sidedraught carbs
• Capri 2.8 Atlas rear axle with 4.1:1 final drive
• Capri 2.8 rear drums
• Single piece heavy duty propshaft
• Heavy duty single leaf springs
• Capri 2.8 Bilstein front struts
• Austin Princess 4-piston calipers with vented discs
• Double width/Anti-dive front anti-rollbar mount
• Twin-cam / heavy duty front anti-rollbar
• Compomotive MO 8×15 wheels, alloy extensions on front hubs