ovimor
North East
...It'll be ME!
Posts: 816
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I ask as, watching a few Irish Utoob rally vids, good old RS Escorts are hammering it ... As Ever!
BUT
I see obviously RWD converted Escorts and wonder if a driver gets as competitive a ride from the 'cut n shut' shell over an old RS?
Does this hold an option for worn out shells with £thousands of competition parts on hand.
Anyone rallying the 'New China Pressed' Mk II shell yet....
OVIMOR
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Last Edit: Feb 9, 2020 16:39:18 GMT by ovimor
Knowledge is to know a Tomato is a 'fruit' - Wisdom, on the other hand, is knowing not to put it in a 'fruit salad'!
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,840
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The Gartrac G3's were very competitive cars in their day. They're not as simple as Mk2 Escort bits fitted to a Mk3 shell, a lot of major parts are completely different to stock to make it work.
There's some weird combos about in Escort rallying though. Quite a few Mk5/6 Escorts with "traditional" Mk1/2 Escort setups underneath. Always seemed a bit strange to me when you could do RWD with Cosworth bits.
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,840
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Oh and lots of Chinese shells. You'd never tell though as they're on old plates. Rallying had always been the king of ringers.
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The Gartrac G3's were very competitive cars in their day. They're not as simple as Mk2 Escort bits fitted to a Mk3 shell, a lot of major parts are completely different to stock to make it work. There's some weird combos about in Escort rallying though. Quite a few Mk5/6 Escorts with "traditional" Mk1/2 Escort setups underneath. Always seemed a bit strange to me when you could do RWD with Cosworth bits. Cosworth bits were never as prolific or affordable as Escort bits i think though , and for clubman rallying its got to be affordable . Think DOME engineering made quite a lot of RWD mk5/6 Escorts in the early 2000s maybe , as the cost of a new bodyshell was only something like £2000 new . |
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ovimor
North East
...It'll be ME!
Posts: 816
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Thanks, all...
Yes... I was wondering if the 'famed counterfeit Fraud' had been actually on the road...
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Knowledge is to know a Tomato is a 'fruit' - Wisdom, on the other hand, is knowing not to put it in a 'fruit salad'!
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Chinese shells??
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating
'80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip
'97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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retrolegends
Club Retro Rides Member
Winging it.....Since 1971.
Posts: 3,717
Club RR Member Number: 94
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1974 Hillman Avenger 1500DL1992 Volvo 240SE1975 Datsun Cherry 100a flying custard1965 Hillman SuperMinx Rock N Roller1974 Austin Allegrat Mk1 1.3SDL1980 Austin Allegro Mk3 1.3L1982 Austin Allegro Mk3 on banded steels2003 Saab 9-3 Convertible 220bhp TurboNutter1966 Morris Minor 1000 (Doris) 2019 Abarth 595C Turismo (not retro but awesome fun) www.facebook.com/DatsunCherry100a |
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If you are going through all the trouble to convert a FWD shell to RWD, wouldn't it be better to start with something smaller & lighter?
Like a Mk1 Fiesta?
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
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If you are going through all the trouble to convert a FWD shell to RWD, wouldn't it be better to start with something smaller & lighter? Like a Mk1 Fiesta? Ford developed the Mk3 Escort RS1700T at about the same time Gartrac did the G3. I think a lot of it is branding/image - trying to sell a current model of car whilst the factory is still racing the previous model wouldn't be good for advertising. This was all in response to the Audi Quattro so the RWD stuff was reaching the end of its useable life for top level rallying. There are quite a few RWD converted Mk2 Fiestas from that era, on Mk2 Escort running gear. However as far as I know they weren't a "production" car like the G3 was. I'd imagine continuing with the Escort rather than something else was image related too. |
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Yeah, I know about the RS 1700T, etc.
And why the factory would want it that way.
And I love the Gartac's
But I meant, as a build by a dedicated amateur, the & smaller lighter shell would give more bang for the buck.
Right?
Haven't seen any pics of RWD Mk2 Fiestas, but I'd love to see some.
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Yeah, I know about the RS 1700T, etc. And why the factory would want it that way. And I love the Gartac's But I meant, as a build by a dedicated amateur, the & smaller lighter shell would give more bang for the buck. Right? Haven't seen any pics of RWD Mk2 Fiestas, but I'd love to see some. Probably a number of things , mainly the similar size and wheel base of the escorts . The people building them or buying would i guess want something that handles like a old escort but without the rust and or modern looking. A fair bit less room to to do it all on a fiesta , engine bay length for rwd engine , axle width , space for escort front suspension geometry etc. |
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If you convert an Escort to group 4 spec, apart from the front inner wings you change a huge part of the car. Transmission tunnel, new rear link boxes for the rear suspension- 5 link, turrets and coil overs instead of leaf springs. If your changing that much stuff it doesn’t really matter what you start with. The rule book these days does limit what mods you can do. My mate built a mk3 Escort with Sierra suspension fitted and that is eligible and has an MSA log book. Ford did build a prototype rwd Fiesta for rallying in 1977 but changed Dorito the mk3 Escort for some reason. This used mk2 Escort inner wings and a transaxle  |
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Can’t remember who it was, but a few years ago someone was offering a complete floor, trans tunnel, bulkhead and axle mounts for a Mk3/4 escort, cut the old one out and weld in, away you go
Always fancied having a go but the lack of finance and skills put paid to that!
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Feb 11, 2020 15:25:18 GMT
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From what I’ve read on the new Chinese shells, there good enough for rallying but not great to build a road car from. Although I did see one road car built with one.
They will all be ringers though. Rotten two doors that have been dead for 30 years. Coming back on the road.
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1994 BMW 525i touring
2004 BMW Z4 sorn and broken
1977 Ford Escort
1982 Ford Capri getting restored
1999 Mazda B2500 daily driver.
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Feb 11, 2020 19:50:37 GMT
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My mk1 Escort spent a couple of years track racing before I rebuilt it. It was pretty beat up and rotten. After I’d welded it and “straightened” it, it wasn’t much better. The guys who did the body prep for me made it look like an an Escort so the Chinese shells shouldn’t be that much of an issue to get a nice road car. I saw on FB last week that Motorsport Tools are currently in the process of sorting these shells as brand new cars with brand new ID’s. I don’t think I will ever be able to afford one though.  |
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