It got a good dollop of weld-through primer since it will be plated over and won't be seen again for a long time. (hopefully)
Welded:
Grinded:
Some work had been done before to this car, among other tings the fendermounts had been replaced some tima ago. That had caused some complications around the end of the slam panel. I cut out the bad, and replaced with good:
Welded and ground down:
The time for steel primer had come:
And lastly I removed the top of the strut to get access behind the spring to remove old and flaky paint, and to get a coat of the primer in all the joins and flanges.
And then the Right inner fender was done!!
Next to be tackled is the fender. It has a few areas that needs some attention. Thank you for your interest!
Some work has been done since last update. The inner fender and a part of the fendermounts was at the chopping block this time.
The upper part of the fendermounts had seen better days, but the a-post was in very good nick apparently.
A bit more work in the front.
I finally got the humb behind the bumper welded and ground down the welds both on the inside and outside.
Here is the back of the previous update's work on the fender and some work at the rear fendermount.
Firstly this area got some attention. Before:
After:
Then the rearmost part of the fendermount:
Found some rust here too. Better get my hands dirty.
Afterwards it got a coat of steel primer, because with completing the rearmost part of the fendermount this area would be hard to access:
Done with the previously mentioned bit of fendermount. Not yed done with cutting it the correct width:
I've used quite alot of belts to my powerfile/handheld belt sander during the course of this restoration. If you don't have one of these, GET ONE! I don't know what I would have done without it, its invaluable to any restoration I've ever done.
Good to see the progress. I guess by Ford standards the RS2000 had a cheap custom nose job anyway.
I guess, ford was pretty cheap when it came to steel quality then as well
Time for the weekly update! Progress is sorta slow since a fulltime job, the kid, welding on my uncles car, a birthday and a christening get in the way of some quality garage time. But I got a little done though.
I finished off and welded the piece to the fender:
Then a few hours passed with making the headlight surround fit the front piece. The CAD template from my other MK2 helped very much in the making. Sorry for the fuzzy pics, HTC M9's don't take as good pics as my Iphone 6s Plus.
Welded:
I also made a closing piece to the fender flange:
Then I cut out a piece of the valance that was paper thin with rust. ("wafer thin mint" comes to mind for some reason )
Made a new piece and chucked it in there with the metal glue stick:
I also ground down ad tidied up the whole area, but I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. It came out awesome, honest! Pics in the next update.
Yep, very tidy. Glad to see the RS getting some love, really must get back onto mine now the Gathering is over for another year!
My RS is quite in need of some love, some would even call it high maitenance or needy at times
Time for another update.
Another week has passed, and monday through thursday I was working late, so when friday evening and the weekend came I had some time left over.
First step was to get the fender and the front together again, so I started with the flange on the front valance. Attached before welding with my homemade intergrips:
Welded:
And suddenly both sides were welded and ground down. If I was thinking of using filler/bondo on the front piece I would have done with a very thin layer. Chuffed with that
So, it was time for the headlight surround, or the area connected to that. I removed the old piece with an air chisel:
CAD:
Finished result:
Of course I had to make two, since they were equally bad both sides:
But, I had to have something to weld them to, so out with the old:
Testing new vs old:
CAD in progress. I made two of those as well.
Result:
Testing for fitment:
Not much work done for three days work, but I'm slowly working my way towards a finished car. Fabrication like this always takes longer than just buying the parts, but as I am on a limited budget I cannot afford even the smallest patch panels. Anyways I think that none of the parts are available in stainless steel, as all the parts I make is made of
Some more work done to the old shed. I ground down the welds on the new piece of the corner of the fender as well as could be.
Then to try to recreate the flange between the front and the fenders. Witch had seen better days. Both sides.
CAD in practice: Out with the cardboard, scissors, the permanent marker, draw, cut, measure, cut steel, bend, beat, hammer, curseword, and so on. One of the flanges in steel, other in cardboard:
Since I was on a roll with the CAD I had brought with me a template taken from the MK2 1600 Sport in my garden:
Complete flange for the right side, and offered up to the car:
Both sides ready for more adapting, fettling, cursing and assemblage:
Check above picture from my previous post. The right fender had a hole in the front. Cut a little away here:
This is the material donor, stainless steel gathered from the scrap bin at the Solar Cell factory I used to work at:
After some banging, adapting, grinding, swearing, welding and smoking it looked like this:
Here it is fully welded. I weld a spot at a time, cooling it with air between spots to keep the warp to a minimum.
About three hours on that little piece I think. Still hadn't got the time to grind down the welds before I had to go home. I have a life you know. Honest!
This is a great build and I'm enjoying your work very much, keep it up.
Thanks m8!
Time for a large(ish) update I think.
Stuff has happened because reasons, since last update. Among other things my daily a '99 Seat Toledo 1.6 petrol decided to start eating conrod bearings and knocking like it was no tomorrow. I bought the car for dirt cheap to use in the mean time until I got the RS ready for the road, and I understand now why it was so cheap. I changed the conrod bearings, and shimmed them a bit so the play was kept to a minimum, chucked some SAE50 oil in it and it kept on running. Hopefully it'll last until the RS is ready
Over to the update.
The bottom of the skidplate got a lick of paint, one coat primer, and one thick topcoat.
Then I painted around the sunroof opening before assembly. At the same time I made a small paint-trial of the rattle can paints I am planning to use. The results was pretty good.
Tec 7 should do the job I think.
Stonechip in the rear arches:
Underbody protection:
Taking The car outside while I changed the conrod bearings.
Then it was time to start with the front of the car. The job I had dreaded since the beginning of this project. The last time it was restored somebody had figured out that rubber underbody protection was the shiznit, and promptly used rubber sealant in ALL the joints/flanges to ensure that trapped moisture would have nothing to do but to eat away at the metal. Everywhere under where the rubber sealant had been was covered with rust, and every join was dissolved. Fun fact: only 2 screws had to be cut to get the front off the car!! Some pictures of the misery:
more work:
Fendermounts was rusted the entire length
Headlight mounts is bad. Luckily I have better lights and mounts lying around waiting.
New fendermouts in production. 1mm stainless.
Banging, pounding bending and swearing:
One and a half hours later:
Next piece to be welded:
Slowly but surely it progresses. Thanks for reading
Wow, I've missed faaar to much of this, exciting to see the projects progress!
Cheers mate
Not much updating done lately, i've been plugging away tho.
I started to get the doors done, so with primering, painting, sound deadening and going bananas with cavity wax i could say I was more or less done. I also made holes for the wires to the speakers and the central locking solenoid. the sound difference before and after sound deadening was Mindblowing!
Here you can see the deadening on the inside of the door as well:
Some more assemblage of the interior plus even more sound deadening of the transmission tunnel and under the back seat. All the cabling for the stereo and other stuff was also finished at this point:
The fuel tank was done, all painted and put at its proper place. I didn't screw it in place, as I have to take it out at a later date to install the rear light cluster and stuff like that.
All assembled, dashboard, floormat, centre concole, and so on.
the original steeringwheel
Retrimming the parcel shelf worked out beautifully. PO had made some big ugly cutouts for some 6X9 speakers I got rid of now. I even made holes for screws to mount the speakers witch is a first for me
I also pulled out the sunroof to check for leaks, paint the edge, and remounting it with some good sealant. Hopefully it'll become watertight this time around.
Then I took off the front bottom plate, gave it a whirl with the rotating steel brush to prepare it for paint.
And the centre steeringwheel badge finally arrived from the UK. ze piece dè resistance:
The bottom plate also got two strokes of paint, but I haven't got any pictures of that yet. Next update perhaps.
Well, a few weeks passed, with no update to the thread. I had a constant hassle with photobucket so I couldn't upload any pictures, hence no updates. But it all worked out at the end after a few angry emails and such.
I started in the boot, getting one colour on the whole thing. Voilà:
So, I ground down the floor on the left side, and primered it with Isotrol primer:
And lastly two coats with Isotrol finish:
When the painting was done I decided to get to grips with the sound deadening. I got a lot of the stuff from a friend of my dads who was clearing out old junk from his garage. This was proper New Old Stock, it was produced in 1977
In addition to the floors and the boot I did the firewall, beneath the rear seat and behind the b-pillar.
Then it was the heater matrix's turn. When I pulled the car from it's storage in february the heater fan caught fire for some reason. But quick thinking and easy access to an extinguisher probably saved the car.
Out of the car at last.
If you squint and tilt your head sideways a bit you may recognize the fan motor laying on top of the radiator
The replacement:
Under the dashboard, not so bad really, apart from the wiring mess:
This was the worst bit of work I've had yet on the car. Soot and flaking paint with a little bit of surfacerust was present. Laying on my back sanding, getting shyte in my face, arms aching in all sorts of strange positions. But I got one coat of primer and two coats finish, before I went bananas with cavity wax. Pics of this at a later convenience.
After this i mounted a condensator in the trunk for that extra oompf when I hook up my 12" cadence tripleX.
A little work on the inside of the car. I'm testing my newly made console mounts, and doing the sound deadening for the transmission tunnel, since what came with the car was a bit lacking in a few places. I also made a shift boot mounting since the PO had just cut the hole bigger without giving any thought to mounting of shuch things.
And lastly I sanded down the tank and made that ready for paint, since it was full of scratches and flaking paint.
Thank you for your continued interest! Have a good one!
Well, long time since the last update. Life gets in the way for proper garage-time, but I try to get work done as much as possible.
Since last time I've primered the right side sill, floor, and inside and under the door.
I also mounted a remote sentral locking thing from ebay, 25£ bargain. Insanely easy to install. I have to drill a little larger hole for the wires to the motor and the speaker, and then I'm finished inside the door. Plus I have to add some noise-killing stuff of some sort as well. Any recommandations?
Video:
So, the other side of the car. Removed all the bitumen-mats on the floor to see if I found any suprises, and luckily none was found. It only needed a good clean, and removal of loose paint.
I started working on the sill, and found a few areas that needed some attention. One hole in the upper side in the middle of the sill, and one on the bottom, roughly below the b-pilar.
I made a mounting-flange to help with buckling when welding, using this type plier. Awesome little thing that is. Also great for making holes for spotwelding.
Placed:
Welded:
Second hole in the sill:
I snuck the phone in the hole to check for other nastyness, but found none. I only found one place it had been welded previously. It looks great from the outside, so I won't bother to investigate further. Plus the sill was full of cavitywax, so it should be allright. Thanks to the previous owner for that.
After grinding the shape with my small bandsaw:
Repairplate (I welded a small piece of scrap to make it easier to manouver when making it fit):
Time flies, and i was suddenly done with the piece. Pleased with that one
And new supplies of 5l Steel Primer (Grund) and 5l chassis-paint (pansar) have been personally imported from Sweden, since the company that makes this stuff don't have a retailer in Norway. This is awesome stuff, very thin consistency, insane penetrating and creeping ability on the primer. I've used it on all my cars when I could get a hold of a litre or two. This should last me this Escort, and the 1600 Sport. Perhaps.
Primered left Sill:
Og siste strøket på dørken på høyre side før jeg lakker rødt:
Next update will happen suddenly. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading
I got a few things done this weekend as well. I cleaned out the floors as previously stated, and got rid of the glue the previous owner had glued in the sound deadener plates with. PO should have been whipped on his teabags with a splintery steel wire for doing that, it was nigh on impossible to get rid of, but i got there in the end.
But the good news is there is no holes in the floor on the right side! But, lots of surface rust inside the seat riser bracket thingy below the front seat mounts. I sliced a hole into that just to get at it.
But, still. no. HOLES!!
And this was the target area for the weekend. Two holes in the front part of the sill, close to the A-post, and two towards the middle, with a hole in the bottom part of the sill thrown in for good measure.
I used the 13mm beltsander, grinding out the two small holes making them bigger, fitted a small piece to both, and welded them shut:
I did the same by the a-post, but forgot to take a picture of that
Cleanly cut hole with a beaten, bent, fettled, joggled, sworn, dilly dallied, and done repair panel:
I used around three hours getting that stupid panel to sit right.
So, after some more swearing, sweating (we had 28 deg c in the shade today!!!) adapting, welding and grinding, the end result became evident. It didn't come out half bad if I say so myself
Now, for something different. I wanted to look at the centre consoles that came with the car when I bought it to see if I had to make some mounts to securely fasten them. One of them had been mounted before I got it, so that one would be the easy one.
I have no idea where these consoles originated, but the first one looks to be made by Ford at least. If it's for an Escort is another thing. I don't know how the stock RS2k one is supposed to look. I like the look of the first one, since it looks the most stock. I don't need all those extra gagues.
The other console had been mounted previously, abd tge wiring for the gagues is present at the moment. They are Oil Temp, Voltage and Outside Temp. The console also features no less than THREE DIN-slots for three headunits if I was so inclined.
If anybody have any input on what the first of my centre consoles originate from I would be greatly appreciated!
That's it for now, thanks for reading, and have a nice day everyone!
Hi, my cousin bought a 1967 Corsair 1.7 essex 2 door last year.
Since he bought it last year with newly honed and overhauled master and slave clutch cylinders, the Clutch pedal has become progressively worse. The throw has been less and less, and we found out that the bore is pockmarked and wearing out the seals, since it has been overhauled so many times over the years. The cylinders are girling i believe. Where is a good place on the interwebs to find new master and slave cylinders for this Corsair? What I should search for, what cars have the same cylinders?
For a lad who prefers welding to be hidden, that's a spectacular job. That repair is as neat as any I've seen. The collection is getting big but then at €400 I'd buy a dozen or so! :-)
Thanks mate, I just can't say no to offers like that, or I'd regret it for a long time afterwards. I read the thread on your estate, good to see you are back on your feet after the accident. I look forward to the coming updates
So back to my RS, I've made a little progress since last time, but the welding inside the wheelwell on the inner fender is slow going. I sat at such an awkward angle when adapting the repair-plates, grinding and welding that I have to take alot of breaks inbetween or else my back is fugged for weeks afterwards. (long sentence, phew )
I also had to bodge fix a lot of the shoddy bodges that was made the last time the outer and inner wheelarch was replaced some time in the eighties, and it made for slow going. Disclaimer: most of the shoddy welding you see wasn't made by me, it was done by the previous owner, the least cr4p welding was mine Lucily the outside had fared pretty well, and i only had to contend with the inner lower 20 cm front and rear edges of the arch.
CAD:
Then i fell into "The Zone" and forgot to take pictures, until i started on the outer lower front of the right wheelarch:
Inside:
And after a brief visit to the real world with taking pictures and a cig, i fell into "the zone" again. Dire Straits - Alchemy Live (1984) blaring on the stereo have that effect on me sometimes.
I completed the lower front of the wheel arch, and painted it before i remembered the camera again. It looked frikken awesome after one coat of primer:
Forward edge of the arch:
Rear:
Inside:
I also removed some of the paint on the right side sill to check for solidity, and I only found a few holes, so happy with that. I also pulled the seats, and the carpet to have a look at the floors on the right side. When I was done scraping of the sound deadening plates I was pleased to see that the floors are all solid. At least on the right side anyways. I haven't removed the deadening on the left side yet, but I think they are no worse, maybe even better. No pictures yet as I left my Iphone at home that day.
And that's it for this update. Thanks for reading! Cheers!
Yup, PO was losing his storage hall, and had to vacate quick, so to get somebody to take the car asap i made him an offer he couldnt refuse
Blimey, that's the bargain of the century! Fleet looks good, Mustang looks almost the same size as the Taunus (which still looks good)and the 15's look spot on on the RS. I keep thinking ours could do with bigger wheels
Quite the bargain yes, sound in body and plate. I'm actually quite giddy The size difference between the mustang and the taunus is not big, the mustang is a little wider and longer (obviously) but not by much. The mustang was a small car according to standards of the time in the US.
I always wondered about going bigger with mine but low on 15"s always seemed to work fine visually
I have tried the 15" wheels front and rear now, and it is very tight at the rear. I may have to do some cutting of the arch to ensure no binding. And I think I have to make some more adjustments in the front if I'm going to lower it any. Visually though i think it looks just right, but I cannot go bigger, lest it'll look stupid
Thanks for your interest
Since last update I have been busy getting the wife's daily EU-approved for the next two years. That wasn't as easy as I would like, bolts rusted and seized in almost all of the bushings in the rear end. I had to swap the main rear bushings in the front, and the big main bushings in the rear, a lot of fiddling to get the parking brake to work properly at both sides (at all), had to get the brake discs spun in a lathe to get rid of some surface rust, and the inspector was extremely difficult.
But after a lot of parts from ford ($$$) and a lot of swearing and cursing it finally passed for the next two years.
And for the first time this year I worked in the garage with the door open, a luxury I have missed during this long winter. 15 degrees in the shade and a clear blue sky, spring at last!
Before I started welding I tried my 13X7" starmags on the car to see how they fit:
They fit barely without the need to grind or roll any arches it looked like, so I may just use these. Unless I decide to lower it some. Time will show.
So, I started with the hole in the rear right fender with adapting of the repair plate. I made a small swage in the top of the repair plate, about 2-3mm to allow for easier welding without burn-through and to stop the side from buckling from the heat.
Here it is tacked in:
Welded and grindedededed:
And on the inside, with little to no grinding needed:
Quite happy with how that turned out, especially regarding the limited skills I have as a welder. I mostly like structural stuff and things that noone will see after I'm finished, but this was one of my better body repairs. Time for bed now.
Constructive criticism welcomed with open arms by the way.
Discovered this over the weekend and have just finished reading it. Did the Zetec made it into the engine bay?
Amazing! Well done!
Thanks dude
It has been doing it's duty as daily driver since i got it back from poland in 2011.
Winter summer fall or spring, it has been going strong. Have a few photos:
I also have done some work on our 66 Mustang.
With the "new" 8X13 225/60/13 starmags:
I had a visit from my cousin and his 67 Ford Corsair:
The zetec is still not in yet, I just started the restoration on my Escort MKII RS2000. I'll see if I make a thread for it as well, (or maybe continue in this thread) Almost everything have been standing still with working on all cars of mine since I got married, and became a father almost a year ago, in addition to working full time.
'ave a wedding pic:
Things have quieted down somewhat, and wifey have granted me some free time this winter, and this spring so i made a start on the Escort. It's not a heavy restoration as the car wasn't that bad, but still lots to do.
'ave a few pics: From 2009 when i just had bought it:
Testing 8x15" ET20 Revos with 205/50/15 tires two months ago when I started working on it:
Some welding needed in the rear left:
Needs a bit of work in the right rear below the fueltank as well:
And I got a great deal on a very clean mk2 1600 sport last week that is also going to need some attention, but that one is placed on the back burner for now. Almost no rust, except for two small holes in the rear qarter, and 15cm of the fender-lip on the right side front. It's missing some parts, and the previous owner has hacked out the transmission tunnel to mount a volvo b23 engine and gearbox, but he never got that far. I still got the original 1,6 sport engine, gearbox, rear axle, and most of the car is there. All this for a measly 400£
I'll be updating this thread regularly when I have some news to report. Thank you for your interest
That cortina there, was it YN registered by any chance? I saw a 1.3 cortina like that in narvik lots of years ago, but i couldn't find out who owned it. It was supposed to have lived its life in narvik since new, but if you owned it earlier in your time, it may be a different car.
Also, use motormounts from a taunus, and chuck that 2l efi and 5speed in there, it's a brilliant swap, if you have a 2litre transmission yoke for the front part of the driveshaft. 2l taunus also works brilliantly. certainly better than that 1.3 anchor.