1994 - Ford Escort Cosworth - power steering fluid tank

Well.... i think its best to say the panel fit wasn't what I was hoping for, but it was probably in line with what I was expecting.

I think most of the issues are Sierra rwd floor pan v's escort / sierra AWD floorpan, but some look like manufacturing issues. Anyway enough of the moaning.

Start knocking out the bigger dents and cleaning up the strengthening plate

P1020472 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020473 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

cleaned, de-rusted, and primed

P1020474 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then I roughly clamped the floorpan in place so I could get a sense of the job ahead

P1020475 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then doodled on where I'll need to cut it

P1020476 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

the strange cut line is to avoid some of the features that will cause me issues, but also include those i need, whilst covering all the rust areas..

this floorpan piece under the cage food needs some adjusting

P1020477 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and this is the main culprit of not fitting well, both the step on the left, and the height of the step

P1020478 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

but before blaming anything else I need the footwell stiff and in the right position, so tack on the bits i fettled earlier

clamp into position.

P1020479 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020480 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

tacked in. Not fully welded as if I need to adjust anything I want it to be fairly straight forward to remove.

P1020481 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020482 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

the gap on the left has opened a bit more than i would have liked

P1020483 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

fairly flat floor, which is good as it was pushed up before.

P1020484 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

pulled on the big boy pants and cut the panel

P1020485 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020486 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

re-trialling to see what needs further adjusted

P1020487 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

most of its a fair fit, however this corner is still 17mm high

P1020488 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020489 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

Its supposed to fit inside, but I cant get enough movement on it.

I measured, and the pressing is about 15mm deeper than the one I cut out. I'm assuming its a rwd/AWD difference thing...

this seems to be one of the culprits

P1020490 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

the escort floor has an additional pressing to step over this

difficult to see, but its the welded area

P1020491 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

marked up some further adjustment points

P1020492 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

nothing for it, but to slice the step area to allow some adjusting

P1020493 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

started flatting some of the unwanted features

P1020494 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

clamp in again, this time with the front end tucked inside as required

P1020495 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

getting better

P1020496 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

a slight bit of dressing required on the step to fit better

P1020497 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

there's a lot of tension here, so the slice probably isnt to the right length to take out the stress

P1020498 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

much better, tension relieved and also allows the mid floor brace to touch correctly. 600mm of slotting to get it right....

P1020499 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

still a load of tidying up and trimming to go, but feeling like its starting to get there now. Even though it wont be perfect, it'll be considerably better than the floor that was in there previously.

Probably back to it Saturday.

That it is.

I got out the workshop for a couple of hours this afternoon.

I cut out a superfluous drain point that would get in the way, and started flattening the ribs to get it to sit flat at the flange.

P1020500 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

there's still quite a bit of dressing to go, then i need to bend a small step down in the floor.

also removed the additional step at the front end that was in the floor here and isnt needed.

P1020501 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then used the stepping dies in the bead roller to step down this bit.

P1020502 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

did some more trimming / tidying up

P1020503 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and its starting to get there now.

P1020504 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

a little bit more adjusting on the back end and it should all sit right. The gap at the top is an illusion as the panel has lifted up, when in position it is a nice but weld will about a 1mm gap.

the front end is starting to fit nicely now after all the adjusting.

P1020505 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

a few more fettles and on the next session I should be on to welding it in

As can be seen on the long back section i'm joining the panel in, in the midst of the pressing (weld into the corner) to try and minimise distortion. It also happens to be the bit after which the floor pan is quite a bit different and I encounter gearbox / prop / etc. brackets that will be a pain to move.

P1020506 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

Nice feeling when you sign off on a major piece of work.

What's the plan for the drive-train with this?

At the moment its going to be cosworth v6 engine and awd transmission with lsd diffs.

Will see how that changes as it progresses. The price on yb engines has gone insane, so may consider a different turbo engine at some point.

Thanks.

I drove the ons ford built  25 years ago, if I remember correctly it was 2wd. As a road car it was nicer then the YB, much more refined  and a quicker throttle response.

love your builds, surely a newer jag v6 or a 3.5L toyota V6 would do it a lot more justice

C20LET from calibra turbo. A) because link to cosworth and ford bellhousings plentiful B) same power and torque as Yb, C) it would annoy purists D) see point C

sounds like a plan to me!!