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I've been lurking on here for a little while now, and whilst quite a few of your builds are way beyond the scope of my talents I thought I would post some of my little bits and bobs regardless.
As the title suggests, Fords are my thing although I'm not averse to the odd British classic or JDM special either - and anything out of the ordinary as well! Currently in my possession is a MK3 Escort 1.6 Ghia (5dr) and a Puma 1.7; I do also have a couple of Fiestas, but they're likely too new being '06 and '57 plates respectively?
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Last Edit: Feb 11, 2022 22:46:00 GMT by jasellan
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So, let's start with the Escort: lockdown came, I had not long finished engine swapping the Fiesta and was bored of the stay at home/work from home combo. I went on eBay, searched classic cars by price and ended up with this, completely sight-unseen and from the north of Scotland (more on that later). The seller kindly delivered it to my cousin's place slightly further south in Scotland - at that point I transferred the money, and as soon as lockdown lifted I travelled ~350 miles to collect it on a trailer. I had hoped to drive the car home, but my cousin discovered that it overheated when left idling - the thermostat was stuck close, so how the seller had managed to drive it to my cousin's was a bit of a mystery! Despite a warning that some welding work would need doing, and the thermostat issue, first impressions were good enough:  I got it loaded up on the trailer, and took it the long way home before starting to poke around - I had already bought it, so there was no point rolling around under on a damp floor when I could get it back home and in a garage.  When I got back home, the carpet was lifted to reveal...   Solid metal?  Ah, that's a bit more like it... Although this metal is still solid, it looks like some water has sat in the driver's footwell - I wonder where that's come from, on a sunroof-equipped model?  As for the passenger footwell; well it's safe to say it's an old Ford after seeing that! So to sum up the bad bits: - Thermostat is stuck closed, causing overheating when left standing; - Sunroof is leaking; - The passenger floor is more of a colander really. So far I've replaced the thermostat, sanded back and primered the rocker cover in a million layers of weld-through primer I had lying around, ordered the floor and sill repair panels and found a MK6 Escort sunroof which I'm told can be made to fit. I've also got an adapter to be able to run Puma gear linkages/shifter as I like the feel, bought some replacement wheels and spent (wasted?) money on bits to spruce up the interior... Which can't be fitted until the welding is done. All this to come once I've done the rounds this afternoon, collecting and dropping off more junk! |
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So the Escort's rear seats were dropped off for retrimming yesterday, to match the front seats I have purchased for it. I also collected some new-to-me wheels for the Puma, as the ones that came with the car seem to rub a little much for my liking i.e. all the time.
Pictures to follow.
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Lovely car and in pretty good nick for having come from right up north where the roads are 50% salt in the winter 😂 I'm from the north east but live next to loch Lomond now. I'd guess all that was caused by the sunroof?
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Lovely car and in pretty good nick for having come from right up north where the roads are 50% salt in the winter 😂 I'm from the north east but live next to loch Lomond now. I'd guess all that was caused by the sunroof? Yeah I'm fairly certain the rot in the passenger footwell was because of the sunroof, there was about an inch of water sitting in the footwell when I went to collect it from my cousin's - I think the carpet backing was enough to stop the water draining through the holes, and just let it keep on rotting. I got a folder full of history with the car that seems to point to it living in the Hull area before being up in Scotland, with loads of tickets to shows etc. in the file as well plus invoices going back to 1986! |
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Lovely car and in pretty good nick for having come from right up north where the roads are 50% salt in the winter 😂 I'm from the north east but live next to loch Lomond now. I'd guess all that was caused by the sunroof? Yeah I'm fairly certain the rot in the passenger footwell was because of the sunroof, there was about an inch of water sitting in the footwell when I went to collect it from my cousin's - I think the carpet backing was enough to stop the water draining through the holes, and just let it keep on rotting. I got a folder full of history with the car that seems to point to it living in the Hull area before being up in Scotland, with loads of tickets to shows etc. in the file as well plus invoices going back to 1986! Could also be the battery tray, well-known mkiii spot! My mates battery more of less ended up in the glovebox!!! |
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Yeah I'm fairly certain the rot in the passenger footwell was because of the sunroof, there was about an inch of water sitting in the footwell when I went to collect it from my cousin's - I think the carpet backing was enough to stop the water draining through the holes, and just let it keep on rotting. I got a folder full of history with the car that seems to point to it living in the Hull area before being up in Scotland, with loads of tickets to shows etc. in the file as well plus invoices going back to 1986! Could also be the battery tray, well-known mkiii spot! My mates battery more of less ended up in the glovebox!!! Surprisingly the battery tray is OK, and by that I mean rusty but not rotten - first place I checked after my dad's MK3 was pretty scabby there! Is there anywhere else I need to check? I know the sunroof tray is rotten but that should be getting swapped out for the MK6 Escort item as well, I think the drain channels got blocked and water pooled on top of this tray but beneath the roof. |
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Dec 29, 2021 17:50:37 GMT
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I actually went out to the car today; it's pretty dusty having been locked away for months!  I've refitted the rocker cover with a new gasket, and reattached various other bits in the engine bay. The interior is almost entirely stripped now as well, ready for welding work in the New Year. Yes, what you see in the windscreen is what's left of the headlining! Unfortunately the sunroof leak/age/sunlight has made it brittle as anything, so a replacement will either be bought or made depending what material I fancy. |
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Last Edit: Dec 29, 2021 19:14:23 GMT by jasellan
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Dec 30, 2021 10:01:21 GMT
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Nice front end with that grille with lights. Looking forward to seeing what the new front seats are.
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Dec 30, 2021 12:17:19 GMT
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Nice front end with that grille with lights. Looking forward to seeing what the new front seats are. Next time I'm down at my dad's unit (where the seats are currently being stored), I'll get some pictures - hopefully the rears will be back from the retrimmers in the next month or so. |
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Jan 15, 2022 17:17:41 GMT
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Whilst I'm still twiddling my thumbs with the Escort, I've had a change of plans with one of the other cars... The Escort will be temporarily moving to my dad's colleague's unit, where he will be welding up the floor so I can crack on with putting the thing back together. He has also kindly offered to give me some pointers on welding so that I can hopefully do so myself on other projects, as well as potentially using his unit to paint the sill to match the car and feather it in properly. Meanwhile, I found some pretty nasty rot in the Puma's rear sill which was hidden beneath the factory underseal and it's generally not in fantastic condition - so it will be giving up its engine and electrics as a donor for this:   As plenty of you may know from the shape of it, it's a Triumph Spitfire MK4 - although it looks a bit sorry for itself, the chassis is solid and will make a nice base for a usable classic. The plan will be to sort the bodywork, get it driven about a bit to get a feel for any suspension work etc. which will need doing and then drop in the Puma lump mated to a RWD gearbox. In non-retro news, I replaced the door locking mechanism on my Fiesta ST after unloading the Spitfire at my parents'. For months the micro-switch had a habit of thinking it was unlocked whilst the physical lock was still locked, thereby setting the alarm off - I've recently moved house and could do with having a car which can be locked without fear of waking the neighbours, so I'm glad that's been sorted! |
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I've managed to source some parts for the Spitfire - mainly trying to find a rear windscreen for the hard top now, but I did get:
- RX8 6-speed gearbox - hopefully it fits!
- Gearbox adapter plate to mate to the engine
- 13" steering wheel - my knees just touched the 14" wheel...
- Rear side glass for the hard top
- 15mm 4x95.25 to 4x108 spacers/adapters for the rear
- 6x15 ET18 steel wheels, from a Xsara Picasso of all things!
The Escort move is going to be happening next weekend; so this weekend I'll be working on my Fiesta ST (handbrake cables and ABS sensor), popping the side glass into the Spitfire hard top, blasting and painting the steelies and any other little bits I can think of.
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Last Edit: Feb 12, 2022 20:27:26 GMT by jasellan
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Feb 10, 2022 14:40:08 GMT
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Nice! Always like a Spitfire  if that's the Sigma Zetec from the Puma then they go really nicely in a Spitfire. I'd check out the Sideways Technology forum for an old thread of a chap making a fibreglass-bodied Sigma Zetec Spitfire. Can't remember what gearbox he used, but apparently the engine fits really nicely. From what I remember the RX8 'box is a sizeable beasty. I remember at least one person trying it before, but can't remember what the outcome was (Man my Triumph knowledge is rusty, used to be able to rattle this stuff off like it was nothing!). I've managed to shoehorn a saloon overdrive 'box into mine on the back of a 6-cylinder set back 3", and if that will fit I expect most things would, but I did have to do a fair bit of chassis chopping! Worth doing a quick google around the RX8 'box. |
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Feb 10, 2022 14:59:05 GMT
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Nice! Always like a Spitfire if that's the Sigma Zetec from the Puma then they go really nicely in a Spitfire. I'd check out the Sideways Technology forum for an old thread of a chap making a fibreglass-bodied Sigma Zetec Spitfire. Can't remember what gearbox he used, but apparently the engine fits really nicely. From what I remember the RX8 'box is a sizeable beasty. I remember at least one person trying it before, but can't remember what the outcome was (Man my Triumph knowledge is rusty, used to be able to rattle this stuff off like it was nothing!). I've managed to shoehorn a saloon overdrive 'box into mine on the back of a 6-cylinder set back 3", and if that will fit I expect most things would, but I did have to do a fair bit of chassis chopping! Worth doing a quick google around the RX8 'box. It is indeed the 1.7 Sigma I'll be using, which like you say should push it down the road nicely. I'll be keeping the engine standard, apart from intake and exhaust systems; I will probably put the Racing Puma map on the ECU to increase the rev limit without going mad. It's nice to hear that the engine fits somewhat nicely! I'm keen not to have it pushed too far forward, although it is a fair bit lighter than the original engine from what I've found - so it can be pushed slightly forward without affecting the weight distribution too much. The RX8 'box is "only" 4 inches longer than the original 'box (taken an online measurement for the original) but is a fair chunk wider - provided it fits between the chassis rails, I should be on to a winner as I'm not opposed to cutting the tunnel and the engine placement is not set in stone. |
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Last Edit: Feb 10, 2022 15:01:48 GMT by jasellan
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Feb 10, 2022 15:12:00 GMT
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It was a chap called Chris Sherrington on Sideways who put a Sigma Zetec into his car. Here's his thread. Hell of an engine. Much better than the 2.0l Zetecs which aren't really related to the Sigma Zetecs at all (and generally not as well engineered). Looks like he used a Type 9 (page 17-18ish). vitesseefi might know more about the RX8 'box... |
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Last Edit: Feb 10, 2022 15:12:56 GMT by biturbo228
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Feb 10, 2022 16:05:55 GMT
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biturbo228 - the RX8 'box is very comparable in size to the Type 9, and is being used as a swap for Type 9s due to their age and relatively rarity now - so it sounds promising for my hopes of getting it to fit. I will have a good read of that thread this afternoon, thank you for your help! When it comes time to fit the gearbox, I'll try to make sure I'm as detailed as I can be to help anyone else out who may want to try it in future.
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Last Edit: Feb 10, 2022 16:11:41 GMT by jasellan
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Feb 11, 2022 10:37:46 GMT
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No probs looking forward to seeing it come together! |
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Feb 12, 2022 18:24:39 GMT
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I didn't get as much done today as I'd like as we got rained on - managed to do some work on my non-retro cars though, and started tidying up the steelies to go on the rear of the Spitfire. Here they are after blasting:  Here is one after three coats of paint - the rears of the wheels will be painted tomorrow to fend off rust, and I'll probably test-fit the side glass to the roof as well. Then next weekend it will be the Escort's moving day, so progress should get moving on that soon.  |
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The Escort is now away for welding, and my PCD adapters for the Spitfire had arrived from Latvia - the steelies I plan to use are 10mm wider than my test wheels, but here is the state of play:   Some fettling of the arch might be required! The adapters appear good quality and fit nicely, so all in all I am happy - the plan was always to widen the arches slightly, not enough to be noticeable unless you're a Spitfire guru but enough to improve the presence slightly. I can't remember if I've mentioned previously, but I'm gone for 4x108 PCD since I usually deal with Fords - that way I have plenty of spare wheels I can fit if I get bored of steel wheels. |
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Last Edit: May 1, 2022 21:15:45 GMT by jasellan
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Some progress has been made on disassembly of the Puma...  The interior wiring loom is pretty much ready to come out now, and the airbag wiring has been taken out already - the more redundant wiring I can easily identify and remove now, the better. I've also been labelling all connectors as I go to save myself future headaches! On the exterior, I've removed the headlights and front grille but nothing else yet as I am short on usable space. If anyone needs any Puma parts, feel free to get in touch! |
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Last Edit: May 1, 2022 21:16:02 GMT by jasellan
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if that's the Sigma Zetec from the Puma then they go really nicely in a Spitfire. I'd check out the Sideways Technology forum for an old thread of a chap making a fibreglass-bodied Sigma Zetec Spitfire. Can't remember what gearbox he used, but apparently the engine fits really nicely.