57 replies to this topic

[QCADTA]

My escort i picked up for $250 just under a year ago.



Steam clean revealed a new colour i might stick with.



Its gonna have some 17" mags so thought i might need some bubble arches.

[QCADTA]

Still getting the hang of posting images so hopefully they get a bit better.

The escort came with the original engine in the boot,a mighty 1100! Definately wasnt gonna put that back in so thought a ca18det would be appropriate. Got the boys at work to put it in and they made a good job.

[QCADTA]

Bonnet was a bit rusty so i got this one for it. Bit different for almost a 40 year old car.



And some more pics of conversion. Diff should be here for it next week.

[QCADTA]

the strip down continues! As you can see it has a bit of surface rust from sittin outside at work waiting for the engine to go in while i moved house. Gonna buy a mig on tuesday and get stuck into the panel work, could be a learning curve!




My nice new seats, bit of an improvement on the old ones i hope.



The two sets of AP brakes i got,dunno if ill use them, have to make some spacers up to run vented disks i guess.

[QCADTA]

Not much has been happening, seem to be to busy with work but have made some progress.

Got a new front to replace the rusty old one,



Finally started on the rear arches, got a good mig welder that goes down to 25 amps, so is ideal for panel steel.





Also made some adjustments up front for the new intercooler and radiator.



And finally my 4.1 hilux diff head, perfect ratio for the ca18det.

[QCADTA]

Thought id better put an update ive what ive been upto, mainly cutting out rust in welding in new steel.









New intercooler is a perfect fit. Straight orr trade me.



Got lots more pictures but takes a while to sort them out. Slowly workin my way through the body, then paint n prime!

[QCADTA]

Been busy trying to sort out the front end. Cutting out darusty topplates, welding in new ones, fixing the heater bowl and slapping on some primer.



Stripped da engine bay, wot a pain in the arse



Rusty old onelooks better in the pic than actually is



all cut out



Rust killed and sealed





New patches i made welded in.

Done the same to both sides and they both came up good.



Rough coat of primer to seal things, not quite dry but got sick of waiting.



Thought id give putting on one of the rear guards which dont fit to bad for fibreglass. Bit of bog goes along way

[QCADTA]

Had a day in the garage and got a bit done. Got the right rear looking alright. Will tidy it up fully when i prep the body for paint.



After much consideration ive decided to ditch the old rear panel and get a new one. Looks like ill be parting with more cash to palmside



The offending old piece of crap, put up a fight to come off




And the gaping hole it left ready for the new one

[QCADTA]

Got the inside almost fully stripped and the floor patched up.



Passenger side was a bit worse





Ive also decided to ditch the austin princess idea and since im changing to 5 stud this kit should be ideal plus a shit load lighter So now i have two sets of ap callipers

[QCADTA]

Well some new stuff turned up for the esky which means more work, but new steel should be good.



the offending spare wheel well which was the first patch i did, and now not happy with



so only one thing for it, a few careful cuts with the angle grinder and no more



And in with the new. Tacked up for a trial fit, then started to weld her up





And a close up of the welding, showing some improvement

[QCADTA]

After some slight persuasion with the hammer i got my new back panel sitting in place. makes a big difference Only problem is ive run out of gas for the mig welder, so will have to wait for tomorrow to weld it in place.

[QCADTA]

Things have got a bit more serious Got sick of crawling under it so decided to put her on her side to strip off the old underseal and put on the new.





Also my new brakes turned up finally so out with the old and in with the new. Good straight swap kit.

[QCADTA]

All cleaned up and undersealed, makes a big difference.




Bit more tidying up of the sills



Sprayed a bit of primer roundthe inside.



Time for the front guards, out with the rust and in with the new, if they dont turn out right i guess ill have to buy new ones





And the first of the new collection ive started.

[QCADTA]

Been at it again, chopping out rust and bending and shaping metal. Cut out the old mounting wings and made some new ones, also the bottom of the guard.



To make things easy i thought id make the guards bolt on now with nut inserts (courtesy of work)





Thought id make sure everything still fits together, and it does.

[QCADTA]

Apologise forthe dirty lens in the last two photos

[QCADTA]

18"s might be a bit big but they do fit under the guards



Got the hole saw out to make some new holes for the intercooler in the front panel. All welded on so thats where its staying



and from a different angle, gave the guard a coat of primer too

[QCADTA]

well heres how ive done my intercooler setup and it all fits nicely.





and a shot of the inside,think i might make some polished alloy plates to go up the sides and across the top to tidy it up a bit. also decided to paint the engine bay black to match the bonnet.

[QCADTA]

Thought about gettin a new boot since my one was so rusty, but after seeing the price of a new one i thought the angle grinder + hammer would be best.

Exploritory hole



After a bit of measuring and hammer work got it tacked into place and splashed a little rust kill round.




The finished product. Came out pretty good. Also sealed and stone guard' the boot.




Some body pics of her sitting in primer




And the next mission, the doors! Which i stripped today. Will keep yas posted

[QCADTA]

And a present for xmas the mrs got me. Awesome

[QCADTA]

Well ive got one door almost done, still needs a bit of straightning out but not to bad.



At least the bugger still fits, temporarily bolted up.