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BDA780's 1973 Ford Escort 1300XL


BDA780

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Hey.

So I bought this fine Ford automobile back in March 2010.

I listed a wanted ad in Classic Car, asking for a Ford Escort Mk1 Estate but had the owner of this reply.

Got it sight unseen from a guy in Manawatu, who sold in on behalf of his father-in-law who drove it untill he was 92 years old.

Although quite rough around the edges it turned out to be a solid car.

It was completely stock bar a towbar and various home made accessories. Even had original cross-ply in the boot :D

Seller's pictures:

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1300cc of pure grunt

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Discuss: //oldschool.co.nz/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=30924

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So after recieving the escort the plan was set to change and fix some parts.

The left rear reversing light and taillight lense were damaged and so these were replaced.

The towbar was also removed aiding performance :)

Showing signs of rust in front panel :(

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New rear end

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Now fully nana spec. Note opening rear window (now stock window due to leakages)

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Decided to drop some mates home from uni last year and was in a rush to get home.

Car decided to stop just beside BurgerFuel at Ellerslie on the Northern Motorway :x Thankfully I hve happier memories at thet BurgerFuel now hahaha.

This was cause for a new battery and cleanup of the standard (tiny) carb.

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So on to 2011.

Got given some more "period" pieces for the Escort; AA badge, Portable Record player, Box Brownie camera, Suitcases, ABC crates and a lone Raleigh 20.

Plan was to get some Lotus steels and a roof rack to change up the look of the car.

I got donated some 13 by 6 inch lotus steels from a friend. Unfortunately the hubcaps I have only fit on the wheels NOT stamped 'Ford Australia' ... go figure.

Only found this out after they were painted aswell :x

Some 205/50 tires were mounted on them and made them good to go. After a bit of guard lip panel beating of course (Thanks dad :D )

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The front seats were also retrimmed as the canvas had worn through and a spring was missing :rolleyes:

The finish and quality was nice, hopefully they last another 30 odd years.

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Sticker tires fitted

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The initial plan was to build a roof rack from scratch but due to my lak of welding skills and the complex curve of the roof, a roof rack was sourced from a friend in chch.

He kindly donated the roof rack to the project. :D

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  • 4 weeks later...

Update:

So the speedo decided to give up going to work on Friday :x

Drove by 'ear' the whole way there and back :)

Also I got way to excited bidding against someone and acquired an old Phillips Tape Deck.

Its apparently Mono. Is it possible to convert it to stereo?

Pics will be up later when I get it.

185/70 tires are being sorted by my dad's mate, so then lowering time :D

Tape Player:

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  • 11 months later...

Well I've taken long enough to update this, no thanks to Uni and laziness.

Tape player was a no go. Rubber driver belt was completely perished ahwell.

The Escort has been racking up the miles in the last 12 months and has got a bit lower as well.

So some of the events attended in 2012 in chronological order:

Carl's Jr Meet-February (photos courtesy of chess-)

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Galaxy of Cars-February (photo courtesy of Avenga)

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4 and Rotary Ardmore-March (photo 1 courtesy of chess-, photo 2 courtesy of Performance Car Mag)

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After the 4 and Rotary meet, chees- provided the inspiration for lowering.

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Thus before Oldschool Nationals, Dad restored MK2 escort front struts with 2inch lowering springs and new shocks.

The rear got two 20 litre bottles of water and three sandbags to aid in lowering it as the new rear shocks raised the rear of the car.

Finally the MK2 struts allowed for the Escort to finally run disks on the front, so the brake booster was added as well.

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Oldschool Naionals-Rotorua (photos courtesy of rotorhoe)

Nats was a success with the Escort netting a close second in the "How is that so slammed?" prize.

Credit is due to the organising committee for putting on such a choice event.

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Fast forwarding a couple months.

The next main meet for the Escort was a cruise to Leadfoot Ranch in early November (the day after my final uni exam ever yuss!!)

rotorhoe, 427carguy and myself cruised down to Hahei with the rest of the Oldschool crew.

427carguy drove the Escort up the drive without adding to the scratches on the side hahaha

Leadfoot Cruise-November (photos courtesy of rotorhoe, Toygte and Snoozin)

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Hatfields Beach Meet-December (photo courtesy of Toygte)

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Burgerfuel Monthly meet-December (photos courtesy of rotorhoe)

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  • 2 years later...
  • 1 year later...

Ah right, here is the build thread.

What I failed to mention in the last update was in addition to lowering the rear of the car, I also applied 1x hacksaw to the resonator as a baffle had moved creating a painfully annoying rattle.

This resulted in another interesting feature which will be discussed shortly.

After completing these minor tasks the car was ready for OS Nationals or so I thought. Only a couple of km’s from home on the motorway in peak hour traffic it decided to die. It didn’t take long to determine it was a dead battery, thanks to help from fellow OS member DougD who was on his morning commute. Once towed back home, an all morning jaunt to find a replacement battery in order to make track day resulting in a couple sessions at Hampton Downs.

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This is where it went wrong…

I was told to take it easy at the track, which is easier said than done. On the drive to Coroglen the oil light flashed on twice suggesting imminent damage to the engine. Furthermore, black smoke was observed by those following me. This led to the engine being frequently topped up with oil over the weekend and resulting in fumes entering the cabin when taking gomaxgo and Horse25 to Auckland airport.

This was further worsened by the shortened exhaust system asphyxiating all inside and temporary exhaust bracket being dislodged creating an annoying rattle of the exhaust hitting the diff when unloaded.

Despite these pitfalls the car was great fun at dirt speedway head to head racing and was head car in the Nationals group photo.

 

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Images courtesy of Snoozin

 

However right after the event it was decided to park the car until another engine could be put in.

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So 10 months later I decided to purchase a bone stock engine so I could enjoy the car in summer and ultimately cruise to Leadfoot.

I bought a 1300 crossflow out of a MK2 Escort from a dude on Escort Cortina parts and sales on Facebook. It was decided to give it a simple fresh up, coat of paint and obligatory flywheel lightening before putting into the car and thanks to shaneo I was able to source some rectangular rubber engine mounts.

My old man, rot808 and rotorhoe did the lion’s share of the work and thanks to all their efforts and some help from Manon Butler Motors it was able to make it to Leadfoot trouble free.

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All was swell until this…

 

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It was cruising like a dream at 100 clicks until the engine cut out.

I left the car in the workshop for a couple weeks (read: over a month) until the old boy decided to have a gander at the distributor where it was found that the spring for the points had broken. With a distributor raided from many spares the Escort lives again ready for the All Ford Day tomorrow. 

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