Kylie the RS1600i - 11/09/14 Off to pastures new

[overrun]

I need to keep a log of work that I carry out on my RS1600i, so I thought this is a suitable place.

 

Some of you already know the car, but for those that don't - and actually care - here is a little background info.

 

I bought it in October 2012, after the previous keeper had owned it for 3 years and only covered around 200 miles.

Thankfully it was kept in dry storage during this time.

 

I already had an idea of what I wanted to replace or improve to turn it into a reliable and useable example and imagined I wouldn't want or need to spend too much time and money on it.

 

Wrong.

 

As with everything, I want it to be as good as it can be.

 

As for the name 'Kylie', this was given to the car at some time around the late 90s, as it was in the hands of a couple of notorious RSi breakers on separate occasions and had spent a few years laid up and like Ms Minogue herself, kept on coming back.

 

As bought

 

 

In August 2013, I put it back on the road. In the 10 months previous to this, here is a list of the work I carried out.

 

I have no intention of modifying this car, so all parts sourced and fitted are original. I was amazed at how hard it is to track down some of this stuff.

 

Fitted single key lockset

Drivers seat bolster repaired and all material tightened up

Retrimmed ECU cover and re-glued rear quarter cards

New Carello head lamps and amber indicators with bulb holders

New Carello 640 spot lamps

Hella fog lamps and RSi brackets

Replacement front gearbox mount

Welded split in Janspeed 4-2-1 exhaust manifold (original 4 branch replaced around '97)

Rest of Scorpion S/S system removed, cleaned up and polished (was covered in stone chip)

New bearings, front and rear

New polybushes, full kit

New master cylinder

Rebuilt front calipers, new discs, hoses etc

New rear drums, shoes, hand brake cables, hoses, spring kit etc

KONI front dampers and springs

Cleaned up and painted rear arms, dampers etc

RS1600i front grille

New light blue Ford badges x2

Fitted rear wiper and washer jet (tailgate has been replaced in past)

Re-wired windows and tailgate, front and rear lights, aux lights etc (some broken wires and some previous bodgery was evident)

Boot and tailgate interior trims

Mk4 sunroof (original, bronze tint item had usual rust visible)

New number plates

RS1600i washer bottle

Rear washer bottle

Non-colour coded mirrors

Cleaned carpet, seats and painted floor pans, sunroof aperture etc

Tidied and re-wrapped engine bay loom and re-made some sections

Uncut parcel shelf (mine had speakers from new)

New genuine aerial

Dash bulbs

Bonnet stay grommet and clip

Genuine bonnet cable

Reconditioned the drive shafts

Genuine track control arms

Track rod ends, steering gaiters etc

Blower ducting pipes (was missing a couple)

Door switches

x2 interior lights

New battery

New fuel, oil and air filter

New battery

New battery tray (shortened Capri item as it should be)

B & C pillar covers, wiper motor cover

Cassette holder

Cleaned up steering wheel

Diff oil seals

Alternator

Machine polish

 

I have missed some stuff, but that is basically the jist.

 

In the 1200 miles I have covered between August '13 and January '14 I have had a strange fuel starvation issue, which thankfully resolved itself after I dropped the tank to check it was decent internally (is like new inside and out). Thakfully this resolved itself by repositioning the fuell pump a little.

 

I have also had a couple of exhaust blows, due to the gearbox mounts being slightly split and just generally soft due to age.

It has also had some charging issues.

 

Here is how it looked last year

 

The car has been SORN since 31/01/14, so I will note what has been done since then, in the next post.

[Skizzer]

Wow.  That looks REALLY good.  Fantastic that you are keeping it unmodified 

 

47.3 times better without the black number plates, too.

[overrun]

I have a list of what I want to get done, before I put the car back in the road in a month or two.
I am doing my best to get through it, but it has recently grown quite a bit, thanks to my good fortune in finding someone local, breaking a 5dr Ghia, resulting in me acquiring more parts.

I have already built up quite a lot of spares, that I do not need. I bought two front seats to use as donors to repair mine, found a mk1 orion in Deacons breakers in Chesterfield, when visiting jikovron, ebay job lots have been purchased to enable me to get bits and bobs etc.

Thankfully, I am presently having a clear out. Plus, all of the parts from the Ghia, will be going onto my own car.

Ticked off the list so far, we have:

Refurbished steering column
New Vibra Technics fast road front and rear gearbox mounts
New Hella front fogs - very fortunate to find these
New genuine throttle cable
New genuine aux belt
New Gates Powergrip timing belt and tensioner
New genuine water pump
De-restricted and drilled airbox with new K&N panel filter
Puma gear linkage
Genuine twin-tone horns, to replace the clown car job that was on there
Re-terminate some heavyy cables
New, correct sized battery and new genuine battery cover
Boot seal
N/S door switch wiring
Re-wrap and route dash loom
Re-terminate and fuse EW loom (made my own that works on ignition switch switched live)
Genuine footwell speaker pods and grilles (to cover bare metal in that area, as much as anything else)
Sunroof handle and surround - dented mine with mole grips, when removing original sunroof
Boot light - original was filthy
Heater blower hoses - now I finally have a full house!
Heater matrix
Wiper motor cover - cracked original by leaning on it, the other week
Removed and regreased steering rack
Genuine sound deadening on floor pans, rear quarters and bulkhead - replaces my Franks Factory Flooring effort (I destroyed the bulkhead stuff when I got the car)
New genuine handbrake cables - last ones were too long
New genuine RSi exhaust manifold gasket
Reinstated brake pad sensor wires - mine had been cut
New pattern tail lights
Replaced rear quarter cards and some top caps
Steering wheel is currently away being retrimmed

I have done other things, but wasn't keeping track as well as I should have.

Here's how it currently stands. New lights make a difference, imo.












Something like that, anyway.

If I keep this thread up, it will be a good reason to take more pics.

[Sudsprint]

That looks superb and Is just screaming out to be thrashed to the pub on a Sunday lunchtime for a lemonade.

 

Agree 100% on the plates.

[Cavcraft]

+3 on the plates, the B&W ones look awful.

[Split_Pin]

Great work making it factory fresh again, looks like you've been really thorough with all the bitty types of things too.

 

Agreed on the black and silver plates being boomeranged away too!

[overrun]

Wow.  That looks REALLY good.  Fantastic that you are keeping it unmodified 

 

47.3 times better without the black number plates, too.

 

Cheers Skizzer.

 

It's funny, I hate those plates on cars that are too new for them, but mine is the first I have ever seen that almost suited them.

Black car with silver vinyl and wheels wearing black and silver plates is about as good a combo as you could hope for.

 

Still, they have nowt on proper Charles Wright plates (DMB set on way) or SERCK plates.

 

I really can't be arsed with having a modified car. Exhaust aside, these should be left alone, imo.

[overrun]

That looks superb and Is just screaming out to be thrashed to the pub on a Sunday lunchtime for a lemonade.

 

Agree 100% on the plates.

 

I do enjoy a nice sunny day blast about on the back lanes. Here's hoping that there is less intrusion from wind and road noise, now.

The damn exhaust tore two or three times, at the front pipe. That is never a fun sound, either!

 

It's not that I rushed it to get it on the road as such, but I knew there would be parts I wasn't happy with and would be revisiting, this winter. Equally, I expected new issues to come up.

 

I am counting on the car being twice as fun, overall than it was, last year.

 

To explain the drilled airbox, the cylinder head on these has an easy 15 BHP to give, by modifying the airbox and upgrading the filter, plus running an aftermarket four branch and free-flowing system. Wear aside, that would take it up to a supposed 130 BHP.

It's never gonna win any races, so if I can get a bit of extra punch, plus some nice induction sound, I am all for it.

 

I have the standard airbox to refit, if this is crap for some reason.

 

It is also absolutley impossible to find a standard, mild steel system. I don't want some pattern shite that looks and sounds rubbish, either.

 

Anyway, what kind of self respecting RS doesn't rock an outward rolled tip? Lol.

[overrun]

Thanks to all who have expressed their plate hate!

 

It had a rear badge from a mk7 Fiesta, too.

[HMC]

Lovely! I agree 99% on the plates, for the full 100 I recon get some of these...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111287906511?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

 

 

Made my 504 look right even though its used, abused and simply not there in places, something as spot on as your escort deserves some plates that are spot on too.

 

 

[londonm]

Wow, that must be one of the best left. Good work, I'd go as far as to say tasteful.

[tooSavvy]

Anyway, what kind of self respecting RS doesn't rock an outward rolled tip? Lol.

 

WHS

 

 

TS

[overrun]

Lovely! I agree 99% on the plates, for the full 100 I recon get some of these... Made my 504 look right even though its used, abused and simply not there in places, something as spot on as your escort deserves some plates that are spot on too.

Cheers brookjm

 

The plate situation is being handled. I am awaiting a reply from DMB Graphics, so I can have a dealer set, as long as the pics I have found are suitable enough to use.

 

Failing that, I plan on some perspex SERCK or pressed jobs like yours.

Pressed SERCK would be the business.

 

They really do look right at home on your 504. Seeing an old car wearing appropriate plates always makes me smile.

Take note Mike/Edd!

[overrun]

Wow, that must be one of the best left. Good work, I'd go as far as to say tasteful.

Haha it really is not, but thank you for the kind words!

 

Many go unused and have been rebuilt to concours standard, but as a useable one it is not bad.

I do plan to have the bottom half repainted, to get rid of the stone chip and also plan to spruce up the arches and u derside etc at some stage.

 

I will still use it for at least six months of the year, though.

[overrun]

WHS  TS

Nice one, Savv.

 

Old skool.

[cort16]

Bloody hell you've been busy. So what do these actually drive like? i know these are pretty much the ultimate mk3 but the only reference I have was an A reg oriona 1600i I had years ago.

[TRW]

I always preferred these to the RS Turbo that came afterwards.

 

As a child that grew up in the 80's those bonnet stripes had me mesmerized when I saw one of these out in the wild.

 

Great stuff

[trigger]

That is lovely, I'd love one myself but they are out of my price range these days, Will you be coming to shitefest in it?.

[overrun]

Bloody hell you've been busy. So what do these actually drive like? i know these are pretty much the ultimate mk3 but the only reference I have was an A reg oriona 1600i I had years ago.

 

I have never really had it above 4.5K, due to fear of the bonnet blowing open, sunroof blowing out or the major one, the timing belt snapping.

The belt was an unknown quantity, so I was just taking it easy, tbh.

 

Now the belt has been done, I shall be taking it up to 6-6.5K when the occasion calls for it. As that is where the power is with these.

I could just feel it start to come 'on cam' when I was needing to change up a gear.

 

As I say, it is not a very powerful car and I know with only 115 BHP standard, almost everything these days will show it a clean pair of heels.

Even weighing in at 940kg, iirc.

 

That is not why I bought it, though.

 

The driving position is great, for the era. A lot of that has to do with the Scheel seats and chunky steering wheel, I guess.

The gear selection was sloppy, as the linkages wear out. Since fitting the Puma one, it is much more precise and has the added bonus of working as a short shift in this - not too short, just nice.

 

Where I have been really impressed, is the handling. It really does stick like shit to a blanket, with barely any body roll.

I am not sure how much of this is an Escort/Orion trait and how much is down to the adjustable KONI's, rear tie bars and trick ARB on the RSi.

 

What I can say, is after having it all apart, it has only been set up by eye, with a mate and it tracks straight and true.

I will be taking it somewhere for 4 wheel laser alignment and to ensure the front caster is set correctly etc.

 

It has a very firm ride and along with heavy steering at slow speeds (something which I have never noticed in other cars) it is a bit of a pig to potter about in, sometimes. Then you see it reflected in a shop front and all is forgiven. Lol.

 

I know these were sold as 'de-tuned racers' and as having 'racing in their blood', due to the reason for its homologation, but saying that kind of thing in this day and age makes you sound stupid, imo.

 

What I will agree with is the car does feel like it wants to be driven hard, all of the time. Hence the big valves and solid lifters etc.

As a road car it is compromised and probably not as good as an XR3/i - try saying that on the RSOC!

[overrun]

I always preferred these to the RS Turbo that came afterwards.

 

As a child that grew up in the 80's those bonnet stripes had me mesmerized when I saw one of these out in the wild.

 

Great stuff

 

Likewise, mate.

 

Even after I knew which was the quickest etc. The stripes and the lights had me hooked.

 

CheeRS (lol)

[overrun]

That is lovely, I'd love one myself but they are out of my price range these days, Will you be coming to shitefest in it?.

 

They are climbing, trig, but not as fast as they should be, imo. By that, I mean what is so special about a S1 Turbo, to have them commanding circa £4K, minimum?

The RSi is still sensibly priced, in comparison.

 

It is very odd, take a Series One RS Turbo, an RS1600i and an XR3, these days and the rarest one, the XR3, is also the cheapest.

S1's are ten a penny, fuck knows how many tens of thousands were built, yet are mad money.

 

If you believe eBay, RSi's are on every street corner, too.

 

When and where is Shitefest? I do plan to get some miles in, this year and it would be good to meet some of you lot, so it is a distinct possibility.

 

Thanks again.

[srad34]

I LOVE these things, they are on my want list, very envious, its a beauty!   

[Jim Bell]

I'm an odd shape and quite large, and often find getting a reasonable driving position awkward.

As soon as I sat in this car, everything just felt immediately right. I was very surprised at how good it feels just to sit in, never mind drive. The wheel size, shift reach/throw and pedal position is just spot on, and the seats are great.

I'm not usually a fan of Fords, due to the associated tax and all the One Marque Wankers they seem to create (sorry Fred), but I have to stick this old banger in my top 5 real life cars.

Keep it up man. She'll be out with the sun.

[Richard]

 

When and where is Shitefest? I do plan to get some miles in, this year and it would be good to meet some of you lot, so it is a distinct possibility.

 

 

 

16th-18th May, in Wales. http://autoshite.com/topic/14675-shitefest-cymru-16th-18th-may-2014/ I'm planning to drive over 350 miles each way to get to it.

[overrun]

I LOVE these things, they are on my want list, very envious, its a beauty!   

 

Cheers marra. Like I say, it's far from perfect, but I like to think it is the right hands, now.

 

Almost has an arse to rival Kylie's, also.

[overrun]

I'm an odd shape and quite large, and often find getting a reasonable driving position awkward.

As soon as I sat in this car, everything just felt immediately right. I was very surprised at how good it feels just to sit in, never mind drive. The wheel size, shift reach/throw and pedal position is just spot on, and the seats are great.

I'm not usually a fan of Fords, due to the associated tax and all the One Marque Wankers they seem to create (sorry Fred), but I have to stick this old banger in my top 5 real life cars.

Keep it up man. She'll be out with the sun.

 

 

It will drive better, this time around.

 

Tell you what isn't spot-on, the brakes. A known issue with RHD RSi's.

Gan canny and it's nee bother, though.

[overrun]

16th-18th May, in Wales. http://autoshite.com/topic/14675-shitefest-cymru-16th-18th-may-2014/ I'm planning to drive over 350 miles each way to get to it.

 

That sounds very close to the distance I will need to cover, also.

[overrun]

Here's the latest...

 

filthyjohn and I decided on a new design for my knackered aftermarket Janspeed, as it already had a crack in the down pipe when I bought the car, which John welded up and it then cracked twice more, in different places.

 

This should not be an issue again, thanks to a pair of these gearbox mounts

along with some of the finest mild steel exhaust tube from Jetex and an eBay flexi.

 

Before

 

After

 

The new down pipe is 2x 1.75" pipes, cut and reshaped into a single 2" pipe and then welded to the 2" flexi, with a Jetex two-bolt flange welded to the other side.

 

The stainless centre section also saw some attention.

It seems to me that it has at one point been hacked up and had a new section welded on, in front of the silencer box. I imagine it was originally made to mate up with the standard down pipe and then adapted for the Janspeed at a later date.

 

It was blowing a little from the rubbish welding, here, so I decided to chop the box out.

The rest of the system is in great shape, it is a Scorpion from 1997/98 and has two silencer boxes and the Janspeed manifold is fine, so hopefully the car will still sound acceptable. It had a lovely note, before - when not blowing.

 

Before

 

After

 

Big thanks to filthyjohn and his magical MIG. I just stood and watched. Lol.

 

There's not many car noises that annoy me more than an exhaust blow from the front of the system, so it will be great to be rid of that!

 

It may require a front hanger making and I will give it a lick of paint.

 

 

Also, after much carry on, I now have a decent handbrake. Big thanks to Naylor for sorting that one.

I hate drums.

 

I finally fitted my correct, small oval rear mud flaps, so now I have a full house.

These are an important piece in the look of the car, for me.

 

 

My upper timing belt cover had a split and knackered rubber gasket, so when I scored the covers from the Ghia that was breaking, I assumed it would be a straight swap.

 

They are both nasp 1600 CVH engines, after all.

 

 

The RSi cylinder head is quite a bit taller. You can see the split gasket, here as well.

 

Gave them a clean up and cut n shut a serviceable gasket from the two.

I couldn't believe it was stapled on.

 

 

Fitted to engine. An awkward job, if you ask me.

 

I have done a few more little jobs, too. Fitted the replacement matrix - water pump pipe, brake pad sensor retaining clips, replaced the rubber boot on the live terminal to the fuel pump - should have done this sooner. Lolz.

 

The car was very well stripped, when it was resprayed and then attacked with cutting compound.

Unfortunately, it was then barely used and as a result, has a lot of G3 in various crevices.

 

One of the most annoying was around the rear quarter windows. I have had the windows out before, to fit the B pillar trims, but either overlooked or couldn't be arsed to sort this out at the time.

 

Compound

 

Rusty bolts

 

Compound cleaned off and rubbers etc given a good scrub. As a bonus, I was able to eradicate the annoying vinyl headlining creases, in this area, owing to incorrect fitting of the seals etc at some stage.

 

Much better

 

New bolts

 

 

I could only refit one window, as on the NSR, the hinge bolt was being a right bastard and wouldn't come out. Eventually, after some soaky soaky PlusGas action, it saw sense.

Then I had bother with the threaded inserts in the B pillar, for the quarter window hinges.

 

 

I will borrow my mates riv-nut tool to sort it.

 

The two stubborn exhaust studs are currently soaking in PlusGas and have had a couple of cheeky taps with the hammer, to hopefully encourage things along.

 

I might whip the drive shafts out tomorrow, as after a gargantuan* 1100 or so miles, at least two of them are holed.

[gordonbennet]

Crackin motor that, take me hat off to you the care and attention you're putting in.

 

They go bloody well, my old boss had one, in red as usual, i had to go about 40 miles each way in it one day, it drove OK ish at first but felt sluggish but then he piddled about in it all the time.

 

On the way there i gave it a bloody good Italian tune up, on the way back it was a different car altogether, eager to go and free revving,  the performance on tap wouldn't disgrace itself even now.

[overrun]

Cheers gordo.

 

They certainly do respond to a good kicking.

They are only about 115bhp per tonne, as standard, but it's enough to have some fun.

 

A Kia Picanto would probably win in a drag race, but personally, I don't play those games.