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1989 Ford Escort Mk4 1.4L - NOW SOLD AND COLLECTED!


garycox

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  • 1 month later...

This is still here...

 

Since the last update I have managed to jam the bonnet closed somehow, and as the battery's connected and headlights are perma-on it ain't going anywhere under its own power.

 

It's probably fairly easy to get the bonnet open and sort out its various issues but I can't be arsed frankly.

 

So - if anyone wants it, make me an offer. It really is too good to scrap but it needs to go ASAP.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, yesterday I bought this.

 

An entertaining hour was spent trying to work out how to open the bonnet as the cable had become detached from the catch - thankfully, Gary obtained a trolley jack and axle stands and I was eventually able to reach up between the exhaust manifold and radiator and operate the catch by hand.  New battery and indicator stalk fitted to cure the permanantly-on lights issue that flattened the previous battery, a quick spin round the car park and then off to Gary's barn where the indicators were revived by changing the hazard light fuse and a rotten Matador tyre was swapped for a reasonably unperished Runway.  Classy!  

 

I then took it on a 5 hour drive home from Lewes to Barnstaple, stopping only for some petrol and tyre air just outside Lewes and then to buy a replacement hazard light fuse somewhere near Salisbury (I'd pinched the one for the wipers originally but needed them back to clear salt off the screen).  Replacing that fuse also brought the (amusingly pathetic) horn back to life.

 

It made it back with absolutely no issues whatsoever, not bad for a 25 year old car that'd been sat for months, and I couldn't be more pleased with it.  It was comfortable, went well, sat at 75mph on the motorway quite happily and the only thing I think standing between it and an MOT now the lights, horn and indicators work is an indicator repeater bulb.  We'll find out, it's currently at my friendly local mechanic's garage awaiting a test later today.

 

The car handles like a wet blancmange but I think an assortment of very old and perished, albeit barely worn, budget tyres is mostly to blame and I'll get those changed if it sails through the MOT - the new springs and shocks banging around in the boot will go on it as well if I think it needs them.  Then it needs a thorough polishing and waxing and a service to finish it off.  

 

I didn't really take any workthwhile photos but have this terrible stopping-for-a-fuse shot at a petrol station.

 

post-5492-0-91614800-1422267529_thumb.jpg

 

Gary is a very nice bloke and couldn't have been more helpful, he picked me up from the station, went on a 20 minute round-trip to get the jack and stands while I shouted and swore at the bonnet catch, then escorted (ha) me first to his barn and then to the petrol station.  Thanks Gary!

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Kind words Mr B, and a good memory, that was some time ago now!  I got that to learn some mechanikking on and it was a good way to learn, rebuilt the brakes, full service and cambelt and the car was as simple as they get, although you give me too much credit, I just buy cars that don't need welding now!  I have never touched a welding torch and haven't got anywhere to do it safely but it's something I'll get to soon, even if it's a night school course or something.  Fortunately the Escort doesn't seem to need any, it's slathered in waxoyl underneath and there's only a few little patches here and there on the wheelarches.  The one bubbly patch on the N/S rear arch is the only obvious bit and I might have a crack at cleaning it up, although my last attempts at that on the 220 were quite awful.

 

Cheers for the offer brookjm, wouldn't mind having a look at that, maybe at the South West meet if it goes off on the 8th.

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It failed :(

 

But not too badly. Sticky brakes (hardly surprising) which should be a quick cleanup job, and...welding. Weirdly not rusty holes though, my tame mechanic reckons its very solid all round as I'd hoped, there's a crack in the front subframe and a broken anti roll bar mount, that would match with the blowing exhaust manifold as I thought it seemed like it'd been over something. Maybe damage from when it was stolen last year? Who knows.

 

He'll have a closer look tomorrow for me as that was just the tester's assessment, he'll have to do the work for me as I'm away in Edinburgh until the weekend now and haven't seen it but I know he'll do a good job for minimal outlay. If his initial guess at the cost is accurate then it isn't too painful to absorb.

 

Not bad really considering its age, if it hadn't been smacked into something it'd have gone through with a quick brake tweak so I can't complain!

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  • 5 weeks later...

It's back.

 

I've just picked the Escort up today, it's now taxed, insured, MOT'd and back on the road where it belongs.  Plenty of little jobs to do on it but I have the parts, just need the time now.  As the Volvo's currently in bits it's going straight into active service so the timing's ideal.

 

I treated it to a decent quality pair of new Firestone tyres today as well, the old front ones, a mix of elderly Enduro Runway and Matador items still with loads of tread, weren't entirely round and were badly perished, it's transformed the car and it handles so much better, steering is lighter and doesn't shake and it feels so much better, just need to pay out for the equally horrible rears when money allows now.  

 

It came with new front shocks and springs in the boot which Gary had inherited from the previous owner but there didn't seem to be a good reason why until today.  There was an advisory for corrosion on one spring (no big shock on a 28 year old car and probably nothing of concern) and when I parked it up in an empty car park and looked back at it, it was very obvious that it sits lower at the front.  Now that I've seen it once so clearly, it's more noticeable.  No idea why it'd be sagging like a knackered Sprinter van when it hasn't even done 60,000 miles but since I have the parts, no reason not to crack on and sort it out.

 

Jobs on the list:

 

Full service including timing belt change

Thorough mop & polish (luckily I have a friend with all the kit who's already offered to do it)

Change front shocks and springs

Fix blow on exhaust manifold

Attack scabby bits and sill repairs with an aerosol can

Change leaking rear light seals

Change all the locks - there's no key for the boot lock and the rest are worn with only one key.  I picked up a full set with two keys dirt cheap on eBay last week.

Change rear tyres

Enjoy it

Sell it.

 

Should keep me busy.

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Some overdue pictures...

 

post-5492-0-31226000-1425318705_thumb.jpg

 

post-5492-0-35023800-1425318663_thumb.jpg

 

post-5492-0-21211600-1425318624_thumb.jpg

 

The Escort's been a pleasurable runaround all weekend while the Volvo continues to dry out after the heater valve replacement nightmare (thankfully now done).  The Escort also sports a pond, thankfully not antifreezey and confined to the boot.  Gary reckoned this was rear light seals and he was right, both were soggy and knackered.  2 new ones fitted and water mopped up, carpet out to dry, job done...once I replace a couple of missing 8mm bolts on the light units.  A quick jetwash and some rain has so far shown it to be watertight.

 

The paintwork is pretty bad but will hopefully respond partly to a good polish, the back end seems to have been resprayed badly at some point and it's coming off in places, showing a white undercoat completely absent from the rest of the car.  Those rear tyres make a dreadful racket too, they seem to have gone as hard as nails so they're high on the wish list after seeing how much a decent pair of Firestones on the front transformed the steering.

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These escorts ( mk IV?) seem to have completely vanished from West Devon, can't think when I last saw one pottering about.

 

Judging by the number plates surprisingly for autoshite its not the Volvo of the pair with the Scotland connection!

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It certainly is a Mk4, no I don't see many about, the chap at the tyre centre reckoned there was a mk4 Orion knocking about locally but I haven't seen it.  In fact, the last one I remember seeing was my late grandmother's G-plate 1.1 Bonus which I used to charge up and roll in and out of the garage for her every few months after she gave up driving.  That got sold about 7 years ago and didn't last long afterwards.  Given that this is a 1.4 and hardly quick, the 1.1 must have been close to rolling backwards going up hills.

 

Yes, I think the Volvo is from London if I recall correctly and lacks its original numberplates.  The Escort is, I think, from Peoples Ford in Glasgow (no such place any more according to Google) and has a very large and rather ugly Peoples badge on the bootlid - although the rest of the car's no oil painting so it can stay, it's part of its character.  Gary had the original front plate remade after it was broken during the theft and the original rear one is still there.  I don't have any paperwork earlier than 2007 for it and no owners pack so no idea what its early life was spent doing but I think from 1989 until 2007 it was a 1-or 2-owner car - there's only 4 on the logbook now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmm, moved this one today for the first time in a few days and got a big plume of blue smoke on startup.  It blew a lot of blue smoke for the first 5 minutes when it was revived from a 2 month slumber back when I bought it and when I changed the plugs last weekend, the old ones were very oily.  Despite just under 60k on the clock, I suspect valve stem oil seals - does anyone know if the 1.4 CVH could cope with unleaded?  

 

I'm thinking that perhaps it never had a conversion done (it certainly lacks the period sticker telling the world it loves unleaded, complete proof of course) and it's now suffering for it.  It does seem rather gutless although with a lack of back pressure from the blowing manifold that's never going to help.

 

On that subject, I don't want to throw lots of money at this car, it's a bit shabby, the paintwork is horrible and it's never going to be worth the same as an XR3i, what's the going rate for an engineer to fit a new set of valve stem seals?  I can strip the head off the car and a new set of gaskets would do it good anyway.

 

There's a recon one on eBay for £225, more than I'd want to pay, or a NOS one (presumably without a conversion) for £100 ono.  Given the low mileage on mine, I'm thinking that getting mine fixed would be best but not if it's going to cost hundreds of pounds.  I've tended to assume it's not a DIY job but then again it is a bog basic Ford so in theory if anything's doable it'll be on this one.  What do we think?

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You can fit the stem seals yourself, don't need an engineer for that. New valve guides would be a different matter, but I doubt very much you'd need those at 60,000. I reckon the valve stem seals will have just got old and hard and are not doing their job very well. Any £20 head gasket set should include new stem seals and you'll need a valve spring compressor to change em.

 

As for the unleaded I would say the alloy-head CVH will have no problem with it, defo don't waste $$$ getting new valve seats fitted. Any mid-late 80's design of alloy head will take unleaded ok. Just lap in the valves a bit when you do the stem seals if you think you might be losing a bit of compression.

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Sounds like a plan, thanks Mr B.  To be honest I don't really know the difference between valve stem guides and seals it would seem, I've confused the two in my head.

 

I might pull the head off anyway as if I have the gasket set I may as well do the lot in one go, I have the timing belt to do as well so can do it all in one go.  It'll have to wait for now though, likely to be a few weeks before I get to that.  

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