HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[egg]

I used to have MK2 owner's manuals and workshop books - but once these cars left my price bracket, got rid.

Not going to make the same mistake with Mondeo bits.

[captain_70s]

155/80R13 was pretty ubiquitous on small 70s/80s cars. I wouldn't be surprised if base spec cars got 145/80 just to rub it in that you were a miser. 

[danthecapriman]

If they did get smaller than a 155 I’d expect they’d have been fitted to the standard steel wheel. The type with the slot shaped holes and bright dog dish centres.

I remember when I got my Capri and it had the 5J dartboard wheels still, if you were, erm… doing some spirited driving, shall we say, you could feel the tyres starting to roll on corners. It doesn’t do that with the 5.5J dartboard’s or the 6J (I think?) Laser 4 spoke alloys I had on it. I guess it’s just the weight and size of the car coupled with getting a shift on, on a set of tyres & wheels only just up to the job! 
Maybe on an Escort you wouldn’t have that same issue with a 5J?

[HMC]

I discovered the spotlights were not actually wired in. I also discovered an aa badge in a drawer. So I removed one and added the other…

[N Dentressangle]

That's better.

As seen in every good FineFare car park ca 1982.

[grogee]

10 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

That's better.

As seen in every good FineFare car park ca 1982.

Tavistock had a Key Markets where the Woolworths boring clothes shop is now.

I remember being dragged round it by my Mum.

[HMC]

Got hold of these for £130 with recent, decent tyres. As per @danthecapriman ‘s suggestion they are 5.5j / which allow a slightly meatier tyre (165 section tyres on those purchased) Its currently on 205 section rubber so a bit over tyred for a 1300 crossflow IMO!

Im aiming to sell on the capri laser type ford alloys so hopefully it will end up cost neutral. If you know anyone that wants a set, with decent recent rubber x4 let me know!

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, HMC said:

Got hold of these for £130 with recent, decent tyres. As per @danthecapriman ‘s suggestion they are 5.5j / which allow a slightly meatier tyre (165 section tyres on those purchased) Its currently on 205 section rubber so a bit over tyred for a 1300 crossflow IMO!

Im aiming to sell on the capri laser type ford alloys so hopefully it will end up cost neutral. If you know anyone that wants a set, with decent recent rubber x4 let me know!

They look spot on! I think you’re definitely doing better having the 5.5J over the 5J rim. That little bit extra width does help. Plus the deeper dish on these looks cooler! 
You just need some centre caps next. An Escort of this age would probably be using the plastic type but the earlier ones were stainless.

 

[Jenson Velcro]

How about the chrome trim rings as well? Or was that an aftermarket thing?

[HMC]

10 minutes ago, Jenson Velcro said:

How about the chrome trim rings as well? Or was that an aftermarket thing?

I agree, that would look good- im not sure on that count. With it being a GL that would compliment the little dashes of chrome its got.

Actually ive got to say i was looking at black quarter bumpers, square front number plate etc with the whole motorsport thing. Got a bit carried away and had to remind myself that this was a boggo shopping car, not something that was prepared By David Sutton for the acropolis rally. Theres already plenty about that look like that!

[egg]

I applaud this decision! 

[egg]

1 minute ago, HMC said:

I agree, that would look good- im not sure on that count. With it being a GL that would compliment the little dashes of chrome its got.

TFN didn't ever have them but STF did. I took them off STF...even though the wheels were crusty underneath. I prefer without myself.

[Joey spud]

Back in the mid Eighties you were the absolute "Cock of the Walk" if you had 185/70 tyres on your Seventies Escort,Capri or Manta B.

[danthecapriman]

I’ve never been particularly fond of the shiny beauty rings on these wheels either tbh. Somehow they look a bit too ‘fussy’ to me. 
I think they were an optional extra though so if you like a bit of shiny it certainly won’t look wrong. 
 

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

 "Cock of the Walk"

🤣 never heard that one before!

[N Dentressangle]

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

Back in the mid Eighties you were the absolute "Cock of the Walk" if you had 185/70 tyres on your Seventies Escort,Capri or Manta B.

Blokes really used to talk about 'one eight fives' as a thing, didn't they? I'd forgotten about that 🤣

[Joey spud]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

Blokes really used to talk about 'one eight fives' as a thing, didn't they? I'd forgotten about that 🤣

Yep we sure did.

[AnthonyG]

This is looking better and better the more you take the ‘motorsport’ tat off it. 

If it was mine the red Ford badge would go next, or be repainted blue - I assume you sand the colour off the back and repaint as desired? 

Mind you I remember when proper new ones were like £1.30 from the local dealers’ parts department, it’s probably a bit different now! 

Not sure what’s going on with the little nuts (?) holding the grille on, these should be black self tapping screws from memory. I also don’t remember quite so many of them…

[Dick Cheeseburger]

@HMC Those 5.5j steels are spot on - subtle, but better than the factory offering for it.  It's looking so much better already!

2 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

Blokes really used to talk about 'one eight fives' as a thing, didn't they? I'd forgotten about that 🤣

I remember in the early 90s when a mate spent a small fortune customising his mk2 Astra van (the one based on the Astra estate and which went 130mph everywhere). He fitted a set of 15" TSW Stealth 5 spokes and they were bigger than any of the wheels on our own motors - they seemed huge at the time! I've got a feeling his were 195s...

[Christine]

And a  28 36 weber  wiv a K 'n N  innit..

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

 never heard that one before!

It was new, 200 years ago! 😀

[bunglebus]

Missed the tag but yes, 155/80R13 as standard with 175/70R13 as an option, possibly standard on a Ghia.

175 will just fit in the spare wheel well, 185 will not.

I like the chrome trim rings as fitted on the Ghia, the early ones were proper chromed steel, along with the centre caps - later ones were plastic. There were also shiny wheels nut covers on the Ghia, usually chewed up where people forced a wheel brace over them rather than taking them off first.

Got a lovely Ford Cars brochure somewhere detailing all this stuff, nice if you can find an era correct one, plenty of the pictures were taken around Ford's headquarters in Warley, I used to live opposite.

[rustdevil]

On 28/04/2024 at 20:47, egg said:

Thing I always remember about MK2 escorts is the loud clock tick. I remember being left in the car as a kid as my parents did something ridiculously boring in a garden centre and I preferred to sit in the car and listed to that tick...wondering why it took so long to buy a growbag. 

Same thing happened to me same car same reason for staying in car everything

 

On 29/04/2024 at 15:41, HMC said:

@egg  @danthecapriman do you know what the original tyre size would be for the dartboard wheels? im tempted to go oem on this as theres a lot of wannabe works escorts and not so many standard cars about. 

155/13 on these that’s what mine was grandad had it from about 6 years old then me dad had it   I got it when I was 17 it lasted 3 months i put in ditch and rolled it over twice back to a pushbike

[adw1977]

Standard wheels on a GL would have been 155/13 without the "bright rim embellishers" as Ford called them.  The rim embellishers were standard on Ghia. 

[High Jetter]

14 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Standard wheels on a GL would have been 155/13 without the "bright rim embellishers" as Ford called them.  The rim embellishers were standard on Ghia. 

AKA rimbellishers, IIRC.

[Tenmil Socket]

Lovely... I want a MK2 Escort now! 

[camryv6]

On 30/04/2024 at 21:34, Joey spud said:

Yep we sure did.

I had 185/70/13 on an Avenger i have you know !!

[HMC]

Fake euro look plates gone-

[Tenmil Socket]

7 minutes ago, HMC said:

Fake euro look plates gone-

What font/type of plate would this have had new? 

I actually prefer the patina'd look of this car than a minter.

    ➡️    🗑️

[HMC]

Agreed on the mud flaps.

On IMCDB (a great database of photos for period street rammel) they have sercks, they have raised rivited reflective and these sort of acrylic ones with a few different fonts.

I got these in fancy plates using the “pre 2001 font c”  mainly as they are a cheap, quick option with no need for docs and proof of identity.

I also chose a 6 inch rear plate because the stamped recess spoke to me.

[Tenmil Socket]

20 minutes ago, HMC said:

Agreed on the mud flaps.

On IMCDB (a great database of photos for period street rammel) they have sercks, they have raised rivited reflective and these sort of acrylic ones with a few different fonts.

I got these in fancy plates using the “pre 2001 font c”  mainly as they are a cheap, quick option with no need for docs and proof of identity.

I also chose a 6 inch rear plate because the stamped recess spoke to me.

Are you planning on keeping long term?