My life in cars - XR3i & MK2 Escort Ghia Double the Escorts, Double the pussy

[RoadworkUK]

Your usual astounding work, Trig. Looks utterly fantastic.

[Shadow]

What a story. A great read. Well done on all your hard work.

[grogee]

@trigger I can see the effort you've put into this thread, it's really great to read and you've obviously got some top notch shite repair and resto skills in your noggin.

I think it helps that you have a shite-curious wife who is happy to drive the rammel you pass in her direction. 

It's a great historical record of a heroic shiter, those BL cars look absolutely lovely after your efforts and I bet they're all still working so well done. 

Keep up the good work! 

[trigger]

Thanks guys, today's MOT test was a big fat fail...

I didn't even get it off the driveway until I found a big puddle of oil in the garage! Bugger! The sump has rotted through and is drip drip dripping all over the floor

Still better it happens now than on the A12 down to the garage, so new sump and gasket ordered of eBay for £78 and a wait for it to arrive before I can rebook it back in again

[Matty]

12 minutes ago, trigger said:

Thanks guys, today's MOT test was a big fat fail...

I didn't even get it off the driveway until I found a big puddle of oil in the garage! Bugger! The sump has rotted through and is drip drip dripping all over the floor

Still better it happens now than on the A12 down to the garage, so new sump and gasket ordered of eBay for £78 and a wait for it to arrive before I can rebook it back in again

Bad do, but like you said better to know now than too late. Onwards and upwards!

[trigger]

So Saturday was spent fitting this bastard 

What a git of a job, every time you pushed the sump into the gearbox end the gasket would push itself off again, after the 4th attempt I managed to fit it without it coming back off and so far it seems to be holding up leak free, whilst the sump was off (managed to push my screwdriver through it so it was definitely rotten) we took the strainer off and gave that a clean, it all looked good though.

So with that job sorted I ran it down to my trusty MOT station where I got this!

Yay! 4 months of work has paid off, it drives really nicely too, clutch is a little squeaky and feels like it might be dragging which I need to look into but apart from that I'm very happy!

[trigger]

More changes in Trig Towers! A friend of the Irish chap who bought my Mondeo had been pestering me about buying my Capri, i had been thinking of selling it as fvrankly i thought it was a bit shit to drive, slow, shit steering and handling and pretty dull, one of them cars which just look better than they drive, god knows why they sell for so much money.

Anyway i decided to sell the car to this Irish chap who flew over from Ballymena in Northern Ireland last Sunday morning, i collected him from Stansted airport and he drove the car 550 miles back over the sea again apparently without any problems, so that was nice.

but me being me can't have money left in his bank or a space in his garage for more than a few days so i filled this gap with this old crate...

[High Jetter]

Sing, singer song... That looks good!

[trigger]

My mate bought this 1965 Singer Gazelle Series V 1600 back in June last year in auction, the same time he also bought the Mondeo ST200 that i had, it's sat in one of this barns untouched since so i asked if he fancied selling it me, he also agreed to deliver it too for what he paid for it in auction plus a Facebook group which i ran but didn't use anymore (it had 30k members though) which i thought was a good deal considering

Popped a battery pack on it and she fired straight into life, unfortunately the brake pedal went straight to the floor but I've since found that to be a knackered rear wheel cylinder, loaded her up onto the truck and dropped it back to mine.

 

The paintwork is flat but It's pretty decent really, came from Bexleyheath it seems.

sadly they're isn't any history, I've found old show photos of it saying the previous owners were the second owners (i believe they had it over 30-40 years) and it did have all it's original documentation but it's all missing now

I've not had much time on it yet, I've already removed the tow bar, given it a good wash and hoover, found the souce of the brake leak, found a oil leak from the pinion seal and water pump...

So a little bit to be getting on with, I'm still not sure why I've bought it or what I'm going to do with it yet though!

[2flags]

Love that Singer. I do love a wooden dash, with round dials and leather seats. Looks really clean. 

[Matty]

6 hours ago, trigger said:

I'm still not sure why I've bought it or what I'm going to do with it yet though!

Doesn't matter really does it. You enjoy doing them and do them well. If you gel with it then great. If not, you're performing a public service reviving another one.

Top stuff 👏 

[trigger]

I'm not really sure what happened but I bought myself a crap old Ford today whilst at a Autojumble...

I've known the car for a number of years as it belongs to one of the olde chaps in my car club, he's giving up on old cars and has decent to move it on, I don't think it's been cleaned for years amd it's a bit scabby in places but I've agreed to buy it and collect it tomorrow 

It looked a bit nicer in 2019

I'm sure it will look nice once I've worked my magic on it.

I moved the Gazelle onto my dad who's been itching to buy it, it's a nice old thing but a little old for me

[wuvvum]

Fantastic!  The last Mk2 I had was a 1.6 Ghia, best spec to have I reckon (apart from the square headlights being shite).

[Lankytim]

I had a very late Mk2, it was an 1100L but had loads of extra GHIA bits added on at the factory. It also had square headlights. One of Most regretted sales. 

[greengartside]

Looking forward to the Escort project! Loving the original Hammonds of Halesworth dealer sticker in the back window!

[Tenmil Socket]

On 22/05/2024 at 22:21, trigger said:

So Saturday was spent fitting this bastard 

What a git of a job, every time you pushed the sump into the gearbox end the gasket would push itself off again, after the 4th attempt I managed to fit it without it coming back off and so far it seems to be holding up leak free, whilst the sump was off (managed to push my screwdriver through it so it was definitely rotten) we took the strainer off and gave that a clean, it all looked good though.

So with that job sorted I ran it down to my trusty MOT station where I got this!

Yay! 4 months of work has paid off, it drives really nicely too, clutch is a little squeaky and feels like it might be dragging which I need to look into but apart from that I'm very happy!

Yes, doing the sump gasket is a right pain in the arse on this engine. I found that removing that little plate on the bell housing where the starter motor goes helped!

[stuboy]

On 22/05/2024 at 22:21, trigger said:

So Saturday was spent fitting this bastard 

What a git of a job, every time you pushed the sump into the gearbox end the gasket would push itself off again, after the 4th attempt I managed to fit it without it coming back off and so far it seems to be holding up leak free, whilst the sump was off (managed to push my screwdriver through it so it was definitely rotten) we took the strainer off and gave that a clean, it all looked good though.

So with that job sorted I ran it down to my trusty MOT station where I got this!

Yay! 4 months of work has paid off, it drives really nicely too, clutch is a little squeaky and feels like it might be dragging which I need to look into but apart from that I'm very happy!

phwoar thar xr3i

[trigger]

On 11/08/2024 at 23:38, stuboy said:

phwoar thar xr3i

Thanks! That's still doing sterling service, I try and use that as much as I can in this weather and it's lovely, I can't get enough of that exhaust rasp! 🤣

I claimed on my insurance for a new windscreen last week and Auto Windscreens came along popped one in, it isn't heated like the original one but I can live with that.

I collected the new Escort in Sunday, it drives very well and it surprisingly quick, I'd go as far as saying it's probably as quick as my old Dolomite Sprint which I'm shocked by!

It's absolutely minging though, I don't think it's been cleaned for at least 8 years, I had all the wheels off today to clean inside the arches and there was three shovel loads of mud on my drive!

After a wash it was a little less embarrassing but still just as rusty!

The interior although brown and needing a bloody good clean is really original still and undamaged, everything works, even the old Ford MW radio!

I gave the engine bay a clean today but that's all tidy too (before wash photo)

And original dealer sticker and key fop

So loads of potential but a bit too do, I've already fired the parts canon and got new tyres and rear belts ordered and a few other bits, I love a good project!

[hairnet]

take the boy outta essex.............

such a slaaaaaaaaaag

why do you not seem to keep the older stuff for long (or is it that your dad sees it and goes ooh )

[trigger]

23 minutes ago, hairnet said:

Why do you not seem to keep the older stuff for long (or is it that your dad sees it and goes ooh )

🤣 I always think the 60s stuff looks pretty but when I drive them they just feel a bit fragile for my liking, the 70s-80s is the sweet spot for me!

The Gazelle drove lovely, but the surging carb was annoying me and I always felt too young to be driving it?

And to be honest really the biggest problem was no rear seat belts, there wasn't even a easy way to try and fit some so I was a solo rider every time I wanted to use it.

As my dad was proper doe eyed over it so it made much more sense to sell it to someone who's more into it than me!

[somewhatfoolish]

5 hours ago, trigger said:

I claimed on my insurance for a new windscreen last week and Auto Windscreens came along popped one in, it isn't heated like the original one but I can live with that.

Heated screen on a Mk3 escort? What wizardry is this?

[danthecapriman]

Love the new mk2 Escort, it’s a pity it seems to have started falling into disrepair a bit but it definitely looks a worth while project to bring back around. It looks much better after a clean!

[wuvvum]

10 hours ago, trigger said:

I collected the new Escort in Sunday, it drives very well and it surprisingly quick, I'd go as far as saying it's probably as quick as my old Dolomite Sprint which I'm shocked by!

They do go well - lighter and lower geared than a Dolomite so they are pretty nippy.  Sprint would probably leave it for dead on the A14 though...

[adw1977]

14 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Heated screen on a Mk3 escort? What wizardry is this?

Mk4 in the usual way of counting, isn't it?

Anyway, heated windscreen was standard on Ghia and XR3i at this point.

[trigger]

Yes the Cabriolet is a MK4, the heated screens came out in 1986.

I've been chipping away on the jobs on the Escort whilst turning a blind eye to the rusty bits..

Tow bar and electrics now removed and the nearside fog light, that had a good lens so I fitted that to the offside one, also blacked the exhaust to try and make it look less chavy

Also had the grill off, removed the AA badge, blacked some bits up behind it and generally just cleaned it all, I've also fitted a set of chrome wheel rings that cost £35 of eBay to try and hide the rusty temporary as I want to use it for a show on Sunday

There's still a bit of tidying to do under the bonnet but it's not too bad, it seems to have a sporty manifold fitted

The interior cleaned up a treat though, it's incredibly nice, if very brown, inside

I also have some nice inertia rear belts to fit

[Eyersey1234]

On 13/08/2024 at 00:48, trigger said:

Thanks! That's still doing sterling service, I try and use that as much as I can in this weather and it's lovely, I can't get enough of that exhaust rasp! 🤣

I claimed on my insurance for a new windscreen last week and Auto Windscreens came along popped one in, it isn't heated like the original one but I can live with that.

I collected the new Escort in Sunday, it drives very well and it surprisingly quick, I'd go as far as saying it's probably as quick as my old Dolomite Sprint which I'm shocked by!

It's absolutely minging though, I don't think it's been cleaned for at least 8 years, I had all the wheels off today to clean inside the arches and there was three shovel loads of mud on my drive!

After a wash it was a little less embarrassing but still just as rusty!

The interior although brown and needing a bloody good clean is really original still and undamaged, everything works, even the old Ford MW radio!

I gave the engine bay a clean today but that's all tidy too (before wash photo)

And original dealer sticker and key fop

So loads of potential but a bit too do, I've already fired the parts canon and got new tyres and rear belts ordered and a few other bits, I love a good project!

They are still trading as a Ford dealer in Halesworth though the Wenhaston branch is long gone.

[wuvvum]

I have mixed feelings about Ford heated windscreens.  On the one hand they are great for rapid defrosting on winter mornings, and useful for demisting if the fan ever packs up.  On the other hand...

 

[Matty]

8 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I have mixed feelings about Ford heated windscreens.  On the one hand they are great for rapid defrosting on winter mornings, and useful for demisting if the fan ever packs up.  On the other hand...

 

I've the worst of both. It's never worked in my st150 and I've never bothered my arse to mend it. And once seen, them squiggly lines can't be unseen.

[mat_the_cat]

On 28/01/2024 at 08:23, eddyramrod said:

I'd love to be that person who can make the move when he gets details of a viable old car!  When I was in Cyprus I managed it a couple of times, and it was a great feeling.

I'm a little bit less bouncing off the overdraft limit every month, but pretty much the only time I've been able to make a move like that is back in 2005 when I blew our wedding savings on a TVR with a diagnosed cracked block.

Imagine my joy (and considerable relief!) when it turned out to be a rusted core plug under one of the exhaust manifolds. Had some fun, a nice trip away in it then sold it for a reasonable profit before the wedding, to a family who came up from mid-France to drive it straight back.

Cracking thread Trig, I must have missed most of your progress threads but very satisfying to see your work and results.

 

[Peter C]

I love your XR3i, blue Fords rule.