The Escort. Slowest restoration in the world.

[Pete-M]

That's my way of looking at it.

 

All the running gear has been stripped, checked over and rebuilt. Almost everything under it has been cleaned and painted. I've got loads of photos of obscure stuff that has, for some mental reason, been polished or painted on it.

 

Example. Alternator innards.

 

 

A truly ludicrous level of insanity has been lavished on all this stuff and it's only gonna do a few thousand miles before I plan on taking it all out and putting it in storage somewhere. The replacement bits will be treated with equal amounts of silliness before they're fitted to it.

 

My idea is to build it to be amusingly quick, ace fun to chuck about, but not annoying to use as an actual car. No daft loud exhaust, over hard suspension and flame spitting carbs. I'd run it on Megajolt or something similar with a sensible map. Better brakes are on the list.

 

It wouldn't be "another rally replica", it'd be a road car, and trimmed accordingly with soundproofing, carpets and an RS Custom interior. No daft harnesses and star trek centre console. No cage. No big 'rally' mudflaps. I'd fit Mexico spoilers as I like them and the boot spoiler actually works on 'em so it's a sensible mod.

 

It'd be fun for track days.

[Station]

Definitely 'mod' it, there's plenty of authentic genuine Escorts about, if you want to drive it you won't enjoy the 71bhp, you'll end up hating it and the whole build will be a waste of time in a sense.

[scaryoldcortina]

Also, not that you need reasons, but I find that you get better MPG from a zetec in a light car than you do from a carbed crossflow...

 

Also, you can fit a zetec where a crossflow lived with NO shell mods at all, it's literally an afternoons work to put the old engine back.

 

Also,

 

Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that, unlike a crossflow, zetecs are pretty much fit and forget 90's tech - change the oil once a year and the plugs every three and that's pretty much it.

[Station]

Just saw the recent pics on ph 3 and it's looking really good! Agree you should bring it back to the UK and get it done quicker.

[Pete-M]

I have spent the last three days of my holiday trying to get a straight answer from the mechanic about the car. Sitting in his garage on my fuckin' holiday for hours on end trying to get info.

 

Eventually he tells me he's put 300 hours into it so far, and that his labour rate is close to double what it was three years ago.

 

So I'm gonna be bringing home a half welded shell with a load of expensively renovated bits I have no intention of using. I ended up finishing the Mk2 rim painting myself while I was bored waiting for info. . Took me an hour to paint and laquer all five rims. He'd only done one, but sent me pics as if he'd done the set.

 

I could have done this Escort in three months. It's taken him three years to do half of it, and he's spent about thirty hours making and welding plates that cost £15 to buy. Thirty hours he expects money for!

 

Anyone wants restored 1300 Sport Escort running gear? No. I didn't think so.

 

Unimpressed.

 

Fuxake. More comedy gossip at Chodmongely.

[HillmanImp]

That is shit. Just goes to show that its not just UK mechanics who take the piss.

 

Did he shake his head clench he teeth and make a noise like this through his teeth?

 

[In The Pit]

there's plenty of authentic genuine Escorts about

 

Where? there are few standard ones left compared to modified ones. As has been said a Sport particularly a 1300 one is rare, I remember reading a letter in a Fast Ford magazine from 1994 where someone asked if a 1300 Sport was rare as they had one and hadn't seen another.

 

The MKII 1300 X Flow is pretty nippy for a 1300 car and are a nice drive.

 

It is of course up to Pete what he does at least he is keeping the parts so they can be re-fitted if need be. I would chose the 1600 x flow over the Zetec myself.

 

It may be an idea to sell the Sport here in the UK (for which you should get a good price) then with the money buy a modified one thats MOT'd and ready to go, could save alot of time and money and you wouldn't have to store parts.

[Pete-M]

As it is, I'm gonna leave the fucking thing where it is.

 

He's done approximately 60 hours worth of work to it, but if he's gonna try and rape me for the 300 he reckons he's done he can get fucked. Plain and simple.

 

I've got the documentation for the car, and it'd be cheaper to just write it off as a bad idea than to pay him anywhere near that.

 

The only bit I wanted fixing was the shell. The running gear didn't need half the work he's done to it as it was always going to be binned.

 

An 'authentic, genuine' 1300 Sport isn't worth this much grief. A 2.0 Zetec would be.

[scaryoldcortina]

Bloody hell. What a PITA!

 

Tell you what, if you manage to get the shell back, drop it off with me and I'll finish the welding and zetec it up for you.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

What's 300 hours in Czechpolskirubles? It would sting far more to leave it behind and let that fucker sell it.

 

No, a 1300 Sport is sort of cute as a Mark 1, but as a Mark 11, forget it. I'd do it looking stock but with Mexico spoilers, a Mexico decal where the 1300 Sport one goes and do a nice 120 bhp Pinto, 38 DGAS, plastic air box, 5 speed Sierra gearbox, retain the 4.1 diff, and have some decent suspension.

Value? It's a Mark 11 Escort 2 door and it will always be worth a lot - dare I say it, but it would be worth more as a modified 2 litre because it would appeal to a far wider audience.

[chaseracer]

The only bit I wanted fixing was the shell. The running gear didn't need half the work he's done to it as it was always going to be binned...

Was this clearly understood between the two of you, and confirmed in writing?

 

No? Ooops...

[Pete-M]

The only bit I wanted fixing was the shell. The running gear didn't need half the work he's done to it as it was always going to be binned...

Was this clearly understood between the two of you, and confirmed in writing?

 

No? Ooops...

 

It was explained to him repeatedly, but not confirmed in writing as it'd have to be in two languages and ffs, I gave the geezer six months work when he lived in England. That is one of the reasons I'm so pissed off with him. I did everything I could to help the guy out, even taking the Escort to him was to help him out when he had no money and no job.

 

Unfortunately, he obviously used the parts money I gave him as rent for the garage he has now.

 

I'm only slightly pissed off about the car being fucked up, I'm more pissed off that someone I classed as a decent bloke and a mate sees me as someone to rip off.

[gtd2000]

I think the lesson here is that anything like this should no be commenced without knowing the (ball park) final cost to do all of the work and the time period to complete it.

 

When you do agree on a price (and level of quality) then you can offer to make staged payments based on completed work at the agreed rate.

 

I'd never hand a car over and just leave it to the company to do the work and then present me with an unknown bill to be honest....

 

It's a shit situation to be in but even when friendships are involved it's a lot better to get the financial stuff sorted out up front to avoid any pitfalls.

 

I'd say this is a two way street - but he should have been giving you updates on the (lack of) progress and increased costs.

 

I'd tell him to swing on the increased costs for starters, unless he advised you up front.

[Pete-M]

I'd tell him to swing on the increased costs for starters, unless he advised you up front.

 

He didn't. The whole reason I went over there last week was because he's been increasingly difficult to contact over time. I sent another Czech buddy to his garage a few weeks earlier who told me "He wants the Escort out of there before June as it'll be finished and he needs the space". As mechanicman wouldn't answer the phone, texts or e-mails I thought I'd better take a trip over and find out wtf was going on. Some of my friends were gigging there so it tied two things together well.

 

I got there and the car is in the same state it was in January - yet he reckons he's put tons of hours in.

 

It's simple. Someone or something has turned his head and convinced him that he can ask dreamland prices. I live 1000 miles away so he doesn't have to answer to me, and he thinks that because I can afford to take a trip to CZ a couple of times a year I can afford to pay him double the labour rate and he can dream up insane numbers of hours worked. If he'd put 300 hours into it there should be less than nothing left to do. I'd espect a concours car for that. This is anything but.

[trigger]

What a C*nt, You could have saved a fortune in the long run and had it fixed over here and saved yourself all that stress too.

 

How easy would it be to get back to the UK though?, Will you turn up in the Geep and get a dozen locals sudden appear holding pitchforks at you demanding blood before you take it?.

[Danblez]

Sorry to hear the trouble you are having Pete but smaller amounts of cash have got in the way of better friendships over time. I might be a bitter on life's experiences but keep it simple and make sure friendships and cash never cross paths.

 

I really hope it all ends well.

[Pete-M]

It's one of those things really. Because he's cocked up the inner wings - he's restored '80s top mount repairs to 'as new', no less, and even if I pay him what he's asking he's not going to paint it to a good standard - it simply isn't going to be worth what he's asking plus the cost of getting it here. Nicely shiny restored Escort 1.3 bits are at the end of the day still pretty worthless and to put the top mounts right along with painting it properly means that it simply isn't worth the cost of collecting it.

 

There are a few bits on the car that are hard to find. The front 1/4 bumpers would probably fetch a few quid and the tints with opening 1/4 lights would probably fetch £400. Sport seats £200. The genuine 'sport' exhaust manifold might get £50 or so. Engine with Weber £150ish. Box £50, axle £50. Wheels would probably get £100 now they're refurbed. I'd want the tints and 1/4 bumpers so that leaves £400 worth of bits that could be sold to cover some costs, but it means the car would be impossible to return to Sport spec with the original bits and it's a pain to sort out anyhow.

 

It'd cost me £1000 just to collect whether it's finished or not, but I'd have to give him at least the same again on top of that. Cheeky bastard was whining about the amount of mig wire he'd had to use. He appears to have forgotten that he's been paid a good lump of money for panels he didn't buy.

 

If he'd done an excellent job on it I'd pay him his asking price, but that isn't the case. There's some excellent work been done, just a shame it's on the bits he was told to leave alone. The welding around the front anti-roll bar mount is superb, but the rest of it is merely average. It would have been a lot easier and a much better job if he'd bought the panels like he was told to.

 

I might still collect it, but after he's made me wait three years for the job he can wait for a long time for me to collect or take the original amount we agreed on. He's still making a big chunk out of the panel money he kept.

 

End of the day it won't be impossible to find another one like it in Europe, so if he keeps being a tit he won't get a penny.

[trigger]

It just seems such a shame, you've been excitedly talking about this for years just to be let down.

 

It's like chasing a really fit bird for years and once you do get to shag her she's a complete disappointed in the sack and farts louder then you.

[warren t claim]

You could of got a solid, rust free Sport from South Africa for less than this will cost you. RHD as well.

[Pete-M]

You could of got a solid, rust free Sport from South Africa for less than this will cost you. RHD as well.

 

That's vaguely possible. However, I wouldn't buy one in SA without actually seeing it first, and getting to and from SA puts a massive lump of expenditure on, more than enough to blow that plan out of the water I should imagine.

 

Just having a quick scan of SA adverts I found one solid rust free Sport for 50,000 ZAR, which is £3850 or thereabouts. Add to that £500 for flights to inspect it, £400 for hotel / transport / spends while there, £1000 or so for shipping to the UK + UK import tax + VAT and I don't see how it could work out cheaper.

[Pete-M]

Scrub that. This doesn't look bad for £900.

 

[Pete-M]

[urlhttp][/url]

 

This looks like a giggle. It's about £4k, but a turbo rotary Mk2 would be a grin.

[trigger]

Jesus, the owner of that should get a 1000 lashes for those alloys!

[nigel bickle]

Much empathy Pete- sadly this now seems more common than not.

 

Every single job I have farmed out in the past 3 years has gone ''wrong''. Totally & completely. I've reluctantly decided that I look like a complete mug -and that if I cant do it myself -it'll have to wait till I can.

 

No answers for you Squire- just commiserations.

 

Bastard

[gtd2000]

I have to admit that I prefer doing all of my own work wherever possible.

 

Had a flyer shoved under the window wiper the other month for an independant mechanic who charges £17 per hour, which sounded pretty reasonable for all of those jobs that you don't have the tools & or experience to complete. This flyer has now gone AWOL.... oh well...

 

All I need to do is learn to weld then I'm all set

 

What were the rates for the mechanic in CZ?

[Pete-M]

What were the rates for the mechanic in CZ?

 

He agreed to £6.80 an hour when he took the job on. He's after £12 an hour now, so can GTF.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I'm sad to read this, it's a horrible situation.

[gtd2000]

What were the rates for the mechanic in CZ?

 

He agreed to £6.80 an hour when he took the job on. He's after £12 an hour now, so can GTF.

 

It certainly sounded like a bargain rate.

 

Real pity it's ended up in this situation.

[retrogeezer]

What were the rates for the mechanic in CZ?

 

He agreed to £6.80 an hour when he took the job on. He's after £12 an hour now, so can GTF.

 

So he is after 300 hours @ £12 an hour??

[TimothyClaypole]

£12.00 an hour sounds a bit suspect, I'll check with the missus later.

 

 

Would it fit inside a LWB/Hi roof transit?