Mk2 Escort restoration/build (1979 1600 Sport)
Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread
Read the full write-up at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Photo: Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project threadStudent-led restoration of a 1979 Ford Escort Mk2 1600 Sport
Olly928, a Motorsport Engineering student, began a ground-up restoration of his 1979 Escort Mk2 1600 Sport while living at university without garage space. The thread documents interior strip-down, floor and bulkhead rot discovery, front-end disassembly, and setbacks including transport damage, told in a slow, honest, amateur-first-project voice.
Parts used
Parts named as used in the original write-up, grouped the way the Parts page groups them. Where one of the shops we index lists the same thing for this car, it is shown underneath with a link to the shop.
Body & Trim 2
- Heater bowl
Rot found in original bowl prompted ordering a replacement
In the shops
Escort Mk2 Heater Bowl (Plenum Chamber), 1975-1980 ↗
Gartrac· $123.00 USD - Heater bowl base repair panel
Ordered alongside the new heater bowl to repair the base area
In the shopsEscort Mk2 Heater Bowl (Plenum Chamber), 1975-1980 ↗Gartrac· $123.00 USD
Sill & Wheel-Arch Repair Panel ↗
MX5 City· $107.57 USD
D-Post Repair Panel, Right Hand ↗
Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $194.61 USD
Photos
49 pictures collected from the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.
Olly928 · Mar 29, 2013 | 08:11 PM 18this post at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Olly928 · Mar 30, 2013 | 06:03 PM 3this post at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Olly928 · Apr 1, 2013 | 01:28 PM 2this post at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Olly928 · Apr 1, 2013 | 11:28 PM 2this post at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Olly928 · Apr 25, 2013 | 06:41 PM 3this post at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Olly928 · Feb 12, 2014 | 10:15 PM 21this post at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
How it was done
Starting condition
The car had run and been MOT'd the year before but stood for a year while the previous owner worked on it. Olly describes solid-looking floors but some untidy prior repairs, and rot around the lower front panel and bent inner wing channels.
Interior and floor strip
Work began by stripping the interior, dash clocks and steering surround, then grinding old primer from the floor pan section by section (rear driver's side, front footwells, passenger footwell, under rear seat), uncovering a small hole in the rear floor.
Panel removal
The front splitter, bumper, grille, front wings, headlights, indicators, rear bumper, strut brace, rear lights, boot spoiler and rear loom were all removed to assess and prepare the shell, confirming the wings were sound but the front panel had rotted lower sections.
Setback and further strip-down
During transport home the car shifted on the trailer and hit the jockey wheel, damaging a front panel Olly already planned to replace. He then finished the interior floor, found heavy rot in the heater bowl and bulkhead, and removed the front suspension, engine, gearbox, steering column, rack and brake servo, exposing worse rot at the tunnel and bulkhead base.
Progress so far
After a distraction building a Mk2 Golf GTI race car with university friends, work resumed stripping the front of the Escort further. The project remains in progress with no completion described.
A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is in the original write-up: read it at Mk2 Escort restoration/build — PassionFord project thread ↗
Worth knowing
- Strap a car more securely for trailer transport to avoid collision damage