Mk1 Escort Restoration
PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration
Read the full write-up at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Photo: PassionFord – Mk1 Escort RestorationA Mk1 Ford Escort RS2000 rep, restored over two and a half years
Lee Reynolds documents the body and mechanical restoration of his Mk1 Escort RS2000 replica, taking it from a rough but solid shell through bare metal respray, suspension refurbishment and interior rebuild to a running road car. The thread covers roughly two and a half years of work with periodic photo updates.
Specs
As stated in the original write-up.
- Suspension bushes
- Super Pro poly bushes fitted to leaf springs
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.
Suspension & Steering 1
- Super Pro poly bushes
Fitted to the refurbished rear leaf springs
In the shops
Major Suspension Kit with Poly Bushes ↗
Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $205.50 USD
Tie Bar Kit with Poly Bushes and Hardware ↗
bpnorthwest.com· $99.94 USD
GT6 Non-Rotoflex Rear Radius Arm Poly Bushes ↗
TRGB· £27.45 GBP
Body & Trim 4
- 3M sprayable sealer
Applied to arches and wing backs on the underside
- Gravitex underbody coating
Coated the underside of the shell
In the shops
Fertan Underbody Coating ↗.png?ts=1732716603)
limora.com· €12.95 EUR
Fertan Underbody Coating (Grey) ↗limora.com· €14.46 EURFertan Underbody Coating (Grey) ↗limora.com· €12.95 EUR - New front wings
Replaced before painting, needed a lot of preparation work
- Waxoyl cavity wax
Applied throughout the cavities after painting
In the shopsWaxoyl Underbody & Cavity Wax ↗
MGOC Spares· £104.95Waxoyl Underbody & Cavity Wax ↗MGOC Spares· £104.95Waxoyl Underbody Wax ↗MGOC Spares· £104.95
Interior 2
- New headlining
Fitted as part of interior rebuild
- New speakers
Fitted into existing holes in the refurbished rear quarter cards
Photos
73 pictures collected from the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.
Lee Reynolds · Oct 5, 2014 | 09:35 AM 18this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Lee Reynolds · Oct 5, 2014 | 09:42 AM 16this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Lee Reynolds · Oct 5, 2014 | 09:49 AM 14this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Lee Reynolds · Oct 5, 2014 | 09:51 AM 4this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Lee Reynolds · Oct 5, 2014 | 06:20 PM 3this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Lee Reynolds · Feb 7, 2015 | 01:40 PM 5this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
Lee Reynolds · May 16, 2015 | 12:07 PM 13this post at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗
How it was done
Starting condition
The car was an early RS2000 replica shell, bought about two years before the thread started. It was in decent overall condition needing the usual sills, spare wheel and tank wells, front wings, front panel and door bottoms, plus some rear arch and small floor repairs. The seats were considered worth keeping.
Body repairs and paint
Metalwork was carried out including new front wings, sill and arch repairs. The underside received gravitex coating with 3M sprayable sealer on arches and wing backs. The shell then went to a paintshop where it was bare metalled, spray filled, blocked, high build primed, blocked again, primed, then finished with four coats of colour and four of lacquer.
Mechanical work
Once home, Lee satin blacked components and waxoyled the cavities. He then refurbished the leaf springs himself, separating, de-rusting, greasing between leaves and repainting them, before reassembling them with new Super Pro poly bushes. Other suspension and axle work followed over several months.
Interior and finishing
Work included fitting new headlining, refurbishing the rear shelf and rear quarter cards, and fitting new speakers into existing speaker holes. A cracked rear shelf base was repaired with flashbanding and textured paint before being blacked. Door cards awaited handles back from the chromers, and the car awaited a starter motor before starting.
Progress so far
After just over two and a half years of work, the car was completed and reported on the road, finishing in a lower specification than Lee's original plan of a 2.1 Pinto on twin carbs, which he intended to add later as a rolling project.
A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is in the original write-up: read it at PassionFord – Mk1 Escort Restoration ↗