Once all of the various painted part had had a couple of weeks to harden off I then started to put them back on the car. The end result does not look too bad, just need to paint over the stainless bolt heads on the bumpers. Fitting the windows was a bit of a chore but eventually I found a way of doing it without damaging the paintwork so again they are in and functioning, last job there is to fit the final boot badge and hang the doors so the side groove matches up, they are sitting a bit low at the moment, this will also allow me to fit the stainless door sill trims.

Now this is where the fun starts. The engine was running OK but I noticed that there was a leak from the front crank seal, easy job I thought, bit of 5mm ally bar to lock the cams and a screwdriver to lock the flywheel, same as my old Zetec SE, off the the cambelt comes, then the front pulley, slot in the new seal and reassemble, all should stay in alignment because the pulleys are keyed. WRONG !!!! The Zetec SE has no key ways so the pulleys are all held on by friction and the tightness of the bolts. So, find TDC, again lock off the cams, undo the crank pulley (no key), put in the new oil seal, crank pulley back on, tighten it up as per the online manual I had read. Job's a good 'un. Started her up and it caught and then would not start again - you guessed it - crank pulley had slipped, what the manual did not say was to replace the bolt as it is a stretch bolt and needed tightening to the torque and then 1/4 turn after. So, process over again, this time i used the crank lock pin which I had inadvertently hidden behind the engine mount so that had to come off, new bolt, tighten up. Engine now runs but cylinder 1 and 2 do not sound right, so suspected bent valve. Rather than take the head off to inspect is was cheaper to get another engine that was running right so that's what I did. The new engine was then stripped, cleaned (looked a better engine in fact, no signs of an oil leak and the inlet ports were much cleaner) and readied for installation

So, whilst I was installing the engine and the original and the Type 9 gearbox had to come out it was a good opportunity to fit the RX8 gearbox I had also picket up. The RX8 box is a 6 speed, helical gear, all alloy gearbox with integral bell housing and a short shift. It is rated to around 250hp/ftlbs, will rev to 9k and the basic gearbox (Aisin AZ6) is used in the Mazda RX8, Lexus IS200, Mazda MX5 mk3, Toyota GT86, Subaru BRZ and Nissan 200SX S15. All off these version have different bell housing hole patterns and input shafts but the RX8 input shaft is a 1" 23 spline version which is the same as the ford one so the Type 9 clutch plate can be used. The gear ratios are a cross between a standard Type 9 (1st) and a Quaife Clubman Type 9 close ratio box (2nd - 6th). Ratios are 1st 3.760, 2nd 2.269, 3rd 1.645, 4th 1.187, 5th 1.000, 6th 0.843 . the beusty of this box is that you get all of this for less than £100 for the box, £115 for the adapter, a few pounds for new bolts (and the engine cost £90 !)  which is way less than even the type 9 bell housing I originally bought and an order of magnitude less than a long first HD type 9.

To fit the gearbox to the engine a guy on ebay/turbosports makes adapter plates (freddy686868) which I ordered and it came pretty quickly. The gearbox needed a couple of modifications, the area where the starter motor mounts needed grinding out to fir and when I trial fitted the box in the car the left rear mount needed removing as it fowled the type 9 gearbox mounts that are on the car (not a standard fixture). teh RX8 box is a hydraulic clutch system (external not concentric slave) which I am hoping to adapt to use my cable clutch, initial measurements and mock up looks promising. Just need to make up a rear mount which I think I can use the Cortina one form the type 9 .

Whilst I was at it I also took the opportunity to tidy up the rear water manifold, getting rid of my home made affair and fitting in line water temp sender adapters, I also decided to keep the the cam belt cover which meant modifying the front engine mount to tidy it it. I also re-routed some of the coolant pipes. So, currently the engine and gearbox are in, they need fully bolting together, a rear mount needs making (temporary on on there at the moment) and then I can get the prop shaft ordered.

Slow but sure progress over the past couple of months. As previously identified, I did have to remove the throttle bodies to install all of the coolant pipes on the passenger side of the engine. It is a bit of a tight squeeze routing everything down one side including the throttle bodies, the majority of the engine loom, the alternator and the main coolant pipes (mostly 32-36mm diameter). So I did change the throttle bodies to the TJ 42mm DCOE ones which helped a bit and these should be a more reliable and an easier system to tune, not fired the engine up with these on but will do in the near future.

So the radiator, header tank, engine and heater are all now plumbed in and ready for filling with water/anti-freeeze. As can be seen by the picture to the right there is quite a convoluted set of hoses from the rad top to the engine side housing that had to go around the alternator, I did this in the end using the stock Puma hose and a 90 degree connector but it did tax the grey matter getting there.

Next job on the list was to prepare all of the trim and various brackets for painting, the reason for painting is that I think it will look slightly more modern and also the chrome was badly pitted on most parts so needed sorting out. I was hoping to have a local bodyshop do this but they would not touch the prep and painting of the chrome as they could not guarantee the longevity of the finish. Plan B was for me to prep and paint, pretty painful job but needs must ! So out came the angle grinder, flapper/sanding wheel and wire brush wheel and off I went followed by filling the badly pitted areas and then sanding down to accept painting.

Whilst doing this, for a little light relief, I made up a steering column cowl to cover the Mk2 Escort stalks, this involved chopping up an Anglia and an Escort cowl and filling in the gap with fibreglass and the filling and sanding to look reasonable.

The next part of the process was aided by a kind donation of a compressor which I added a regulator, a cheap spray gun and some high build primer and Ford Ermine White cellulose paint. I then converted an old gazebo into a spray booth and set to work. Although not perfect the results are OK and will do until I have time to make perfect. So the bumpers (and brackets), grill, front and rear lights, side window frames, seat brackets, door and boot handles and all chrome trim is now Ermine White and will be fitted in a couple of weeks when it has fully gone off and I have taken out another mortgage to cover the cost of the various gaskets and clips that I need.

A couple of other small jobs completed have included: getting quotes for a carpet set which will need to be modified from a standard set because of the tunnel, bulkhead and rear suspension mods and I have also drawn up and got a quote for clamps to hold the trumpets on the throttle bodies, will need to order them soon.

So, with the engine run at least once, all of the wiring and plumbing in place and hopefully in a months time all of the trim and doors done I can start to see the end of the tunnel.

Over the past month I have managed to get some time on the car and have been dealing with quite a few electrical head scratchers. The result is that I think I am now down to three main problems - indicator switch puts on the hazard warning lights, the dash powers off on ignition and I need to sort out the wiper motor wiring. There are another couple of small niggles but these are easily fixed.

The big headline, after much angst, is that the engine has finally been started and runs OK. I spent quite a bit of time working out why things were not working only to discover that the pins on the ECU loom plug were not connecting to the ECU pins. A fairly simple fix, removed the pins from the plug, gave then a squeeze with a pair of pliers, replaced them and all connections seem to be OK. Once done, the ECU saw the crank sensor, power was supplied to the coil pack and sparks were present, fuel pump primes, air and coolant temperature were registering and the throttle position sensor was calibrated OK. First turn of the key was encouraging with the engine trying to fire but no joy, swapped the wires around on the crank sensor and next turn of the key she fired up. It ran for a few seconds OK once the throttle bodies were opened up slightly (idle screw) but that was all as there is no coolant in the system.  Big result. Once all plumed in I need to check the cam position sensor output and VCT valve operation before starting to do some rudimentary tuning. A big thank you to various car online forum gurus that led me through all of the issues I have had.

In order to get the coolant hoses in I think I will have to remove the throttle bodies which present an opportunity. I managed to pick up cheap a set of TJ 42mm parallel DCOE throttle bodies and an alloy matched manifold for the Zetec SE. These should give a bit more room on that side of the engine as they are angled upwards more and also give slightly better flow into the engine and better throttle response without messing about with either the pedal pivot point or throttle cable quadrant (on the bike TBs).

Whilst all this has been going on I have finished preparing the trim for painting so will get quote for that. So, there is light at the end of the tunnel and I can start to see the whole project coming together in the next four or five months, just in time for the Ace Cafe  gathering in July.

I managed to get a couple of days on the car over the last month. First job was to fit the hand brake cable. I used a Sierra one that had to be shortened but used the original handbrake cable mounting braked to fit it to. MK Engineering provided a new eyelet end which made the job pretty easy.  I also bought a pair of flexible hoses for the front brakes from Furore, made to measure and delivered in two days. These have been fitted completing the brake install, all ready to be topped up with fluid and bled, checking for leaks as we go.

The next big job was to start the wiring loom install. This is in multiple parts. The main section is the Premier Looms wiring loom that I had made to spec, added to this is the ETB and Omex flying looms for the dash and the ecu, in the engine bay is the Puma loom and finally a whole host of different switches, gauges etc. So, under the dash the various parts have been connected up with spade connectors so that any issues can be remedied easily. In the engine bay they are soldered to reduce the risk of corrosion/shorts etc. So as of today the vast majority of the loom is in and 75% is connected up, just a couple of issues with how the ecu is connected to the main loom for the fuel pump circuit and I need to look at borrowing a crimp tool for the main battery cables and earth straps. So hopefully a start up over Christmas is still on the cards.

Over the summer there has been a lot going on so I have had very little time on the car, all of which has been spent rubbing down the chrome trim and priming it ready for paining later int he year.
Fast forward to September and things have started to progress again. Three main jobs have got completed: fitting the exhaust, fitting the tanks and completing prep on the dash.
The exhaust had been modified, initialially fitted and then welded up remembering this is an Escort Pinto 2.25" manifold and system that runs straight down the driver side of the car. Since then I have sanded it back to bare metal, treated it and painted it in high temperature paint and then fitted it to the car and finished it off with a back box. It should sound rather fruity I think, may have some issues with noise levels if I do a track day in it in the future.

The fuel and combi (oil catch, radiator header and washer water) tanks arrived over the summers so these have now been fitted to the boot and engine bay respectively. The fuel tank and battery box are now bolted to the boot of the car and connected to the fuel pump and filter with kunifer and flexible hosing. The breather / filler overflow pipes are not quite right but not far off. The other end of the fuel pipes is also connected top the fuel rail on the engine.  Also in the engine bay the combitank has been installed. The original idea was to centrally mount it but the layout of the coolant pipes meant offsetting it to the passenger side, not as aesthetically pleasing but easier and more efficient to fit the pipework.

The third main job was to modify a glovebox lid to fit the digidash, fit the various electrical components in the glovebox and fit the heater thus almost completing the dash. The digidash was mounted into a spare glovebox lid using fibreglass, filled with p38 filler and sanded to a finish. This will be pained in body colour at a later date. the glovebox liner was a more challenging job fitting the ECU, wideband lambda gauge, vacuum gauge, three USB socked, two power sockets (12v and USB charger points) and the fuse box. eventually after a bit of head scratching I came up with a layout that seems to work OK. The mini heater and fibreglass radio panel were fitted after again a bit of thought but in the end look pretty neat, re-locating the ignition key to the ratio panel also work i think. So now the dash is almost ready to accept the wiring loom (from Premier Looms, Malaga, Spain) which arrived over the summer.
The other small job has been to sand down, fill and sand some more the various chrome trims for the outside of the car which will be body colour painted later. Not a quick job but will set the car off nicely with a more modern look.
So, over the next month or so I will be fitting the loom and then hopefully going for a start up before Christmas !!!!!!

So, more cleaning of the underside of the car. I think I can see the end after three weekends of wire brushing. I have now completed the rear section and one side. So, just the passenger side section and it will be ready for final prep (petrol wipe down, marine clean degreaser , wash, metal prep etch, wash) and then be left for a week to dry out before painting. The front arches have had two coats but need a  third so will go around with seam sealer and then finish off with that third coat. 

I have also made a couple of purchases - an Omex 710 ecu to run the engine and an Innovate LC2 wide band lambda system plus gauge for mapping the ECU. The Omex is a top of the range ECU and able to run the VCT on the engine and also control the injectors fully sequentially if I needed that in the future. The engine and uprights are back from the machine shop so I can install the spigot bearing. I also go time to trial fit the Caprisport 260 brake kit on the uprights, looks very good and should be plenty to stop the lightweight Anglia.

The throttle bodies are coming along as well. I have had an adaptor plate CNC laser cut to my CAD drawing, sourced some full radius trumpets and so have had a trial fitting. The TB's and adaptor need a small amount of fettling but all should go together well.

So in general I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting to a position where I can start to put stuff back on the car. Still a bit more cleaning to do, painting and also refurb of the rear axle. To sum up, progress has generally been good.

So today, after leaving the front under arches to dry off for a week, was the time to paint them. I am using KBS Rust Seal in Off White as I thought this would compliment (match) the topside of the car. Well the colour is a little lighter but not too bad and you will rarely see both side together.

If you use this paint be aware that once it is dry it does not come off, if you get it on skin you have to wait for that layer of skin to shed ! Once dry not even thinners will shift it.  Also note that the coverage on the tin is very optimistic, I gave both sides two coats with a brush and use about 2/3 of a Quart (1l) tin. This is going to be quite expensive to finish the whole of the underside as I think it will need another coat.

I also removed the back axle ready for clean/prep/paint and also to remove the 1/2 shafts and rear drums ready for the rear disc caliper brackets. I had hoped to do a swap (thought I had a 4.4:1) for a lower diff (3.89 or possible a 3.77) but once removed the diff is actually a 33/8 tooth crown wheel and pinion and so 4.125:1. The good news is that it is like new, no chipped teeth, all nice and tight and being a lower ratio than I thought I can live with it for now.

So, plans for the new few weeks - get engine/struts back, refit cross member and measure up for engine mounts (got an idea what i am going to do), clean and paint rear axle, fit rear brakes, clean and paint rear underside and send off for throttle body adaptor (got a good quote). Not much then !

Buying

Managed to source the Zetec SE > Type 9 bellhousing and clutch fork and also got hold of a 215mm Pinto clutch, I already has the release bearing so drive line should all bolt together now.

Second on the list, and quite difficult to find, was a low profile, rear water manifold that will help get the engine 100mm back in the engine bay. Thanks to Shawspeed for sourcing the bellhousing etc. and the water manifold.

I also managed to get hold of a Polo radiator for £26 delivered, bit of a bargain. Other items that I have had delivered included a set of door locks and internal rods, a set of front indicator shells,  a set of Peugeot 205GTI 14" Pepperpot alloys, the correct track rod ends, the Caprisport GTR260 and rear disc conversion brackets, a gear stick, a wiper motor and a matching Sabelt harness to the one I already have. In addition the previous owner called to let me know he had an additional box of bits and a missing front window, this had the original boot lock so I now have a matching set of locks, a few bits of trim and most of all an Escort Mk2 pedal box that the bulkhead had been modified for.

Cleaning and painting

I had planned to get the car out on the drive and up ion stands so that i could clean, prep and paint the underneath, but the week I had off work to do this had a variable weather forecast so I changed tack and worked on just the front end in the garage whilst cleaning, prepping and painting a load of other parts ready to go back on. Thankfully all I found was some surface rust and the underseal came of fairly easily.

The underneath of the wings up to the bulkhead/front jacking point were wire brushed, cleaned with petrol, washed with POR15 Marine Clean, washed in clean water, treated with POR15 Metal Prep and cleaned again in clean water.  The plan is to leave then to fully dry out over the next week and then paint with KBS Rust Seal paint (off white).

I also gave the brakes, pedal box, cross member and various brackets a coat(s) of paint once I had sourced some Hammerite Dark Blue paint (now discontinued but a great match to the Anchor Blue roof/roll bar). i also touched up the anti roll bar and steering rack with Hammerite black sating paint. Pictures of the painted parts are in the Images section.

Made a few purchases this week including picking up the Corbeau Classic Clubman style seats (wide size for my fat a***) which come with head rests and white piping, a bit tarty but look pretty good in the car.

Also had delivered a few missing parts that I found on 105speed forums, these included a boot handle, a wiper motor, a pair of front indicator units and most importantly (and most difficult to find) a set of door locks and associated mechanisms. These all need a bit of TLC but as I am planning to colour code (paint all of the trim then that is fine.

So, having got the engine somewhere near clean last weekend I thought it would be easy to remove the sump, sort out the mangled sump plug and then give it a clean. But, no, the sump on this engine seems to be glued on so once you have removed all of the bolts it does not just drop off (like when they have a compressible gasket) it needs prizing off. I had no joy so may have to shell out for a tool to do this.

So, instead I thought I'd use my new toy, the 2 ton engine hoist, and see how the engine looks in the car. The outcome is plenty of space around the engine, exhaust side looks quite easy to route the exhaust around the cross member and the steering column. The sump bowl is slap bang in the middle of the cross member so a new front bowl will need to be fabricated. The oil filter looks like it will clash with the engine mounts so I may need a remote system adding to the parts list. Finally, the engine had a large casting on the rear to mount the coil pack and to route coolant to the radiator and the heater. This has been removed as it would mean moving the engine forward 100mm+, I have managed to source a low profile version (at a cost) but worth it to get it in the right place.

In addition to the engine I have chatted to Caprisport about brakes and looks like the XR4x4 bits I bought (an ebay bargain) are the right ones and will fit my uprights and axle with significantly less outlay that I was budgeting. They sell through Ebay and so I will be ordering caliper bracket for their GTR260 kit and rear axle kit and then sourcing some RS Turbo front brake discs (rears I can use from the XR4x4). Another bonus is that the rear hubs will not need machining but the downside is the fronts will.

So a fairly busy week in terms of planning and sourcing some hard to find parts but I can now see a plan coming together where the engine, brakes and gearbox will work in harmony.

....... cleaning my engine with a pot of petrol and a toothbrush !!!!!

Yes, that's right, toothbrush, the engine looks like it has had a rocker cover gasket leak (seems to be a recurring fault with this engine after the inlet manifold) and  there are areas (especially on the inlet side) that are covered in oil.  I tried Cilit Bang but didn't do much so resorted to petrol and a toothbrush. So, I got most of the engine clean but there is a layer of grime on the surface that will need wire brushing away. Got to leave some jobs for another day.

Also did a quick measure of the engine and I will have to do something about the rear of the engine. There is a casting that connects to the coolant system and acts as a mount for the coil pack which sticks out from the rear of the head. This will mean moving the engine forward 100+mm  which I do not want to do. I have seen slimline mods that move the radiator inlet to the inlet side but currently haven't found where to source them from.