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.

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.

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.

Today was the day for sorting the shed and garage out so that I know what I have and what I have not.

The first job was to roll the car out onto the drive, jack it up, have a look underneath and in the light of day give it the once over. So, the conclusions are - still impressed with the body, found one slight bubble on the bottom corner of one of the doors which will need sorting, that's it ! Once jacked up, the shocks were wound up a bit so that I can get the jack underneath. I also found that I think I need new track rod ends, no big deal but another thing to add to the list.

Once the Garage and Shed were almost tidy it was time to decant and catalog the five boxes of bits that came with the car. I shalln't bore you with a list of every nut and bolt but here are the omissions - no biggies but will all need sourcing in slow time I suspect -

Wiper motor, gearbox rear mount, door/boot locks, front window and a couple of badges.

So pretty good all in all.

Next job is to identify what the front uprights are so I can spec the brakes properly.  That will be more ebay scouring then.