Page 109 - Fast Car (March 2020)

FORD ESCORT MK2

TECH SPEC: FORD ESCORT MK2

BODY
1979 Escort Harrier, extensively restored; seam-welded chassis
rails; roof gutter rails cut down shorter at the rear; wiper holes
deleted; single wiper relocated in the centre; scuttle panel
modified; smaller heater bowl with relocated hole; bulkhead
lip cut down and reshaped; engine bay panelwork smoothed;
front panel cut-outs raised 1in; strut top plates welded from
underneath; one piece bonnet crossbrace; C-pillar vents
deleted; tubbed rear arches with plates welded over the top
to hide the void to rear quarter trim area; spare wheel and
fuel tank wells matched; smoothed rear numberplate recess;
delocked bootlid; Fiat Barchetta door handles; smoothed and
debadged early grille; cut down, shortened and smoothed front
and rear carbon-fibre bumpers; indicator cut-outs deleted from
front bumper; Halogen headlights with integral indicators; rear
numberplate located under bumper; clear rear indicators
ENGINE
1862cc Crossflow; AX (South African) block; 84mm forged
pistons; 84 mm steel crank; steel rods; Connaught-spec cam;
45mm AT Power throttle bodies; AT Power custom inlet manifold;
7.5x14 and 9x14-inch Image Edwards Motorsport custom 4-2-1 stainless steel manifold and
Billet 60 three-piece split- system; DTA ECU and ignition pack; custom Pro Alloy radiator;
rims and Toyo Proxes expansion tank and oil cooler. Power: 190bhp, 153lb.ft.

TRANSMISSION
Quaife QBM1M four-speed straight-cut sequential gearbox with
drop gears; custom one-piece propshaft; shortened SHP axle;
Quaife ATB and 4.1:1 cwp in carbon-dipped alloy diff casing;
remote-mounted diff cooler

CHASSIS
GAZ offset top mounts, GAZ coil-overs, adjustable
TCAs, quickrack (f), reverse-eye decambered leaf springs, GAZ
dampers, anti-tramp kit (r), HiSpec Motorsport Billet 4 callipers
and grooved 260mm vented discs (f), HiSpec Ultralite two-pot
callipers with integral electronic handbrake, solid drilled discs
(r), reverse bias pedal box, line lock, 7.5x14in and 9x14in
Image Billet 60 three-piece split-rims, with Toyo Proxes T1-R
195/45R14 (f) and 225/40R14 (r) tyres

INTERIOR
Early Metro front seats with modified headrests; retrimmed in
leather and Alcantara; Escort rear seat cut down and trimmed to
match; dash top, door cards and rear quarter trims retrimmed to
match; carbon fibre handles, locks and C-pillar trims; DTA digital
dash mounted in full-length carbon-fibre panel; repositioned
US hot rod steering column; all switchgear relocated to panel
mounted between front seats; battery under rear seat; fold-up
rear-view mirror, carbon-fibre boot floor panel

THANKS
To Dad, for the huge amount of effort he’s put in; Keith Wollen
for giving up evenings to help wire the car; Tony and Trevor at
Oakcroft Garage (www.oakcroftgarage.co.uk) for the paint and
prep; Santorini Steve for late evenings helping with bodywork
prep; Steve Machardie for support and laughs at shows; Alex
Oates at Pro Alloy (http://proalloy.co.uk); Connaught Competition
Engines for amazing engine work (www.connaughtengines.
co.uk); Dave at GAZ Shocks (www.gazshocks.com); SPL (www.
surfaceprocessing.co.uk); Image Wheels (www.imagewheels.
co.uk); and Edwards Motorsport (www.edwardsmotorsport.com)

Defining car culture 107