mk3/4 escort inner wing chassis leg repair panel?

[roccoguy]

Just picked up a escort with some nasty crustyness on it, I've found most of the panels I need and the rest look easy to fab up. The only one I'm struggling to find is one to repair this...



this is the bottom front corner of the inner wing but it's gone right through to the engine bay. I've not had a chance to have a proper look yet but it seems this is a sectional part and may be part of the front chassis leg? It looks to have mounting bolts running down through it possibly to the ARB mounting.

Does anyone know if there are repair sections available for this? Or even what that area would be called because so far my searches have found nothing. Once it's all stripped I might be able to build it back up, but as it standards I'm not even sure exactly what it should look like lol

[bobman]

only replaced this part on a series2 rs afew days ago, we bought another shell mainly for this section as replacement panels are not available, instead of a chassis leg/rail its more a chassis structure, runs from lower bulkhead/floor is most of the inner wing splits in two and forms a lower and upper leg to the front-panel, if that pic is anything to go by that's 5x's worse then the one I'm near done with, I wouldn't touch this car until its fully blasted and don't get attached as that looks f**ked!

[fordperv]

i also have repaired the same area on a s2 rs turbo, i fabricated the parts, had to go into the chassis legs, looking at your picture I'd say it's gone into the front crossmember as well, looks do able with time so do it right cut it right back to good metal

A full inner wing is about as close as your going to get to a repair panel

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-ESCORT-MK3-MK4-XR3i-RS-TURBO-RS1600i-NOS-GENUINE-FORD-O-S-F-INNER-WING-LEG-/351397506699?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51d0ec6e8b

[roccoguy]

I've repaired similar on a veto van having to fabricate the section, so this doesn't really phase me. It's just more that I'd like to do this car using replacement panels where possible, but looking at the price of the inner wing and the fact both sides have gone in the same way, that's not going to happen lol. It does look to have gone into the cross member but I've already found that replacement panel.

I'm pretty stacked out atm but as soon as I get some 'me time' I'm gonna pull it in the unit and start stripping it down see what's left. Cheers for the comments and thanks for the link to the inner wing, at least I have an idea of what it should look like now

[bobman]

it just makes me wonder what the rest is like, the shell I'm at had a fraction of the rust in that area of yours and IMO it was border-line if it was worth doing, the only other harder to find bits are sunroof-tray and your better of with good 2nd wings they just fit better but its the same with all spurious panels, and replacement rear chassis legs are only the outer skin there's a reinforcing panel that needs to be reused from the originals, apart from that there not bad to work with

[roccoguy]

The rest of the car is bad in places, both sills need replacing, battery tray and bulkhead around it have gone. The rear chassis legs have heavy surface rust but appear to be pretty solid. In other places it looks very good tho. I don't wanna try and open the sun roof yet because the seal is past it but it hasn't let any water into the interior. It's sat outside atm so I don't wanna risk disturbing it and it not sealing again. I'll check that as soon as I get it a space inside, cheers for the heads up

As for if it's worth it or not, probably not for most but this is the sort of thing I do for a living so it's mostly a matter of time. I could go out and buy a decent example for less than it would cost me to restore this one but where's the fun in that? Besides the cost of building it will be spread out over a long time. This will just sit in the corner of my unit to do a bit of work on here and there in my spare time. It's only got 69k on the clock and is absolutely bog standard other than a period sparkrite alarm. I'd like to build this nice and stock and keep it in my garage for sunny days

I saved it from a scrap yard where it's been sitting for over a decade

[bobman]

I get what your saying the one I have is a customer/old friend so expense/time was a issue, the shell we got for cuts was a 1990 xr the rs is 89 so only a few months difference, the 90 was holding up much better to corrosion and for some reason the position of all the spot-welds changed and even a few more on the 1990 it looked better sealed from factory to and even the alignment of the panel joins on the shell were tighter, there will be slight differences from shell to shell I know, I reckon either they improved there standards or they came from different factory's, something I thought was interesting and if your looking for cuts the later cars seem to be holding up better, there a cool car wouldn't mind saving a rs1600i I know of, I think the black with grey decals looks awesome but I'm to busy fixing everyone else's cars, should get time when I retire in thirty years or so haha

[roccoguy]

Sounds like your in the same boat as me regarding time for doing you own stuff, as much as I like what I do its a bit gutting fixing everyone else's cars and never being able to do my own. That's kinda why I've got this tho, like I say it can sit in the corner for when I get a spare half hour every now and then.

I really like the RS1600i and the grey on black is a really nice combination on them. There used to be a black on yellow one near my school when I was a kid that I really liked tho, it just seemed like quite an unusual colour but worked surprising well

[bobman]

anybody that's good at what they do will always be busy, maybe start doing shoddy work eh! ah I've giving up planning my own projects last one a yellow gen1 Mivec coupe got finished then needed sensors that couldn't be found sat waiting for so long it depressed me so I stripped it and had it crushed bit childish but looking at it while under other cars and pushing a immaculate car bothers me, I still have the parts and got the sensors just need a shell witch I don't have space or time for, ah its just how it is never say never more space is what I need,

first car I done bodywork on as an apprentice was a rs1600i black wi grey boss got it for 50punt needed arches and a lick of paint was just a real nice car, clutch went so sat then sold for 500euro 2003-ish and is now converted to G3 and competes in the circuit of Ireland, still preferred it as was but cool non the less