1995 Ford Escort 3 Door : Budget Daily Driver

[ivahbiggen]

Thought it’s about time I made a thread on this little Escort.

It’s a 1400 CVH with very few mod cons, just the way we like them!


we saved the car from the scrapyard In April 2019. It had sat on a driveway since 2013 and needed some love.


starting under the bonnet we fitted a new clutch, timing belt and water pump.


next the car got some coil overs from our good friend Danny B



that’s how it sat for a while whilst some other projects got pushed through.        

[ivahbiggen]

Getting the car on the road!

September last year I began getting the car ready to roll. I fitted new discs and pads on the front.



I bought some cheap 16” steelies from eBay to give the car a bit more presence.












I’m by no means the biggest fan of the faded paint but it does have its advantages. There’s always a space next to you when you come out of the supermarket!

[ivahbiggen]

I had to replace the steering rack as due to the years spent stationary the seals had perished and it was leaking like a sieve.

[ivahbiggen]

There was a very small patch of surface rust on the passenger sill.

Once a new panel was welded in I repaired the bottoms of the wings and gave the bottom half a quick coat of under seal.

Now it’s looking like an LX

[ivahbiggen]

Last week was very productive on the car.

Monday the weather was looking great in the evening so I spent a few hours painting the wheels. It was my first time using a water based base coat and I was very impressed.

















Then I spent Tuesday and Wednesday prepping the rest of the car for paint.










On 22-06-23 I painted the car in my makeshift spray booth

[ivahbiggen]

Spotted a bargain on Facebook and ended up driving to Scunthorpe for a full RS interior

[ivahbiggen]

Here’s how she currently sits. Was a good day out at Lichfield Rotary Cars in the park

[Rob M]

I'm struggling to remember seeing any three door ones when they were current.
I suspect that they were very rare, even back then.
I like what you have done to it, it looks super clean, tweaked here and there without going OTT.
I see a lot of moderns at shows that have had so much time, love effort and money lavished on them but they, sort of, lose their identity under the fancy wheels, lairy paint, etc. Just my opinion.
You have got this one spot on!

[jamesd1972]

Great transformation that, simple things adding up to a cohesive end, being a 3 door makes a big difference. Good find and good job.
James

[motardman]

Lovely thing. Transformed by the wheels, and normally I HATE black wheels, but I think I preferred them before you painted them! Weird huh?

Can I ask a quick question about the spray set up? I have some bumpers and cladding on my W124 that will need some paint, and wanted to try doing it myself.

So what compressor & gun?
Did you use a drier in line?
Other stuff I have no idea about!

[Alpina99]

You've made a really nice job of everything you've done there,
Lovely looking car, definitely a worthwhile save,
Nigel,

[ivahbiggen]

Thanks for all the brilliant comments!

The compressor I'm using is an SGS 100L. The gun was a eBay £30 special that came with a 1.4 large gun and a mini-jet that did work really well on the wheels. I wouldn't recommend the larger gun for a whole car as I couldn't get on with it. I have just purchased an Iwata AZ3 HTE-S 1.2 for any future paintwork.

I did not use a water separator and definitely regretted it towards the end. as time went on the compressor was getting a little warm and it did get a bit of water in the line but i left the bleed valve on the bottom of the tank open slightly to drain off any water.

This is the second "larger scale" paint job i have undertaken in the garage since building it and my biggest piece of advice would be to go over the top with your poly mask / sheets that you put up on the walls and ceilings as over spray did get passed in some areas. More than anything the best piece of advice is take just as much time prepping the area you are going to paint in as you spend getting the panel ready to paint. One lone spider can run rampage through your fresh paintwork!

[cjhillman]

wow what a transformation! The re spray looks great!! I had a 3 door 1.4 Mistral about 13 years ago (Sure its on here in the depths). Loved it, I bet this is a great car to drive. That number plate is cool as too!

[ivahbiggen]

Jul 7, 2023 21:32:08 GMT cjhillman said:

wow what a transformation! The re spray looks great!! I had a 3 door 1.4 Mistral about 13 years ago (Sure its on here in the depths). Loved it, I bet this is a great car to drive. That number plate is cool as too!

Thanks! Yes I couldn’t resist the number plate when I saw it on DVLA for sale!

[Mercdan68]

Great build H
And as I’ve said a thousand times pals always get looked after glad the coil overs worked for you mate