1985 Ford Escort mk3 Popular - welding time again!

[cjhillman]

All good on the fuel line front. Not really used the car much Except a trip to halfords for some spray paint. I've been using the Capri a lot over the last week.

I did pick up some spring compressors for £12 the other day at a market stall. Always wanted/needed a decent set of these and thought I'd practice on my old suspension first. Make easy work of getting these rusty springs apart. I intend on getting some xr3 springs for the Escort at some point as its not sitting level like it used too. Also want to use these on my Capri to change the top mounts.

[westbay]

"I intend on getting some xr3 springs for the Escort at some point as its not sitting level like it used too. "

But, but, it won't then be boggo bottom of the range Escort of your desires !

[cjhillman]

Aug 31, 2022 9:10:10 GMT westbay said:

"I intend on getting some xr3 springs for the Escort at some point as its not sitting level like it used too. "

But, but, it won't then be boggo bottom of the range Escort of your desires !

haha your right! but its already on 30mm low springs right now. I love the pov spec but it seemed a little too high in the past Xr3 might be a good compromise I was thinking? Just not sure how much lower than standard they are yet.

[cjhillman]

Pretty much ready for Retro Rides! I'm working Friday so will head down Saturday morning I think. Cleaned it checked it, should be fine. I also bunged on the OAP spec door reflectors that it came with 10 years ago

[retrolegends]

Looking forward to seeing this 👍

[cjhillman]

Scrolling through ebay I noticed theres a wrecked mk3 Estate for a few hundred quid. Not unusual guess but what I did notice is its a base model! I've messaged the people who want rid of it to see if I could get the dash and the door cards at least out of it. Unfortunately they want pretty much the price of the car for whatever I want to take which doesnt help me as I've got nowhere to put loads of extea stuff. Shame really! Base model stuff never comes up! IF anyone happens to know the person who buys this i'd have the dash








Took mine for a drive the other day. First time after getting back from Retro Rides which is pretty bad of me. Just been using the Capri a lot. It fired up easily but I noticed there was mould all over the steering wheel. Its still getting a bit damp inside.








I went down to a local meet which seems to not be on now the wet and cold has set in.






Lastly I ripped appart my garden box thing that has all my spare car parts in (now I have no shed) to try and find my spare 1.1 clutch as its getting time for that... I have no idea where its gone. I did find that loads have water has got into my spare parts which really Pi$$ed me off. a set of Capri wheel bearings are looking a tad rusty now.

[cjhillman]

I've been using the Escort a fair bit latly but having a bit of a problem with the fuel filter. It seems no matter how I clamp it down with the proper fuel hose clamps I bought... it moves and at some points its definitely going to come un done. Any ideas?

[nickwheeler]

Nov 2, 2022 10:04:53 GMT cjhillman said:

I've been using the Escort a fair bit latly but having a bit of a problem with the fuel filter. It seems no matter how I clamp it down with the proper fuel hose clamps I bought... it moves and at some points its definitely going to come un done. Any ideas?

Resite it so that the hoses go straight into it without the curves.


Push the hoses on further.


Clamp the filter to something; even a couple of cable ties will do.

[cjhillman]

Cheers! I don't know why I didnt think of clamping the filter now. I swore it was in the same position before but I think your right, it was clamped to the body. Will sort out the curl on the two pipes too.

[cjhillman]

I'm messing about again with my VV Carb. The car has been running great for months but its now idling rough again. Its got good fuel in it, some redex top end stuff, been on some big runs down the motorway so i'm assuming all that is good. Once I've checked the points and condenser tomorrow if its still running bad I might need to look into a new Carb. The VV is a bit damp around the base and the gasket kits don't look that cheap! I had a problem with an air leak on the choke last year and once re sealed it ran lovely... so it could be that. I cant find any air leaks at the moment though.

Anyway... I keep looking at Weber 34 IBF and ICH on ebay hoping one will come up for a 1.1 Valencia engine but no joy. Does anyone have any advice on buying these, fitting these and getting them running? I'm some more people had these on their Fiestas than Escorts. I know you can buy an expensive kit from Classic Carbs which I might have to but its currently Car insurance x2 and Car tax time so saving a few quite is always a nice option.

[cjhillman]

First off... my running problem was dirty rotor arm  so I've got a whole load of service parts here/coming to start a fresh. I've gone for:

Rotor Arm
Distributor Cap
Points/Condenser
Spark Plugs
Air Filter
Oil + Filter
Rocker Cover Gasket (as i'm going to do the tappets)

Un sure if I should mess with the points and condenser... I've never done this but understand how it works and I've got a timing light. Its running ok now but these have been on since 2017/8 so maybe Its worth changing and keeping these a side? Let me know what you think. Also my current condenser has a noise suppressor on it... do I need to swap this over? At the moment I've got a DAB stereo and I'm guessing this is for old head units and nothing else?

Yesterday also marked 10 years of ownership!!! I remember when I was looking for one 3 years before buying this and everyone told me it was a terrible idea. They may have been right but It's been a great Car. Only broke down on my once in 30k (because I didnt have a spanner for the battery nut!) , taken me to a lot of gigs, been in a few music videos, film, adverts and taken it on some adventures. Lots of trips to Glasgow, London, Manchester, Dorset, Bristol. Driven a couple of semi famous musicians in it and a lot of music gear. Locked myself out of it twice, resprayed once and restored about 2/3 times and moved house in it once! Hoping I can get another 10 years out of it. When I can afford it I will try get some repro dealer plate. The originals are de laminating. 




















My neighbour decided to celebrate this too by hitting my car then denying it (even though I saw it). Not a mark on their massive Volvo SUV. So looks like i need a new corner bumper, fill in the dent/ spray it, new indicator lens and straighten out the mental bumper.

[vulgalour]

Liked for the good stuff here, not the bonk on the corner. Full refresh of the ignition stuff is sensible, be sure to keep the points and condenser in the glovebox if they're currently working, new ones are really variable quality, especially condensers. Having the good old ones with you will mean you shouldn't get stranded. Generally speaking I'd say if what's fitted is working fine then you're best to leave it alone until it's not.

The noise suppressor is usually to do with interference on old radios, so you don't get that clicking through the speakers. Some wireless devices can have the same issue, as can some mobile handsets.

If you end up with any glue residue when you take the speed tape off the indicator, a bit of WD40 and a plastic scraper will shift it, just be sure to degrease the paint afterwards so you don't end up with dirt getting glued to the WD40 residue.

[spacekadett]

I think you know the answer to the points and condenser situation 😉, but in all seriousness I would hang onto the old ones. On more than one occasion I’ve replaced one and ended up putting the old one back in. In fact the set in the Metro were spares out my track day toolbox and have been in since about 2016. I check the dwell a few times and it’s been in tolerance and they can stay there until it’s not 😂. I do have a couple of bumper corners in the shed, I’ll have a look if I get the chance 🙂

[cjhillman]

Cheers for the replies guys! I know what you mean re points!! Turns out with all the stuff I've ordered I'll have two spare sets of points and Condensers If I don't use them. They seems to be running fine so might be worth leaving like you say. Its not something i've ever done so I was wondering If I should take it on now in case something goes wrong on a dark cold night (this distributor is in the worst place). When they were last replaced they must have been new as a garage did them around 2018. All the stuff I have is intermotor but I'm guessing the new condensers must be older as they came from ebay (General Traffic cant find any).

So far I did an oil change today in the garage which was tight. I didn't want to do it in here but needs must and I took the air filter off and cleaned everything up with WD40. I think the oil pump has a leak on it so I wanted to see if thats where it was coming from. Tappets next!

On cleaning up the Carb I noticed the Diaphragm is blue which I think means it must have been replaced in the past. Thinking of buying a rebuild kit for the VV carb and just giving it a clean out, the only reason I don't want to is I hear they are complicated.

The reason I do want to rebuild the Carb and do the points etc Is its not the smoothest of rides. If you put your foot down it tends to jump and jog a bit and sometimes its just rough when driving around town. I'm sure this little 1.1 could be a bit smoother than it is.

Cheers for the offer of the bumper corner spacekadett !! That would be amazing if you do have one. Oh yeah I don't have anything to check the Dwell unfortunately so it would just be gap and timing.

[kevins]

I'd try points and a condensor before pulling the carb appart, these sort of running issues were the reason I went electronic on my cars.

[vulgalour]

That and inspecting any vacuum lines and making sure your fuel filter isn't stuffed up. The smallest thing can make for grumpy running.

[cjhillman]

Feb 24, 2023 22:09:10 GMT vulgalour said:

That and inspecting any vacuum lines and making sure your fuel filter isn't stuffed up. The smallest thing can make for grumpy running.

Good idea, I need to get another vac line from the carb to the air box. It looks ok but under tension a bit as i've cut it down once before. It was running a bit lumpy again before but then again ive only done the oil change so far. Its still leaking oil from the Oil Pump, I'm not sure if it serviceable but it seems to be coming from the back plate. Looked this up before and unsure if its the same as the Kent engine pump. With the oil being thin I'm guessing its coming out quicker.




Hers a new condenser that turned up earlier. not sure of its age so not sure if its of good quality.




Also just noticed a wet patch under the front of the Car. Its been like that a couple of nights so need to check that smack hasnt damaged the radiator or bottom hose!

[cjhillman]

I do like the Red Estate! I remember a friends mum having one as a child. A good price for them both too!

[cjhillman]

Looks like its the hose thats leaking... This is an old motorcraft one that I took off for a while then put back on as the "new" ones started cracking. New hose or clamp time I guess...

[cjhillman]

Today I had a quick look the Ignition system. I change the Distributor Cap + Rotor Arm and checked the points Gap which seemed like they might be slightly too snug. I didnt alter them yet as I'm trying not to do too much and end up with a non running car. Last time I swapped the cap I learned that mistake by getting the leads 1 out of sync 😂 I did notice the king lead and one of the plugs had some white fur/corosion on them so I think maybe they need a bit of lube on them or something?

I took all the plugs out, cleaned them and checked the Gap. Put them back in and went for a spin up to temp. I must admit I did turn it off and drive down the road a bit before pulling out number 4. Looks a bit sooty but hopefully all good?







I did notice on my drive its probably even more joggy now mainly on light acceleration but seemed a nicer idle at first. If you floor it is seems ok I guess although I've not really gone far enough to test this.

I thought I'd come back and change the condenser as a test and also check the timing. Not having much luck with the screw holding the condenser on though. Its stuck solid and after a few goes of penetrating oil and a long extension to try and get a good purchase on it... it wont budge so this is all I've gotten up to. Also when I through the Timing light on their I think it was reading 10 degrees of retard on there so I need to check where this is at properly before I change anything.

Heres the troublesome screw


The only other thing I can think of is its not getting enough fuel. The Fuel filter I recently swapped as the last one wasn't great still doesnt fill up that much so I'm wondering if its getting starved a bit? When I first put this one it filled right but now its as you see. This photo is while the car is running. 

Again this could all be the carb as the VV is know for not being a good unit. I just want to rule everything out before I spend some money on one. I've been offered another weber unit for £150 but I might have to move fast with all these tests in case it goes.