1994 - Ford Escort Cosworth - power steering fluid tank

[jonomisfit]

It's only double skinned in a couple of places. The jacking point I removed and the gearbox mount. The rest of it is single skinned with a mid pan reinforcing member.

I've got no history but I think it was once a rally car, then used for circuit racing / track days, judging by the driver / codriver seat mounts, then the battery mount that was in place of the codriver seat.

[jonomisfit]

Well.... i think its best to say the panel fit wasn't what I was hoping for, but it was probably in line with what I was expecting.

I think most of the issues are Sierra rwd floor pan v's escort / sierra AWD floorpan, but some look like manufacturing issues. Anyway enough of the moaning.

Start knocking out the bigger dents and cleaning up the strengthening plate

P1020472 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020473 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

cleaned, de-rusted, and primed

P1020474 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then I roughly clamped the floorpan in place so I could get a sense of the job ahead

P1020475 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then doodled on where I'll need to cut it

P1020476 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

the strange cut line is to avoid some of the features that will cause me issues, but also include those i need, whilst covering all the rust areas..

this floorpan piece under the cage food needs some adjusting

P1020477 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and this is the main culprit of not fitting well, both the step on the left, and the height of the step

P1020478 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

but before blaming anything else I need the footwell stiff and in the right position, so tack on the bits i fettled earlier

clamp into position.

P1020479 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020480 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

tacked in. Not fully welded as if I need to adjust anything I want it to be fairly straight forward to remove.

P1020481 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020482 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

the gap on the left has opened a bit more than i would have liked

P1020483 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

fairly flat floor, which is good as it was pushed up before.

P1020484 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

pulled on the big boy pants and cut the panel

P1020485 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020486 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

re-trialling to see what needs further adjusted

P1020487 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

most of its a fair fit, however this corner is still 17mm high

P1020488 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020489 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

Its supposed to fit inside, but I cant get enough movement on it.

I measured, and the pressing is about 15mm deeper than the one I cut out. I'm assuming its a rwd/AWD difference thing...

this seems to be one of the culprits

P1020490 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

the escort floor has an additional pressing to step over this

difficult to see, but its the welded area

P1020491 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

marked up some further adjustment points

P1020492 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

nothing for it, but to slice the step area to allow some adjusting

P1020493 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

started flatting some of the unwanted features

P1020494 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

clamp in again, this time with the front end tucked inside as required

P1020495 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

getting better

P1020496 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

a slight bit of dressing required on the step to fit better

P1020497 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

there's a lot of tension here, so the slice probably isnt to the right length to take out the stress

P1020498 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

much better, tension relieved and also allows the mid floor brace to touch correctly. 600mm of slotting to get it right....

P1020499 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

still a load of tidying up and trimming to go, but feeling like its starting to get there now. Even though it wont be perfect, it'll be considerably better than the floor that was in there previously.

Probably back to it Saturday.

[Darkspeed]

Even if it irks a little that the new panel is not a perfect fit it's looking pretty good from where I'm sitting, plus it must to be better working with good clean steel.

[jonomisfit]

That it is.

[darrenh]

24 inches of slot. sigh

excellent work

[jonomisfit]

I got out the workshop for a couple of hours this afternoon.

I cut out a superfluous drain point that would get in the way, and started flattening the ribs to get it to sit flat at the flange.

P1020500 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

there's still quite a bit of dressing to go, then i need to bend a small step down in the floor.

also removed the additional step at the front end that was in the floor here and isnt needed.

P1020501 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then used the stepping dies in the bead roller to step down this bit.

P1020502 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

did some more trimming / tidying up

P1020503 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and its starting to get there now.

P1020504 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

a little bit more adjusting on the back end and it should all sit right. The gap at the top is an illusion as the panel has lifted up, when in position it is a nice but weld will about a 1mm gap.

the front end is starting to fit nicely now after all the adjusting.

P1020505 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

a few more fettles and on the next session I should be on to welding it in

As can be seen on the long back section i'm joining the panel in, in the midst of the pressing (weld into the corner) to try and minimise distortion. It also happens to be the bit after which the floor pan is quite a bit different and I encounter gearbox / prop / etc. brackets that will be a pain to move.

P1020506 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

[jonomisfit]

SO i needed to finish this back corner, now I know where the floor will be.

P1020507 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

take a template

P1020508 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

convert to steel

P1020509 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

adjust it over metal things

P1020510 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020511 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

add a step to it

P1020512 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

rust treated, then primed all the touch points on the floor

P1020513 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020514 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then clamped it in and tacked.

P1020515 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020516 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020517 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

adjusted some bits, then tacked some more

P1020518 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020519 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then slowly extended the tacks until the floor pan was welded in, then flipped over and stitched back in a few key places

P1020519 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020521 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020522 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020523 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and also went back and fully welded the outrigger

P1020524 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

tidied up a couple more pieces

P1020525 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020526 by jono_misfit, on Flickr


cleaned up the footwell, but am leaving the rest until I'm certain theres no further welding to the floor

P1020527 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

I'll be replacing the foot plate, so took some dims

P1020528 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020529 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

as its going to sit for a couple of weeks, and its ridiculously humid here at the moment, I gave the floor a quick once over with cheap weld through primer to protect from flash rust. It'll be cleaned off on the clean up for the actual paint

P1020537 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020538 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

I had a look round, there are still a fair number of repairs to do, but this should be the biggest done now.

[Darkspeed]

Nice feeling when you sign off on a major piece of work.

What's the plan for the drive-train with this?

[wc]

Floor is a thing of beauty now!

[jonomisfit]

At the moment its going to be cosworth v6 engine and awd transmission with lsd diffs.

Will see how that changes as it progresses. The price on yb engines has gone insane, so may consider a different turbo engine at some point.

Thanks.

[Darkspeed]

Jul 13, 2019 21:40:27 GMT jonomisfit said:

At the moment its going to be cosworth v6 engine

Watch out the sound of a V6 is quite intoxicating.

[kevins]

Jul 13, 2019 21:40:27 GMT jonomisfit said:

At the moment its going to be cosworth v6 engine and awd transmission with lsd diffs.

Will see how that changes as it progresses. The price on yb engines has gone insane, so may consider a different turbo engine at some point.

Thanks.

I drove the ons ford built  25 years ago, if I remember correctly it was 2wd. As a road car it was nicer then the YB, much more refined  and a quicker throttle response.

[jonomisfit]

I managed a couple of hours today.

New floors in, so i'll replace the extra foot plate

some steel required

P1020539 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

an application of a pen, some trimming and a trip to the bead roller

P1020542 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

try it out in the car

P1020540 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020541 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

I think a few extra beads will help

P1020543 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and a couple of tweaks so it fits better

P1020544 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and check back in the car

P1020545 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

i primed it so I can weld it in (and uber primed the floor to try and protect it)

As that was going to take a while to dry I thought i'd look at the sill repairs

hmmm, this patch is suspicious

P1020546 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

bit thin round this...

P1020547 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

cut off the patch

P1020548 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

well....they cut out some of the rust before plating it, just not all of it. having had a bit of a look and a scape its nicely clean on the mid sill though, thankfully.

there are a few patches to do

P1020549 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

P1020550 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

should get chance to start some point this weekend

[legend]

love your builds, surely a newer jag v6 or a 3.5L toyota V6 would do it a lot more justice

[jonomisfit]

It quite probably would, however as its awd getting the sump / diff support right is a bit of a pain.

The Ford Sierra/ cosworth awd system has the diff mounted on the side of the sump with a cross shaft running through it.

For getting it mobile the engine will be what I have, but I'm going to look into other engines after that. I'll add them to the list.

[darrenh]

C20LET from calibra turbo. A) because link to cosworth and ford bellhousings plentiful B) same power and torque as Yb, C) it would annoy purists D) see point C

[jonomisfit]

One I like that I've seen is a skyline engine conversions.

With big power the gearboxes are a bit weak so people do a skyline gearbox conversion. This one the guy cut out that step and fitted the full engine/ box and about 600 bhp.

[strikey]

Jul 20, 2019 6:47:51 GMT jonomisfit said:

One I like that I've seen is a skyline engine conversions.

With big power the gearboxes are a bit weak so people do a skyline gearbox conversion. This one the guy cut out that step and fitted the full engine/ box and about 600 bhp.

sounds like a plan to me!!

[jonomisfit]

trimmed back the rust from the mid sill join. Had a good look up inside the sill. Other than a lot of loose crud that has fallen into the sill its in very good condition in there. I cleaned back the remains of the mid sill seam as it has some light surface rust. I'm pretty certain its the braze that does for this joint.

cleaned it up and painted the opening.

P1020556 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

I also cut out some of the other rust points

P1020557 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then started making the infill panels

P1020558 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

forgot to take pics, but bent the panel to shape and put two steps on the panel to aid welding in and to replicate the piece I cut out

Welded it in

P1020559 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

welded in some other patches

P1020560 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

and the rest of the sill joint. All needs cleaned back but I managed to pretty much minimise the distortion so far

P1020561 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

cleaned back and filled in a little pinhole

P1020562 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

peeled back and straightened a dent in the outer skin at this point, then welded it back in

P1020563 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

then onto the long front repair, which has the drain point to add back in

P1020564 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

folded up a piece of steel, slit it strategically and hammered it lots, with added clampage

P1020565 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

hammered and clamped it some more

P1020566 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

ready to prime and weld in, drain isnt as deep as the original, but the distortion was going to get too much.

P1020567 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

welded in

P1020568 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

cut out to rust patches, both around mounting points for the side skirt

P1020569 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

again some more strange damage of some holes cut / drilled into the sill, so welded them up

P1020570 by jono_misfit, on Flickr

A few more patches needed, but ran out of time for today.

[Darkspeed]

It's the only way things/projects get finished - you just keep nibbling away at them whenever possible.