I thought I'd start a complete thread for this car, as will be listing this on Ebay.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1983-Ford-Escort-RS1600i-Project/174302825265
So the story begins. My wife's brother (I'll call him Mr X for now ) bought this car in the summer of 2006. It was a complete, running car but hadn't been on the road for about 6 years. It was previously owned by a local pub landlord (visited by Mr X) in Medway, Kent (where this car spent most of it's life), and sat unused for many years in the pub car park. It probably became a nice ornament for a while. Inevitably it had suffered the weather and had corrosion on the floor and sills in particular. Mr X would often see it in the car park (being a keen lager connoisseur no doubt), so he made a deal with the landlord as knew the car was not in bad shape and should be saved, before it rots to death.
The car was then bought and garaged for about 6 months, and Mr X started on the restoration in his spare time. The car was stripped of all external fittings including all glass, all interior and dashboard. It was then shipped to my house 80 miles away (with all the bits), in the summer of 2007. It's condition is visible below when it arrived with the holes in sills and floors. It would start and drive/stop as normal at this stage. It was then transported to a friend of a friend's bodyshop where it would be done 'in no rush' so one of those cars that languishes in the corner of the bodyshop for a number of years and being done in spare time. Life goes on, (there's also other cars to play with) we're all busy and the car was hanging around in the background. Eventually in around September 2010 the car was done and had arrived back to my house looking marvellous. All rusty metal cut out, welded, and full respray.
So onward with the build! Not really, my wife was heavily pregnant at the time, so making preparations for a baby in the house was obviously more important Life changes of course, and gets very busy when you are a parent with a full time job. So the car has been sitting in my garage ever since. So nearly 10 years later I made the effort to get it out and have a gander yesterday. Gave it a gentle wash (but not the roof as there's no glass) and the pics are of the car in it's current condition, so it's still looking amazing with glossy paintwork all over. As I didn't strip the car, I didn't know what was missing/present and all the parts where in boxes and bags. So I emptied all of these and laid the parts out and gave them a clean too where possible. I logged this as I went along but may have missed some items which I'm not familiar with. Jobs to do are also listed below.
The parts I have logged as present are:
Dashboard Fascia complete - with No cracks
Interior Rear 1/4 panels
Centre console
Interior Door Panels
Interior Door handles
All top cappings for panels
Carpet retainer LH & RH
Heater Blower Motor
Rear Speaker Covers
Air Ducting for dash
Ashtray
All Seats
Various interior soundproofing
Engine Radiator - Although it looks like it's had a meeting with the Taliban
Fan for Radiator with cowling
New Carpet set
Boot Carpet
Rear Side Windows - with number plate etched (on all glass)
Washer Bottle
Steering column interior cowling
Wheel Centre Badges
Various door /boot seals
RS1600i Exterior graphics set
New covering material for Scheel seats
Door mirrors - Pair
Wiper motor and arms
Petrol Cap
Boot and door locks which all work with 1 key
Original rear lights (new ones fitted to car) that have the reg number etched in too!
Under bonnet insulation
Original Exhaust Manifold - Car is fitted with a full Janspeed system.
Covers for the Spotlamps
Gear Lever gaiter
Centre 'RS' pad for steering wheel
Seatbelt Stalks
All 4 original wheels in good condition but need a respray - Spare is from a RS Turbo and currently fitted to O/S Rear.
The original steering column top section has been replaced with another (from a Mk4 Escort looking at the key design) but the original is still there connected to the loom. I think this was done to get the car mobile due to a sticking lock and/or dodgy ignition switch. There is no front windscreen, and the radiator is not fitted to the car - but is buggered anyway. The engine has not been removed from the car, neither has any of the drivetrain or braking system. So that is all present and original.
This is how the car looked when it first arrived at my house.
A few years after it had come back after the body work. Some exterior fittings added.
And so it sat there for 4 more years, before it saw daylight in Feb 2018.
This takes us up to present day. The cars current condition.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1983-Ford-Escort-RS1600i-Project/174302825265
So the story begins. My wife's brother (I'll call him Mr X for now ) bought this car in the summer of 2006. It was a complete, running car but hadn't been on the road for about 6 years. It was previously owned by a local pub landlord (visited by Mr X) in Medway, Kent (where this car spent most of it's life), and sat unused for many years in the pub car park. It probably became a nice ornament for a while. Inevitably it had suffered the weather and had corrosion on the floor and sills in particular. Mr X would often see it in the car park (being a keen lager connoisseur no doubt), so he made a deal with the landlord as knew the car was not in bad shape and should be saved, before it rots to death.
The car was then bought and garaged for about 6 months, and Mr X started on the restoration in his spare time. The car was stripped of all external fittings including all glass, all interior and dashboard. It was then shipped to my house 80 miles away (with all the bits), in the summer of 2007. It's condition is visible below when it arrived with the holes in sills and floors. It would start and drive/stop as normal at this stage. It was then transported to a friend of a friend's bodyshop where it would be done 'in no rush' so one of those cars that languishes in the corner of the bodyshop for a number of years and being done in spare time. Life goes on, (there's also other cars to play with) we're all busy and the car was hanging around in the background. Eventually in around September 2010 the car was done and had arrived back to my house looking marvellous. All rusty metal cut out, welded, and full respray.
So onward with the build! Not really, my wife was heavily pregnant at the time, so making preparations for a baby in the house was obviously more important Life changes of course, and gets very busy when you are a parent with a full time job. So the car has been sitting in my garage ever since. So nearly 10 years later I made the effort to get it out and have a gander yesterday. Gave it a gentle wash (but not the roof as there's no glass) and the pics are of the car in it's current condition, so it's still looking amazing with glossy paintwork all over. As I didn't strip the car, I didn't know what was missing/present and all the parts where in boxes and bags. So I emptied all of these and laid the parts out and gave them a clean too where possible. I logged this as I went along but may have missed some items which I'm not familiar with. Jobs to do are also listed below.
The parts I have logged as present are:
Dashboard Fascia complete - with No cracks
Interior Rear 1/4 panels
Centre console
Interior Door Panels
Interior Door handles
All top cappings for panels
Carpet retainer LH & RH
Heater Blower Motor
Rear Speaker Covers
Air Ducting for dash
Ashtray
All Seats
Various interior soundproofing
Engine Radiator - Although it looks like it's had a meeting with the Taliban
Fan for Radiator with cowling
New Carpet set
Boot Carpet
Rear Side Windows - with number plate etched (on all glass)
Washer Bottle
Steering column interior cowling
Wheel Centre Badges
Various door /boot seals
RS1600i Exterior graphics set
New covering material for Scheel seats
Door mirrors - Pair
Wiper motor and arms
Petrol Cap
Boot and door locks which all work with 1 key
Original rear lights (new ones fitted to car) that have the reg number etched in too!
Under bonnet insulation
Original Exhaust Manifold - Car is fitted with a full Janspeed system.
Covers for the Spotlamps
Gear Lever gaiter
Centre 'RS' pad for steering wheel
Seatbelt Stalks
All 4 original wheels in good condition but need a respray - Spare is from a RS Turbo and currently fitted to O/S Rear.
The original steering column top section has been replaced with another (from a Mk4 Escort looking at the key design) but the original is still there connected to the loom. I think this was done to get the car mobile due to a sticking lock and/or dodgy ignition switch. There is no front windscreen, and the radiator is not fitted to the car - but is buggered anyway. The engine has not been removed from the car, neither has any of the drivetrain or braking system. So that is all present and original.
This is how the car looked when it first arrived at my house.
A few years after it had come back after the body work. Some exterior fittings added.
And so it sat there for 4 more years, before it saw daylight in Feb 2018.
This takes us up to present day. The cars current condition.