Mk1 Escort Mexico Current Project

Rescued from the back of a barn after 15 years; with a fair amount of corrosion combined with some damage to the rear quarter means this Mk1 is in desperate need of a long list of new panels, arriving already stripped to a bare shell by the owner and media blasted.

Along side the restoration some modifications will take place, these include a watts linkage,rear turrets, suspension and brake upgrades and a 5 speed conversion.

Just about every panel on the Escort has suffered extensive corrosion with the exception of the roof, boot floor and the rear firewall.    In addition to the corrosion the Escort has had its fair share of mot type repairs.  

The first task is to remove the rotted floor section and slot in the complete new one.  The chassis legs have been left in place along with some extra bracing until the new floor and outer sills have been welded in to place to help retain the integrity of the shell. With the new floor in place the outer sills will now be grafted on.  A pair of brand new inner wings are among the the selection of new parts sourced for the restoration, the quality of these panels is second to none butt do not come with the suspension towers or extra reinforcing panels, luckily all the parts required are readily available. All six parts that make up the chassis of the Escort are badly corroded but we could only secure two new centre sections and a pair of the good second hand rear sections so the front two will require some new sections fabricated .  With the end of the chassis sections replaced with some new steel the inner wings can now be fitted.

Both the A posts and bulkhead sides will be replaced with new panels along with a section of the upper bulkhead which will have to be hand fabricated .

 

Fortunately the inner reinforcing panel is in tact and wont need replacing or repairing.

With the new A post in place the bulkhead side can be removed .

 

The new reproduction panels are quite basic and don’t come with any of the tags and brackets  for the kick panels or the parcel shelf so the old ones from the original panels have been grafted into the new panels.

New seat mount crossmembers had to be fitted along with the new floor .

With the A post and bulkhead repaired the upper portion of the bulkhead had to be hand fabricated as replacement panels are not readily available,a new section of the wing rail has been  sourced and will be fitted once the inner wings have been aligned and welded into place.

With the Drivers side A post completed we can turn our attention to the passenger side which has’nt faired as well as the other, a large section of the inner and outer post has completely corroded away including the door check strap.

A section of the inner A post was replaced with the appropriate grade steel and grafted into  place.

Some new check strap brackets had to be fabricated from scratch using the drivers side ones as a template as the old ones have been lost.

Watch this space for regular updates.