Thinking of buying an escort

[crembz]

Been eyeballing some mk1 escorts lately, although I'd rather a Capri but they seem very hard to find.

Is there a thread for common problems to look out for when buying one of these? Main concern for me is rust areas. I'm planning to slowly bring it back to life. Any advise welcome.

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[allanv6gt]

Any Capri or Escort I/II is at least 35 yrs old.
They are 1960s/70s design, so rust proofing and seam treatment was pretty basic.
They will rust anywhere where moisture and dirt can collect. Such as drain holes get blocked, thin gaps between panels (e.g. rear of front wheelarch), under rubber seals, Escort rear roof seam, floors from wet carpets, etc etc .

Buy something that has lived its life inland, and you might get lucky (maybe). Or that you know has had the rust already chopped out.

[crembz]

Thanks for the advice! Is there a secret place escorts for sale live, assist from carsales or Gumtree?

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[allanv6gt]

Some come up thru the local clubs. Contact those in your area - RS Club, Small Ford Club etc, or even this forum For Sale, or http://www.classic-ford.org/

Buy the best body possible, other parts are cheap to fix in comparison.

Mind you, today's prices are nothing like they were 5yrs ago. Seem to be escalating rapidly.

[MDS69]

if you are on facebook look at a page All About Ford Escorts. you might have some luck there.

[Mechan1k]

They're expensive .... an usually charge by the hour in most cases.
How much money do you have?

[simon varley]

also FB Aussie small fords cortinas capris escorts and FB Ford Escorts Australia

if you are in Vic there is a Small Ford Sunday in Feb at Williamstown run by RSOC and Binks Ford

I got my 1973 mk1 from gumtree for $1000 so the are out there just keep looking

[simon varley]

parts are readily available even body panels but many have to come from the UK. Burtons, GRP4 etc have great web sites that deduct the 20% VAT. There are local stockists - SMCKA has restarted. RareSpares never have many parts but Mike at Yesterford has load - he may be a good contact for sales too.

[jpblue1000]

dont do it!



rusty badly built buckets...
in my experience they can have rust anywhere. but common areas for australian cars tend to be the front floors, heater bubble 'A' pillar top and gutter mould, rear 1/4's front chassis rail around radiator end, sills, splash panels, guard rails and around the boot aperture and rear arches outers.
Parts are readily available and the catalogue is growing, almost al panels can be bought now new pattern.
I had a new front panel, and radiator surround delivered from the UK in 5 days for not much more than i could source through smcka. (he didn't have any available)
check out http://rsmotorsport.com.au/forums/vi...hp?f=27&t=4974 for possible cars for sale.

JP

[crembz]

I really should be more specific when talking about escorts huh?

Thanks for the info all. I'm checking out all the links that have been posted.

Seems like rust is the only major problem, thought that would be common with almost all older vehicles.

@jpblue1000 what would your alternative be over an Escort?

My decision points so far have been:

Want something I can get on club reg.
Want something I can have as my 'toy car', slowly restore/modify etc.
Prefer something that will likely increase in value
Wouldn't mind something with a carby ... never owned a carby motor in the past
Possible engine swap

My shortlist looks like (not that short)

Ford Escort Mk1 or Mk2 (stick with pinto or SR swap)
Ford Capri Mk1 or Mk2 (can't find any)
Ford Falcon XB/XC (slightly out of budget to get something road registered not falling apart)
HQ/HJ/HX/HZ Kingswood (same problem as XB/XC)
Jag XJ6/12/S (complicated old motor sounds like a nightmare)
MGB
Datsun 280,120Y,1600 (sr engine swap)

More modern options:
MX5 (cheap overall to get on road, SR20 swap)
Nissan S13/R32/early R33 (quickest bang for buck)
E36 (ls engine swap)

[jpblue1000]

escort all day. I was being sarcastic!
Mines a ...t!


JP

[OLD BALDY]

Hi, if you are in Melb check out Ford Four Car Club, good luck, Escort a wise choice.

[Cav]

Originally Posted by crembz

I really should be more specific when talking about escorts huh?

Thanks for the info all. I'm checking out all the links that have been posted.

Seems like rust is the only major problem, thought that would be common with almost all older vehicles.

@jpblue1000 what would your alternative be over an Escort?

My decision points so far have been:

Want something I can get on club reg.
Want something I can have as my 'toy car', slowly restore/modify etc.
Prefer something that will likely increase in value
Wouldn't mind something with a carby ... never owned a carby motor in the past
Possible engine swap

My shortlist looks like (not that short)

Ford Escort Mk1 or Mk2 (stick with pinto or SR swap)
Ford Capri Mk1 or Mk2 (can't find any)
Ford Falcon XB/XC (slightly out of budget to get something road registered not falling apart)
HQ/HJ/HX/HZ Kingswood (same problem as XB/XC)
Jag XJ6/12/S (complicated old motor sounds like a nightmare)
MGB
Datsun 280,120Y,1600 (sr engine swap)

More modern options:
MX5 (cheap overall to get on road, SR20 swap)
Nissan S13/R32/early R33 (quickest bang for buck)
E36 (ls engine swap)

Nice post until I got to the 120Y bit.

Then coffee started running out my nose.

[crembz]

JP sorry, but part of me thinks I'm nuts for looking at these lol.

Thanks for the club link, I'll need that anyways for club reg.

Now to decided on Mk1 vs Mk2!

[OLD BALDY]

Mk1, not a square box!!!