Epsilon71179

Hi all
just aquired a little mk II escort 2L panel van (australian)
Picked it up from a mate for $1500. its pretty damned good condition too.. nothing i have to do to it except re-register it this month..

Questions are:
What are the differences in weight compered with the 2 door?
I plan to hot it up quite a lot. budget is about $3000 for now.
But i know next to nothing about escorts, let alone cars themselves..

What would be the best first steps to take as far as go-fast mods?
Thanks for any replies

 

The MaDDeSTMaN

Sorry I didn't reply to this one earlier, I must not have seen it appear. It's fairly rare for me to not reply to any thread regarding Escorts!

Mk II escort 2L panel van, Cool! They seem to be pretty rare these days, at least it's hard to find one in good condition, so well done mate!

Differences in weight between the panel van and the 2 door, I'm not sure about and I don't have my workshop manual handy ATM - not even sure if it's listed in there or not...

Ok, first things first, is it a manual or an auto? Because if you plan on hotting up an Escort, manual is easily the only way to go!

I'll asume it's manual for now. $3000 for hotting up an Escort ought to be able to do quite a bit! Of course, the basic go faster bits would be a good set of extractors and a decent exhaust system, a aftermarket cam & get the heads ported (and get hardened valve seats fitted at the same time so it can run on unleaded fuel). Just doing that ought to make it go a fair bit harder, and you should still have plenty of change from your $3000. There are other things you can do, but these should give you the best 'bang-for-buck'.

If you're interested, you could have a look at the plans I've got for my Mk II Escort 2L sedan, which has the same engine (known as the 'Pinto')

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Epsilon71179

- is it a manual or an auto?
4 speed manual. Ill be looking for a sierra 5 speed or celica 5 speed box
What $$ would i be looking at?

- Mk II escort 2L panel van, Cool! They seem to be pretty rare these days
Thats why it interested me... seen plenty of 2 doors and sedans - but no panel vans!
wanting to do something a little different
If anyone has some pics or a link to any panel vans escorts let me know.... i be intereseted to see what others have done..

- There are other things you can do
Been looking though the forums for hours and saw these potential mods:

- "On the pinto go for rl34 cam,double valve springs,grp 1 valves,head work,2.8ltr v6 pistons in a 205 block and rods(2.1tlr),arp bolts,lightened fly,twin 45mm webers,a good set of extractors. Get that all dynoed and it will flog most trick cars on the road today.
(probly not the most user friendly as a daily driver though)

-Then there is always the diff gears - go 4.11's out of a panel van or 3.77's out of a 1.6, and run a sierra 5sp. A lot more get up and go! "
Would these mods suit the panel van?

-Just as a reallyrough estimate - how much would all this cost; including labour?
(i wont be doing any of the engine mods myself..)
Looking for workshop with good performance reputation in Sydney (south)
Money isnt so much of an issue - i'd prefer to pay for well recognised and known mechanics, than getting 'Bob's dad down the road to do for a few cartons of grog..' If you know what i mean...
Im not afraid to spend some money on this van :-)
I have a mate in Brisbane that i need to beat in his 2 door rs2000

Last thing - i founf this Escort Ghia dashboard gauges on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....category=29699
Would this fit happily in the van? i dont like the idea of an external tacho mounted on the dash... this'd look far better..

Epsilon71179

Know of anyone selling any mags and tyres..??

This may be the hardest decision to make on the car.
Mags can make of break to look or stance of the car...

What are some types of mag that look really good with escorts and are popular?

I never really been a fan of newer style mags on older cars...

A mate is selling these 15 inch rims that he had on his gemini.
Dont know if theyed fit or would look any good - but theyre $500, and hes putting new rubber onto all of em too..
Not too sure if i want them yet..
So if youre interested pm me for my number..
(am i allowed to advertise this on this board??)


Thanks..

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The MaDDeSTMaN

A 4 speed manual is a great start! I'm not sure what a sierra or celica 5 speed box is worth exactly, I'll be looking into it more seriously once I've done a few other modifications and I've got together a reasonable amount of cash for the 5 speed. From what I already know, the 5 speed boxes vary in price according to supply & demand, as well as condition. I don't think they're particularly expensive, but nor are they cheap either. From memory, they're worth around the $500 mark on average, but that's just a rough estimate based on what I was quoted ages ago now.

I saw a VERY nice Escort panelvan at the last Small Ford Sunday early this year. Sorry, I don't have any pictures or any links to other done up escort panel vans, but if they're at next years SFS (early Feb, you might be interested in having a look at the RSOC Vic web site) then I'll make sure I get lots of photos and send them to you, if you're interested. I remember the guy had mirrors set up under the car so you could see the detail he'd done underneath!

Yeah, would certainly fly, but like you said, not the most friendly as a daily driver. That's why my planned mods are a little less radical, because I want a car that is still a good daily driver, but with more go then stock.

I guess it depends what diff ratio the panel van already has. I'm not sure, but if it's already got a 4.11 (does anybody else here know what diff ratio a 2.0 Mk II panel van has?), then you're laughing! But yeah, the 5 speed sierra would be great, not so much for any added acceleration, but for making it more economical to drive at higher speeds - my Escort sits on just above 3,000 RPM at 100 Km/h, and if I had a 5 speed it would be running at a lower RPM at 100 clicks. From what I know (and I might be wrong), the 5 speed sierra boxes have the same first 4 ratios as the standard 4 speed Escort boxes, and the 5th gear is an overdrive. But hey, I might be wrong, I've only been getting into this for the last few years and I'm still learning.

All of it, parts & labour? I guess the big thing is that it depends exactly what you decide to do, how far you want to take it. What I suggested should leave you with change from $3000, you could probably buy the 5 speed and get it fitted as well and still have some left over. But if you decided to upgrade the cam, valve springs, valves,head work, pistons and rods,arp bolts, flywheel, & get twin 45mm webers, well, I think you'd be looking at a fair amount over the $3000.
Sorry, I'm in Melbourne, so I can't suggest a good place to go to in south Sydney, I'm looking for a good place in the northern suburbs of Melbourne to take my Escort.
Do you know what (if any) mods have been done to your mates RS2000?
Sure sounds like that van is in the hands of someone who both appreciates it and deserves it! :-)

Looks practically the same as mine - then again, my Escort is a Mk II Ghia So there'd be something wrong if it looked radically different... I'm pretty sure it'd fit happily in the van, and I agree, it would look FAR better then getting an external tacho. Actually, now that I think about it, it will fit, I'm 99.9% sure, because an Escort panelvan I was looking at buying just before I got my 4 door had that same dash installed. I didn't buy it because it only had the rust holding it together...

I've attached a pic of my dash, which looks SLIGHTLY different to the one for sale on EBay, however the pic of the one on EBay isn't exactly the best quality pic...

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XR6 VCT UTE

Boys
You'll pay between $400-$500 for a sierra (type 9) 5 speed.

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Its just me in the Wagon

Epsilon71179

Is the sierra gearbox the best choice?
What other options are there?

EBXR

Sierra box is the easiest one to fit. Celica box was a common fitment until the Sierra box became freely available...

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'67 Mustang V8 4sp... what fun to drive!

The MaDDeSTMaN

Sorry, I hadn't noticed this post...

There was someone selling a set of mags (I think they were hotwires) on this site, suitable for (and in fact they came off) an escort. I was interested, but had no real way of getting them down to Melbourne. If you're lucky, the thread might still be available.

Personally, I don't think those 15" rims would look good on an escort. I'm with you, I'm not a fan of newer style mags on older cars either.

I guess at the end of the day, which rims to get for an escort is a personal taste issue. Personally, I'd be trying to get some rims with a 'rally look' to them. Good luck!

That reminds me, have you got any pictures of your escort to put up here for us to see, it might help us help you select a good set of rims...

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Grego

i own a esky van with custom paint, 2 litre motor with extractors and 2" exhaust, sony stereo, ill see if i can get u some pics.