I had about 6 Mk 2’s back in the early 90’s, such amazing fun cars to drive. I paid £100 for a 1.3 Ghia 4 door and had a few old rust buckets too. Never forget my £600 1600 sport though. Wish I still had it , lol.
This is really good video as some time ago I managed to get 2 door mk2 rolling shell. It had been sitting in a barn for last 30-something years. Seller originally had intention to turn it into rally car, but lost interest after pulling the engine out and cutting tubs out. Pretty much rust free and hasn't been welded at all. He just wanted to get rid of it, so he was asking 1 euro for it. After I made sure he was absolutely certain about that, I insisted that I can at least give him a bottle of good single malt. He was happy with that deal. Current plan is to do "restomod" and use it for roadtrips during summer. 2.0 blacktop Zetec is going in.
When you said about a month to sort the rust panels, that's really quick. I been restoring Escorts here in South Australia for about 25yrs , as they aren't so bad here it still takes me 8 to 12 months whether buying in panels or making them as I go 👍. Your work looks top spec , keep it up. As for engine in the modded one go the st225 or dare I say it 2.0 focus turbo diesel !
Loved the effort put into replacing the body panels, at least replacing the whole floor panel it gave you a chance to inspect, clean and protect the chassis rails inside, for the custom car l would go for a Mk2 rally look with a modern Ford engine, always been a bit conservative, my 1971 Ermine White Mexico had no graphics on it, only a triple red pinstripe with the metal Mexico badges, had some fun in that car!!!!
I used to own a Mk1 1300 as a teenager and regret selling it. Always wanted a Mk2 2 door! Watching this video is exactly why I haven't bought another as a adult, amazing car and the work you've put into it is even more impressive! Would absolutely love to buy one after you guys have done such great work to it! Custom wise, I'd love to see a Honda S2000 engine and gearbox with a turbo done for gymkhana type driving
Just come across this channel and subbed...love what you do, amazing content well done lads the escort looks stunning...keep up the fantastic channel..best wishes
If youn want to go really left field take a look at the salt flats at Bonneville. You can see cars powered by four cylinder Ford small blocks which are literally sawn in half Cleveland or Windsor 351 motors. As they retain the 90 degree angle they should fit the Escort shell and the power and sheer lowdown torque would be phenominal. Then carry the salt flats theme through the rest of the build with Moon discs on the wheels, a substantial roll cage and maybe even a large turbo or spercharger. Finish the car off with a suitable paint job and who knows - you could actuallly be racing on the sacred salt next year!
had a range of mk 1,s and 2,s my favourite was my xpack rs2000 custom from the factory in germany xpack alloys black fishnet recaro,s finished in diamond white 2.1 fast road cam twin 44 idf,s sounded like a v8 .. nice bulids great to see them back on the road again, by the way where do you source the panels and floor pans ect ? in case i build one more before i expire my self 📉
Looking forward to more on the escorts this is deffo one to watch I'd go zakspeed wide arched hot wheels style livery decals wide split rim centre lock wheels brembos or Alcon calipers 300mm discs engine wise deffo cosworth engine turbo or throttle bodies standalone engine management digital dash display carbon fibre accents endless possibilities 😎👍🏻
Great work, I'm loving this! Are you going group 4 arches and coilovers on the modified car? what about put drl's and led tail lights in it? Small change I know, but it's in the details. 👍👍👍
Stick a modern diesel engine in the custom one. Big torque, big turbo and remap! You know it makes good viewing if nobody else has done it (maybe they haven't done it for a reason right enough) cant wait to see how these pan out. 👌
What would be a good vehicle too start out with. I’m a mechanic been working on vehicles for around 12 years in garages but I have been around cars having repairs done since I was able to walk but I’ve never done anything around restorations
It just depends on what your comfortable doing buddy, also if you can paint a little or know someone who can do some paint work cheap for you. What’s you welding like? Have you worked at main dealers or an independent garage?
First of all they came from South Africa you should have done a full body vin search and vin check lol. Be rough to find out it was stole down the street 10 years ago lol.
Unfortunately it was replace the rotten panels or scrap the car, what else could be done. Yes all lined up well, took longer than expected in the metal work side but had to be done right.
Hi there. Well it took 2 of us 4 months to do start to finish plus the parts and materials, it all adds up to quite a lot unfortunately. It’s definitely one to consider how much the car will be worth once it’s finished before you start.
Loved the video guys, looking forward to seeing the rest of them. How about the focus st 2.5ltr 5 cylinder turbo for the custom mk2. Now that would be different and it is a Ford motor you can't get hate mail for that...
Hi Paul, awesome video. Wanted to ask, are you looking to hire at the moment ? I would love to come and work for you, if possible. I'll even sweep the floors!
Hi loved the video I am just about to start a Mk2 escort harrier but like urs needs floors bulk head roof and rear quarter and looked at the Chinese pannels are they really that bad thanks
It depends how you are at welding. They are ok but all the ones I had needed lots of work to fit properly. If your just doing a rally car or something that’s going to get trashed they’re ideal to use. Basically it took me and Keith nearly 2 months to do a job that could of taken about 3 weeks if they were perfect. It’s a toss up between how well you can shape metal and weld vrs spending nearly double on panels. Good luck on it and have fun 👍.
@@justinharvey3450 I'm doing a MK2 rot box at the moment, the car came with replacement Chinese panels. What I have found with them is that the edges/bends in the panels aren't as sharp as the OE panels. This isn't a huge problem with the floors, but I can see it being a problem when fitting say a wing or a door as the swage line will look terrible.
automotech 2 post lift, both mine are the 240v. Great for body work cause you can get all round the cars and hang doors easy etc (no ramp post in the way)
How good was the fit on that higgins floor pan mate? I’m doing mine at the moment and was thinking of cheaping out on the floorpan, how bad can it be?😁 cheers Gaz..
Used weld through primer on the overlapping panel joints, epoxy primer inside the chassis rails and where ever we can’t get at with paint after because it’s water proof, polyurethane seam sealer and gravitex paintable stone chip. Hopefully will do the job well 👍. If your in the uk I can send you some eBay item numbers if you need any for your car.
@@ODDAutos I'm based in SA but I really appreciate your response. I see all the shoddy work on escorts and want to change the way these cars are being restored. I can't wait for part 2, I really enjoyed this video. Jeep up the amazing work
Apparently the new shells are ok but also need a bit of work to get A1. So I took this route because at least I get the panels right and straight to put them on rather than cutting the panels off a new shell to re-align them and then weld them back on. Plus I like to watch Keith sweat.
@@ODDAutos Also nice to keep a bit of history of the original shell. I thought new shells would be bang on. I guess everyone has a different idea of what's acceptable.
Welded braces inside the dash, in the lower kick panels, strut tops and in between the chassis rails underneath. Also fitted the floor in before taking off the quarters etc. Seems to be fine which is good news.
I LOVED seeing this! Escort Mk.2 shell being brought back to Brand New condition, I have a 1974 Ford CORTINA Mk.3 which has had the same work, all rusty panels removed, with Ford new old stock Panels refitted, on my channel, though mine had more rust! so needed more panels, her shell is in "Brand New" condition too, now at the paint shop, mine got started 8 years ago so a long build, (with 3 years delay searching world wide) trying to find super rare original Ford panels I needed, not many people restore to this high quality standard, so great to see it done here. by you guys. (And you have 18 more subscribers than my channel, -so don't feel too bad, it seems very hard to get viewers to subscribe for some reason?, maybe they mostly watch UA-cam on phones these days?, and do not want endless notification sounds going off, (if that is how it works?),, my mobile phone is from 1999, and not connected to the internet, so i don't have that problem, lol.
Came back to say amazing. Your garage is sooo tidy 👍
Look forward to watching these builds, poignant memories of my teenage years in my 1600 Sport 👍
Looking forward to this 👍
You guys make that look way to easy. Love your work 👍
I had about 6 Mk 2’s back in the early 90’s, such amazing fun cars to drive. I paid £100 for a 1.3 Ghia 4 door and had a few old rust buckets too. Never forget my £600 1600 sport though. Wish I still had it , lol.
This is really good video as some time ago I managed to get 2 door mk2 rolling shell. It had been sitting in a barn for last 30-something years. Seller originally had intention to turn it into rally car, but lost interest after pulling the engine out and cutting tubs out. Pretty much rust free and hasn't been welded at all. He just wanted to get rid of it, so he was asking 1 euro for it.
After I made sure he was absolutely certain about that, I insisted that I can at least give him a bottle of good single malt. He was happy with that deal.
Current plan is to do "restomod" and use it for roadtrips during summer. 2.0 blacktop Zetec is going in.
Now that’s a cheap buy! Got to love these mk2’s. They are great cars!
Really enjoyed the Mk1 renovation. Great to see a Mk2 also.
Awesome work both, look forward to seeing these progress
When you said about a month to sort the rust panels, that's really quick. I been restoring Escorts here in South Australia for about 25yrs , as they aren't so bad here it still takes me 8 to 12 months whether buying in panels or making them as I go 👍. Your work looks top spec , keep it up.
As for engine in the modded one go the st225 or dare I say it 2.0 focus turbo diesel !
Been following you on Instagram for ages but never knew you had a UA-cam channel! What a project, years of skill I expect!
Loved the effort put into replacing the body panels, at least replacing the whole floor panel it gave you a chance to inspect, clean and protect the chassis rails inside, for the custom car l would go for a Mk2 rally look with a modern Ford engine, always been a bit conservative, my 1971 Ermine White Mexico had no graphics on it, only a triple red pinstripe with the metal Mexico badges, had some fun in that car!!!!
Very true! They are great fun!
I used to own a Mk1 1300 as a teenager and regret selling it. Always wanted a Mk2 2 door! Watching this video is exactly why I haven't bought another as a adult, amazing car and the work you've put into it is even more impressive!
Would absolutely love to buy one after you guys have done such great work to it!
Custom wise, I'd love to see a Honda S2000 engine and gearbox with a turbo done for gymkhana type driving
Fantastic work there boy's.👍👍😁
Nice work guys, looking forward to part 2. My bud for the custom is based around 2.0 ecoboost, a modern interpretation of the original concept...
Exactly my thoughts, still deciding though.
Wow! That is a LOT of rust. I have a Mk2 1600 in dire need of resotration but I have no clue about this sort of thing and no money.
Just come across this channel and subbed...love what you do, amazing content well done lads the escort looks stunning...keep up the fantastic channel..best wishes
Welcome Tony, glad you like the videos. You’ve got a lot to watch now then lol. Enjoy 👍
Just come across your channel this is awesome !!!!!!! Just subscribed can’t wait for more !
If youn want to go really left field take a look at the salt flats at Bonneville. You can see cars powered by four cylinder Ford small blocks which are literally sawn in half Cleveland or Windsor 351 motors. As they retain the 90 degree angle they should fit the Escort shell and the power and sheer lowdown torque would be phenominal. Then carry the salt flats theme through the rest of the build with Moon discs on the wheels, a substantial roll cage and maybe even a large turbo or spercharger. Finish the car off with a suitable paint job and who knows - you could actuallly be racing on the sacred salt next year!
Nice work guy's & your only just down the road from me I'm just by the bank house hotel 👌🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Ahh cool! Yes love it round here.
Yep subscribed... cant wait see the next episode
Why is there always dislikes? Amazing amount of work, and it looks well done too.
Cheers buddy, no idea about the dislikes. Maybe they don’t like my haircut 😂
Brilliant chaps
had a range of mk 1,s and 2,s my favourite was my xpack rs2000 custom from the factory in germany xpack alloys black fishnet recaro,s finished in diamond white 2.1 fast road cam twin 44 idf,s sounded like a v8 .. nice bulids great to see them back on the road again, by the way where do you source the panels and floor pans ect ? in case i build one more before i expire my self 📉
Just stumbled across this channel guys. Great work and an entertaining video. I've subscribed and look forward to future episodes.
Cheers Steve, glad you like the videos! Much more to come 👍
Top work and good skills. 👍
Thank you buddy 👍👍
Great job. How comes the shell wasnt braced when you cut all the panels off? Surely it would go out of line/shape with all that cut out no?
Looking forward to more on the escorts this is deffo one to watch I'd go zakspeed wide arched hot wheels style livery decals wide split rim centre lock wheels brembos or Alcon calipers 300mm discs engine wise deffo cosworth engine turbo or throttle bodies standalone engine management digital dash display carbon fibre accents endless possibilities 😎👍🏻
Great work, I'm loving this! Are you going group 4 arches and coilovers on the modified car? what about put drl's and led tail lights in it? Small change I know, but it's in the details. 👍👍👍
I was thinking that with a 4 link and arches. Just what engine to put in it.
@@ODDAutos I'm thinking of going 2.5 Mazda L5-VE (Duratec) from a 2008 on Mazda 6 in mine on a Mazda MX5 ^speed box.
I've just started my mk1 rs which is a rotter, great video 👍
Good luck with it buddy 👍👍
Are those the Higgins mk2 panels from Ireland? Cheers 🍻
Nice one lads. 👌🏼
Just subscribed, I know nothing but that looks like a job well done 👍 not much of the original left though .
It was just like “triggers broom” lol
Stick a modern diesel engine in the custom one. Big torque, big turbo and remap! You know it makes good viewing if nobody else has done it (maybe they haven't done it for a reason right enough) cant wait to see how these pan out. 👌
Can you imagine the hate mail lol.
@@ODDAutos haters gonna hate 👌
fit the runni gear from a scrap tesla.
mazda rx8 6 speed gearbox with a Honda k20 turbo engine running around 550bhp all fun
What would be a good vehicle too start out with. I’m a mechanic been working on vehicles for around 12 years in garages but I have been around cars having repairs done since I was able to walk but I’ve never done anything around restorations
It just depends on what your comfortable doing buddy, also if you can paint a little or know someone who can do some paint work cheap for you. What’s you welding like? Have you worked at main dealers or an independent garage?
Custom classic 👌
Be nice to see either a high spec pinto or n/a cosworth under the bonnet
Very very nice
what about a modern day engine in the custom escort ie a ford eco boost
Might go st focus
First of all they came from South Africa you should have done a full body vin search and vin check lol. Be rough to find out it was stole down the street 10 years ago lol.
It's like the hammer that has had 3 replacement handles and 2 replacement heads.
Did it all line up well when reassembling? Good job guys
Unfortunately it was replace the rotten panels or scrap the car, what else could be done.
Yes all lined up well, took longer than expected in the metal work side but had to be done right.
Hi guys, grate workmanship. How much would this work cost?
Hi there. Well it took 2 of us 4 months to do start to finish plus the parts and materials, it all adds up to quite a lot unfortunately. It’s definitely one to consider how much the car will be worth once it’s finished before you start.
@@ODDAutos Ball-park figure?
Well this one cost just over £10k in parts and paint then about the same in labour costs and overheads. Hope this helps
@@ODDAutos Yes thanks very much sir
Loved the video guys, looking forward to seeing the rest of them. How about the focus st 2.5ltr 5 cylinder turbo for the custom mk2. Now that would be different and it is a Ford motor you can't get hate mail for that...
Where you get those panels from ? Full floor pans wow ive got a mk 2 panel van laying around but im in australia?
Best ones to get are magnum panels now
Hi Paul, awesome video. Wanted to ask, are you looking to hire at the moment ? I would love to come and work for you, if possible. I'll even sweep the floors!
I would love to do a restoration wouldn’t know where to start
👍
How did you find the fit/quality of the Chinese panels?
Terrible! They would be ok for a rally car when you don’t care about crisp pressed lines etc.
I saw the shells a few years ago at classic Ford.
They were pretty poor.
It's always a balance of panel price vs time to make it fit.
Hi loved the video I am just about to start a Mk2 escort harrier but like urs needs floors bulk head roof and rear quarter and looked at the Chinese pannels are they really that bad thanks
It depends how you are at welding. They are ok but all the ones I had needed lots of work to fit properly. If your just doing a rally car or something that’s going to get trashed they’re ideal to use. Basically it took me and Keith nearly 2 months to do a job that could of taken about 3 weeks if they were perfect. It’s a toss up between how well you can shape metal and weld vrs spending nearly double on panels. Good luck on it and have fun 👍.
Thanks I am a welder fabricator by trade but the pannels all look good in the pics thanks for ur feed back look forward to ur next videos
@@justinharvey3450 I'm doing a MK2 rot box at the moment, the car came with replacement Chinese panels. What I have found with them is that the edges/bends in the panels aren't as sharp as the OE panels. This isn't a huge problem with the floors, but I can see it being a problem when fitting say a wing or a door as the swage line will look terrible.
Where did you get the scissor lifts?
automotech 2 post lift, both mine are the 240v. Great for body work cause you can get all round the cars and hang doors easy etc (no ramp post in the way)
How good was the fit on that higgins floor pan mate? I’m doing mine at the moment and was thinking of cheaping out on the floorpan, how bad can it be?😁 cheers Gaz..
Hiya Gaz, the Higgins one fit but took a lot of messing about to be honest. I’d probably got for a Magnum one in the future for time saving.
@ thanks mate. Magnum it is 👍
All the panels you used are they Higgins or magnum
I’ve heard the Magnum panels are really good, probably what I’d use next time. 👍
Legends
are the new panels a good fit or do they require plenty of beating in to place ?
They needed loads of work to get perfect, if your not fussy on the panel gaps it’s good for the money.
Have you guys thought about setting up a patreon account?
What seam sealer/ anti rust sealer did you use after the welding was done?
Used weld through primer on the overlapping panel joints, epoxy primer inside the chassis rails and where ever we can’t get at with paint after because it’s water proof, polyurethane seam sealer and gravitex paintable stone chip. Hopefully will do the job well 👍. If your in the uk I can send you some eBay item numbers if you need any for your car.
@@ODDAutos I'm based in SA but I really appreciate your response. I see all the shoddy work on escorts and want to change the way these cars are being restored. I can't wait for part 2, I really enjoyed this video. Jeep up the amazing work
That's a lot of work! Great to see how it's done. :-) Is this cheaper than spending 7500 GBP for a new shell?
Apparently the new shells are ok but also need a bit of work to get A1. So I took this route because at least I get the panels right and straight to put them on rather than cutting the panels off a new shell to re-align them and then weld them back on. Plus I like to watch Keith sweat.
@@ODDAutos Also nice to keep a bit of history of the original shell. I thought new shells would be bang on. I guess everyone has a different idea of what's acceptable.
@@ODDAutos yeah we also like to see Keith sweat! :-) Really awesome to watch it all come together.
Go 4 wheel drive i had my mk2 rs 4 wheel drive for a few years back to 2 wheel drIve now ......much more fun 👍
You guys have too little subs for the quality of your vids. 👍👍
Focus st 5 pot turbo for the custom,,,,
Just subscribe myself...let's go classic 2.00 pinto in the classic....and cossy turbo in the custom...
Subbed!!!
No idea how the shell should be straight after that amount of panel replacement without using a body jig bench!
Being super careful and experience bud
Amazed u havent braced the shell
Welded braces inside the dash, in the lower kick panels, strut tops and in between the chassis rails underneath. Also fitted the floor in before taking off the quarters etc. Seems to be fine which is good news.
@@ODDAutos I saw at the start you appeared to cut a lot out the shell at the start which appeared to be no bracing in place looks great at the end
Big bock Chevy or a LS block in either of cars
I LOVED seeing this! Escort Mk.2 shell being brought back to Brand New condition, I have a 1974 Ford CORTINA Mk.3 which has had the same work, all rusty panels removed, with Ford new old stock Panels refitted, on my channel, though mine had more rust! so needed more panels, her shell is in "Brand New" condition too, now at the paint shop, mine got started 8 years ago so a long build, (with 3 years delay searching world wide) trying to find super rare original Ford panels I needed, not many people restore to this high quality standard, so great to see it done here. by you guys. (And you have 18 more subscribers than my channel, -so don't feel too bad, it seems very hard to get viewers to subscribe for some reason?, maybe they mostly watch UA-cam on phones these days?, and do not want endless notification sounds going off, (if that is how it works?),, my mobile phone is from 1999, and not connected to the internet, so i don't have that problem, lol.
😀
Hey Maxi 👋
👍👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌👌
Cheers 👍👍👍
supercharged duratec
Yooooo
We not good at filler work in SA.That car was not owned by vehicle enthusiast and probably never stayed in a garage.
Mmmm, not really much left of the original with the rot removed, with your skills you could have made a new replica...🤣
Custom escort go all 70's metal flake and fur seats but power it with electricity.