So the promised pics. The carport has been occupied by an 80 series which decided to spit out a kingpin bolt. Stuff people using rattle guns on everything!
Side on view showing flares, glass guards etc. Door needs a little fettling and then the guard gap can be cut evenly
Normally these flares are just screwed onto the guard. That way when you run out of road you can just fix the panel and screw on a new one. The guy we bought the shell from had a go at blending them in. Made a hash of it. Blend fillet was about 25mm which is ridiculous when you have to try and match the fronts which are a much smaller flare. Anyway lots of work and it is back to a reasonable size.
Front end with glass guards and bonnet, new slam panel etc. The glass parts were moulded from some old parts so needed a lot of work to fit. The bonnet will need reinforcing on the right edge and cutting to fit. Relatively easy though.
Front spoiler is also normally just screwed on but to keep the look it got blended in too. The spoiler needed a bit of work as well. Depending on ride height the spoiler might gain a rubber lip or splitter.
A bit of a comparison between a stock 2L Pinto Escort parts and what we will be running.
Reinforced coilover front strut with larger brakes compared to the stock part. I weighed all the unsprung items yesterday and when the car is finished we will corner weight it. May surprise you that the stock strut, rotor, caliper etc is 20.7kg and the new bits are 26.9kg. Springs are 250 lb/" and will be swapped out once we know the front end weight, probably drop to 150lb/" or thereabouts.
Stock 2L differential, 3.54:1. Weighs 55.8kg complete with brakes.
Borg Warner M75 that is going in the car. LSD. Weighs 76.2kg. In pieces at the moment because I am about to change the 5.431:1 crown wheel and pinon to a more sensible 3.89:1. Apparently the rotisserie guys get all weak at the knees about the BW 5.431 gearset so we might be able to recoup some $. Tape for size comparison.
Wheelsies. Distortion from the lens makes them look a bit weird but OD of the new tyres is very close to the factory 185/17 13. Running 225/45 on 8.5" rears and 205/50 on 8" fronts. Offset is -26 and -13 to fill those flares.
Overall this car will have 227.1kg of unspring weight compared to the stock cars 196.7kg. As the car is going to be significantly lighter than the original car because we are running fibreglass panels and polycarbonate side windows and the Duratec and 6sp box are alloy as opposed to the cast fucking heavy Pinto and rocket box keeping that rear end in contact with the road will mean some fiddling. Going for softer springs and Gp4 damping to start.
Very happy where we are at albeit it has taken ages. I am away for a few weeks but when I get back I will fit the motor and gearbox mounts and tidy up the trans tunnel. Wiring (all new) and interior can go in. And then registration!