Miss Fitts

[98ciHemi]

Re: Miss Fitts

Most of the factory wiring is in the traschcan right now. The new switch panel is in, but the only things currently wired are the electric fuel pump and the ignition system. Next goal is to get a charging system functional, and then headlights. Might not get done since I have to take her back to the airport tomorrow.

[98ciHemi]

Re: Miss Fitts

OK, update from spring break. Right now I have the ignition, fuel, charging system, and electric choke all functional. I still haven't really sunk my teeth into the mess that is the lighting on the car. I might need to find some more electrically inclined help.

When I drove the car to the airport, it still ran like crap. The coolant was being pushed out of the overflow valve immediately after startup, so I am wondering if I have a blown headgasket. I took the other block to the machine shop and found that it was already to far gone (.040 over already) to fix, so I will yank the blue engine, repair any damage done by the headgasket, and have it bored out to the .040 over for the pistons from the other engine. Should bring compression up into the 9:1-10:1 range. Maxton is really dependant on me finding a job though, so if I can't find either a full time job or a couple of part timers, I will be sitting this season out and working on making her a reliable daily driver. If I can't do maxton but I have some budget, I might try a bit of bracket racing out at Kaleva.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Miss Fitts

Just watched a pretty good police chase with an '87 Escort :D 1987's Dragnet with Dan Akroyd and Tom Hanks :D

[realsteelfreak]

Re: Miss Fitts

try this link for the chase with the scort, about the 5:20 mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II3DfPbffUw

[98ciHemi]

Re: Miss Fitts

Well, through another site I got in touch with a Koni salesperson. I talked with him for about an hour yesterday about what my options for suspension are, and his advice was that if I can find a set of good old Koni struts for the rear, I can send in those and my coilovers and have them shortened, overhauled, and revalved to match whatever springs I find for the car. The guy was extremely helpful and didn't try to push anything on me. His advice was to wait until I have the car built, the final weight about figured out, and then play with the ride height until I determine how low I can go without messing up the suspension and driveline geometry. He also had worked on a road race first gen Escort in the early '90s, so he had some firsthand knowledge of what kind of issues I might run into.

So, in your random wanderings, if anyone runs into a set of undamaged koni red adjustable shocks for the rear of a first gen Escort, let me know. They exist, but they are very hard find.

[STINEY]

Re: Miss Fitts

Walt, if I were you I would find a shock cross reference/application book and look for the part # for the stock stuff, then perform a reverse search to find alternative applications for that same part #.

Armed with that information, your search for the Koni's would include more than just escort applications, and your odds of finding said koni's much improved.

My 2 cents. Good luck!

[98ciHemi]

Well, I made it back home without incident, and I managed to recover my GPA to (barely) acceptable levels. So, I went over to the Escort several night ago to diagnose what was going wrong with it, and I think I have it narrowed to to much fuel pressure or I am over whelming the fuel return and it backfeeding fuel through the return side.

[98ciHemi]

Well, this is where I left it tonight:

And this is most of what I have left to do:


I have till about June 25th when I go back for summer classes, so a bit less than two months to do all that, and then make a new list which will be focused on going fast, not just going.

[Russell]

Well, this is where I left it tonight:

And this is most of what I have left to do:


I have till June 25th to have it ready for Maxton!

Fixed it for you!

[SuperBuickGuy]

"I have a new list to be Focused on?!" ..... you're a punny man, Walt.

[Stich496]

as far as your struts what did the 80's escort gt use?

[98ciHemi]

Unfortunately, I am not going to make any meets this year. As much as I would like to, I need the money for the summer semester of school. One of the classes I am taking requires a DSLR camera, so most of my planned racing budget is going toward that. The rest of it will be sucked up by fuel costs and living expenses. It sucks, since I really wanted to race, but I have to look at this this as an investment in future racing seasons.Because of my first semester academic troubles, I need to get some really good grades to be able to continue on my scholarship. It will be very hard to race and pay the 20k+ for school. The other factor is that school starts at 8 am on June 27th. Maxton is a 24 hour drive from MTU. Even if I only showed up on Saturday, I would still be pushing it to get back to class on time.

[Russell]

I under stand the budget issues, we all have to make choices in what we do with out resources (time and money). Just to stir the pot alittle don't you know some people with air planes? I sure you can fly it in what 6 hours? I don't know that I am racing next weekend but hope to have something ready for June. If I do you are welcome to make a pass or two. Heck stand out there with your thumb out you might catch some pretty cool rides! One thing to remember its a good thing to be able to tell your self NO!

[98ciHemi]

Slow progress. Wiring is about half done. I have headlights, running lights, and brake lights. Still no turn signals or hazards. About a week ago I decided to take a break from the wiring jobs and work on some more enjoyable stuff. Hood is pinned and the not rusty lynx hatch is on, making the car look like even more of a bruise. I started practicing my noseart work on the spare fender I have. I'm no master with the paintbrush, but it won't be too bad. I also managed to wack out a couple more pounds of brackets and stuff that are no longer needed, and I have cleaned and painted the brackets that are needed. My current project is to make a grille plug out of fiberglass. I smoothed out the factory grille and filled all of it's holes to make a form, and I will lay the glass over that to form the part. It will be my first time working with fiberglass, hopefully it's not much different from the carbon fiber that I have worked with in the past.

[HillbillySailor2]

I saw these red Koni rear struts on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Koni-...Q5fAccessories



It says that they're for an 83-85 Escort, but I thought all the first-gen Escorts used the same suspension?