Rust to Restoration
When you mention a 27 year old escort for some the mind may wander...
However here we're on about Thomas Halder's Mk5 Ford Escort RS2000, A car that really has been a labour of love for it's owners.
Thomas and his father John Halder went in 50/50 on the car back in May of 2015. It was running and driving when bought from Fort William, however this didn't last long...
Upon first inspection when purchasing the car the pair knew it would be needing a full respray due to having damaged, faded and cracked paint, plus the two rear arches were showing their age. One of the arches had already had an obvious rust repair done at some point in the cars life time.
Once Thomas and John got to work stripping the car down and poking away at the rust, they realised as often we do with older cars the rust was worse than initially expected.
The story of the rust goes deeper, once the cars A-pillars were exposed more rust had shown itself. The pair took the decision to have the car media blasted, although it's a harsh process and can sometimes be risky on an older car as it can leave the owner with less usable metal than one would want, it will strip back all of the old underseal, paint, years of engine/gearbox oils revealing all of the areas needing repaired. The welding on the car was done by Thomas, he used repair panels for A'pillars, both sills and both rear arches. Other areas he couldn't get panels for he re-fabricated this included bits of the floorpan and rear chassis legs. Thomas and his dad found a paint shop in Dundee who agreed to paint the car if the pair did all the prepwork and seam sealing on it before it went to be painted.
The shell was stripped back to bare metal, the underside had Gravitex stonechip paint used on it to protect it from the elements. Once the car had been painted, there was a lot of things Thomas and John weren't happy with, but the painter had agreed to sort it for them once the car was rebuilt.
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Escort Cosworth Alloys
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Cosworth Grill
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Stainless Steel Exhaust
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Braided Brake Hoses
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Upgraded Shocks & Springs
1Mods 'N Upgrades
Whilst the Escort was away being painted John and Thomas got to work on the drivetrain of the car in preparation for it getting back.
All the major components (Engine, Gearbox, Suspension, brakes) were all either refurbished , refreshed or replaced leaving the drivetrain of the Escort as fresh (If not fresher) as the day it rolled off the production line.
Once all the drivetrain and bodywork was done, the wiring harness was freshly taped up using tesa tape.
"The process of re-assembling the car was fairly straight forward and didn't take long at all."
But with the deadline date fast approaching Thomas and John knew there was no time to waste. The car still had to be machine polished and needed and MOT before it could be taken to Fast Ford Day. Luckily the car was put through an MOT the day before the deadline date.
Their hard work has paid off. The car managed to bag a top 5 spot in the show and shine at Crail for Fast Ford day. The Escort finished the show season of 2018 winning 'Car of The Show' at Scottish Car Scene's 'This is The Cruise'.