"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
12/24/2013 at 03:54 • Filed to: None
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"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
12/24/2013 at 03:54 • Filed to: None | 1
| 7 |
As some of you may remember, I am most likely getting my grandpa's perfect condition 2nd gen Escort for $600. It's not my ideal car, but at such a low price for such a well-cared-for car, I cannot complain one bit. I will learn to love it. I already kind of like the style of it. Anyway, one thing I thought of is potentially focusing solely on weight to attempt to build something fun, trackable, and fuel efficient to boot. It only has 88 horses new, but so did my Mustang. There's not much that can be done to improve that (Considering the immaculate condition, a full engine swap is out of the picture unless it does start acting up), but the suspension and brakes can all be upgraded with a couple junkyard Mazdas. But beyond that, all that's left is ripping up the interior (not gonna happen) or buying carbon fiber doors, hood, and hatch. Which, believe it or not, some lunatic has actually made. For '90s Escorts. They're a bit pricy (doors are about $1000 shipped for the set of two, hatch is a little bit more, not sure on the hood) but I figure, if more weight-saving options come up, they could be pretty fun if I manage to win the lottery or something. It's not something I actually plan to do, but if I had the resources, I think I would.
Ian Duer (320b)
> Rainbow
12/24/2013 at 04:08 |
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Carbon fiber doors, to my knowledge, are generally not appropriate without a roll cage that has crash bars protecting the occupants as they're said to sacrifice too much side impact protection.
I think your biggest fun change would be converting it to manual(if I remember correctly the Escort in question is slushomatic). Had a 5-speed Protege, which from what I understand was on the same platform. It was a fun little car from what I remember but I wasn't "in to cars" then, so perhaps it was an uneducated opinion.
f86sabre
> Rainbow
12/24/2013 at 05:10 |
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Our LeMons car is a 91 escort. Here is what we have done to make it track ready:
Gutted it and removed the glass aside from the windshield
Installed an Escort GT rear suspension that we got from Pull A Part to allow rear disk brakes
Installed Escort GT front uprights to allow for larger MX-3/GT front rotors
Removed the 1.9L motor and installed a 2.0L out of a '97. More power.
Ebay coilovers
Cage
"performance" clutch from Truco down by the airport. Cheap and good. You can watch them make it if you want.
Head work
I have a ton of respect for these cars now after racing it for 5 years. The thing is reliable, easy to work on and part are cheap. It isn't the fastest thing out there, but it is robust. Only issue is the wide, shallow fuel tank that leads to fuel starvation below half full in tight corners.
I know you are local to Atlanta, so drop me a note if you have questions. We also have an extra 1.9 motor that we are looking to sell, never raced but running, if you ever need it.
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> f86sabre
12/24/2013 at 09:11 |
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How on earth did you do all that for $500?!?
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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> Rainbow
12/24/2013 at 09:34 |
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It's probably a better idea to go with handling rather than power, but from what I understand that CVH engine family was known for being very robust and able to take quite a bit of tuning before needing new internals. However, they also had a reputation for responding poorly to neglected maintenance. Keep up with it, though, and it'll last a while. My Dad's had nearly 300k miles when the transmission went.
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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> Rainbow
12/24/2013 at 09:37 |
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Maybe you could do an economy build? The weight savings would definitely help, and they already get great mileage stock if you drive them well. My Dad had a 5-speed wagon, fully loaded with five people and a weeks worth of luggage for all it still returned about 40 mpg on the highway. If you focus on handling upgrades, you can end up with a really fun car that's cheap to run.
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f86sabre
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
12/24/2013 at 12:12 |
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We didn't tell anyone about the GT suspension swap and no one asked. After each race you get a valuation and you can do things within that window. Typically we had $300 to spend. We've done 6 races so we've done a bit at a time. The cage doesn't count as it is safety equipment. We might have forgotten to mention the clutches as well.
PS9
> Rainbow
12/28/2013 at 16:57 |
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This post is considerably less seedy than the title let on.