While the restomod craze captures the spirit of the original Escort, maintaining a classic Mk1 presents unique challenges. This article chronicles the author's recent experience battling leaks, missing parts, and electrical gremlins to keep their cherished Mk1 on the road.
, it feels like everyone is trying to capture the magic of the original Escort . It’s great to see the legend alive and thriving, but for those of us running the real thing, the reality is a bit less glamorous.
It started, as these things often do, with an oil leak. A slow drip from the crank pulley became a saga. Fix one leak, and another would spring up - a bolt hole here, a gasket there. Jamie at Moores Motorsport, the same people who helped build our EnduroKa, stepped in to tackle the job. We went at the Twin Cam from bottom to top, eventually sealing every possible escape route for oil. For the first time in years, it’s not marking its territory wherever it goes.
The bouncing rev counter and jerky speedo were traced back to a melted speedo cable; of course, an easy replacement wasn’t an option. Cue sending it away for a custom rebuild. And then there were the carbs. Slightly off-balance carbs don’t ruin the experience, but they’re like a shoe with a squeak - it nags at you until eventually you get a blister. A trip to Airey Tuning down in Hampshire revealed a carb whisperer who, armed with a rolling road and a well-honed ear, worked his magic.
The next big outing was the Silverstone Sunday Service. The Escort behaved itself on the way there - mostly. A stuttery start at the first fuel stop hinted at trouble, and on the way back, things escalated. Smoke from the bonnet isn’t a good sign, but a great guy Chris from the AA came to the rescue. A positive wire on the alternator had slowly worked loose from a poorly sized connector and fused itself to the casing, shorting out the car.
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