M30E30

[warrenk]

Hi Members,

My Escorts are standing and I managed to get myself an E30 as an unfinished project that I want to finish my way.

Below are some photos of my 1986 323i, there's still a lot of work to do as it is in that stage where the last 10% takes 90% of the time.
I am currently busy redoing the whole braking system on the car so that I can run 15" wheels, as opposed to the 17s that were used to clear the 330i brakes that it had on. Once this is done there is some wiring to complete and then the car can get tuned.

I am not a huge fan of the M30 platform as I am more of a M20/M50 guy, but there's a 1st time for everything I guess. I hope it's not going to disappoint.
There are some things on the car that I would have done differently, like retaining the interior instead of having it stripped out with a rollcage but, I need to play the cards I was dealt with as I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought the car. Different strokes..

I was thinking of doing a Tony Viana Tribute of the A1 Windfield Shadowline, Championship winner in 1986 and 1987, but let's see what happens once I have the car running. At this point, it feels like everything is fighting me 😅.

 

[Benji]

that looks like it could be a lot of fun with ITBs and ignition coils...

 

[///M3FAN]

nice one, looking forward to following progress on this one

 

[The Game]

The way you build them ford escourts i would love to see the progress on this one
Goodluck

 

[Fordkoppie]

The handling will never be great, but that engine should add a lot of character. Especially with ITBs.
Love how clean and neat the engine bay is.

Were the engine mounts fabricated, or are they real 333i ones? I am asking because I am amazed how you got a normal big radiator in there. Almost appears as if the engine is slightly further backwards than a 333i

 

[warrenk]

The way you build them ford escourts i would love to see the progress on this one
Goodluck

Thank you, everything is taking longer on this car than I would have liked but hoping to have it done soon. I only have Saturdays to work on it.

 

[warrenk]

The handling will never be great, but that engine should add a lot of character. Especially with ITBs.
Love how clean and neat the engine bay is.

Were the engine mounts fabricated, or are they real 333i ones? I am asking because I am amazed how you got a normal big radiator in there. Almost appears as if the engine is slightly further backwards than a 333i

The engine mounts were fabricated. I bought the car with the motor in place. There's very little space between the back of the engine and the firewall.
I might be changing the radiator to something that would neaten up the piping. Currently, the bottom coolant hose is running along the length of the radiator as the outlet is on the wrong side.

 

[warrenk]

Update with no photos 🫠...

In the initial post, I did not give the shopping list of what's done to the car.

So in a nutshell...

1986 323i with 121k km on the clock.
325iS front struts,
2.7 ratio Z3 steering rack
Z3 Rear subframe,
Original 323i LSD with 3.64 ratio,
BC Racing coilovers,
MaxxECU engine management system with wideband control and bluetooth,
M30 Motor and manual gearbox out of a 735i.
Rezlo built bottom end,
CNC Ported head, port matched to S38 ITB's,
Oil cooler & oil filter relocation kit with braided lines & AN fittings,
Some Japanese aluminium radiator,
Swirl pot and surge tank setup in the boot,

Interior has been stripped out and roll-cage fitted by Piet Westraadt (MSA guys might know him).

I got the car with E46 330i brakes and the A-Line Razor wheels. I want to run 15" wheels so I am currently in the process of changing the brakes over to E36 325/328 in the front and will see what caliper I will be using at the back. The ideal thing to do with the rear brakes, would be to get Z3 calipers, discs and handbrake setup. The braking system on this car never worked properly, hence me ripping it all out to fit the smaller setup so that I can run the smaller wheels.

As with all things I get involved with, I got carried away. With pulling the front brakes off, I noticed that the front wheel bearings were done for. I went all over PE with my samples looking for these 2 hub bearings. I found the last 2 FAG units for an E28 at one of the shops and after measuring it, the only difference was the threaded hole to keep the brake rotor in place. So while fitting the new bearings, I noticed that the one steering rack boot was wet. I removed the rack and had that rebuilt. I refitted that today and noticed something else on the Ackerman-arms that needs to be seen to now as well.

I am making progress but with all the other little things catching my eye, I think there's still a good couple of months ahead before this car will see the road.

On the list for this week,
- I want to get the power steering working again (currently looped), so I'm going to look for a Volvo electric power steering pump.
- Front calipers are stripped, need to get kits for them, sandblast and paint/powdercoat, and then reassemble,
- Buy front discs and pads,
- Have the OEM brake master cylinder stripped and checked, fit a new kit for good measure.
- I have a set of good used E36 solid rear discs that picked up rust from not being stored properly, They need to be skimmed.
- Ackerman arms - the car uses rosejoints instead of tie-rod ends and the angle of the taper in the Ackerman arm is out compared to that of the pin that goes through it. I want to have these drilled out and install a collar to correct the issue. (I have to add that it's proper rosejoints from Gemany and not the rubbish you buy from BMG). The ideal thing would be to get different Ackerman arms and struts as both these things have been modified but 325iS/M3 tax is making it impossible to find reasonably priced items.

That's it for this weeks update, hopefully I can post some pics of some progress next week.

 

[warrenk]

Progress on the E30 has been slow with work commitments and clients' cars taking preference and then getting the Escort ready for the George Old Car Show that was last weekend.

The front E36 calipers have been rebuilt and are in place with new E46 discs. I have old caliper clips in place, I am sending another set in with the next batch of items to be powder-coated.
On the rear, I ended up with standard E30 rear calipers off a 325i and had the 280mm E36 discs, machined down to 258mm. Finding Z3 stuff is not easy and when you find them the guys do not want to split the setups up, which is understandable.
The E30 caliper needed a 5mm spacer and longer bolts for the caliper to sit in the middle of the disc, but that's done for now. I will look at the handbrake setup at a later time. I need to get the car driving to sort the shit-list out.
An E90 brake master and booster went in during December as well. The only thing left to do on the braking system now is to make up new hard lines and to fill it with fluid.

Supsension-wise, I leveled the car out, there is a 40mm gap between the top of the tyre and the arch right round. I didn't want to make the car too low, plus there is no sump guard under the car yet.
I need to replace the lower control arm bushes with the correct offset bushes as the front wheels sit too far back.
A FoMoCo electric power steering pump has been sourced and a friend is drawing up a bracket for me, the pump will be mounted in the boot next to the swirl pot setup.

I will have to look at sorting the colour difference out on the nose, this will most likely require both sides to be repainted. It looks horrendous in the sun.​

 

[individj]

this is so nice.

 

[RowenS]

Hi Members,

My Escorts are standing and I managed to get myself an E30 as an unfinished project that I want to finish my way.

Below are some photos of my 1986 323i, there's still a lot of work to do as it is in that stage where the last 10% takes 90% of the time.
I am currently busy redoing the whole braking system on the car so that I can run 15" wheels, as opposed to the 17s that were used to clear the 330i brakes that it had on. Once this is done there is some wiring to complete and then the car can get tuned.

I am not a huge fan of the M30 platform as I am more of a M20/M50 guy, but there's a 1st time for everything I guess. I hope it's not going to disappoint.
There are some things on the car that I would have done differently, like retaining the interior instead of having it stripped out with a rollcage but, I need to play the cards I was dealt with as I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought the car. Different strokes..

I was thinking of doing a Tony Viana Tribute of the A1 Windfield Shadowline, Championship winner in 1986 and 1987, but let's see what happens once I have the car running. At this point, it feels like everything is fighting me 😅.

what's the deal with the Escort's?

 

[V-technician]

Very nice indeed.
Would love 2 hear those throttles

 

[warrenk]

Very nice indeed.
Would love 2 hear those throttles

This was on first start-up, I can't wait to hear them open and under load.

 

[warrenk]

Hi Members,

Mini update.

A set of offset-type lower contral arm bushes were sourced and the front wheels are finally sitting where they should now.

The car was loaded on the trailer on Saturday and dropped off by a friend who will be doing the hardlines on the brakes. I've done it many times before on the Escorts and I know exactly how it's going to go if I do it. Perfect bends and flare and then when you look again, you forgot the fitting on the table, etc.

I'm keen to get this car going and stopping under its own power, it's been in the project stage for far too long. Once the car goes and stops I need to fit the power steering pump and run the lines and wiring.
The colour difference on the nose is also working on me and to correct that I would most likely need to have the nose and the sides done. But that's something that can get sorted out last.

 

[warrenk]

what's the deal with the Escort's?

Mk2 1,3L - Car is in the body shop, went in for minor work and when we looked again I changed my mind and it's a full-on rebuild now.
Mk1 1.3 Super - This is a long term project, car is also in the body shop, on hold until the Mk2 moves on to paint the paint shop.
Mk2 1600 Sport - Incidentally, also at the paint shop at the moment but it was dropped off last week, just to polish and treat the ceramic coating. This car stood for a year because I could not get the center lock wheels off the car, ended up cutting them off a week before the George Car Show.

 

[individj]

love the old Fords...my mate who bought my RS Turbo has a Mk1 Cortina 2 door and Mk1 Escort station wagon...they had Mk2 corvinas and a Mk1 Cortina Station wagon as well...something special about them.

 

[swazi85]

Very cool project


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