|
|
March 2000  A 25 year old Escort - with new millennial performance!
Rolly who?… Although not all that well known on the east coast, in Western Australia there is no-one who knows more about Escorts than Waters. Through his business, Race Tune, Waters has been tuning, building and racing Escorts for more than thirty years and he’s built up plenty of contacts in regards to the serious performance aspect in that time too. Little wonder then that when Anthony got his licence, Japanese cars didn’t get a look in and the 75 model Escort you see here was picked up as a mobile (and registered!) bucket of rust shortly after he picked up his P plates. Working for P & N Smash Repairs gave the young fella a head start in regards to the body of his Escort, while the original 1300cc single-cam motor has in turn been replaced by a total of four engines, including bombed-up 2 litre original single cams All other aspects to the car, from brakes, to suspension and interior, were taken care of over time too, and Anthony’s Escort soon had an enviable reputation on the Perth four-cylinder scene. Fair between the eyes Now look, there’s one thing we want to get straight right away here - this is not the old motor with a Cossie’ head stuck on top. Oh no, this is the full 1993cc, twin-cam, 16valve Cosworth engine, from top to bottom, rocker cover to sump. Well actually, the sump is a custom item which carries a few extra litres of the golden stuff and to tell the complete truth, the engine isn’t entirely running to what might be called ‘stock’ 2 litre Cosworth configuration. The O-ringed Cosworth 205 block retains its original bore size though, while the slugs are Cosworth 12.5:1 forged items. The rods are stockers and run down to the original steel crank, with the entire bottom end fully balanced of course. Back up top and the DOHC head was given a good port and polish job by Michael Marriott, while the Cosworth valves work in conjunction with Kent double valve springs and solid tappets, also from the well known Pommie hot up shop. The cams themselves are Kent RT 17 spec’, designed to work best between 4,750rpm - 8,750rpm and spun by Kent Cams vernier pulleys. Wot, no turbo? An Injection Perfection throttle body with one-piece shaft was introduced to the equation, match ported to the head by that man Marriott. Its four injectors are from a GT 4 Celica, and are fed by a combination of Bosch VL Commodore main pump, surge tank and a common garden variety Facet pump. The whole plot, including ignition, is handled perfectly by Wolf 3D electronics. For many, one big question regarding this engine set up might be the lack of a turbo, but according to Anthony and Waters, this engine is capable of producing more horsepower than a so called ‘stock’ Cosworth running a hairdryer. Their claim is based on engines built to this specification back in England, which produce up to 210kW (300 Hp) at the flywheel. Such cars have been known to cut the quarter well into the 12 second bracket, which is frighteningly quick for an old bomb from the 70s!! A turbo added to this engine with an intercooler would naturally be a temptation to most, but for now Anthony is happy enough with having more power than many HSVs - and half the weight! Exhaust gases therefore exit via Ashley 2 ¼" extractors, another product from the UK and with more curves than Pamela Anderson too ! (mind you, she’s had all that silicon removed recently ...) These then feed back to a 2 ½" system ending with an Ultraflow muffler. Where’s that shoehorn… Anthony admits it was a nightmare job, but not because of the block which is essentially the same shape and size as the original. "Rolly has his own engine mounts which look like 2 litre mounts, but which are much stronger," said Anthony. "Basically, the motor just fitted onto these, but that was the easy part. The head on the Cosworth motor is huge in comparison to the old single-cam head and we had five guys helping to drop the engine in! "As it turned out we dented the firewall and took some paint off and while it’s all fixed up now, I wouldn’t want to have to do the job again." When it came to the transmission and driveline, Anthony could have added a modern day Sierra gearbox, but this would have required custom plumbing and some re-engineering in order to operate the Sierra’s hydraulic clutch mechanism. Instead, a good ‘ol four-speed straight-cut ‘Rocket Box’ was installed, good enough for 300hp and as tough as nails. For those unfamiliar with it, the Rocket Box actually originated back in the 70s from Escort’s racing division. In this instance it is supported by a lightened steel flywheel and an 8 ½" four-paddle button clutch of Rolly Waters’ own design. A balanced Truckline tailshaft ultimately feeds the ponies rearwards to a 4:1 Quaffe LSD. No mere straight-line screamer
"The extra leaves are turned upside down and have Goggle Eyes to help prevent the car from tramping under hard acceleration," explained Anthony. "The tramp bars play a role here too, but unlike others, they’re actually welded onto the axle housing and then the body." As for brakes, well, at the time of writing this story, Anthony was having some supply problems with six-spot Wilwoods. Yes, we did say six-spot - apparently they fit straight on, thanks to special adaptors that come as part of the kit from…you guessed it, from England. Similarly, the new discs are made to suit too and Anthony is actually going the full monty with four-spot Wilwoods down the back. It’s not hard to see then, that Anthony’s priority is performance rather than show.
The Cherry black paintwork and TSWs do set the car off from the outside though, with the former based on an HSV Commodore colour yet modified somewhat. The colour was applied in two-pak by Phil at P & N Smash, who was instrumental in many ways as regards getting this little Escort to where it is today. All up, Anthony has himself a great package and, while Escorts are not exactly uncommon on the four-cylinder performance scene, adding full Cosworth engines like this is not the usual approach. The determination to steer clear of forced induction is also unusual, but then being a rugged individual is what this cars all about. Owner Year / make / model Engine hardware Engine accessories Driveline hardware Brakes & suspension Bodywork Rolling stock Interior gadgetry Special thanks to:
|
If, like Anthony, the owner of this rabid little four-pot, you had
spent your childhood living across the road from Rolly Waters, then chances are that you
too would have a `thing’ about Ford Escorts.
and the
massive DOHC rocker cover from a Cosworth 2 litre engine smacks you in the face.
In addition to the usual brand name springs and shocks, the front
end of this car features adjustable platforms and a 38mm adjustable K-Mac sway bar, while
the rear end has been equipped with an extra main leaf on either side and tramp bars from
the UK (where else !).
The interior therefore is purposeful rather than glary and is
suitably equipped with Cobra bucket seats, Momo steering wheel, race pedals, Autometer oil
pressure gauge, MSD shift light and a four-point Bond roll cage.