My RWD solid axle front engine Escort MK2 build

[Bicko]

That's some nice origami on the trans tunnel

[Frederik]

Hahaha ! Yes some of the parts can get into origami territory lol! Thanks for the comment and for following buddy!

[flatout!]

Thats amazing kid that is, that shot through the near side door is just like looking at my old 1.1 grass tracker mk2 escort

Loving the gear box tunnel that patten looks so familiar lol! In fact it's eexactly the same, nice job nice job

[stevo2551]

Wow Frederik this is a great build with some fantastic engineering and fabrication work! I have a 1:1 mk2 escort in the garage and I absolutely love the effort and detail that you've gone to with this build, can't wait to see more of your project as she progresses :-D

[Frederik]

Thats amazing kid that is, that shot through the near side door is just like looking at my old 1.1 grass tracker mk2 escort

Loving the gear box tunnel that patten looks so familiar lol! In fact it's eexactly the same, nice job nice job

Thanks a lot! By near side door view, are you referring to the large hole in the floor? Lol I read these were quite prone to rust! Thanks for the comments buddy and sorry for the delay!

[Frederik]

Wow Frederik this is a great build with some fantastic engineering and fabrication work! I have a 1:1 mk2 escort in the garage and I absolutely love the effort and detail that you've gone to with this build, can't wait to see more of your project as she progresses :-D

Thanks! Having compliments from you guys with 1:1 Escorts is really nice! Very happy you like it and I appreciate your comments, can't wait to put some more time on it!

[Frederik]

Update! I cut the tranny tunnel hole roughly because I tought I'd solder it from under. Was a mistake, I should have soldered from the top all the time.

I thought I'd use strong magnets to hold the piece in place while soldering...

Did not work very well, after a few seconds of heating the magnets lost their magnetic properties and the piece moved around. So I removed the magnets on one end, keeping only the other ones on the end not being soldered. As usual the first side I made is crap and the second is better. The top of the tunnel was reajusted for better fit but was still not right enough for the solder to sip in so the top is pretty much not soldered..

Fugly side:

Better side:

Motor sitting by itself on crossmember (not fixed yet):

All in all I learned a few things and it does not look very nice but it seems pretty solid. Would have liked to have it soldered nocely all around but I guess I'll do better next time with the rest of the tunnel...!

[Bicko]

"Totally Off the hook" Fred!!! Loving that last pic

[atom3624]

FINALLY starting to make sense and take shape!!

HUGE effort and starting to look really good.

 

Al.

[Frederik]

"Totally Off the hook" Fred!!! Loving that last pic

Thanks Bicko! I like the effect of the half body on!

[Frederik]

FINALLY starting to make sense and take shape!!

HUGE effort and starting to look really good.

Al.

That was certainly one long due update haha! Thanks for the comment buddy!

[Frederik]

I have just received a new set of mini wheels intended for Tamiya M chassis cars, and while my current favourite wheels were the 4 spoke with staggered offsets, the mini size (tire size) really seems to be the proper diameter for these Escorts... I also like the white 5 spoke look, I have seen quite a few Escorts with this type of wheels, more of a modern look though.

 

 

They leave less room for the brakes up front though... The calipers won't fit with mini wheels. If I can find a way to custom make some tires for the 4 spoke wheels and end up with smaller diameter, same as the mini tires, I think I'll have the perfect setup. I am thinking of hacking the semi tires, get rid of half the sidewall, and wrap them around the 4 spokes. I would overlap the plastic sidewall integrated into the wheel. Ideas and ideas...

 

Edit: I added a pic of the 4 spoke to compare the tire diameter :

 

Edited April 10, 2015 by Frederik

[flatout!]

The mk1 shell with the 4 spokes looks awesome man, im so tempted to do a 5th scale mk1 escort lol! Road chassis nothing like this work of art but a nice firm chassis and the mk1 shell,

wow its going to look very nice when this is finnished pal because it looks very good already,

[flatout!]

Thanks a lot! By near side door view, are you referring to the large hole in the floor? Lol I read these were quite prone to rust! Thanks for the comments buddy and sorry for the delay!

i was always cutting the gearbox tunnels out lol! Its a like for like shot it is lol! Hole in the floor lol! Some times we didn't even bother putting a tunnel back in it lol! Race with out it, with the gearbox screaming right at the side of you it was all good fun

[Tamiyacowboy]

Hiya buddy, now able to see pictures. 

 

Well blow me, you done great on the solder for an first time. its not easy to get the flow running and keep it flowing

along the runs, but you did nail it. 

 

Model wise remember we can cheat a little with jb weld to hide up some pannel areas and tunnel holes.

that that tunnel image with the roll cage showing, i bet it did not look like that at first, lotta grinding to finish it off.

 

but its looking super awesome  so keep plugging away 

[Frederik]

The mk1 shell with the 4 spokes looks awesome man, im so tempted to do a 5th scale mk1 escort lol! Road chassis nothing like this work of art but a nice firm chassis and the mk1 shell,

wow its going to look very nice when this is finnished pal because it looks very good already,

 

Thanks a lot! A 5th scale Escort would be cool, especially if you make it RWD! Thanks buddy for your comment!

 

i was always cutting the gearbox tunnels out lol! Its a like for like shot it is lol! Hole in the floor lol! Some times we didn't even bother putting a tunnel back in it lol! Race with out it, with the gearbox screaming right at the side of you it was all good fun

 

Hahaha that seems like a recipe for problems lol ! I bet you could hear the tranny whine pretty well! 

 

Hiya buddy, now able to see pictures. 

 

Well blow me, you done great on the solder for an first time. its not easy to get the flow running and keep it flowing

along the runs, but you did nail it. 

 

Model wise remember we can cheat a little with jb weld to hide up some pannel areas and tunnel holes.

that that tunnel image with the roll cage showing, i bet it did not look like that at first, lotta grinding to finish it off.

 

but its looking super awesome  so keep plugging away 

 

Thanks for your nice comments, I also thought I could hide the less good solders with JB weld, my only fear is then the solders are probably not repairable, whereas with solder alone I can always de-solder, straighten and re-solder if needed. But in areas where de-soldering is not likely to ever happen I might apply some JB weld to even out the rough seams.

 

On another forum I also got an idea from another member; after mentioning how I thought of de-soldering the tunnel and try to have it better the second time, he suggested I put the tunnel from under instead, squeezing it in the hole and soldering the tabs under the pan, instead of inside. Would make for very nice inside seams, and be easier to solder (less tricky access to the upper firewall area). I might just give that a try.

 

You bet the solders were ugly at first big drips of solder, black stuff everywhere, flux dripping around. Was not nice. Needed some grinding and cleaning to look like in the pics! And it is not that nice already hahaha

 

Thanks again all for following and commenting, always very appreciated to have your feedbacks.

 

Fred

[Wirralnitronoob]

That is absolutly amazing fella wish i had the skills ,finesse and patience to have a go at somethink like this,amaIng job eitherway fred

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tamiyacowboy]

under the tunnel chute fitting sounds a better idea Fred. 

 

the underside very rare gets a look well the belly pan that is so hiding the tabs here is ideal for eyecandy appeal ( eyecandy a term used to define shiney new things ).

it also means the internal tunnel join can be a solder run to fill so it meets the uppers nicely ( like filling with filler but instead its molten solder )

 

 

dont let gravity work for you here, when you solder you want solder to run downwards into the joint only

so be ready to prop model up at some funny angles and dangles so you can get that nice flow.

 

 

what ideas do you have running round in the head for motor mounting buddy, be nice to get an insight into what your thinking will be best.

i was thinking maybe something like this , the upper half L like bracket and motor face plate. a couple engine mount lugs on the inner side walls

of the front end, the motor clamp bolted to those and the motor and gearbox transfer case

 

Edited April 15, 2015 by Tamiyacowboy

[stevo2551]

sad news I'm afraid, Simon McKinley passed away in hospital after a crash in this weekend's hill climb in Ireland. Gutted, he made for some spectacular viewing and also inspired Frederick to build this masterpiece...

Edited April 26, 2015 by stevo2551

[Frederik]

Oh no, this is very sad news, this is unreal, I did watch him many many times on video and he always impressed me. Very sad day.. I am at a loss of words, but nevertheless thanks for letting me know...

[cyclicscooby]

I was / am going to congratulate you on a fantastic build of my 2nd favourite car ever (the mkI is 1st) but the news about Simon has knocked me for six... burst into tears reading about it...

I'm sure I've read everything on 8 pages, but where did you get the shells..?

I've just ally bashed a sump guard for my landy, and 'was' chuffed with myself, but you're a master...

Luv Chrisie..

[Frederik]

Thanks for taking the time for the nice comment, the shells (both the MK1 and the MK2 which both fit my chassis) are from retroracing, but it looks like they are not producing these very reliably, as in sometimes you can get to talk to them and order, and sometimes they vanish and do not sell any more shells.

 

Edit: just found out they happen to be available again now, but I have to warn you my experience with them was very frustrating. It arrived damaged and after pics of damage they promised to send me a replacement for the damaged half, but that never happened and I am SOL with a bent (roughly bent back to shape after I thought I'd get a new one). Anyways, the shells are pretty nice in how they are shaped and are pretty accurate.

 

The only things I don't like about the retroracing MK2 is how the roof kind of bends inwards, and the door windows are molded too small (the glass should go lower, molded window trim should be thinner), and some of the shapes are a tad too rounded. The window size I can probably work around it by not painting the window trim and leave it clear, it might work in making it look more correct. I got the MK1 shell from a friend at scale4x4rc and it is also from retroracing. I was very happy when I found out it fits the chassis. 

 

From your member name, it sounds as if you are a Subaru fan too? I have my little bugeye sedan wrx since 2004 and still going strong, enjoying it all four seasons (winter is fun in the snow with the stock suspension and summer is fun after I swap to the lower stiffer suspension and fat tires). I have the 10th scale Tamiya 2001 WRC prototype done mini-me style (just plain world rally blue without the decals) and also have an old ongoing project of a large scale impreza (5th scale) with pocket bike motor, but that one has been on a back burner for a long while. 

Edited April 30, 2015 by Frederik

[cyclicscooby]

Well spotted Fr

[Bigyeti007]

..

[Frederik]

I de-soldered the tranny tunnel and adjusted it a bit to make it fit from under instead of inside. And I started with the driveshaft tunnel too, I will somder it all at once to make it easier. For now I am installing just s few bolts to hold it flush with the floor and help to solder, then I'll buff the bolts off. Would have taken mor pics but the phone was full... Here is what I am at now: