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Once the radiator, intercooler, electric fans and all the related pipes are in and connected, the exhaust is on, the clutch cable in and working, the Turbo and manifold back on, the gearbox mounted and the new tunnel in and welded, the speedo cable on and working, and the bonnet slam panel rebuilt so the bonnet closes properly, you only really have two more items of concern, the wiring and the fuel supply system.
The wiring is easy as you should be using the entire Cosworth engine loom and it really is just a matter of connecting it all up properly, don’t make a wrong connection as you could easily fry the ECU and you will have to get another one. Run a new wire to the boot to power up the Cossy fuel pump and we are on the home straight. Look at the size of the inlet pipe to the fuel pump, it is around 12 mm bore. Now look at the fuel outlet on your Escort fuel tank, it is around 5 mm bore. The Cossy one is that big because it needs a lot of fuel to stop the engine running lean and melting pistons, so do not just connect up the two pipes and hope it all works, because it won’t. You could have a larger pipe welded into the sender unit, which is easily removed and therefore quite a safe job to do, or you could buy a new fuel tank, but make sure you tell them exactly what it is for and that you want large bore pick up pipes fitted and a swirl pot to stop surging.
BRAKES. Have you got room for any under the bonnet??? There won’t be room for a standard servo, and if you go for a bias pedal box, get it set up by someone who knows what they are doing then throw away the adjuster knob. They are dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing and you have too much power under the bonnet to start playing with brake imbalance. The safest set up is standard non servo master cylinder, which sounds a bit daft, but we have found them to be perfectly adequate for most applications. On the subject of brakes, we also discourage the use of rear disc brake conversions, because you then have to install a bias valve to turn them off!!! The standard 9” drums, when properly maintained, are more than adequate for road use, front brakes can be improved upon though.
COST. Parts alone, without rebuilding, will be over £2000 - £3000 and that’s without making the shell strong enough before you start. This should only be attempted by a competent mechanical engineer and as part of a full restoration. That’s why good ones cost a fortune!!!
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