Author Topic: The Escort  (Read 53283 times)

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Offline 116ciHemi

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #135 on: July 02, 2011, 10:53:33 PM »
The problem with pulling the engine at home is that when the engine comes out of that car, the trans comes with it and the front suspension is totally disassembled. I can't really store the car at home if I am not there to work on it, and I can't easily trailer it. As far as worrying about the PD at the airport, I doubt it would be a problem. Very nearly everyone at the airport knows me, so no one would call it in as odd. The hanger faces away from the road enough that no one can see inside where I would be working, so being seen from the street isn't a worry. Transporting the engine is pretty easy. Once I separate the head and the block each piece is light enough that I can lift it without a hoist and set it in the back of my Focus.

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #136 on: July 03, 2011, 10:31:50 AM »
Hey, Walt -- you weren't up here in Marquette County, Michigan, yesterday afternoon, were you?  We were at Sands Speedway (1/4 mile, paved, on the side of a hill - I think I've got photos) and Nancy saw a guy that looked a heck of a lot like you.  He was crewing for one of the Sportsman entries, making the resemblance all the more believable.

Fun racing -- and since Kudos Laser Engraving is a sponsor of one of the cars, we're involved enough to go to the track and watch the local folks compete.
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
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Offline 116ciHemi

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #137 on: July 04, 2011, 05:28:51 PM »
Nope. Sounds like he was having more fun than I am. I spent most of yesterday doing research and preparing a paper up here at Tech.

Offline 116ciHemi

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #138 on: August 13, 2011, 10:46:23 PM »
Back at it for a week. Not much is going to happen except that I am going to take a lot of the car apart. I need to get the engine out of the car, but this time I am going to try and lift the body off the engine instead of pulling it from the top. Usually it is a struggle to separate the CV axles and get the front suspension apart. If I do it this way I just yank it all out in more or less one piece, or at least that is the idea.

-Walt

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #139 on: August 14, 2011, 12:20:34 AM »
Walt, Joe Timney stopped by our pit today so I sent the photo with him to give to Keith.  I'll catch KT later and see if he got it.
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
2 Club member x2
Owner of landracing.com

Offline 116ciHemi

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #140 on: August 15, 2011, 02:17:33 AM »
Sweet, thanks.

One car related thing I did this summer was that for my photography class final project I shot cars, trying to get them in what I consider their natural environment. Or at least in try and capture some of the feelings or thoughts that I get from cars.

I started with a 1963 Porsche 356 that I was using to represent '50s cars. To me this is kind of the traditional sunny day on a country road car. Where I live, it was hard to find nice backdrop for the shot, but this is what I ended up with. This was also one of my first attempts to try and pan and blur. I did OK, but I really needed more practice at the technique.



The next shot was a 1966 Chevelle SS. Nasty 396 in this car. This shot and this angle was more or less to bring up the idea of street racing out in the country, or street racing back in the sixties. This is the basic image and angle that my mind calls up when Dad would talk about racing his 442.



For the '70s (yes I know it's an '80) era car I went back into my files- we were allowed to use one picture from our past collection in the series. Bonus points to anyone who knows where this is and can tell me what I photoshopped out. This photo was taken in anticipation of the days events, and that is how I presented it with the series- waiting for the race to start.



There are not a whole lot of '80s cars I want to take a picture of, but the owner of the chevelle had this beauty tucked away. The car is PERFECT. I don't have a real narrative for it, aside from the fact that as perfect as it is and it looks, we still couldn't trust it to be reliable for anything more than being pulled out in front of the garage.



My '90s car was a '98 Firebird Formula that a friend owned, but my memory card was corrupted before I could download the files.

The final car was this Bullitt. The soul-sucking toaster I drive every day has made me fantasize about having a Mustang or or a more fun car to go explore some of the twisty backroads and go find some of the scenic lakes and waterfalls around the Keweenaw Peninsula.



Not Escort related, but there are car people here, so I figured I wouldn't get any flak from showing some pictures of cool cars for relief from the '80s econoboxes that have dominated my thread.

Offline 116ciHemi

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #141 on: August 19, 2011, 06:48:13 PM »
So, it looks like I am scrapping the idea of building another CVH. I found a deal for a low mileage 2.0 duratec like the one in my daily driver, and I think I am going to go for it. The Duratec is lighter and makes 140 hp from the factory, which I would be lucky to get out of a decently built SOHC engine in race trim. The PITA now is making the Duratec mate with the old manual trans, and running megasquirt to control the engine. It'll probably run me close to a grand to get the engine mated to the transmission (It'll be much cheaper than that if I can get my hands on a proper mill and bandsaw, but I am not counting on that), but it is still cheaper than trying to swap in the focus trans and make custom CV axles.

Offline 116ciHemi

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #142 on: May 09, 2012, 12:02:12 AM »
A lot has happened since I last posted here.

Sadly, this project is coming to an end. I wish I had the storage to keep this till I have time, but frankly, I have lost interest and motivation. I have a good home for most of the parts including a lot of the rarer Escort specific parts. Between the school, ROTC,  Dad and I starting to build a plane, the daily driver, my bicycle projects, and now the motorcycle, I have enough on my plate. I can turn this into some cash.

I won't be dropping land speed racing, just postponing my participation as a racer until I have the means to build the car I really want. I still hope to get down to ECTA meets to volunteer when the stars align and I can make it all work.

This car was named Miss Fitts, and no better name has ever been contrived for something I owned and worked on. I like that moniker to much to drop it, and I have nose art that deserves to be on something. So, the Honda CL350 will take up the name and the noseart, probably in the next three weeks as I am cleaning it up to ride. 

Here's to first cars, and finally moving on.  :cheers:

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: The Escort
« Reply #143 on: May 09, 2012, 12:36:43 AM »
Walt, I'm sorry to hear that the mop is flopping in this direction. 

It took me almost 40 years to finally be able to commit to this sport.  You've tasted it earlier than I ever could, and I suspect there is no 12 step program for this.

Stay as active in it as makes sense, and do so on your own terms - that's how you'll get the most out of it, and still be able to put something into it.

 :cheers:  To first cars.
 :cheers:  :cheers: To faster second cars.

Stay in touch.
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll: