Well, who would have thought!

I finished my last blog with “three weeks to go until our next rally”! I don’t think anyone could have predicted what would happen next with a pandemic affecting everyone, instantly putting a stop to life as we know it, including motorsport.

Some six months have now past, and there are signs that rallying might just have a chance at returning, all be it with a ‘new normal’. Non spectator events with contactless time controls might be the start of many changes ahead.

So, after six months, you’d be right to assume that the new engine would be up and running and that I could present to you a video of the car on test. Especially, because of all the spare time we’ve had on our hands. The reality however, has been a different story.

During the UK’s lockdown, with many people being furloughed or working from home, we experienced an increase in demand for our products, leading to a very hectic few months. It’s rewarding to see on our social media that our customers have been busy during these unusual times.

Now, back to the rebuild. We’ve finally got to a place where by we know what’s required in order to get the Vauxhall C20XE into the Mk2 Escort. There’s also a growing list of parts required and some work still required to make it fit.

The first purchase from Motorsport Tools, was a Rix Engineering World Cup cross member with lower steering rack mounts. This allows the C20XE to be fitted with enough clearance between the steering rack. The engine can now be lowered in place to check the fit. By lowering the steering rack, I’ll now need a heavy duty long steering coupling to connect the rack to the column, and of course the steering geometry is now altered, meaning cranked steering arms are another item to add the that list.

In order to get the C20XE in the Escort, without welding in a box section in the heater bubble, the distributor housing needs to be machined off flush with the cylinder head. We are planning to use Newman cams, but if you plan to use the standard cams the cam end will also require machining off as it extrudes into the distributor housing. Hopefully, we should then be able to plate it over and install the coil pack to the bulkhead. The Pinto engine sits further back, which means the Type 9 gearbox will need to be brought forward and the prop shaft extended too.

Although I don’t seem to have got too far, I’m on the right track.