My RWD Escort RS Cosworth nick named "The Widow Maker"

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Right, well my first little update.

Since owning the car, nothing has really sprung up that I didnt already know about.

I am getting a 1200rpm idle speed and slow to come down from around 2000 rpm making low rev gear changes sound rubbish.

I got the car up to temps and unplugged the idle speed control valve, not much really happened, you could hear a slight drop in sound but the revs didnt really budge. Took it for a drive and it felt a bit better on the hanging revs. Parked up and forgot about it. Started this morning and it nearly stalled, that soon reminded me. So didnt plug it back in and just gave it some revs to keep it from stalling, within half a mile it was ticking over by itself fine. And the revs idled at 975rpm and didnt hang around 2000 rpm.

So now I know its the valve that needs a good clean, that will be coming off at the weekend and soaking in petrol with the piston open.

So while I was out testing this I gave the car full boost in 5th and you could hear it was slightly fluttering from the sucking noise from the turbo. Only happened on full boost, no difference in power, held its boost fine and the boost gauge did not show any movement. This was only very slightly so could be normal but I am in the process of checking it out.

Had my cousin come around and look over the car as he has had a couple and worked on too many and gave it the thumbs up so that was a good sign.

The car does have a slight leak on the engine which could be the sump gasket but until we get it all cleaned down and run up to temps to see where the oil is coming from. Its nothing new for a Cosworth to have a oil leak though

Next task is the handbrake which needs adjusting... Will post once I have found out how to adjust that.

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cossy400 said:

HAAHA would nt be a Cosworth if it didnt have a leak.

Looking forward to the updates

hahaha yeah I know what you mean. Just trying to track it down is the hard part.

Took her out tonight to the gym and on the way back I seen a Evo 7/8? and a Scoobie... both drivers nearly breaking their necks to look at the Cossie always makes me smile when that happens.

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Just made a purchase

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-ESCOR...item35bdaf5...

Photos when it arrives fitted and will let you all know if they are any good.

Anyone know of any good car mats I can get for her? I just want standard looking items in carpet and black or the same colour the carpets are in the cars?

Not sure about these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Mats-i...item2c587fd...

are they the right shape?

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OK so as you can see through the Rondels, the brakes are tiny

So been looking around which leads me to a question...

Why can we not fit 2wd calipers to a 4x4? What is in the way or causing issues for this? I see the price is a sizable difference though

Not that I will ever get the full benifit from the bigger brakes as its not driven hard, these would be more for show than anything else but dont want to spend massive money on them.... Anyone know of a cheaper alternative?

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gaz1234 said:

items removed.

Items removed?

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gaz1234 said:

Which gym?

I go to Nuffield. Not too keen on leaving the car down there but hey ho, cannot wrap it up in bubble wrap all its life

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in the carpark at the gym, under a camera if possible

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Do you use Nuffield?

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Parked the old girl next to two Focus ST's at work yesterday and the Escort made them look bland :-P

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gaz1234 said:

westlands?

Yeah, my company contracts me there to HP for a couple days a week. Wont be there for much longer as its nearly up. Quiet a few E46 M3's that work there. I was surrounded once by a few when I had my E36 M3.

Well we have been hit by the floods today so the old girl is staying put.



Number plate change has gone through so she will be back on her M plate she came with.

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Cleaned the car today and took a closer look into her.



I have d/c'ed my ISCV and after about 30 seconds of feeding light throttle the car sits as per the video. Much better and I can deal with 30 seconds of slight throttle before I set off







My next issue is with the oil gauge, see the video below for what it does. The car runs perfect, has a very small oil leak which we think could be a sump gasket but not 100%. Oil gauge just seems to be feeding from something else. When the car is warm and being used with a bit more boost, the oil gauge seems to follow the boost gauge. Very strange and I think this is related to a earth or something like this, it should of gone bang by now if the gauge was reading right







I also tried to clean the exhaust a bit. Looked like it had not been cleaned in a couple years







Didnt come up like I expected so will see if I can get some metal cleaner and hit it hard. But looks a bit better











I had my little helper today

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And as always, just after its been cleaned, it rains!!

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sturobturbo said:

Your car is amazing.
I sold my series 1 ERST for 3400 around 5 years ago, biggest mistake ever. Apart from selling my Clubman (thanks mum!!)

I got a mate with a full rebuilt S1, everything has been striped, replaced or refurbed. All painted underside etc. Its amazing! They look so good when fresh. Would love one but had a S2 and that ate gearbox's
thanks for the comments though

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Been very busy the last week or two, I helped a friend move house and parked the Cossie up at his.

Came back a hour later and a guy and his kid are stood next to the car, this guy has clocked I am looking at him with the "what the hell are you doing by my car look" and asks, is this your car. Turns out the guy owned a RS2000 mk5 and really wanted a Cosworth but was out of his price range. Didnt really have a chance to chat, more of a shout across the road. His kid loved the car though and he must of been 5!

Anyway, went to the local Sherborne Castle classics and supercar meet which was good, some great cars on stands etc. Didnt take the cossie, took the train instead. Got the car home and cleaned her down, and took it to the Passionford local meet in Taunton. Great turn out, had to be 20 plus cars. Loads of Cosworths and sleepers. I didnt get any photos as I had a late night and a early start so showed the car, had a look around and went home to bed.

I had a bit of smoke come out of the back of the car yesterday as well. Only very small and once. Not come back so think it might of been the hill it was parked on causing some oil to build up and gather. Will take the filter off and check the turbo shafts etc but pretty confident its nothing serious. Car still goes like a rocket. My gear gaiter arrived as well so will fit that when I get 5 minutes.

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Update:



Well when I purchased the car, it had the C2 WTH number plate which was staying with the previous owner. When I collected the car he still had to transfer the plate so had to keep the V5, MOT and Tax disk. Now I was a little worried about this but put my trust is a fellow RS owner. After what seemed like a very long time and what seemed to me as being fobbed off the V5 etc dropped through the letter box!! Thank god for that! Thank you Jamie if you are watching one of these, I never doughted you



Anyway, this ment I now have a valid tax disk in the window, my 12 months MOT certificate and the V5. This also ment I could now get my number plate made up for the front of the car. I was running around with it strapped to the passanger side sun visor as it was too small to screw into the bumper and I didnt really want to put some stick back stuff on to keep it there.



So off I went and bought my new front number plate



I got it from Halfords for £18 with some locking screws and caps.



So this is how I collected it







Before it was fitted







After it was fitted







My locking screws I used, not fool proof but certainly slow you down, alot!







This was the old number plate against the new one







After that I thought I would tackle the gear gaitor as I read it was a easy job.... what a pain in the ass this was! Thought it would be like my M3 and pull out without removing the center consol but no



This is the gear gaitor before











Pretty shafted



So I got to this stage and thought, that is it, take a photo before I put it back in, then I noticed it needed that horrible plastic crap bit put back in to get it to look OEM.







So after messing around it looked like this















Not the best I must admit but not bad for my first attempt, its also a ball ache as its a T5 box so the swing into 2nd/4th and reverse is a long way down.



And this is what it was like when finished











This is what is left from the old gaitor







Sadly, when taking it all a part I found this which was repaired with glue and broke Anyone got one I can buy please in as new condition or excellent used condition?











A couple photos of my carbon fibre front splitter which was hit at 0.5 mph on a rubbish speed bump! I was pissed right off with this as you can imagine. I have a friend who runs a company in making carbon fibre car parts and he thinks he can fix it, failing that its a new one at £150.











When I was at Halfords I had a spare ten minutes so started looking around, I am a very proud dad as I am sure you guys are too and was looking for a new car seat for my ten month old little girl. I never knew Halfords stocked Recaro baby seats So I took a couple photos to show the Mrs.



She is saying one is no good for us as its for bigger kids so it might be the Young Sport one we go for. It will spend 99% of its time in the back of our 330i Sport which we bought just for the baby (very safe car and has isofix) but for the odd time it has to go in my car, it has to be Recaro











The top one had speakers in and a iPod connection! Kids these days have so much.

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I have been ill for the best part of the week and the car has just been sat and forgotten about. Today I feel loads better so took her out for a blast with a mate.

OMG! What a car. I gave it some beans out to my mates who lives in the sticks. Driving through small parts of heavy trees etc up hilly lanes giving it some :content: Jesus! It goes like fook!

My mate is a feel RS fan and has insurance to cover the car and I trust him with my life, so I let him have ago. He openly admited he was stting himself as he has been a passanger.

He drove it with respect and loved it. Said it was like being in fast and furious when they hit the nos lol Everything just goes blurry. It was nice letting someone else give it some while being sat in the passanger seat.

Spotted a MK2 Focus RS which waved up :top:

So me and my mate ended up at the pub talking cars and he gave me the verdict. Couldnt fault the car, said it was stiff but not uncomfortable, no body role, pulled like a train, nothing rattled and had enough traction in the dry. He said it was like being in a rally car.

Anyway, dropped him off and headed home only to have a Honda driver trying to get into my boot! Why! Really annoyes me this kind of thing, had some jap exhaust dragging behind it and a sticker on the back telling me it was quick. I let him go passed, gave it a squirt when he tried to boot it off and let him know the old girl will make him look silly. He gave the approving nod after that and left me alone :top:

So bought her home and parked her up, got out and walked around her with utter amazement at just how good she is. It is filthy, see pics. But tomorrow it will be cleaned

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Well I went and seen a friend today who works for a engineering company. As I was stood chatting away, away from the car. Out walks this older guy and asks who the Cosworth belongs too... I am starting to think have I parked it in the way or something but he then goes on to ask loads of questions about the car, turns out he was the owner of the company and runs around in a brand new Audi RS3. He asked about the performance etc and then followed it up with, the best way to find out how quick it is, we go for a blast with him in his car Being the responsible adult lol I refused. But, top guy. Engineer by trade who built up a company. Sounded very interested in the Cosworth which was nice

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Yes please I will PM you now

thanks
Mark

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Dr G said:

Do you want a black screw cap for your '5'? Message me your address if you like and I'll pop a couple in the post.

I would just like to thank Dr G (Pistonheads) for sending me these



Top guy and the reason why I make an effort to use these forums.

Thank you very much

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Darkslider said:

Words can not describe how jealous I am of you. Ever since I was tiny watching Malcom Wilson pilot one of these through the Welsh forests I've always wanted one, I've always had an unhealthy obsession with fast fords and an Escos has been my dream car for as long as I can remember. I put it down to the Essex inherited from my dad even though we live in North Wales!

Unfortunately being 23 with a crap job they're way out of my price range, they were slightly cheaper a few years ago but now even the ropey examples (of which there aren't many) seem to start at £8k going by Ebay prices, and a good one will be five figures easy!

I've got an Impreza Turbo at the moment which my head tells me is just as quick on paper and shares the same 4wd drivetrain, drives as well and sounds awesome to boot. But my heart says it's just not the same A shame my car is only worth 10% of one of these!

Maybe one day if any secret millionaires are out there reading, a white small turbo LUX with the whale tail, morrettes and 18" Compomotives running a reliable 300bhp wouldn't go amiss!

I had my first one at your age after a M3 and RS Turbo. I am not on a massive wage and have a 10 month old daughter, my advice to you, do it sooner rather than later.. 1, the cars are going up, this is why I bought mine because in a few more years I knew I could not justify having an expensive car as a weekend toy and 2, the possible arrival of Mr Darkslider will not be happy with a old Escort that smells of petrol and oil

I am very lucky, the Mrs lets me have what I want I wouldnt mind a drive of a ST1 and Evo 6 to see how it all compares. My cousin recently sold a STi limited edition thing which was number one of 500 made. He said it did everything so well but didnt have that character the Cosworth had so he sold and is now on the look out for a Cosworth or Lancia Delta Evo 2