MK 1 Escort Help

XL_Escort · 08-07-2011, 07:18 PM

I've bought a 4 door MK 1 Escort, and was hoping to do it up. I don't know too much about escorts to be completely honest and was hoping some people could help me out. It had a 1300 Kent engine in it, and I've been told the largest i can go to is the 1600 without having to get the car engineered. I want it to be road legal. If i was to put a done up 1600 engine in it would i need to upgrade the gearbox and final drive? If so what could you please recommend?

Thank Luke.

hendrixhc · 08-07-2011, 07:59 PM

I did up a mk1 escort bout 20 yeasr ago with my ex brother in law. We upgraded it from 1300 to 1600. Was all bolt in and didnt do anything apart from a new clutch. We added a weber, extractors, sports exhaust and lightened flywheel and upgraded the suspension.

This little box used to fly four a four banger and was pretty much bulletproof. Never had so much fun in a car.

Course numnut stuffed up and wrecked the car. Bye Bye 2 door mk1.

Not sure bout engineering but i couldnt imagine 1300 to 1600 would be any big deal cause the engines are basically the same. eg no visible difference.

Good luck and have fun with it!

Neale · 08-07-2011, 09:47 PM

Like HendrixHC said there is hardly any visual difference between the 1300 & 1600 except that the block is slightly taller.

Also the escorts used a crossflow not a kent (the kent was an older motor used in mk1 cortinas)

I bought a 1300 mk1 escort a few years ago that I was told had a 1300 in it but it ended up being a 1600

whooligan · 12-07-2011, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neale

Like HendrixHC said there is hardly any visual difference between the 1300 & 1600 except that the block is slightly taller.

Also the escorts used a crossflow not a kent (the kent was an older motor used in mk1 cortinas)

I bought a 1300 mk1 escort a few years ago that I was told had a 1300 in it but it ended up being a 1600

The crossflow is in fact a Kent motor. The pre-crossflow was also a Kent just was an earlier version with a different head....same as the lotus twin cam, all From the Kent family of engines.

To answer the main question, 1300 to 1600 is pretty much a straight swap. If you are doing a conversion you are much better off getting a later 1600 out of a Mk 2 with the later gearbox as well rather than mixing and matching parts from early and late cars.
I did this with my Mk 1 van and had a few issues. In the end I throw out all the Mk one stuff and simply installed all Mk 2 running gear.

XL_Escort · 13-07-2011, 08:14 PM

Thanks for the advice. much appreciated.

morziac · 13-07-2011, 11:44 PM

Don't know wat state ur in so can't comment there but here in WA u can legally replace the motor (or anything for that matter) in ur vehicle with the largest that came out for that model. so technically speaking the MK 1 Escort came out with a 2L Pinto motor in the RS2000, therefore u can put that motor in ur escort with no engineering required, purely fill out the engine swap paperwork for the VIN number etc...

XL_Escort · 14-07-2011, 06:14 PM

I live in Adelaide, and that was the impression i had but after talking to a few people around here, they seem to think i can't put the 2.0L in, only the 1600

R0BD0G · 11-07-2011, 06:34 PM

i ran into a little trouble when i blew the 1300 up in my 4 door only because of the aftermarket exhaust system that was on the 1300, when the 1600 went in, because of the taller deck height the exhaust hit on the floor... but if its all standard, nothing to worry about.. all goes straight in

foxtrot3 · 14-07-2011, 08:47 PM

Hi. Might be a bit hard without an engineers report as the mk 1 went to 1974 and the pinto wasnt used till 1976 in the mk 2. It would mean changing the entire braking system, steering, diff and front suspension and thats why an engineer has to sign off the changes made. Cheers MD

allanv6gt · 15-07-2011, 08:47 PM

Simple......ring your RTA and ask the simple question.
If you get the answer you want, write to them and get a written confirmation of the verbal advice.
You would then be armed with the appropriate 'approval' for what you want to do - due 'administrative advice' was obtained (and here's the evidence your honour).

allanv6gt · 15-07-2011, 08:49 PM

One more thing, *your* interpretation of *their* regs won't do you any good if there is a disagreement down the track. The only opinion that counts is the relevant decision maker i.e. the RTA.