MkII Escort Panel Van Door & Bonnet

billforshort · 23-07-2022, 03:32 PM

Hey Guys,

I have myEscort Panel van sparking some interest in me after picking it up in 2008'ish from a couple of fellas out in Oakey for $800. I had it registered for a while until around 2012 but think it might be time to start on the restore.
The van is in great nick.. no rust in the body at all, no windows cut either.. stoked

After having a look around, seems the 2 bits I need are a bit hard to find and I'm after some help in pointing me in the right direction.

Before I go & find someone for panel & paint, I need a RH door and a bonnet?!
I'm no panel beater but think those 2 bits that are shoddy would be harder to fix than to replace.. what do you think?

_image6; a photo of the van, aint' she beautiful

_image 3; the top of the door where the window weather channel sits. don't see how a weather strip will clip on to that and seems pretty hard to fix ?
_image 2; you get the drift. seems someone had a part yon the bonnet. Can you fix the supports in there, or do I need a new one. Worst case I get a carbon fiber one and put a clear coat on it?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers,
Paul.

**Rallye Sport** · 23-07-2022, 04:29 PM

Wow looks good and was a steal for that kind of money, even back then...

I'd have a go at or get a quote on fixing the door. Good van doors are getting scarce. You could also use one from a Mk1 2 door, there is a small difference, hinge maybe? I forget, but they can be made to fit. Bare in mind either of those options may cost you upwards of $300 to $500 and will possibly still need work.

Same with the bonnet get a price and take it from there, replacements in steel, fibreglass and carbon are available but postage will be a killer.

Out of interest are the front seats vinyl or fabric? They look like fabric to me from the pics, it may have had a 'fashion pack' interior optioned back in the day.

Good luck with it, she's definitely putting some effort into.

billforshort · 24-07-2022, 11:52 AM

Thanks Rallye, the seats are fabric, but have a feeling there out of a Cortina as they are just a little wide for the cab.

After having a look around I couldn't find any steel replacement for the bonnet, any chance you could share where I could start looking for one of those?

Cheers, and I'll post when things kick off. I'll start dismantling soon & hopefully get the panel & paint stuff in play before Chrissy!

Cheers

**Rallye Sport** · 24-07-2022, 01:58 PM

Had a quick search of the UK sites but I'm not seeing any steel bonnets at the moment.
A couple of places to get started.
https://www.motorsport-tools.com/
https://www.steelpanels.co.uk/
http://www.magnumcarpanels.co.uk/

Motorsport tools are showing the carbon and fibreglass items for around 700 pounds add postage to that aswell. IMO, you could probably get alot of work done on your bonnet locally for that kind of money.

I'll have another look when I have some time and see if theres any other suppliers.

Also give this forum a try.
https://www.classic-ford.org/cfp/

Its a local (Australian) site with alot of knowledgeable people that may be able to help.

39ClevoUte · 24-07-2022, 07:33 PM

An old school panel beater / restorer could fix that bonnet and door in no time. Ask around and even talk to some Hot rodders. Lots of them have done restoration at tafe and so have many others. There's guys and clubs out there that do this stuff.
It's amazing sometimes at how simple these repairs are. Those rusted bonnet trusses could be folded up and stretched and shrunk into shape and fitted in no time. The door doesn't look hard either. Ask around.