YOUR PROJECTS:
Mk4 Escort
New-school convert, Derek Mitchell is building a track car with a difference...
Cast your minds back to the April 2018 issue, and shouting out from the cover was Derek Mitchell’s stunning, Daytona Yellow Mk1 Escort. Sat perfectly on a set of Dunlop D1s and running a classic 2.1 Pinto, the Mk1 was a lesson in old school cool and was unsurprisingly, Derek’s pride and joy.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and Derek found himself in the difficult position of having to sell the Mk1 to help fund a new business venture. Six months down the line though, and with things settling down a bit, he started scratching around for a new project — only this time a classic Vauxhall: “I fancied an HB Viva but quickly realised that they were stupid money.”
What Derek went for next was a surprise even to himself. “I was strictly an old-school guy — you know, the classic steel versus plastic bumpers thing. If I was at a show and saw a line of RS Turbos, I’d walk straight passed them. To me, it was almost like a rivalry between football teams, and being brought up on distributors and carburettors, I couldn’t comprehend the idea of ECUs and mapping.”
It’s fair to say that with his new project, Derek has definitely seen the light. As not only is he building a hardcore Mk4 Escort for the track, after starting out with a Zetec-based powerplant in mind, he’s now gone all-out in the shape of the cheap and under-utilised 2-litre SAAB turbo engine. Swedish power in a ‘modern’ Ford with the help of Vauxhall parts? The old-school brigade won’t know what’s hit them.
How did you come across the car? I was chatting to one of my customers who runs a garage and he asked me if I knew of anyone who wanted an old Escort. Of course, I immediately thought Mk1 or Mk2, but he took me round the back and parked in an old spray booth was this Mk4. It looked a mess and I dismissed it immediately. I couldn’t get it out of my head though, especially once I realised that actually, it’s a 33-year-old car, so ended up buying it and dragging it back to my garage.
What was it like? It was an unfinished project — the engine and ’box were missing though it came with a Zetec, but apart from some rust in the sills and rear arches, I could see that the rest was really good — even the battery tray and area around the fuse box were solid. I decided pretty early on that it would make a pretty awesome road-legal track car.
Why the SAAB engine? Originally I was going to drop an ST170 motor into it. I used to run one as my daily, but when it needed to much work for the MoT I scrapped it but kept the engine and ’box. However, once I found out how expensive these can be to tune — especially when you go down the turbo route — I started to look around for something else. I was chatting to a friend who runs a rolling road, and he said the Vauxhall lads were all running SAAB turbos and not only do they bolt straight in, these can take 350 bhp easily — just a turbo swap, bigger injectors, remap and 3-bar MAP sensor. The next thing you know, I’d been to see a customer who runs a scrappie and pulled a B204 engine and ’box out of a SAAB 93. It cost me just £400 complete with the ECU, driveshafts and engine bay loom.
How tricky have you found the conversion? It’s been pretty straightforward so far — I’ve just been taking my time and working through it. Early on, I realised the SAAB gearbox wouldn’t fit easily because of issues with the gear linkage, but found out the Vauxhall F23 five-speed bolts straight up to the engine and because it uses cable linkage, it’s easy to adapt.
The engine and ’box are now in position, and the next job is to make up some mounts. After that I need to sort out the driveshafts which will probably be a mix of ST170 and SAAB.
I’m also looking into using different front hubs with bigger bearings — either Focus or even Meriva.
“I DECIDED EARLY ON THIS WOULD MAKE AN AWESOME TRACK CAR”
What about the rest of the running gear? I’m still working it out, but the suspension is based around GAZ Gold Pro coil-overs, along with ST170 front discs and callipers and a rear disc conversion — my nearest track is Knockhill and if you’ve ever driven round there, you’ll know you need good brakes. Wheels? I saw a set of Compomotive THs on a Mk4 that I thought looked good, so I’ve gone with those.
And the interior? A climbing frame, which I’m going to make myself, a pair of seats and a Stack dash, and that’s about it. This one isn’t about the creature comforts — or originality for that matter!
Are you keeping the original colour? No, I’m really not a fan — at the moment I’m thinking dark blue. I’ll do the paint myself — I really enjoy the build, it’s the best thing about mucking around with old cars.
Anyone you’d like to thank who’s helped out so far? Yes, Colin Easton and Bill Hall.
When do you hope to have the Escort finished and on the road? I’m aiming for summer next year — it would be great to bring it to Mallory Park for the Classic Ford Show.