'94 Escort Wagon

Figured I might as well start a project thread. I like this car. Here it is a short while after I got it. Performance-boosting Flyin' Miata sticker came with it. I think it adds swagger... or something.

The story: I bought the car from a forum member in December. 2nd gen Escorts have always had a bit of nostalgic appeal for me. When I was a kid both both my grandfathers had one. One was a red LX coupe and the other had an aqua green GT which, in my little kid mind, was the coolest car ever. Plus, I wanted a wagon since I cart around guitars and amps and bulky things.

Reasons why I like this one: It might be the only Escort in the metro Detroit area that still has rocker panels. It came with Blizzaks on those steelies. Cargo carrier springs in rear. Seats from a different car that sit lower so my 6'5" self likes the driving position a lot.

So I brought this one home, got a new battery, drove it for a little while, decided I should get the brakes working the way they were supposed to, and had to replace a suspension arm in the rear after salt and rust killed it. Once all that was sorted the little 20 year old wagon survived the winter of car-hell and a 1000+ mile road trip like a champ.

Tell us more...

I found some Miata wheels on Craigslist for cheap for when the snow stopped. Got some General Altimax tires from Tirerack on them. I think it looks rather nice. Plus they match the sticker.

Today's adventure began while doing some minor post-winter paint touch up. The discovery: the front sway bar wasn't actually attached to anything. Another pothole-induced casualty.

The other side was the same.

The old bolt links were still there, minus the head, frozen in the old rubber bushings. The trusty sawzall, Man's second best friend, fixed that up right quick.

Quick trip to NAPA, new ones went on, all better. Running through the local round-abouts the front end definitely feels tighter now. I should do the rear too. Not surprisingly the car tends towards understeer and I'd like to liven it up if I can.

I am hoping that I can get my feet wet in some autocross or rallycross this summer. I think it would be a lot of fun and the Detroit region SCCA seems active. Rallycross looks like a blast and the Escort seems like it would be well suited for that but I guess I would be worried about breaking the car I rely on to get me to work. Maybe my concern is unfounded though.

It was too windy to spray today so the paint stuff is on hold.

Sitting pretty in the sun.

Things to fix next: Harmless but annoying/embarrassing noises. Small exhaust leak up by the engine (maybe in the manifold?) that makes it sound like a mail truck. One exhaust rattle around the muffler that happens sometimes on decel and at 57mph. One exhaust rattle around the firewall area that happens on low speed decel and the occasional upshift.

The trusty sawzall, Man's second best friend < so true! I have always had a soft spot for these escorts. Can't wait to see it in action.

Well, the GT 1.8 drivetrain could be swapped in for the 1.9 SOHC (if you wanted a 5 speed). Would need some other various stuff; harness, ECU, etc. But then you'd have the whole catalog full of Miata engine goodies to choose from. (FWIW, I have a '93 wagon myself)

Cool! Now drop a KLDE in there hmmmkay..

Within hours swap ideas start popping up. Love it. I've been thinking about engines, since the 1.9 is a weenie lump. Its got a 5 speed with fairly close ratios so it doesn't feel totally gutless. It does ok keeping up with traffic but nothing beyond that. I'd hate to think what it would be like with an auto.

I don't know over-much about engine swaps but from my googling it seems like the BP from an Escort GT would be a good idea if I could find the a good donor car. Seems like they are hard to find. Pretty sure I could swap out the rear drum brakes for the GT discs too.

I had a 92 pony with the 1.8 swap, had trouble keeping axles alive but it was a really fun car otherwise!

Stuff came today!

Time for front brakes. The rear drums were taken care of at the beginning of winter via local shop. I still haven't experienced drum brake maintenance for myself and didn't want my first drum experience to involve freezing temperature and sleet.

While I was on Tirerack I also ordered some mudflaps to protect from the dirt roads that I drive on everyday. Also for that sweet rally-poser look.

Moog "Problem Solver" sway bar links. After putting new links in front I notice the back end feels more floppy than it did before. Maybe these will help.

Hopefully I will have some car time and good weather this weekend.

Looks nice with the Miata wheels.

Ran 6 Mazda vehicles through the stable over 20 years. Swaybar links are almost as much a consumable as the gas in the tank. Mazda charges $500 to do all 4.

I bought a 92, 6 spd., wagon new for my wife. It was a great cheap car for our young family of four. In 92, it wasn't that slow, and the trans shifted decent, handled ok, (it was almost fun to drive, remember what was available then) it would get 38 mpg on the highway and we never had any major repairs, got over 160k on it before parting ways. I would give it thumbs up.

Some things happened today. The plan was: Come home after work, do brakes, change oil, take car to collect younger brother from college tomorrow.

Well...

Here is a caliper. Everything came off fine and things were going smoothly. I did have to channel my inner hammer-wielding Jeremy Clarkson in order to free the rotors from the hubs. Then I tried to put the caliper on the new disc and the pads wouldn't fit around the disc. That was odd since the piston pushed back into the caliper just fine. Turns out the bolts double as the pins on which the caliper bracket moves.

Ok, so slide it to open up the caliper. But that didn't happen. The little pistons that the bolts go through were stuck. 3 out of 4 between the left and right calipers wouldn't budge... to the point where I gave up and started banging away with the hammer again. I was just curious to see if they would move at all. Nope. Apparently the calipers I've been driving around with aren't functioning properly. I knew the brakes didn't feel right but I figured that was just because the pads and rotors were old.

I feel that brakes are important so new calipers were ordered today.

Oh... that rattle that I assumed was a loose heat shield or something? The fan shroud was hanging by 1 out of three bolts. So that's fixed now.

To finish the story: My car is on jackstands at with no brakes but that doesn't change the fact that little brother needs to come home from college. Fortunately I was at my parents' house, since that's where the tools and garage are. In comes my mother and says I can use her '11 Xterra if I change the oil for her. Day saved. Is it ridiculous that my english-teacher mother drives an Xterra Pro-4X? Yes. Is it fun to drive? Oh yeah. Can I connect my ipod to the stereo? Sure can.

It's days like these that I question my commitment to depending on a 20 year old car for daily transportation. Except I will forget all that next time I drive it. 20 year old cars are just fun.

One Xterra Pro-4X monthly car payment = your entire Escort Wagon

In reply to erohslc:

Truth. And a month's worth of insurance and gas money for that thing is worth another Escort.

You should buy my SVT Focus engine and Getrag 6-speed to swap into this thing.

Or, someone else buy this: http://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/4417281278.html and swap in my SVT Focus engine and Getrag 6-speed.

In reply to ScreaminE:

Probably beyond my skill level but I would consider attempting it if this wasn't the car I rely on for daily transportation. I'll keep that in mind if the situation is ever right.

After 2 attempts to do a simple brake job the wagon (finally) has new brakes. The first attempt I realized the calipers were messed up. The second time I realized I had ordered the wrong calipers and rotors.

On the bright side. I now know that my wagon is one of the LX cars equipped with bigger (GT-size) front brakes.

That's all for now.

Got a comment at the gas station today on the Escort. First car I've driven where that's ever happened. I guess it's officially old enough to be interesting. Score.

I've bled the brakes 3 times. Done it the "proper" way with a helper on the brake pedal. The pedal still feels softer than I think it should. Ehhh.... Maybe I just want it to feel like the brakes in my dad's SVT Focus, which it never will.

I'm struggling to keep the mentality that this is just a beater wagon and I shouldn't be buying things like braided steel brake hoses and suspension upgrades. There is a part of me that wants to see just how well it could be made to handle.

Also, my brother has dubbed it, "The Swagger Wagon."

Protip, use an air chisel with hammer bit to free up rusted sliders, then anitseize the ever living hell out of them.

BlueInGreen44 wrote: ... I'm struggling to keep the mentality that this is just a beater wagon and I shouldn't be buying things like braided steel brake hoses and suspension upgrades. ...

Suitable manipulation of the wheel and pedals can make it do amazing things (don't ask how I know)

erohslc wrote:

BlueInGreen44 wrote: ... I'm struggling to keep the mentality that this is just a beater wagon and I shouldn't be buying things like braided steel brake hoses and suspension upgrades. ...

Suitable manipulation of the wheel and pedals can make it do amazing things (don't ask how I know)

So you're saying I should just spend my time learning to drive well? Preposterous...

The mule wagon has been performing its wagon duties admirably. I haven't done anything to it but other solid objects have.

^ This was from the pastor's wife reversing in a borrowed vehicle. Makes for a funny story. Haven't gotten around to seeing how much will buff out. I think most of it will. Great thing about driving a beater is scrapes and dings aren't a big deal.

v This is from a deer that picked a bad time to jump across the road. Fortunately for me I only clipped the thing. I'm not sure how the headlight survived. Unfortunately, while the car will survive with a broken bumper, the deer probably didn't last long after it dragged itself into the woods. Sad.

I've been having a blast in the thing. I've been trying to teach myself to heel/toe, left foot brake, and all sorts of fun things. I really really want to get into rallycross this summer but I just don't think it will fit around all the other things I have to do.

Easy to get behind that fender dent. Find a flat open field and go crazy with it, noting like power slides in the dirt to practice car control.