Has anyone or have seen anyone convert a us spec Escort GT to a Euro spec Cosworth RS? I have studied the body lines and the wide body fenders are not terribly hard to recreate or get ahold of... I do have a 2.3L turbo that is begging for a Volvo head swap... but I am not sure on what drivetrain would fit behind the motor since the Cosworth RS is All wheel drive... I am at work but when I get a chance I will show some pictures...
In for pics...and crazy thoughts. I have those quite frequently. 
A Turbo Zetec with a BDA valve cover, T-5 and transfer case from a Jeep, adapt a 2.3 bellhousing to the Zetec, and use an Explorers independent axles front and rear. Of course the xfer case would probably an off-road only what with it being without an actual center differential.
91RSImpulse wrote: Has anyone or have seen anyone convert a us spec Escort GT to a Euro spec Cosworth RS?
The US Escort shares zero with the Escort used to make the Cossie.
Then again, neither did the Escort 
The Cossie is a Sierra floorpan with an Escort upper shell plopped on top. (That is why Escorts were transverse and Cossies were longitudinal... completely different shell) That way Ford could transition in motorsport from the Sierra Sapphire to the Escort with minimal delay or learning curve.
People HAVE made AWD Focus rally cars by putting the top of a Focus on an XR4Ti floorpan. Late XR4Ti ('87-up?) have the wide trans tunnel so the XR4x4 drivetrain bits all bolt in.
XR4Ti is the answer for the starting point. Even a foxbody would be an easier starring point than the US spec escort
In reply to RossD:
NP241 transfer case available in the Cherokee (probably other vehicles as well) has a full time 4wd setting that can be used on pavement.
In reply to Furious_E:
2 means 2 ranges. Get a 1xx.
Although truck transfer cases are way huge, size is a concern here. Easier probably to just use a BMW AWD transmission. Or a Skyline GT-R, which are surprisingly cheap in the US.
In reply to Knurled:
Or one of the MT75 from an Euro AWD Sierra/Sapphire
Or the MTX75(??) from a Jaguar X-type 2001-2009 and use Duratec V6. Do the cyclones versions use the same Duratec bellhousing?
In reply to Knurled:
You mean you don't want to rock crawl with your Escort?
RossD wrote: In reply to Knurled: Or one of the MT75 from an Euro AWD Sierra/Sapphire 
It's probably cheaper to buy a complete E46 325ix than it is to buy one of those transmissions, nowadays 
BMW saw fit to flood the market with AWD longitudinal transmissions with planetary center diffs for a rear torque bias, because BMW wanted something AWD but not too AWD. I think people should do something with this available resource.
or just drop an escort body onto a Subaru GC shell. I'd guess that they're not all that far off dimensionally.
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