Spec-R BARN FIND!Rare Geoff Woods Mk1 Hart Escort Special Saloon

[andy97]

Originally Posted by celes1

Andy97, I use to live in Castle Donnington, way back.

Where abouts, i have been there over 20 years.

[GWOOD1170]

I feel this thread is being lost, isn't it supposed to be about this car ? GW

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by GWOOD1170

I feel this thread is being lost, isn't it supposed to be about this car ? GW

Yes, with my moderators hat on, let’s keep the thread from wandering off track please, guys! And now we've got this far and know exactly what the thread is about, we don’t really need post titles, please.....

[celes1]

I noticed Geoff Wood cut away the rear window for ventilation. I think when Spec-R refurbishes the car, Pete should put round vent holes in at the top of the rear window, this will look a lot neater and be stronger.

[celes1]

Originally Posted by andy97

Where abouts, i have been there over 20 years.

Just a quickie off track.

As you enter Castle Donnington from Sawley there is a real steep little side road on the left going up to the village. Get to the top and we were the third ?? old village property on right, we had the one with a drive at side. Don't ask me street name as I was only 5 or 6 at time. We then moved to The Hermitage, Kegworth.

[Doc Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Yes, with my moderators hat on, let’s keep the thread from wandering off track please, guys! And now we've got this far and know exactly what the thread is about, we don’t really need post titles, please.....

Lovely thread, and a wonderful reminder of the special saloon era, when components off one- or two-year-old single-seaters were in plentiful supply. It was an era that spawned so many wonderful creations, and to find one of them, fully intact and virtually unmolested, is a true time-warp. I can believe an all-up weight of just over 500kgs for this lighweight. To put it in perspective, a Group 2 1275 Cooper S of that period had to weigh 640kg. The Maguire Chamois (space frame Imp) that I bought from David Enderby in 1981 weighed in at 420kg mit water and oil, but of course the Imp engine was featherweight compared to any of the iron block BD variants. The 1300 BD variant was known as the BDH, by the way, and one of them went into Enderby's VW Karmann Ghia clone, after the stretched Imp unit (1120ccm) proved a bit short of breath in the 1300 ccm class. That little BD was a screamer, and it just touched 190BHP on the dyno...but it had no torque worth mentioning.
Incidentally, does anybody recognise the rear uprights on the Wood Escort? They look very meaty, and interestingly they have lugs for mounting the brake callipers outboard. Also, there are a few rod ends loaded in single shear, which would not be kosher to-day. Most single-seaters from such as Chevron and March came with nickel-plated suspension components at the time, chrome on suspension members has been banned by the FIA for years.

[911thillclimber]

Stunned this car weighed in at 500Kg, lighter than my Lola T492 based Sports 2000 hill climb car that has no steel space frame, just an aluminium biscuit tin tub (hence Lola Limp etc)

Hope they are working hard on it over Xmas!

Is there a date plan for the end of the rebuild?

[morninggents]

HSCC Escort race at Brands in September would be a great target.

[Mike Bell]

Whilst that would be the perfect target, it’s a bit cheeky of us bystanders to suggest such things to Spec-R. I’m sure commercial considerations, like finding the not inconsiderable money to pay for it all, and fitting the work in around customer priorities, will have to be taken into consideration. And of course any outsourced aspects of the rebuild will be down to the time restraints of other companies or individuals...... I’ve seen this type of job take years, so I’m happy to be patient.

In the meantime, hope you are able to keep us updated with progress when you have time, Pete@Spec-R. Happy New Year to you all!

[morninggents]

Totally agree ..... just saying. I've built enough cars to know all about the time and finance conundrum.

Just remember, Mike, some of us have less waiting time available.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Totally agree ..... just saying. I've built enough cars to know all about the time and finance conundrum.

Just remember, Mike, some of us have less waiting time available.

[SPECR]

Good morning all,hope everyone had a happy Christmas with there family & friends.And while i remember,myself and everyone here at Spec-R wish you all a very happy & prosperous new-year.
Ive been reading over the past comments on this thread and yes its bound to go off thread now and again which i personally dont mind.As when we have threads come up from certain eras, its bound to get the memories flooding back to us all ie.what we were doing then or what car we were racing and who against.
This is all Motorsport history and not ALL things can be found on google! so we have to hope that theirs people out there who can hopefully remember those days/meetings/photos etc etc. As ive found out tracing the history of this Escort,its all the little details which has taken months & months and phone calls more than i can remember.
As we all know the old saying,time stands still for no man,once its gone its gone.
So to ALL you enthusiasts/racers/ex racers/photographers/friends etc etc out there,very big thank you as i couldn't do this restoration without you.
Cheers,Pete@Spec-R
IE: I will be posting up pics later of the rack/front corners/rad off for you

[morninggents]

Thanks Pete@Spec-R. Best wishes to you too and, I hope, a prosperous 2018 which you will probably need to get the rebuild completed.

Hope it doesn't take too long.

[SPECR]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Thanks Pete@Spec-R. Best wishes to you too and, I hope, a prosperous 2018 which you will probably need to get the rebuild completed.

Hope it doesn't take too long.

Thank you also much appreciated.
Hopefully if all goes well,with time on my side that is we should see majority of work completed by mid summer.Will keep you all updated with progress.
Fingers x

[SPECR]

Chassis being stripped down of all auxiliaries,then will be checked for alignment etc all before all four corners and necessary parts are put back on so we and the bodyshop can realign the complete body/doors/and prep the bodywork for priming in a few months time.A lot of work but this has to be done before the chassis gets vapour blasted and primed.Then back to us for the fitting of new rear framework and spoiler /front splitter etc.(which was missing when car was found).Also new door catches etc etc.the list goes on but all the dirty work as such has to be done before it goes back to the bodyshop.The escort will be restored back to when Geoff Wood had her and in the same light blue colour scheme.This is just a very brief outline of what lays ahead for us and the escort.
Added a few more pics as promised.
Happy New Year to you all and your families and TenTenths and looking forward to coming along to relevant meetings this year to see and speak to a few people.
Thank you for your support,Pete

[SPECR]

Ive put up a few more than usual as its the end of year and people have got some extra time off

[SPECR]

couple more,emptied the reservoirs and lines.And exposed the foam filled side pods. Same foam encasing the fuel tank also.

Its Been a long year 2017 with the Escort and i know eventually the hard work ,and theres plenty of that still to come.Will pay of in the pleasure of seeing her finally come together and fired up for the first time since 79.

I also have to look back at some of the pics and remind myself what she use to look like and the man (Cyril Malem CTG Racing) who built the chassis in 73 along with the famous F1 chassis designer Len Terry.

She will be absolutely stunning when restored

[911thillclimber]

The memories of people of such a car as this is invaluable and a big part of the restoration of the car.
When I came on here 10 years ago searching for the chassis number of my ex Silhouette Karman Ghia Wendy Wools car, the input of people from the era was key to the success some years of research later.
So much knowledge on 10/10ths!

What a project this is. It would excite me every time I opened the garage door!
Thanks for the posts and the clear pictures, really really interesting.

Time to say happy New Year, may it be healthy, prosperous and rewarding for you all.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

The memories of people of such a car as this is invaluable and a big part of the restoration of the car.

So much knowledge on 10/10ths!

Agree- and certainly is!

Thank you again, Pete, for keeping the updates coming.

Happy New Year to all!

[celes1]

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all at TenTenths, all of our velcroed together competitors, spectators, officials and marshals, forum subscriber's and Pete of Spec-R who owns this beautiful rare race car.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

The memories of people of such a car as this is invaluable and a big part of the restoration of the car.
When I came on here 10 years ago searching for the chassis number of my ex Silhouette Karman Ghia Wendy Wools car, the input of people from the era was key to the success some years of research later.
So much knowledge on 10/10ths!

What a project this is. It would excite me every time I opened the garage door!
Thanks for the posts and the clear pictures, really really interesting.

Time to say happy New Year, may it be healthy, prosperous and rewarding for you all.

Still think you should get a Karmann Ghia body back on yours - keep the rest of the drive train and you could both hillclimb and race it!

Doc Enderby may have body moulds??!!

[911thillclimber]

Some years back Dr E did offer to let me take a body out of his moulds, just as Humberstone did!
It would not fit in the garage at home....

Originally Posted by andy97

Still think you should get a Karmann Ghia body back on yours - keep the rest of the drive train and you could both hillclimb and race it!

Doc Enderby may have body moulds??!!

[celes1]

David Enderby was a long standing Sevenoaks MC member and had quite a lot of moulds for various race vehicle panels.

It will be interesting to see Jeoff Woods old car with freshly restored bodywork on, as I would imagine the original 44 year old fibreglass may be past its sell by date. At least Spec-R can use the original panels as moulds.

[SPECR]

Originally Posted by celes1

Pete at Spec-R, how do you intend to finish coat the space-framed chassis once it's all been aligned and prepared.

After the chassis has been prepared then body sections aligned etc then it will finally get stripped, vapour blasted and cleaned. It will then be acid etched primed and then top coat will be two pack satin black.

[celes1]

Originally Posted by SPECR

After the chassis has been prepared then body sections aligned etc then it will finally get stripped, vapour blasted and cleaned. It will then be acid etched primed and then top coat will be two pack satin black.

It always looks nice in satin black finish. I did my space framed chassis in black and it showed up the ally plates and new stainless steel nut and bolts very nicely.