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I remember in the early seventies a lad that lived local to us put a V8 lump into a MK1 Escort & that was it , no upgrades to the braking system it obviously didn't end well.

Brilliant result 👍

Hmm I bought a scrap A35 in the early seventies to transplant the four speed and ‘powerful’ engine into a Morris a thousand which was equipped with three speed and 803cc of roaring hell. It was sort of a success but so much power you could get the tail out around roundabouts on skinny cross plies!
It didn’t last long as the new found power showed up serious flaws in the rotted chassis that were hidden by pieces of duck hams oil can gobbered in place with underseal. Massive negative camber on one side was not a good look.

Not my finest moment, the rolling shell with no brakes engine etc had to go.couldnt tow it to a nearby village tip as mostly downhill. A mate offered to follow and nudge it as necessary the 2.5 miles to the tip. I had a six foot fence post as a sort of emergency anchor to throw into the transmission gear lever hole. I did meet someone without incident and the gate to the tip was fortunately open and there was a fridge to ram to slow me down.

Was this the same 5 pot lump used  by Volvo, Jimmy?

900-950KG......I wonder how many, if any, cars weigh this little in 2025/6. Most cars are fat bastards these days.

Yup, it pops up in all sorts of places, including the c30, mondeo and s-max. I mean, they probably sold about four in the UK, but a 300bhp people carrier holds a certain appeal. I reckon if I spent a bit of time parting out the donor car, the engine and box would be more or less free. Three door escort estates are a bit of a rarity though (can't imagine why) so finding the actual car wouldn't be easy to begin with. 

950kg might even be a bit of an over estimate, I think the original 1.3 tipped the scales at around 800kgs!

If you want crazy, then this has to be up there (with Opti's favourite Signum engine featuring  )

https://youtu.be/xWCRuovk210?si=x_tmnAitIcNtQ4tT

What a beautifully insane little car.  I wonder if the underbody temps will actually lift the paint at full chat 

mine is 74 hc.had it since 1990 .its holding up pretty well as you say they used to rust for fun back in the day .mine is still on its original (untouched)inner wings,sills and front wings and valance so i must be doing something right over the years !!

I used to build the rear axle for them in Ellesmere Port. That was a veeeeeery long time ago 

mine is 74 hc.had it since 1990 .its holding up pretty well as you say they used to rust for fun back in the day .mine is still on its original (untouched)inner wings,sills and front wings and valance so i must be doing something right over the years !!

If you want crazy, then this has to be up there (with Opti's favourite Signum engine featuring  )

https://youtu.be/xWCRuovk210?si=x_tmnAitIcNtQ4tT

It's amazing what an 'ordinary Joe' can do with a lathe, a big turbo, and a Vauxhall Adam. Way out of my league.

2.8V6 Turbo from the mighty Signum has 250bhp as stock, and lots of low down torque. I think it is a great engine but then I would say that.

If you want crazy, then this has to be up there (with Opti's favourite Signum engine featuring  )

https://youtu.be/xWCRuovk210?si=x_tmnAitIcNtQ4tT

My first car was a 1970 Viva. It was 8 years old when my Dad bought it for me for £70, in the vain hope it would keep me away from motorbikes.
It had rust holes in the wings when I got it and the floor was a bit crusty too.
I think I went through two gearboxes and three or four clutches in a year, so could change a clutch in an hour by the end of it.
Thrashed it mercilessly - zero mechanical sympathy after Japanese two strokes - and finished it off in a banger race.
Old man wasnt too happy with me. He thought it would last me for years. 

Sounds like you've sorted it then, just in time for the cold snap they are promising.

Superb

I know it would be far more easy to buy a new system, or pay for some 'hairy-arsed' engineer £100P/H to fix it, but I really like to fix things myself, if I can.

I can remember draining the septic tank with buckets (I later bought a pump) to find the blockage to the soakaway. That was a proper shit job.