RSTurbo 90 Spec Project

[MarcoB]

Well I'm picking this up on saturday... a 90 spec RSTurbo in black. Swapped my GTI6 and some cash for it, Ive been looking for an RST and heard about this one.

It is my friends old car and then he sold it too his friend. Heard about it ages ago being for sale for next to nothing as he wanted rid of it. The guy who owned it got some motivation and got it fully resprayed.

He bought loads of new parts for it which are in the boot then lost motivation. Its nearly finished!

Engine and gearbox have been rebuilt recently. It is running standard boost atm.

No rips or tears in the interior. Not one mark!

80k on the clocks with old MOTs present.

Some of you might know the car if your from Clitheroe area.

To say Im buzzing doesn't really cut it, always wanted an RSTurbo since my dad had a 240bhp one. Im ecstatic! Missing a lot of festivals this year for this car so a little sacrifice from myself but I think it will be worth it in the end. Probably save my brain and some of my wallet.


Currently it needs:
Caliper carriers sourcing (lost them!)
Driveshafts fitting.
G/box oil putting in.
2 Brake lines made.
Bottom arms fitted.
All poly bushes fitted.
Rear Lights Bolting on.
Front lights sorting out.
Ford badges on it.
Rear door cards.
Proper seat belts.
A wash.

 

[Cain]

Looks great buddy, I'll be watching this space. Question is, does it corner as well as the gti6...

 

[VeinAST]

Looks nice! Drab interiors on these but interested to see what you do!

 

[Mork of Ork]

I always fancied getting one of these and as the mk4 Escort is really just a facelifted mk3 make it look like this.

 

[Bluebeard]

Why's it not got a 90 spec bumper on it if its a 90 spec? :S

And the osf headlight is massively on the piss.

I'm not trying to be a cnut, i'm just anal about RS turbo's. So much so that i've looked at about 20 over the years but never found one in good enough condition. I was born 10 years too late really.

 

[keechy]

Nice buy that, would have loved to see one of these just rolled out of the factory!!!

 

[Ian_182]

Looks like a good project.

Keep us posted,

 

[-J-]

Why's it not got a 90 spec bumper on it if its a 90 spec? :S

Was just about to ask the same, it's also got a pre 90 spec tailgate spoiler by the look of it.

TBH it looks clean (I'm guessing it's an 89 reg car) I would keep it looking nice and standard, keep the orange indicators etc

 

[MarcoB]

I didn't even notice the bumper TBH I was more bothered about rust underneath and it being straight.

I think it has had a bump before the respray. Would explain the bumper. The respray is too a high standard though and it is solid underneath so I'm not bothered in the slightest. Got receipts for over 4k!


Edit: The spoiler is 90 spec.

Interior is 90 spec Only thing that isnt is the bumper.

 

[Bluebeard]

Has it got a 90 spec interior and spoiler?

 

[Short Norman]

Nice one don't see hardly any on the road these days. I need one at some point.

From what I remember they torque steer quite a bit, all part of the charm.

 

[STICKER TWONK]

Looks great buddy, I'll be watching this space. Question is, does it corner as well as the gti6...

I lol'd at this

Looks like a clean car though, will keep an eye on this thread to see how things go

 

[welshname]

I really want one of these. Badly.

Will be following this very closely.

 

[_Tom]

I really want one of these. Badly.

Will be following this very closely.

And me.

 

[yeecup]

Owned a white 88 model rs turbo about 10 years ago, was mint and standard. Handling is rubbish, even with aftermarket suspension which I had fitted, sound decent with a mongoose system, nice turbo whistle, need set up and tuned to run right.

 

[Gaz.]

Legend.

 

[andywa]

Looks like a goo project. Always been a fan of these cars.

 

[MarcoB]

Right got it home yesterday but seeing as I was getting taxi'd about I was leathered.

Its much more of a project than I originally thought but they always are.

Wasn't really fit to do anything with it but fell asleep in the recaros!

Went round it today and made a list off stuff I can see that needs doing.

All Ive done is put some plastic trims inside back on that cover the front speakers and emptied all the parts out of it. Oh, also fitted the windscreen wipers.

List I made today:

Refit Headlights
Refit indicators
Exhaust manifold nuts
Rear lights need clusters
Headlining needs sorting
Interior trim needs refitting
Boot Spoiler needs attaching properly
Arch liners need refitting
Driveshafts need fitting
Front brakes need building up
Cambelt needs to be done
Fit front lowering springs
Poly bush bottoms arms need fitting
Poly bush ARB bushes need fitting
Replace water pipe on drivers side.
Numerous hose clips

Parts I need to buy:
Fuel pump, I think its on the way out
Water pipe
Caliper carriers - May have some for free off a mk5 van
Rear light bulb cluster


Thats all ive got to do so far. Very daunting as I normally have all the parts before I start but not this time. Need to wait to save up for parts so after Ive fitted the parts Ive got progress will be slow!

Ill get pics of it in its current state tonight.

 

[imprezaworks]

I was hoping it would be white lol. Allways wanted one of these, only ever managed an xr3i.

 

[Brett]

Excellent project. I saw a guy in a mint S2 a week or so back. Hero cars.

 

[Donny_Dog]

I remember reading a similar thread a few days ago - turned out to be problem after problem.

The charm of these cars amazes me. I always wanted one, but they are completely sh*t. I hope this one proves to be the exception, but as Daniel has already identified, finding one thats even half decent is a non-starter.

Good luck though.

 

[pastieman]

I love rs turbos but I'm a big fiesta rs turbo fan... And im on the look out for another lol

Good luck with it matey the only thing that lets the escorts down other than rust is the mfi on it... If you convert it to Efi it will be more reliable

 

[MarcoB]

It will be my daily when its done and I find using cars all the time makes them more reliable. Im hoping the 6 year stand won't have broken/deteriorated anything.

I was looking at converting it to EFI and I can honestly say I can't be bothered yet. I just want to get it running, in for a test then I can have a play with it.

132bhp isnt going to be entertaining imo.

 

[pastieman]

You will be surprised they don't hang around in standard form !!!

Also with Efi it's easier to get near 200bhp on standard management !!! And keep it reliable too !!!

 

[jimmyuk86]

I used to own a mk4 in bahama blue..unfortunatly rust took its toll on the arches and the underbelly...loved the car but it was a slow 1.3, with fith gear giving no power whatsoever. 1.1's could overtake it easily. Think it had problems bar the rust hence getting rid of it

 

[RB_Stu]

Fair play bud, i had a Radiant Red 90' spec one a few years back, mixed feelings about it though tbh! Lovely looking car, when it worked it was good fun, but so temperamental

If you're gonna go to the trouble of EFI'ing it, i'd go straight onto Cosworth management, the Fiesta turbo setup is limited as to what can be done and such, whereas the Cosworth route gets you a good range of injector choice and a myriad of people who can map it for you.

 

[pastieman]

Tbh stu does make a point for more options depends where you going with power with a cosworth ecu and loom

 

[MarcoB]

I don't want my engine to melt though! These things are made of chocolate arent they?

 

[pastieman]

No they are not

With the correct mods they will run sweet

I you want to know more about the Efi side of things get on fiestaturbo.com very good site an loads of info on these

Also passionford is another good site for information on these

 

[Cookson]

Marco, I have a 90 spec bumper here if you're interested?

Also have a nice set of 2wd Cossie 4 pot brake calipers, pads, and discs, with brand new (still in the wrapper) braided lines

If you are interested, give me a shout

Oh, got a decent water pump too....... and a recently refurbed head with a Piper 285 cam in it

 

[MarcoB]

You not breaking yours are you?

I was thinking about the cossies brakes the other day! I still have to pay some money off for this car so it will be a while before I actually get any parts together.

Would love to buy the Piper cam but just cant afford.

Fix yours then we can have a mini meet.

 

[pastieman]

I have just seen a very good example of a fiesta rs turbo my heart is saying go and have a look but the mind is saying keep the money for the house lol

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

I will have to hide it from the misses lol

 

[fakeConcern]

Looks really nice, I had an XR3i (MK3) in 86 & another (MK4) in 90 both black. Never got a Turbo, but a friend of mine had an XR2 Turbo. Even the XR3 didn't hang around as they are so light compared to modern cars.

 

[Cookson]

I aint breaking mine, just selling the brakes on to recoup some cash back into the clio fund

PM me your address, will fire this water pump in the post to you. Its nay good to me, came off that zvh block. Its a CVH one, looks fairly new

 

[Russ_16v]

should be a nice one once its back together!

 

[MarcoB]

PM'd you Phil.

I don't think I could have a fiesta. It doesn't have any sentimental value to me personally. They are probably quicker, more reliable and handle better but it's not an escort.

I wouldn't have got this if I didn't know the history of it. I've looked at them loads of times but been s**t scared every time of getting a pup. Which is what's going to happen with a ~2k budget.

Got some pics today of stuff that needs doing but been busy helping a friend with his project.

Update tomorrow.

 

[Cookson]

That 90 spec bumper is yours for £40 mate. Its in good condition, but white, so will need painting in any event

 

[coleman]

A lot of early G plates ran 88 spec front bumpers.

Obvious places for rust are battery tray, sunroof and around rear suspension turrets.

Had 2 Escort RS's (Mercury grey & Ash black) and a Fiesta RS(White).

Chuck the spots back on and a set RS 7 spokes with a Castle performance sticker on the edge of the bonnet and job jobbed.

 

[MarcoB]

You can see the serious highs on the front end. It was put in for an MOT in 2007 and the tester said that the front springs had been chopped. They definitely haven't.

I know it needs a wash!

Here are some jobs that need doing.

Manifold nuts fitting.


Brake pipes need making and some sort of blanks need buying for the old ABS ports.



This needs binning.



This needs screwing in and the head lining sorting out at the front.


These belts need removing. It had a half cage in it years ago. Id rather just have a seat belt. These are quite cool though because they have a ratchet mechanism under the back seats. Never seen that before on harnesses.

 

[Cookson]

water filled Nomad gauge is cool

Front end probably has standard Mk4 shocks n springs on

Manifold studs and nuts are a pain in the arse as most of them thread. I would get a new set all round with reverse torx heads on them all to hold them in place when tightening/undoing