Project Estate: Anglia Estate Zetec

Body

But why an Anglia? The original aim was to do the project on anything as long as it is an estate, at some point I have also considered non-Fords. However, I have chosen the Anglia because of three main reasons: first of all, even though it's an estate it is still small in size. I didn't want a large clumsy car such as the never ending Mk3 Cortina. Another advantage of the Anglia is that no matter what Anglia you find, it will be a two door. Third and most importantly, it's a Ford. This means that there are parts available anywhere at low cost, and if you don't find any, there will probably be another 4 models which use the same part. Choosing a Ford also makes performance shops such as Burton, Retro Ford and Milton available. The following is the story of the progress on the car up to now. You may use the links below to navigate through this page: The teardown Bulkhead and tunnel Floor panels Sandblasting
The teardown
I have bought the Estate (which I sometimes refer to as 'the van') on the 11th September 2008. The car seemed to be in a very good shape, the interior trim was still covered in plastic, the rubber carpet seemed to be fairly intact, and on an initial inspection the rusty areas were all in places where they would not be visible. After my panel beater saw the car and approved of taking care of the bodywork, the car was loaded up and towed home.


Work on tearing down all the trim and mechanical parts started straight away. This was possibly one of the most enjoyable experiences I had up to now during this project, mostly when I found the original toolkit and jack under the rear seat! Also there wasn't a single bolt or screw that was rusted in place, so dismantling things was very straight forward. The floor insulation that was under the carpet was still in a very good shape and I still feel guilty for throwing it away.


During this stage I have tried as much as possible to re-attach any nuts, bolts and screws to the parts they came off from. This is particularly helpful in the case of the wiring harness, re-attaching as much of the components as possible to the harness (such as indicator arms, wiper motor, etc...) would greatly help the electrician in the re-wiring process. Where this wasn't possible I have placed any small bits and pieces inside small sealed bags which were labelled accordingly. I have also taken photos of things which might be tricky to re-assemble.



After emptying the car from all the trim, accessories and wiring, it was time for the mechanical parts. Surprisingly enough, the engine was not the original one since sometime in its life the van has had a Morris implanted. After undoing the mounting bolts of both cross-members, the Morris and gearbox came out together without complaints.

After the car was stripped down completely it was time to remove the paint. I decided to do it by hand since here in Malta there are no acid baths, nor soda blasting, nor walnut blasting. There are a few sand blasters however this might damage the long flat body panels. Eventually I will be sand blasting the floor from underneath and inside the car. While removing the paint I was in for a bad surprise since the car was covered in streaks of rust which are very tedious to remove. The best way I have found to go around this is to do it one panel at a time, making sure all traces of the rust streaks are removed. Once a panel is sanded down to bare metal, the best thing to do is wiping it with reactive thinner so it will not rust again till it goes for paint.

(Click here to download a .zip file of the above images)

Bulkhead & tunnel			(Return to top)
Using an Escort front end pulls the engine further back into the bulkhead. This provides a better centre of gravity and shorter propshaft, which translate into better handling and more torque. The main disadvantage is the extensive bulkhead modifications required to make the engine fit. In fact, the bulkhead had to be moved 4 inches further back to fit the engine comfortably. While surfing the internet for ideas for the bulkhead modification exercise, I have come across plenty of bulkheads which were simply cut and replaced with a flat sheet of metal. I did not want to do this since in my opinion they do not look right at all.

That's when my brother and I came with the idea to cut the whole bulkhead and shift it back. Again, I consulted with my panel beater to see if this was a viable solution, and he agreed to take on the task. The first stage was to cut the bulkhead completely and put the engine in place. This gave us a better idea of the work necessary and we were in a position to make more accurate measurements. Then it was up to the panel beater's creativity to blend the bulkhead with the rest of the body in its new position. After about a month at his workplace, the car was back with modified bulkhead, tunnel and replaced floor panels.




(Click here to download a .zip file of the above images)

Floor panels			(Return to top)
The passenger floor panel had rotten away, and since the rotten area was not small getting it replaced was a must. Getting hold of an original Anglia floor panel is very difficult, and importing it from the UK was out of the question since I have been quoted almost 300€ for freight only. At the time the car was at the panel beater to get the bulkhead and gearbox tunnel modified, and progress was not possible without a solid floor panel. That's when I sourced two Escort Mk1 floor panels from a local shop for 60€, and luckily enough their size was suitable for the Anglia.


(Click here to download a .zip file of the above images)

Sandblasting			(Return to top)
After the modificaitons required to fit the engine and gearbox, it was time for sand blasting to reveal any rust work that needs to be done. I have fabricated a simple crossmember and mounted two trolley castor wheels to keep the shell easy to roll. The sand blasting itself did not reveal anything I was not aware of, and the areas affected were the usual wheel well areas as shown below. The worst damage is inside the front wheel arch where the three of the four brackets that hold the thread which is used by the door hinges have practically rotten away. At least there is a good one left which can be used as a template to replicate on the other four.



(Click here to download a .zip file of the above images)
De-rusting & mods			(Return to top)
With the sandblasting out of the way I gave the car to my panel beater back in April. He took care of the rust work and other mods I had in mind. The wheelarch areas needed some attention and three of the retaining plates for the door hinges had rusted away.

The engine bay was finished off by filling any useless holes and filler was used to smooth it all out. Quite pleased on how the firewall turned out as you barely notice it has been moved 4" back.


The driver side headlamp area had rusted badly so a new one was fabricated. The central hole on both sides was slightly enlarged to suit a plastric bowl to retain the headlamps.

Other areas and dents on the outside of the car were taken care of too, including rear wheel arches, side skirts and rear door. The petrol cap hole was also smoothed out as I will be installing an alloy tank.



The interior received an extensive treatment. Apart from the usual rust areas, brackets for the seats were fabricated, plates to house the battery and handbrake cables were also done. A dashpod from a Cortina GT was fitted, and the gauges just clear the wiper motor.




Some mods were done to install the rear shocks. A piece of tubing was welded into the chassis together with some extra steel to strengthen it. A plate was also added to the other side to act as a cradle for the shocks.

Some brackets were done to fit the Cortina quarter bumpers. The original bumper holes were welded shut.