karlchild Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Hey everyone thought I'd share my little project with you all... I bought this escort van as I'm a sign writer and needed something to help me with work but as I've not got a licence yet I've thrown it in the garage and started to destroy it Once I've sold my motorbike and got my car test done I'm hoping work to it will pick up the pace but for now here how she sits so far.... It's a mk6 1.8D Van pretty standard and here's what I've done and what I'm going to do.... (sorry about the poor photo quality) How it looked when I bought it:http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/_MG_2455.jpg Stripped the front end...I managed to swap a bumper and bonnet for a load of decals which saved me a fair bit!http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_1026.jpg Then offered up the new bumper and bonnet with a set of mk5 headlights (hoping to get hold of some Morrettes at a later date):http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_0986.jpg Then got to work sanding down to add an extension to the bonnet and eye lids:http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_1381.jpg Cut a sheet of steel and worked out positioning:http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_1383.jpg Welded the steel on ready for filling and sanding:http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_1763.jpghttp://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_1768.jpg Oh and also painted a set of spare plastics I was given with the bonnet and bumper http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/IMG_0529.jpg And yes as you can see when it's complete I'll be spraying it GREEEEEEN! so people can see me coming I found this photo on the internet and photoshopped it to show how mine will look when it's finished... As you can see I'm smoothing the channels dow the sides.. I also plan to switch the back doors for a tailgate and stick some side skirts and rear bumper on before I get round to buying the paint etc but as mentioned I cant go any further without selling my motorbike to fund it!http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/karlchild/Van-Mine.jpg Let me know what you think so far guys! I know it wont be everyone's cup of tea but I'm doing it for me so..... ya know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naylor2006 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Looks like you've got a long trip ahead of you, bumper looks good, vans do accept mods pretty well but ditch the bonnet dude, looks like Gareth Southgate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle8 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) I like it apart from the end of the bonnet. It looks kind of retarded without a grille of some kind IMO. Smart eye catching van though. I just read that it's a photoshop, I didn't notice, lol! My comments still stands though. Are you planning on making a tailgate or buying a fibreglass job? Edited July 26, 2012 by Circle8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewsalter Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 That is the photo of my old van you used.I believe it is still on the road in the swindon area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlchild Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 I like it apart from the end of the bonnet. It looks kind of retarded without a grille of some kind IMO. Smart eye catching van though. I just read that it's a photoshop, I didn't notice, lol! My comments still stands though. Are you planning on making a tailgate or buying a fibreglass job? Thanks for the replies everyone... I agree the bonnet needs some work yet and I will be fabricating some sort of grille holes in the front once it's all filled etc because otherwise there's going to be a very small amount of ventilation to the rad... I just couldn't be bothered spending so much time messing around in photoshop As for the tailgate I'm trying to do this van with no money at all at the moment so I've planned to make my own using the original doors. I'll be welding them shut and putting some sort of bracing on the backs then smoothing the outside completely. As mentioned I'm a signwriter and have recently been getting into carbon wrapping so I'm in two minds weather to spray it or wrap the entire thing with a lime green carbon fibre vinyl (which is actually cheaper then painting) So please feel free to give me your opinions on that one guys as I've not decided yet! That is the photo of my old van you used.I believe it is still on the road in the swindon area. The original is pretty smart looking! Did you do the work yourself? What made you get rid of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naylor2006 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Will you cutting the bonnet around the lights? Not sure about 'badboy' look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle8 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 (edited) You will probably be better off making your own tailgate, although it will be very heavy. I had a fibreglass tailgate on one of my old vans & it was loads more hassle than it was worth. It looked good but I just couldn't get it to sit right & the exhaust fumes used to get sucked in somehow & give me a headache. The security was crap too. Luckily nobody tried leaning on it because the filmsy perspex window would have fell in, lol! Edited July 27, 2012 by Circle8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlchild Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 You will probably be better off making your own tailgate, although it will be very heavy. I had a fibreglass tailgate on one of my old vans & it was loads more hassle than it was worth. It looked good but I just couldn't get it to sit right & the exhaust fumes used to get sucked in somehow & give me a headache. The security was crap too. Luckily nobody tried leaning on it because the filmsy perspex window would have fell in, lol! Haha thanks I really appreciate the advice! To be honest I'm going to be opening and closing it a lot and also working under it so it's going to get some use... Like you say making my own will definitely be stronger than the fibreglass one and they tend to crack round the hinges dont they? I have some pretty strong hydrolic props I'm going to use to keep it up in the air and if that fails I'll just have to carry a long broom with me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt86 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I agree with most comments about the bonnet. I think its not the lack of grille though, its just so squared off compared to the rest of the lines on an Escort which are rounded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle8 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 You will probably be better off making your own tailgate, although it will be very heavy. I had a fibreglass tailgate on one of my old vans & it was loads more hassle than it was worth. It looked good but I just couldn't get it to sit right & the exhaust fumes used to get sucked in somehow & give me a headache. The security was crap too. Luckily nobody tried leaning on it because the filmsy perspex window would have fell in, lol! Haha thanks I really appreciate the advice! To be honest I'm going to be opening and closing it a lot and also working under it so it's going to get some use... Like you say making my own will definitely be stronger than the fibreglass one and they tend to crack round the hinges dont they? I have some pretty strong hydrolic props I'm going to use to keep it up in the air and if that fails I'll just have to carry a long broom with me I never had any problems with it cracking, it was pretty strong, just not perfectly straight, which it needed to be! I agree with most comments about the bonnet. I think its not the lack of grille though, its just so squared off compared to the rest of the lines on an Escort which are roundedEven if it was more rounded it would still remind me of this! http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz262/Sav-1/220px-Portrait_of_a_Proboscis_Monkey.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewsalter Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I like it apart from the end of the bonnet. It looks kind of retarded without a grille of some kind IMO. Smart eye catching van though. I just read that it's a photoshop, I didn't notice, lol! My comments still stands though. Are you planning on making a tailgate or buying a fibreglass job? Thanks for the replies everyone... I agree the bonnet needs some work yet and I will be fabricating some sort of grille holes in the front once it's all filled etc because otherwise there's going to be a very small amount of ventilation to the rad... I just couldn't be bothered spending so much time messing around in photoshop As for the tailgate I'm trying to do this van with no money at all at the moment so I've planned to make my own using the original doors. I'll be welding them shut and putting some sort of bracing on the backs then smoothing the outside completely. As mentioned I'm a signwriter and have recently been getting into carbon wrapping so I'm in two minds weather to spray it or wrap the entire thing with a lime green carbon fibre vinyl (which is actually cheaper then painting) So please feel free to give me your opinions on that one guys as I've not decided yet! That is the photo of my old van you used.I believe it is still on the road in the swindon area. The original is pretty smart looking! Did you do the work yourself? What made you get rid of it?I did apart from spraying it.I sold it as I lost interest with it but do regret getting rid of it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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