The Gonetrac WRC Escort

05/11/2023

I forgot I even had this until I cleaned up the workshop.

I’ve ended up with two genuine WRC “YC” inconel exhaust manifolds 🤦🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️

This second one is a 2004 variant and has the all the anti lag gubbins already included on the very nicely machined head fl**ge. It’s the exhaust manifold which is rarely seen as it’s always covered in heat shielding.

This one is the manifold I’ll be using on the build when I can get some time to build up the engine. I’m hoping I can get a day or two over Christmas to assemble the head and build up the tall motor.

11/03/2022

Apparently, I need to have a clear plan for the car written down with stages and goals to motivate me and keep on track. Done.

22/12/2021

Things haven’t really moved forward for a while due to work load and lack of motivation (and money!) However, one of the perks of working for a company () which has a race car is spares. Spares which may no longer be suitable for some serious endurance racing, but ok on a road car and occasional track car, perhaps. Especially when the car in question has been overhauled pretty considerably since it’s first incarnation making it’s old underpinnings which we’re build specifically for this shell completely redundant.
Firstly there’s the old rear end. All fabricated in house from T45 to house an E60 M5 rear diff. Built with simplicity in mind it uses all OEM M5 cartridge wheel bearings and diff mounts which are readily available. An excellent starting point for driving the rear wheels of a FWD Es**rt perhaps?…
The front was originally on billet “WRC” Es**rt Cosworth uprights which proved no good for endurance racing with the alloy hubs and steel parts expanding at different rates causing issues with pad knock and bearing slop so fully fabricated T45 items replaced them. Good enough for me, however.
Spare callipers too. AP CP5060 6 pot fronts and CP6740 4 pot rears are also, apparently, not in service on the car any longer. The rear AP CP6740’s used to be on the front of the old car but made their way to the rear when they proved not quite man enough on the front. They’ve been made again with simplicity in mind and work on the rear using an OEM M5 2-piece disc with the above rear end
As well as this, M5 driveshafts, discs and other random bits and bobs are also not part of the current spares package and Dad (the boss) is happy to move the lot on… he said just make a pile of parts and let him know what I want…looks like I’m going to be doing a lot of unpaid overtime…

09/08/2021

26/12/2020

This shows the importance of having parts properly tested when building a big spec engine, especially when using used parts. ⠀
In an ideal world you’d want to use new parts, right? But when you want to use specific parts which are period and no longer made you have no choice. ⠀
I decided to have the WRC rods and pistons properly tested with ultrasound and die marker along with an EX WRC steel crank I was intending to use on the build for piece of mind, and turns out, it was a good idea. Unfortunately the crank has a suspected crack on one of the journals.⠀
It’s a shame, but better to know it’s condition now before it’s built rather than find out when it fails. ⠀
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17/11/2020

An interesting find...⠀
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When I originally looked at transmission I wanted 4WD with the engine kept mounted transverse. Only two real options were viable. Haldex or Evo and both had their pros and cons. ⠀
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Eventually I scrapped the idea when a mate sold me his Group A Ford Motorsport Hewland dog box. This kept the car FWD but gave me a box strong enough to cope with the output of the new engine.⠀
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I didn’t realise at the time that Gus also had a lot of spares. Enough to make another complete gearbox, it seems. But at the time I didn’t really look what was there and just chucked it in the corner of the workshop. But what’s more interesting is this. What appears to be a transfer box to turn the gearbox 4WD. Now, this would make sense as this gearbox was in fact used in FWD and 4WD configurations...I just didn’t know I had it.⠀
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Whether it’s complete or not, I don’t know, and what damage has been done by the flood which occurred in the previous owners care I also don’t know. But it’s certainly added a glimmer of hope that 4WD is viable using this box, keeping the engine the way I want it. ⠀
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07/07/2020

Now this will make driving in traffic interesting...⠀
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The old Helix unit on a standard flywheel wouldn’t fit in the Hewland gearbox as the offset was wrong, so I needed to look at a new bespoke billet flywheel. The more I looked into it I decided I may as well upgrade the clutch and make the car just the bit more undrivable. ⠀
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It just so happens that Gus who I bought the gearbox from was selling the clutch and flywheel he used as it wouldn’t work with his new box. ⠀
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So the new clutch kit. TTV billet 4kg flywheel and heat driven AP multi plate clutch. ⠀
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19/04/2020

FORE SALE FOR SALE FOR SALE Helix 6 paddle clutch with high pressure cover and balanced BC flywheel.⠀
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This is the clutch spec’d be Jano for Zetec Turbo builds on BC and IB5 gearboxes and is the only clutch which will take the power. ⠀
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Clutch has literally done less than 500 miles from new. Selling as won’t fit in new gearbox.⠀
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From memory the clutch was just under £550 from Burton Power with an 8/10 week lead time and the flywheel was £80. ⠀
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£425 Price includes postage anywhere in mainland UK ⠀
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13/04/2020

And one for Dean to show it did actually move under its own steam once...briefly. 😂⠀
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Can’t beat a straight-cut gearbox. 😛⠀
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13/04/2020

I did always love the look of the old engine bay. It was so different to anything else and pretty distinctive. Pretty much everything on it was bespoke or done slightly differently to make it stand out. And it was so slouch either.⠀
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2.1 ZVH with Accralite pistons and PEC Rods in the block mated to Vulcan “maxi spec” head with oversized valves and a Newman camshaft with mechanical followers. ⠀
It breathed through a stage 1 T34 turbo bolted to a tubular manifold and ACTS were kept at bay through the bespoke, and pretty massive, AH Fabrications intercooler bolted to and even bigger AH Fabrications radiator. ⠀
A P8 ECU with wasted spark and anti-lag hooked up with a bespoke Raychem DR-25 loom ran it all and produced it around 320BHP. Good for 150+MPH⠀
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I was kind of worried that the car would loose its identity when the engine went from the pretty distinctive textured grey RS1600i cam cover and very modified XR3i inlet manifold to a Zetec but it’s now just become an evolution of the car and I’m happy that the next stage will make it even more distinctive. ⠀
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