A Toyota-Powered Ford Escort

Seeing this Escort sitting in the main hall at Kuala Lumpur’s recent Art of Speed, didn’t so much grab my attention for what it was, but rather for the way it had be personalised.

I had images of Ken Block wrestling his highly-tuned Mk1 through a gymkhana course as I looked over the turquoise example.

Art-of-Speed-16-61

The addition of contrasting black fender flares and a trick trunk spoiler really suits the modern take the owner has aimed for with this build.

Art-of-Speed-16-62

It’s all finished off at the front with a rather large air dam secured in position, at a slight angle, with a pair of rose-jointed metal rods.

Art-of-Speed-16-63

Stance is best described as functional; something you really must think about in a country where the roads aren’t in the best condition.

Art-of-Speed-16-64

The wheels are a nice touch, but could they be replica TE37s? Unfortunately, it’s often hard to tell these days, and it’s one of the things still letting down a lot of good builds in Malaysia.

Art-of-Speed-16-65

You don’t get the full effect of that generous trunk spoiler until you take a proper look around the back. With the deletion of the stock metal bumper, it all looks purposeful and ready to get down to some serious business.

Art-of-Speed-16-66

Only when you lift the stock steel bonnet does the car really make sense though. A Toyota 4A-G repowering a Ford Escort is something I’ve never personally seen, but I guess we can think of it as a JDM nod to the Cosworth BDA that powered the iconic RS1600.

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com

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1

So what is that air intake duct in the front air dam for? The brakes?

2
StephenThunderstorm

That or an oil cooler

3

Unfortunately , it could be replica TE37 because it is a lot cheaper . I don't know if Volk Racing wheels are too expensive , or someone hyped it too much , but it is seriously expensive in Malaysia .

4

""The wheels are a nice touch, but could they be replica TE37s?
Unfortunately, it’s often hard to tell these days, and it’s one of the
things still letting down a lot of good builds in Malaysia.""
LOL, are the authentic wheel police going to write him a ticket? $500 a piece wheels are for people with money to burn. Someone making Malaysian wages should be commended for making their dollar go further, and building an as nice or better ride than someone bolting on an "authentic" status symbol. 

A $500 wheel is unnecessary for anything but a purpose built racecar. The money will go much further toward power or handling than saving one pound per wheel.

5

#69 on the door just makes my immature mind giggles

6

Chri5 Duncan
from what I found , used genuine TE37 cost about RM4k while used replica TE37 can be like under RM1k ; although I found some used genuine Enkei wheels cost about RM1.5k , and no one seems to use those .

7
turbo BEAMS ae86

#dadsmoney
villanous

8

If i hadn't seen what reps can do to a car once they break, I'd say run a set on the street and keep your real ones for shows. Especially in a place with bad roads. But I have seen what reps do. #fakewheelsmakesadfeels

9
GregFentonHNHS

A lot these Malaysian cars seem to be missing a certain something, be it replica parts or poor execution they just don't seem to be up to the usual standard of speedhunters future cars.

10
TarmacTerrorist

You saw, or your mate who knows a mate who had some rota grids in 05 who was told by a guy with TE's that his car got written off by a cracked wheel?
Because... I hear these stories a lot and yet, they never come without the googled images, or actual hard evidence. (In the case of rota they hunted down every wheel and replaced it for free... Wouldn't see rotaform or weds or any of the big names doing that)
I've seen online what happens to any car when an alloy decides to shatter.... And most of them high end breakaway "please don't damage my car too much" wheels from the likes of rotaform, BBS and weds. When a wheel goes it goes it's got FA to do with the wheel manuf. and has a lot more to do with choosing the right wheel for what you are about to do in your car.

11

totally ruined a genuine classic imo. great pics as always Dino

12

Ruined escort imo. Plus, I never realised Ken Block had a Mk1 Escort. His looks strangely enough like a Mk2 Dino.

13

LukeEVOVIII This is globalisation. Get over it.

14
Slappy_Pistons

Eh?  Innocent until proven guilty, Shirley?  Given the time, effort, and money that seems to have gone into the rest of the build is not likely those are real TE37s?  Are you just sowing the seeds of doubt because it's Malaysian?  It's hard to get parts in Malaysia AFAIK :(

15

Slappy_Pistons imo, getting parts in Malaysia is not that hard if you know where to look for it. the problem is that most of the parts are damn expensive.

16

Nice pictures, terrible write up.

17

Everything here at Malaysia is damn expensive, even Enkei RPO1 (used)! A good specced TE37 (used) easily can reach RM4k, so can you imagine how much we need to spend if we want to get a brand new one?

18
TarmacTerrorist

I whole heartedly agree, this isn't rim hunters, or stance nation or.. you get my point.
Does it go fast? It looks fast, probably feels fast and with that engine it probably is fast... Done! It's worthy of the site, couldn't give a damn what is rotating under it.
However...
I run/will be running again when it's in one piece a "built for the track" car..... And Rota Grids.
Why? Well, as much as Motorsport isn't meant to be a contact sport it can be, if I'm paying out for new wings and slam panels (and probably suspension) the last thing I (well I don't mind but the wifey.....) wants is a massive bill for the wheels as well. Weight wise the grids and TE's are similar so... I find it hard to justify GBP 870 quid on disposable parts. And that's what wheels are, disposable parts that get eaten up by driving hard.

19

Dig the big air dam front, and the dainty little side mirrors. Contrast is awesome, this escort probably loves to rev.
Personally I like to go with banded/widened steelies, never had buckles or failure.
Weight? Meh.
Nice one Dino.

20

How'd the owner ruin his Escort? Looks typical of any modified Ford from either the UK or the continent.

21

TarmacTerrorist Agreed. People act like putting a rep wheel on your car is taking your life in your hands each drive. Utter complete bullshit spread by elitist pricks trying to justify spending more on wheels than their entire car. Unless you are tracking the crap out of your car, reps are just fine.The real/rep arguments are tired AF. And in extreme situations, real wheels will break too. A brand does not get you invincibility.

22

Cobra Copperhead totally approves of this build!

23

Looks typical of ant modified ford from either the UK or the continent U0001f602U0001f602U0001f602 how?!?! Go to classic ford there is hardly anything as ridiculous as this shit

24
Slappy_Pistons

muazyusof Slappy_Pistons it's a shame since they don't have to travel that far from Japan.  I get that over here on the other side of the world after scene tax, import duty, and shipping, overnight parts from Japan, yo!  are quite expensive, but in Malaysia they are at least a lot closer :'(

25

Personally, I've lost count on how many cars I saw like this one, while living in the UK. And, a car will 80% if the time look a lot better in a magazine than in reality. My Clubman is proof of that.

26
jimmymaraj1613

Personally I think the owner did a great job. You don't usually see a modified Mk1 such as this one. Cheers to being different on a purists chassis.

27

Slappy_Pistons one of the main reason for the high price is the tax. even buying new parts from our neighboring country, Singapore, is expensive due to the tax, that not even considering the exchange rate between Malaysian Ringgit and Singaporean Dollar.

the only way for Malaysian to get parts like rims without the ridiculous price tag is either replica or used stuffs came from scrapped cars from Japan or Hong Kong.

28

(Ex?-)site sponsor RAYS would like to say: "winners don't use fake TE37s",

Cool car - nice and clean, with a usable ride height. I'd put the air dam bracing on the rear side myself though.

29

That hood prop tho.

30

they dont look like fake TE37's to me. I own a similar 4x100, average off-set set set to those.

31

modell3000 Was thinking the exact same thing... "Since when do SpeedHunters care on whether something is a replica or not? Wait, RAYS is on their "Official SpeedHunters Suppliers list... No wonder why then....". I still think it looks cool, and it's pretty unique as whole, too..

32

Most escorts got driven as DDs, then scrapped once they rusted or the engine got tired. People can do what the hell they like with their car
... it's just mass produced sheet metal after all, even if some end up being worth a decent amount.

33

Not really. About 80% of Mk1 & 2 Escorts are worth an absolute mint, plus, alot of people look after them so rust isn't an issue

34
joehollindrake

At 4000RM, that makes them A LOT cheaper then we can pick them up in the UK!

35

There are more and more 4A-GE escorts being built as a cost effective BDA Escort motor with the same power.
And IMO they don`t detract from originality because the 4A-GE started life as a BDA bluepring where Toyota contracted Yamaha to make modifications to suit performance and economy requirements.
To the head in particular.
ND (Nippon Denso) was tasked with the injection system which again was heavily based on the VW Golf Digifant high pressure injection system, using, amongst other things, the old school Bosch type injectors and square wiring connectors.
The little cast block engine and 50 degrees valves may be archaic by todays standards but if you behave it can achieve mileage comparable with todays standards. and even in colder climate my 4age`s just keeps on going, theyre cheap enough engines to attain (no tuner engine is ever dirt cheap but I`ve never had to cut off an arm and a leg) and it`s easy enough to work on that most engine builders nearly jump with joy for the comparable "vacation" :) 
This 4AGE Escort is clearly an older build and it`s seen some use and I`m sure it`s working for him, but I suspect I`ll never get why this guy blocked the one way vacuum valve for throttle release and omitted the cold start hoses to the throttle body but kept the cold start injector though..

36

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37

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38

Hydrolastic I saw this car in the metal, and yes it's a lot better-looking.

39

jimmymaraj1613 or to be more specific: you don't usually see a Ford Escort here.

40

Leroy P  For me it's a fake, bcs there is no mark on the edge of the wheels, and color is too light, except that, nice Escort <3
ps picture of mind TE37 bronze, 4x100 15x6,5j off-set+39

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