Learn me a 1993 Escort GT

So guys, I just got me a 1993 red Ford Escort GT 5-speed with 58k original miles. No rust, minty-fresh interior, new clutch, new brakes, new battery (woohoo!!) for $600.

I know this is basically a rebodied Mazda Protege, coming with the fabled BP motor.

That being said, i'm having a bit of a hard time finding upgrades for it. I'm unsure of what to cross reference exactly, which years exactly of the Miata i could be looking for to find parts, and suspension seems to be rudimentary upgrades, at best.

I recall an article in the magazine maybe 3-4 years ago with a silver Protege and a silver Escort that were built for autocross.

I'm not looking to build a competitive car with this, just a neat daily driver that would be entertaining for some back road carving, decent looking, and a fresh idea in a city where ultra clean JDM hondas are the norm.

Sooo..... bolt ons and basic suspension will be the idea here. And maybe a turbo setup a year or so down the road.

What does your average BP put to the wheels on bolt ons?

The car right at the moment is about as fast as the stock Celicas that i'm accustomed to, just looking for a bit more when i want it. I'm very impressed with how agile it is stock, as well.

CLIFFS: Got a nice grassroots score, 58k actual miles Gen2 EGT for $600. Help me make it better.

go to clubprotege.com they have everything you need. your car runs on the fabled bg chassis with bpo5 mazda motor also used in the 94' to 98' miata. many engine, brake, suspension upgrades. have a look at corksport.com and importperformanceparts.net. loads of upgrades as i used to own a 90' protege and raced competively in h-stock. good luck and great find!!

I had a 94 EGT new, and it's one of the few cars I actually regret getting rid of. That's an awesome deal on the one you picked up, you could easily double your money if you grow tired of it.

If you need a bra for the front of it, let me know. I still have the one from mine.

Anyone on here know anything about the suspension geometry? How far can it be dropped before the control arms become limiting? I'll do my own digging later in the protege forums, been a busy day so far at work.

Pete, i appreciate the offer, i may take you up on it. It does have a small crack in the front bumper cover, doesn't go all the way through.... it's a weird side to side crack and i'm not sure if i care enough to repair it. A bra? I might care enough to attach one. :D I'll let you know when i take a better look at it this weekend.

Suspension has DEFINITELY become a priority. It came with Potenzas on it, and it's horrificly over-tired. 2nd gear onramp pulls have become hilarious lessons in body roll.

Great little car.

I race one in NASA Performance Touring class.

~Click Here To See It~

Built it on Challenge-type budget and have had a ball with it.

I am selling right now:

~Escort For Sale Link~

I need room for my new vintage racer project, but if it doesn't sell, I'll keep it and race it few times next season.

I cut 1.5 winds out of the stock coil springs. I'm running stock struts, stock engine (no header even), etc. One "performance upgrade" has been the use 13" or 14" wheels instead of the normal 15". This is like changing the final drive ratio and allows the engine to wind up so I can use 5th gear at Pocono and Summit.

G'luck with your's!

The suspension pieces used on the ZX2 SR work very well.

aeronca65t wrote: Great little car. I race one in NASA Performance Touring class. ~Click Here To See It~ Built it on Challenge-type budget and have had a ball with it. I am selling right now: ~Escort For Sale Link~ I need room for my new vintage racer project, but if it doesn't sell, I'll keep it and race it few times next season. I cut 1.5 winds out of the stock coil springs. I'm running stock struts, stock engine (no header even), etc. One "performance upgrade" has been the use 13" or 14" wheels instead of the normal 15". This is like changing the final drive ratio and allows the engine to wind up so I can use 5th gear at Pocono and Summit. G'luck with your's!

Will the stock struts hold up or match ok with a 1.5" or so drop? They're in great shape, no leaking or weirdness.

Or would it be advisable to suck it up and get some Tokicos or something?

Tokico blues are good for shortened springs, but a little too short for stock springs. They have pretty good damping as well.

Well it seems that someone on here would like to trade me their Tokico/eibach combo for my stock combo, assuming that mine are in good shape, which they feel...

I'll have to get under the car this weekend when i have time and see what we've got. I'll get some pics then, too.

This is turning out to be very convienent.

derekshannon wrote: Sooooooooo freakin' jealous! I'd be PO'd at you if I wasn't so happy for you! One of my favorite cars actually.

I'll get pics up this weekend, and we'll see if you can still stay happy for me. ;)

This thing is WAY cleaner than my Celica, and people were ROYALLY pissed that i got that car on the Celica forums. And i paid $600 for that, as well.

93celicaGT2 wrote: Will the stock struts hold up or match ok with a 1.5" or so drop? They're in great shape, no leaking or weirdness. Or would it be advisable to suck it up and get some Tokicos or something?

Oh I'm sure the Tokicos are better. But my low-budget racer has been fine with about 2.5" drop on stock struts.

I also have about 2.5 degrees of negative camber (from slotting the upper strut mount holes). Back stuts run stock camber (but I'll change that if I keep it). FYI: My car runs about 1/8" toe-out. That would be good for autocross too. But for street-only, 0 degree should be fine. If you run the car at any motorsports events, keep the tank at least 3/4 full. At around 1/2 tank, the pump will starve for fuel, especially in hard left-hand turns. There's no real simple fix for this.

Keep it stock, put some fresh struts in it and go autocross it in H stock!!! That's a competitive car!

If you are looking for suspension options, I have Zx2 S/R Eibach's+ Kyb Gr-2 struts and it handles an inch and a half drop real well. Cleans up the wheel gaps and neturalizes the handling. If you don't care about keeping the car perfect, go grab a set of Mx-3 Recaro seats/seat rails and take out the passive belts and put in later Escort seatbelts. Alot more comfortable when driving around. You got a steal..! I saw a 92 EGT on Craigslists in Knoxville, TN with 60k and the seller was looking for $1100..

I just found a 93 round here with a blown head gasket for cheap. Are head gaskets a known issue? Could I just fix it and see? Or is this a sucker's bet?

$600 bucks is cheap round here. Plus I found a parts car for $250.

PeterAK wrote: Keep it stock, put some fresh struts in it and go autocross it in H stock!!! That's a competitive car!

The thought has crossed my mind, believe me.

But i'm nowhere the driver the car needs to be competitive, unfortunately. I don't drive well enough to make any of my cars competitive. The only one that i have a snowball's chance in hell locally would be the Celica when it's done, and only because of how ridiculously overbuilt it'll be compared to everything else around here. But it's not exactly a grassroots machine once you look past the fact that i got it for $600. :D

But we'll see... i'm sure i just need more seat time. The last time i had any instruction was over 3 years ago, and the instructor didn't really have much bad to say, just that i needed practice. A LOT of practice.

For the time being, it's going to be a reliable, fun, nifty daily driver, and we'll go from there. :) It'll never be modified to the point that i couldn't easily put it back to stock in the next 3 years or so, so i'll keep that option open.

I appreciate everyone's input so far, by the way. This is kindof fun getting a car i know almost nothing about, vs getting a Celica like i usually do and not having any questions. That's boring.

Anyone have good bolt ons for power suggestions? I think the suspension questions are taken care of, and i know what i need to get.

So.... power and brakes now.

Stock brakes fine with basic upgrades for this light car? Just run some good pads, stainless braided lines, and higher temp fluid and i should be good?

derekshannon wrote: In reply to 93celicaGT2: Maybe better rotors while you're at it but you've got the right idea IMO. If it were me, I'd just add good plugs and wires and good filtration, maybe switch to synthetics and be done. I always wanted to see what a good p&p and a small cam upgrade would do to an NA motor.

I run Brembo blanks on all my cars, so i think that'll be ok in this case. If not, then i look around!

Plugs and wires are already on the list... car could use a tune-up i think. Probably at least do a good intake if for nothing else for some noise.

I've used adjustable cam gears to decent success on Hondas, i wouldn't mind trying them on this car. A port and polish is not out of the question, i have a hookup on that kind of work. Do you know where i could get some mild n/a cams that wouldn't necessitate a standalone or something?

I wish i could just strip and gut the car, but i'm not the only person to be driving it, the GF will be in it too, and i like having a full interior for the first time in years. :)

I think i'd be more than happy with 135whp or so. Should be attainable.

derekshannon wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: I think i'd be more than happy with 135whp or so. Should be attainable.

That's only 8hp more than it came with IIRC.

WHP. ;)

Makes 127 crank it seems. I'd be surprised if it puts down 115whp at the moment.

Unless you're telling me more is easy, in which case i'll go for more. :D

In my Escort I found that I have enjoyed every upgrade I have done. The GT is already a decent car and since it is not being set up as a race specific car you just need to keep yourself happy. Better shocks, larger front sway bar and strut bars (front and back) changed my Escort ...made it a fun car. Poly bushings added a bit of tightness but they occasionally groan in wet cold weather...not a big issue, just something I noticed.

I didn't go for lowering because of my in town driving conditions and habits....those front tie-down points are real curb busters.

Got a good set of grippy tiires and I smiled even more.

As far as Escorts go, mine is the exact far end of the spectrum being a 91 Pony at 300,000 miles. Most of my upgrades were needed maintainence with better parts.

I love feoa.net for info.

Bruce

I really hope this thing isn't going to make me want to get out of Celicas....

It's more tossable right now stock, but doesn't feel as planted or solid as a stock celica, not as much torque either.

Do you guys think i'll be persuaded to leave Celicas? I hope not.... i love them, but performance does speak loudly.

I think as long as i keep it to DD duties i should be ok. :D

HAH!

zx2 sr struts..... there is a place online where its less than 300 for the set shipped i think its john bleakly but its been so long. eibachs work pretty well buy the, for the zx2. say bars.... get the one inch front bar out of a zx2..; and get a 22 mm zxtuner bar. suspension bushing check with club protege.... a long time ago they had gotten a company to make a complete urethane set including offset caster bushings to add a lil bit. nice thing is even after a drop your camber is a ok.... come in to being just about right with the drop. to make power..... well itsa 93... so..... rx7 vaf and hacked up accord 4 cylinder intake. pacesetter header and 2.25 exhaust..... should put you around 130 whp i thinks,

and ofcourse 1000k dollars nets you a bpt. if staying na. i highly encourage a fidanza flywheel. really makes the engine come alive. try to talk to bpt323 on club protege he has some tricks for the dynamic chamber on the intake manifold.... also do not get rid of the hiemholtz box unless youd added headers also..... oh and last thing intake exhaust cam..... get an exhaust cam from a junkyard. cut the disti gear off it and get it timed up right for the intake.... that about a 5-7 whp gain..... anything ive missed?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: HAH!

Huh?