Editor Houlahan tackles a few upgrades and even makes an Escort look enticing to drive
Our newest addition to the family gets a makeover. Read our blog for the details.
Regular blog readers will remember the '98 Escort four-door SE Sport my late grandmother left to our family from this blog where we first talked about getting the car. You can see the "before" photos in that blog as well.
While we're not done yet (we've run out of play money for a little while) the rest of our upgrades will have to wait. But for now, the mechanically sound Escort has taken on a new timing belt, rear brakes, inner tie rod, and an alignment to go with the new tires. Oh, new tires you say? Yes, we did a Plus 3 upgrade on the little sedan, going from the stock 14-inch wheels to some very nice looking Ruff R350 17-inch wheels wrapped in Nexen tires. We got a great deal on them through the guys at www.wheelfire.com. Mounted, balanced, and shipped to our door.
Also on the outside a good buff, clay bar, waxing, and more brought the paint back to life, while some pre-cut window tint and some blackout style headlights, both found on eBay, helped the rest of the exterior look. When funds become available again some lowering springs and possibly a body kit are in the plans.
Inside the sedan got a major bath, carpet cleaning, and the previously mentioned window tinting. For tunes we chose a Pioneer DEH-5100UB in-dash CD receiver with iPod control and two USB inputs. The 50 watts by four-channel internal amplifier has plenty of power, but a subwoofer and amp might be in cards down the road. The installation of the head unit was made plug and play simple by the use of a Scosche installation kit, necessary due to the Ford ICP (integrated control panel) with A/C controls. It made the installation a breeze and even included the wiring adapters too!
Christmas is just around the corner, so maybe Santa will have a few more goodies for the little Escort, but right now we've made one nice little driver that's already getting some looks in my son's high school parking lot.