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This conversion is based on Ford Mk.II Escort parts. Specifically the parts used are:

• Mk.II Escort cross member - Slightly modified & seam welded.
• Escort Mk.II 2 Litre struts and steering rack
  With new tie rod extensions, and complete with the bigger Escort brakes. I put in a quick rack conversion commonly available in Australia or from Britain.
• Escort Mk.II 2 litre strut tops - Same pattern as the old Cortina ones and fit perfectly.
• Escort Mk.II 1600 engine mounts - Boxed.
• Escort Mk.II 2 litre engine mount rubbers - And maybe a couple of packer washers.
• Standard Cortina Mk.II brake hoses
  I cut the flare off the strut end of the brake short steel pipes (metric) on the Escort struts, and substituted the Cortina nut (Imperial) and re-flared the pipe. The pipes had to be slightly reshaped by hand.
• Mk.II Cortina pressed steel control arms
  These are the British ones, and not the Australian cast ones, (same ball joint & pin dimensions). These have to be shortened. This is the only tricky part as these can be hard to find in good condition. However, there are other possibilities here:
  1. It may be possible to secure a new ball joint unit for them somehow, as they are really only tack welded in on these steel arms, and could easily be changed.
  2. There is a Nissan/Datsun ball joint with the same pin dimensions and as this is a bolt on job, a new complete control arm could be fabricated (with replaceable ball joints).
     I am sure other alternatives could be found here. For racing just make an adjustable length arm with rose joints!
• Ford Laser (FWD) steering column - Complete to second uni joint.
• Section of Escort Mk.II steering column
  Between the second uni joint of the Laser column and the Escort rack flexible coupling. You need to get a short spline put on the other end to fit the Laser uni joint, (after determining the correct length and cutting), however, the shaft is the correct diameter material for the job and doesn't require machining down. I cut my own spline in a lathe by indexing. I would think you could adapt many types of 2 uni FWD steering columns if the Laser one wasn't available. One advantage of this setup is I now have the Laser adjustable steering column (vertical plane only), which is also a collapsible column, (but I hope I never need to test this out!). This column bolts up beautifully to both the underside of the dash, and the old Cortina column brace on the pedal mount (cast alloy type). The only modification here was to weld a bracket on the Laser outer column tube to bolt to the old pedal based Cortina column mount. By the way I put an Escort rack boot on the lower uni joint (both are inside the car) to keep it clean.
• Mk.II Cortina sway bar - Modified.
• Escort Mk.II sump - With Escort dipstick mounted in external tube ala many Jap motors.
• 2 x Steering rack arm to tie rod extensions
  A short length of hex steel with male and female threads to match rack steering arm and tie rod end. These are virtually the only bits you will need to have engineered (I made my own in a lathe). You will need to use a suitable type of steel: 3/4" AF Hex (K1040) and have them professionally heat-treated after machining.
• Standard Cortina master cylinder

Conversion:

Ok, after securing all the necessary s/h bits and having cleaned them, proceed as follows:

1. Set car on a level concrete floor and measure ride height at front.
2. Jack up and remove front wheels and set car at ride height on wooden blocks under sills.
3. Remove old struts, steering column.
4. Suspend motor at standard height with block and tackle or with a heavy bearer across the guards (protected of course) and a chain to studs/bolts either side of the block.
5. Remove old cross member.
6. Remove old sump and fit new one, (after fabricating and welding in external dipstick tube in a suitable position).
7. Offer up Escort cross member to chassis rails. Cortinas have parallel chassis rails and Escorts taper towards the front, so simply make a small hacksaw cut and reweld, heat & reshape the cross member mounts to suit, (about 10 mm taper or so either side). I suggest you seam weld the cross member while you are at it for even more strength. You will need to ascertain the correct position of cross member so the control arms are reasonably straight fore and aft when you have correct caster (see later).
8. You can now bolt in the cross member using two of the original four cross member boltholes for the time being.
9. Now remove the springs from the new Escort struts and bolt the struts in using the Escort strut tops (you may need to file the holes very slightly).
10. You can bolt the steering rack in now.
11. Refit the front wheels so they sit on the floor at basically normal road position. Due to the slightly different 'king pin inclination' angle ie. the angle between the stub axle and the strut, the track will be slightly wider, but will still accept at least 6" wheels easily.
12. Now bolt on the Escort engine mounts. I 'boxed' mine on the top for extra strength. These are left and right handed to match cross member!
13. Raise engine slightly, bolt on the new Escort 2 Litre engine mount rubbers, and check clearance between sump and rack/cross member. If necessary use a couple of packers washers to adjust. (I removed my cross member after making this measurement, and welded a 4 mm plate on either mount face and partially boxed the uprights, then reinstalled it.)
14. Now it's time for some geometry! The vehicle is at normal road height with the front wheels chocked in a position close to their normal road position fore and aft, with zero camber, (use a spirit level!). From here you can measure the control arm length, measure from pin hole to inner control arm bolt hole. From this measurement you can then add for neg camber, or use after market adjustable strut top kits or you can add a camber adjustment kit on the cross member at this point if you wish (I used the original Escort control arm inner mounting points).
15. Anyway, once the length of the arms is established, cut them allowing approximately an inch of material past the OD of the new bush hole positions. Remove the old bush holders from the offcut, redrill the arm and weld in the bush holder, and round off the arm end on the bench grinder. Then refit the arms. If the arms are fairly parallel across the car you can down make provision for the other two cross member bolts (I drilled and welded tubes through the chassis rail). If the arms have to much angle at the bushes try the other two original bolt holes (move the cross member fore or aft), or make four new ones altogether.
16. Now using a tape measure set the front wheels parallel, ie. no toe in. You can now measure the length of the two male/female extensions for your tie rod ends (all right hand thread). If you're not good with a lathe have someone machine them up for you using 3/4" AF Hex K1040 steel, and have them professionally heat-treated after machining. By the way, I searched for longer tie rod ends for months before settling for this solution (which is extremely strong anyway).
17. On a flat concrete floor, heat and bend the original Cortina sway bar (to go under rack steering arms) and shorten the washer stops (carefully with a grinder and file) to set the caster. There are plenty of caster kits around or you can make your own adjustable mounts etc. By the way, I did not need to have to bar retempered believe it or not! I let it air cool and it is still the correct temper.
18. The rest is straight forward - securely bolt in the Laser (or similar) steering, adding a bracket to bolt to the Cortina pedal mount. Change the brake pipe nuts and complete brakes and bleed.
19. Cut the piece of Escort column to go between the Escort flexi joint and the second uni on the new steering column, have a spline put on the new end to match the uni joint and fit. Cut a hole in the cover plate between the brake and clutch pedals for the new column and fit a rubber seal.
20. And that's about it. Take it to your friendly front-end aligner, and get all the readings. If camber and caster adjustments are required and you didn't build in an adjusting system, just make the changes the easiest way you can and then get it rechecked (I only had to get a little camber out of one strut top).

I don't think I missed anything (I did mine four years ago), except to say that the only evidence to show this job has been done should be the tie rod end extensions! Everything should look like it came out of the factory, and safety is paramount!! If you have doubts pay someone else to do it for you. My car has been through a normal roadworthy and they did not realise that the rack and pinion wasn't standard!

Notes:

Remember that camber is determined by control arm length, caster is determined by the sway bar, and the position of the cross member affects neither!

The quick rack gives one less turn than the standard Escort rack lock to lock (shit that thing turns!).

Don't go with the self centering strut top rubber arrangement (as they're always buggered), better to grease the metal tube, use self locking or castellated nuts, and leave them just loose enough for the shaft to rotate in the strut top.

I also run a 2 Litre Escort gearbox and complete back axle (bigger brakes and much stronger and better ratios and a little wider), and a Ford Laser clutch cable, (modified pedal with short extension on top to accept cable). Also, if you change the gearbox you can move the motor back 3" or 4" when locating the cross member - it's all inter-related.

It's all fairly easy and straight forward, I spent over twelve months working it all out, and about eight hours to actually do it! It should be easier since I have done all the groundwork. I would suggest collecting the various bits and then sit and think about it until it is all clear in you head, then go for it! But remember - quality and safety first!!!! Even for a track car.

All up it cost me something like A$350.00

Happy spanners.

©1999 Terry Conway