pinto-powered 100e - Classic Ford

Homebuilt hero
in association with
pinto-powered 100e
020 8518 9127 www.burtonpower.com
Nail
head
on the
It’s not easy building a project car into
something special, but thanks to some
dedication to make it work, we’d say Aaron
French has done a great job on his 100E
“at first I bought a
nice mk2 granada but
it just wasn’t me — i had
to have a 100e”
T
Words Simon Holmes Photos Phil Steinhardt
here are so many variables when building
a project car that sometimes it takes
some old-fashioned trail-and-error to get
the right combination.
Things like wheels, colour or interior all have
to be just right to work together and with each
other and that takes time to pull off. But it’s
worth it, as if you’re lucky those carefully
selected choices can result in a stunner like this
— Aaron French’s cool and crisp 100E.
Sitting neatly on those dished wheels and in
that perfectly suited colour may look effortless
now, but it took Aaron a few tries to get it right.
“I went through four different sets of wheels
before finding the ones I liked that suited the car
properly. And the colour choice has gone from
being white, to black, to candy red and then
green,” explains Aaron with a grin.
Making choices like what colour to do the car
may have caused some headache, but the biggest
and most crucial decision was what classic Ford
to buy in the first place, and this was another
thing that Aaron had more than one go at.
“It all started when I went to the Classic Ford
Show a couple of years ago and saw a 100E that
I liked the look of. It got me interested in classics
as I used to have a front-drive cars. Though at
first, I bought a nice Mk2 Granada but it just
wasn’t for me — I had to have a 100E.”
That may have been one big hurdle out of the
way but Aaron still had to find a good one to call
his own, and although he had his eye on the
ideal example he just missed out on buying it.
Luck was on his side though, and went it came
up for sale again shortly after, he wasted no time
in snapping it up.
68 Summer 2012
Summer 2012 69

Homebuilt hero
in association with
pinto-powered 100e
020 8518 9127 www.burtonpower.com
There’s no denying it’s a
good-looking car, and
tbat colour really helps
makes it what it is.
Pinto power was always the plan
and it sits right at home in the engine
bay. There’re moderate power for
now with potential for more.
Oil breather set up comes
from the Jap market as
Aaron needed one fast.
RS2000 cast manifold was one the shopping list from
day one, as Aaron likes the look of them.
Boot area is home
to just the bare
essentials, though
there’s still space
for the shopping!
“The car was absolutely mint and totally
standard. It was a good runner too, and just
what I wanted as I always intended to start with
the best shell I could find. That way I knew I
could sell on things like the running gear later
on as it was all in good condition.”
Pinto promise
As this was his first classic Ford project though,
Aaron wasn’t about to go rushing in and throw
any old thing together - this was a project that
had to be just right. And although a lot of the
key choices had to be changed a few times to get
them exactly right, there was one major choice
that was never going to change right from the
very start.
“The plan was always to fit a 2-litre Pinto
engine. It was stored in my head - I don’t know
why I decided it really but that’s the way it had
to go. And it had to go on 7J wheels, so one of
the first things I did was buy a Pinto, Type-9
gearbox and 105E axle all in one day. I had to
go halfway round the country to do it though!”
Refreshingly, Aaron wasn’t after all out speed,
quarter-mile times or massive power figures, in
fact he was just happy having a classic Ford to
potter around in — something that is easy to
neglect when it comes to classic Ford ownership.
“I didn’t want a strip car, or track car, I just
wanted an around-town car to have a play with.
I just built it for me. I wanted an RS manifold
on there and I liked the sound of carbs, so fitted
a pair of twin 45s.
“This way it’s future proof so when I do want
some more power I’ll build something a bit
hotter - but nothing too drastic.”
With the engine built up that just left the
small matter of fitting it inside the 100E’s tight
engine bay, and although Aaron doesn’t work
on cars for a living, for the first time he took to
working on his own car with the help of a friend.
“I’m a welder by trade with an interest in cars
and mechanics but once we stripped the car we
decided to cut the bulkhead to make the engine
fit. It was new ground for me but I just looked
at it carefully and made it work.”
Rack it up
After some careful cutting and welding the
Pinto and matching gearbox could fit, and using
a new steering rack and crossmember kit the
whole lot could be mounted up, once it had
The cool laser-cut parts
found round the engine bay
are courtesy of a mate.
The man himself — Aaron French. It’s been a testing
build for him but the results are absolutely stunning.
70 Summer 2012
Summer 2012 71

Homebuilt hero
in association with
020 8518 9127 www.burtonpower.com
A careful bit of detailing
inside compliments the full
Escort RS1600i interior
nicely. It suits the look of the
rest of the car just right.
been adapted to fit those 7J wheels that Aaron
was intent on of course.
Attention could then be turned to the rest of
the car, and after going through the four sets of
wheels and several colour choices, it was time to
hand the car over to Aaron’s mate, a painter. It
was actually he who made the choice for
Aaron when it finally came to the crunch of
picking a colour.
“The painter chose the colour in the end as he
liked the colour of the Mustang in the film
‘Gone in 60 Seconds’. It was going to be
Magic Fingers is the nick name given to Aaron’s mate, Drew
who painted the car and ended up choosing the colour.
painted green up until then. I went for it though
and I love the stealth and understated look of it
like this.”
Careful thought went into the finishing
touches of the car and it was these small choices
that made all the difference. As Aaron wasn’t a
fan of chrome he decided to change what he
could to black and that meant those carefully
adapted bumpers, too.
“I wanted it to look original but with a few
added touches and I knew I wanted a front
bumper on the back as I’d seen it work before.
It took a lot of work to make it fit properly, and I
didn’t want the bolts on show either. For the
front end I wasn’t sure what to do so tried a set
of Escort quarter bumpers that I adapted to fit
and they seem to look right.”
That just left the interior to decide upon, and
over the course of the build it’s a selection that
has changed many times. With comfort in mind
as it’s ultimately a road car though, Aaron
eventually landed upon the Scheel seats found in
an Escort RS1600i and even managed to adapt
the rears to fit as well.
“I was going to put normal Recaros in but I
fitted these and they look good. They’re
“i came close to giving up on it, but
once it started for the first time it
made it all worth while”
comfortable too. I did have a cage fitted but
it looked too hard, and that’s not what the car
is about.”
It’s taken about two years for Aaron to get it
to this stage and a lot of mixing and matching,
but we’d definitely say he’s got the winning
combination sorted now. It’s been a testing
experience, so the plan now is to sit back and
enjoy the car for a while.
“I’ve been learning along the way and a lot of
the build has been tedious. People giving me the
wrong information cost me mistakes so I had to
find some things out for myself. I came close to
giving up on it, but once it started for the first
time it made it all worth while.”
Looking at what Aaron’s achieved we
agree, even if it did take a bit trial and error
to get there...
Tech Spec
Body
1959 Pop, painted in custom shade of grey,
dechromed, front bumper adapted to fit on
rear, Escort front quarter bumpers with bolts
removed, peep mirror
Engine
2-litre Pinto, twin 45 Webers, RS exhaust
manifold, Ashley system modified to fit,
modified sump, oil cooler set-up, 3-litre
Capri radiator
Transmission
Type-9 gearbox, one-piece propshaft, 105E
rear axle
Suspension
Front: Capri struts converted to coil-overs,
Gaz adjustable inserts, 220 lb springs. Rear:
2 inch lowering blocks, adjustable shocks,
anti-tramp bars, Panhard rod
Brakes
Front: Wilwood four pot callipers
Rear: 9 inch Escort drums,
Wheels And Tyres
7Jx13 Superlites in 175/50/13 tyres
Interior
RS1600i seats and rears retrimmed to match,
smoothed dash, deep dish steering wheel,
Thanks
Drew the painter, Paul, Darren, Mitch, Garry,
Alan, Simon and everybody else who has
helped, PTC for the photo location, all the
forums for the help, and my wife for putting
up with me
72 Summer 2012