Ford Escort MK1 Restoration. DIY Gearbox Adaptor Plate. MX5 NA to ST170. Will it Work? Part 1

In this episode I start to build an adaptor plate to try and mate an MX5 NA Mk1 gearbox to the ST170 engine, it's a work in progress that may not even work!
Throughout the project we will build tools to help us along the way, the custom tools we build, we will upload our how-to videos
👉🏻 Subscribe to our channel ✅: / @davesgarageuk
📽️ Check out our recent Videos: / @davesgarageuk
🛠️By the way: Ade (a.k.a Adrian) also has a KZbin channel where him and his wife are converting a minibus to an off-grid camper: / @sammyadeadventures
#FordEscortMK1Restoration #DavesGarage #SammyAdeAdventures

[@hohocc1349]

Your ability to see simple ways of doing things is remarkable, always look forward to your videos. Great effort, thanks.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you very much!😊

[@stuwhite2337]

That's giving me ideas about fitting an MX5 box to my MGB

[@DavesGarageuk]

Fab 👍

[@Dmanpeterson]

Not too many adapter plate DIY videos. Really like the idea you had on this one. With welding those nuts on you definitely reduce the need for precision while still getting a perfect fit. Looking forward to part 2!

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks 👍

[@Dmanpeterson]

@@DavesGarageuk when do you think part 2 will be coming out?

[@DavesGarageuk]

@David Peterson waiting on materials to start it

[@gordondaniels9718]

superb thanks for sharing

[@yachtsteve]

Weld the nuts was such a great tip, thanks . The health and safety compliance was just the icing on the cake, 😅

[@DavesGarageuk]

😊😊

[@notimportant8120]

Now this is real treasure. Hello from Brisbane, Australia

[@neill4133]

You really should have your own fabrication unit and business. You make it look so easy!

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks Neil, I'd love my own unit, but reality is I'm not quick enough, the costs of running a shop are enormous. It remains a hobby for me while I plumber on, good news is I enjoy plumbing 😊😊

[@neill4133]

@@DavesGarageuk Always work there for a plumber!

[@dazzx10r]

Retroford use the mk3 (nc or N7) mx5 gearbox, reason being as it bolts directly up to the 2.0 Duratec. The Duratec was used in the mk3 MX5.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ah, OK, makes sense

[@sidsxr3irestoration]

Excellent video Dave thinking outside the box with using the nuts to drill through 👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks Sid 😊

[@micktuck5377]

Another great video Dave. very informative can’t wait for the next step. Thanks

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks Mick 😊

[@pattiboychannel311]

Very well done Dave

[@TheDaf95xf]

Hi 👋🏻 Dave. Yes definitely something different than cutting welding body panels on the escort 🤩 I’ve never seen anything like that done so I really enjoyed it 👍🏻

[@DavesGarageuk]

Glad you enjoyed it Stevie 😊

[@marty3469]

Very clever Dave, I was thinking that the dowel pins are the crucial points of making adaptor. I will definitely use this idea for my project 👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Glad it was helpful!

[@infamousaidy]

That's a great guide with a few ideas I hadn't thought of. Centring the two with the socket is a genius idea. You may just have brought my sequential box swap forwards by quite some time with some of these ideas. Part two will be tonight's pre bedtime viewing. Thanks for going to the effort to document your work.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you, I hope it proves useful 😊

[@alancutchey9892]

Brilliant and simple way of doing things. Keep up the good work Dave 😊

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks Alan, I can do simple 😊😊

[@christee5772]

Excellent work as always, don't think I'll ever need an adaptor plate but at least I know how to go about it now, thanks. To make welding the nuts on the gearbox side easier you could put the bolts through from the engine side with a nut either side of the template. tightened them up and then you'd be able to take it off and weld them. Or do your method and just sacrifice the bolt heads.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Good idea, ta 😊

[@endeavour2127]

Great project Dave!👌👌👌 I need to do this for a 4age to w58 at some point. Looking forward to the next video!👍

[@robertamor3203]

you are a very clever man you made that LOOKsimple to make i can't believe you made it fit first time well done cant wait for your next installment

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you very much!

[@benjohnson7170]

Great stuff. Art's n craft's with Dave at the start. Love it,makes perfect sense.

[@DavesGarageuk]

🤣🤣

[@billywhizz98]

A very informative video Dave and you make it look easy

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks 👍

[@matthewpayne42]

Another great video from you, thanks and keep them coming soon. 👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you 😊

[@jpvill4th]

What a cool way to make an adapter if you don't want to use a computer with a 2D drafting program.

[@johnparke4836]

Your a very smart wee man Dave 😎😎.Am learning soo much

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks John 😊

[@katabazianthoney4158]

Thank you so much, great demo. Watching from.uganda east africa.Trying to create one for a suzuki samurai to fit on a datsun 1200 engine. Wel done

[@DavesGarageuk]

Hi to Uganda

[@alanchurchill7305]

Incredible,it's a joy watching you work things out Dave , would love to put a,V8 in my Sierra at some point but wondered about mating them together,great video looking forward to seeing your next video on this.

[@DavesGarageuk]

That would be a project, what's in it now?

[@alanchurchill7305]

@@DavesGarageuk hi Dave it's a 2.9 V6, plenty of power but not the same noise

[@DavesGarageuk]

@@alanchurchill7305 oooo I like the noise of the Ford V6 personally 😊

[@grahambrown7720]

Fantastic thanks

[@markpercival4511]

Very interesting video as per usual, I am fitting the same box to a 1.6 crossflow so will be watching and taking notes.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Let's hope it works then 😊😊

[@bantampop3532]

👏👏Great job

[@robinstewart4729]

another great video dave

[@DavesGarageuk]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@theflyingferret77]

This is really great Dave, thanks for showing this process...making an adapter plate isn't something that's seen much even on youtube. I'm curious as to how you're going to make up the additional width of the plate in the engagement of the input shaft on the spigot bearing....or maybe there's enough stock (length on the shaft) there where you won't need to worry about it? Also, I'm hoping this Mk1 Escort playlist of yours never gets lost as I have my own Mk1 waiting for complete resto-mod-ration! It's gonna sit for a few years until the kids have grown up so these vids need to be here for when the time comes. Thanks for all that you do.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks for you comment mate, hopefully the videos will remain on the tube 😊

[@johnardron4383]

Awesome

[@bigsquatchsasfoot1964]

Clever stuff , so I’m thinking as long as the splines and the shaft diameters are the same it’s probable you could fit any gearbox on any engine ( within reason ) ! Obviously front and rear wheel drives are different . Great vid Dave you may have just answered a huge question for me or at least made a project more doable 👌🙏👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Watch this space, the input shaft is the right diameter for the spigot bearing, which is a good start. The splines can be different, may need to hybridize an mx5 clutch and mondeo clutch, we will see.

[@robertsmith5525]

that's cooler than dang it

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks 😊

[@RetroCarsReborn]

amazing video im so glad your doing something similar to me as iv watched loads of videos on these plates being made and tried to make one so far doing my head in but you made it look simple and thats what i like so hopefully i can move my project along with this video 👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ah brilliant, I hope I can get it to work then, no pressure 🤣

[@RetroCarsReborn]

@@DavesGarageuk well il do a vid making mine see how it goes 👍 Everyone goes to fitzees channel for his cut and butt video now Everyone will come to you for this conversion plate 👌

[@DavesGarageuk]

@@RetroCarsReborn ha thanks 😊

[@GPH2474]

I'm no expert but I'm guessing it may be about ratios..another great vid for us armchair shedheads.

[@michaelh3032]

Brilliant series I’ve been watching from the start 👌 I have just finished making my own adapter at the weekend for the same engine and gearbox. If I had of waited a couple days I would of saved alot of hassle for myself 😂 i couldn’t find any info on this match of engine and box I actually thought I had the gearbox that retroford do the adapter plate for but didn’t realise there were different boxes and went ahead and bought the adapter plate 🙄

[@DavesGarageuk]

How did you get on with the clutch side of things?

[@michaelh3032]

Didn’t get that far yet I actually I just wanted the adapter to mock engine and gearbox to the car (mk2 escort) I’d say it’ll be a while before I’ll be sorting the clutch. I did notice the std st170 flywheel hit the bell housing at the bottom but the std flywheel is thicker than the solid flywheel so might not be an issue

[@DavesGarageuk]

@michaelh30 I ditch the standard st170 flywheel, it's a dual mass thing that's huge and heavy, a mondeo 1.8 or 2.0 flywheel fits, and fits nicely into the gearbox.

[@stevemoreton8406]

Dave, you’ve buggered your milk crate 😳

[@DavesGarageuk]

🤣

[@neiljarvis8911]

Excellent engineering skills in action again Dave. Pity you coldn't have used your little lathe to make a little temporary bush insted of the socket and insulating tape on the end of the 1st motion shaft..... probably just as accurate though, given that the cardboard is transfering the markings. You will get your chance with the lathe to make a phosphor bronze bush for the mazda first motion shaft into the end of the zetec crank. Brilliant stuff, is there anything you wont try yourself.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks Neil, I simply forgot to use the lathe 🤣. And I won't do plastering 😊, tried it once, and was awful at it 🤣

[@neiljarvis8911]

@@DavesGarageuk I know what you mean about plastering🤣! Have you had a sneaky measure to see if there is a gap between engine block and bellhousing with the spiggot bearing diameter engaged into the crank bore? If all else fails and the gearbox has a removable bellhousing, you could always use a ford bellhousing and make an adapter at the gearbox end. I have similar setup on a ford smallblock 302 with a Getrag 5 speed XJS box. The adaptor plate is about 1" thick and sits betwen gearbox and bellhousing. The large variety of different ford bellhousings can allow the correct depth for spiggot bush engagement and a concentric bush of nylon or delrin can be used to adapt the difference in gearbox and bellhousing spiggot diameters and geep the shafts concentric. Love what you are doing, btw the sump was an artform!

[@DavesGarageuk]

@Neil Jarvis hi Neil, I've had a quick size up, yet to measure properly, should be ok. Unfortunately the bellhousing is all one, so not an option.

[@neiljarvis8911]

@@DavesGarageuk I thought that might be the case, 6mm steel for the adapter will give more engagement and if not enough you could always turn an extended top hat spiggot bush to support the shaft allowing for the friction plate protrusion past the flywheel face and some friction material wear. Good luck, next episode can't come quick enough! Definately best petrol head channel on youtube now. Btw, did you know David Vizard has a channel now, I bet you remember him from the eighties!

[@DavesGarageuk]

@Neil Jarvis cheers Neil 😊, yep started following David Vizard, what a legend to share his knowledge 👏

[@julianstarkey9301]

Great video, any reason Alu not being used for the final adaptor plate?

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks Julian, yep, if I use Ali it'll need to be much thicker, I need to keep it as close as possible. Shame though, cos Ali is nicer to work with...

[@simonmenzies3142]

Is there a big difference in an mx5 box and a 5 speed type 9? The final ratio in 5th is about the same. A type 9 is easier. Yet people are going mx5 box. Type 9 feels ok to use as I remember. So wondering tbe benefit. As I need to change my crossflow to a 5 speed if people can help? Thanks

[@DavesGarageuk]

Hi Simon, the type 9 is easier but more expensive, the mx5 box is cheaper and a good gearbox, just more hassle to fit.

[@simonmenzies3142]

@@DavesGarageuk thanks Dave, is there a big difference to use once it’s finished? I saw someone write it’s a night/day differnece. But that was all, no reason as to why.

[@DavesGarageuk]

@@simonmenzies3142 I've had a type 9 in my previous Escort, and currently have a MK1 MX5, of the two boxes I prefer the MX5 box, better spacing between the gears, particularly 1st 2nd and 3rd. But if you have a type 9, use it as it's an effort to make the MX5 box fit a Ford engine

[@bennockley]

, GoodOnYa Mate, I'll Let Ya Know, Be a Bit Warmer!!!, Down In Ozzie??, Good Show, Hopefully