Ford Escort MK1 Restoration Project, scratch built boot latch and nickel plating

Ford Escort MK1 Restoration Project
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

[@charlesmott8863]

LOL love the end, sidenote always undo the locking nut first and refit last, this puts the minimum of stress on the mechanism and locking key

[@DavesGarageuk]

Good to know

[@clivebannister7016]

nice work Dave

[@davecollumbell4592]

Nice work on the catch Dave 👌

[@Steve-xw9ee]

Great work as always Dave

[@nealthomas5943]

Cracking job Dave 👍

[@AdamSNook.]

you should make them and sell them smashing job

[@alanchurchill7305]

Excellent as always.

[@bigsquatchsasfoot1964]

You never cease to amaze me Dave firstly the amazing build of the catch then the Dr Frankenstein lesson lol brilliant mate I enjoyed and learned something to 👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ha, thank you 🤣

[@vinegarjoe9706]

Great job, Dave. Excellent work as usual!!!

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@TheColmtech]

Very nice work!

[@rickwilliams1505]

Again patience of a Saint. Great video. Locks on these old Fords were never good, could start my old Anglia with my finger nails or any key for the doors n boot

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you, yeah, I lost the keys to my first car down Gower when I was young and even stupider than I am now. I borrowed my mates key and got it started. MK1 Fiesta reg OTH 101R wonder if it still lives

[@stu2427]

Genius work well done enjoyed the work 👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thanks 😊😊

[@user-lk1lw8bj9g]

Nice job, well done.

[@neiljarvis8911]

Amazing job!

[@jamesward5721]

Customers Defender in for complete new rear crossmember today - chassis already had (crap) repairs at a "posh" place that charge a lot (lol) - customer highly proud of the job which cost him 2 grand,. To me, just more work because I had to remove the utter pish plating welded on over untouched festering rust , cut out the rust & fit new steel for the Britpart section to weld/ fit onto. Which isn't my point - lol - my point is what I used to weld the Britpart chassis section on with. Despite having all the "fancy" welders you could ask for in the workshop, what I used came from Lidl. Issue is this part is the back-end of a work Land-Rover - I.E there WILL be 3 tonne or more hung off the towbar on a regular basis. That 3 tonne is hanging off the bit you welded on. So it better be bloomin well welded... Now the Lidl multi-process welder is an odd beast. It ought be garbage but ain't. Firstly. it runs off 16amps - beefy. Secondly, it happily runs 1mm flux core wire - which burns hotter than Danni Menzies. Thirdly, 1mm flux core wire is very unfussy - when you're welding on a chassis where everyone & their mate has applied Waxoyl, paints, oil has leaked & there's residual rust, you don't want a fussy wire that likes clean - you want one that copes with dirty. You also want a machine that will hose that wire in hot & heavy - which the Lidl machine will happily do. None of our other flux-core machines will. What you get is a repair that I pity the next chap who has to re-do in 20 years or whatever time if the vehicle survives that long. It very well may. They are going to curse whoever welded on the repair section as they struggle to grind off the welds - don't even know if it would be possible tbh, that Lidl "Crappy" machine hoses on so much metal so hot & so deep when running 1mm, I doubt the repair section is removable without just shearing off the entire chassis rail in front of it. Unlike the absolute shyte I cut off in no time at all today, put on no doubt using a 5k Mig machine from one of the big name suppliers, that can't hold a candle to a 200 quid machine bought out of a supermarket... I know, I used buy those 5k machines too. Back when I was young & daft. There's no great "point" to this comment Dave - it's just a comment. Random thoughts. Plus buy a Lidl multi-process welder. Those rock.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ha, thanks for your ramble, it's fascinating that the cheapo Lidl welder works so well.

[@awalk5177]

We all seem to overlook scrap yards these days, but they have loads of these parts stripped off Fords and other makes and are often available really cheap. Always worth a visit if you have a scrap yard near you. Even Landrover doors , MGs have this same loop catch.

[@DavesGarageuk]

The only scrap yard near me (that will remain nameless) charges new for old parts, proper rip-off merchants.

[@awalk5177]

@@DavesGarageuk I agree, the days of getting items for a few bob seems to have gone. Those strikers are on many different makes though.

[@ewes1318]

Nice work, I think I got 3or4 of these in my shed 🤭 But keep up the good work 👍 Greetings from Ernie

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ha ha, typical

[@mjm7187]

Looks just like the one on my 74 jensen healey, looking fwd to the nickep plating segment. I also see that you can cool down your spot welds by simply breathing on them, stay warm pal!

[@DavesGarageuk]

Interesting, probably is a parts bin thing

[@bobstacey9311]

Your plating reminds me of science experiments I did for my CSE’s 50 years ago!

[@DavesGarageuk]

I wish I had listened more in science as it happens. It's funny how school is wasted on the young.

[@ronhonig]

Thanks for sharing Dave. I have really been enjoying your videos. I have been doing a bit of nickel plating myself. If you first plate the piece in copper and then plate in nickel it will give you a better looking piece and it will hold up much better. They key is fine sanding between coats.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ah, thank you, I'll give that a try.

[@ryanharriss7950]

I bought a zinc plating kit from a company called Garos plating (I think that's what they're called anyway) ebay. I found a variable power supply works well. You adjust the voltage to get the right current which is quite important to get a good finish. Also agitation of the solution to get it even.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Yeah, thanks, I think I'll get a proper kit down the line, I'd like to try zinc passivate

[@iandennis7836]

As always, like added.......you deserve it for your fabrication skills. Another little gem, thanks.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bobfrankish8883]

Stunning job Dave. You never fail to amaze me with your ingenious work. You are a genuine inspiration to all of us DIY'ers.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you, Bob, that means a lot. To think I'm encouraging others to have a go really amazes me.

[@bobfrankish8883]

@@DavesGarageuk No problem Dave, I need all the encouragement I can get these days!

[@superloopy24v]

Nice work yet again. I've never done any electr plating but I have used electrolysis for rust removal. I used an old car battery charger for the 12v low amp supply when doing that.

[@DavesGarageuk]

I haven't tried it for rust removal, next experiment 😊

[@mjm7187]

Dave, I've included a nickel plating link for you that I have personally used with good results. I used a low current 500 ma 5volt dc adapter with a 1/8 inch nickel arc welding rod to make my green nickel acetate solution. You.r latest segment was very interesting, thanks mjm

[@DavesGarageuk]

Brilliant, thanks 😊👍

[@stephenlmckeown1439]

Please share the link. Thanks

[@GPH2474]

Dave just added wizard to the skillset.👍🏻

[@DavesGarageuk]

🤣🤣

[@philtucker1224]

Dave if you have yourself a bit more room in a slightly larger jar you could revolve the part more easily..

[@DavesGarageuk]

New bins bought

[@alexmartinmap]

Great video as always. For info I do a bit of zinc plating myself and using a variable power supply, bolts and small brackets generally take 25 minutes or so. After plating the parts are left to cure overnight or in an oven at a low temp for 30 minutes. I'm slightly concerned that your quick application and immediate polishing may have actually removed the plating!! Time will tell.

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you, Alex, that is very useful information 😊😊

[@martindivall5301]

Another awesome video . Commenting to help the algorithm ❤

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you, I appreciate the effort 😊😊

[@micktuck5377]

Great video as always Dave very informative, didn’t know it’s that easy. Not all off us are lucky to have lathe or bottles 😂 I’d love your workshop! That’s funny at the end

[@DavesGarageuk]

Hi Mick, drill can be a lathe, cheapo blow lamp will work, but not as good. A good friend of mine has long term leant me the oxy/propane, it is a good bit of kit.

[@superloopy24v]

That's it, get them young drivers learning how to do the little jobs for themselves too.

[@DavesGarageuk]

😉

[@jeff3175]

Chemistry Professor Dave has a certain ring to it. Top draw content👍

[@DavesGarageuk]

🤣🤣

[@stevehalverson4315]

Very nice work again fella, the plating went well and onwards and upwards !!! And can I ask a question, when are you deleting those terrible black lines (they hurt my eyes) 😝 😛 enjoyed again

[@DavesGarageuk]

Ha ha, I'll have to add more 🤣😉

[@stevehalverson4315]

@@DavesGarageuk noooooooo 😜 😝

[@marty3469]

Top job on building the striker and nickel coating. It's something I've wanted to try but never have yet, this might just give me the nudge to have a go. 👍

[@endeavour2127]

Nice work as usual Dave 👍 I've used a plating kit from Classic..it's very satisfying work especially with the yellow passivate. I've never had to polish the part after using the kit.

[@DavesGarageuk]

On my to buy list, a proper kit.

[@philtucker1224]

Nice work Dave, fascinating to watch how quickly the plating was attracted to the new part, (I wrongly thought it was at least a dip all night type process)…

[@DavesGarageuk]

Yeah, me too

[@jamespaterson5041]

Hey Dave , What do you actually do for a job ? Im amazed by your skill set !

[@DavesGarageuk]

Hi James, I'm a plumber 😊

[@escortmexico6909]

Looks factory Dave ! Well done mate

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you. Hopefully, the plating will hold up.

[@billywhizz98]

Well done Dave the best thing on KZbin is Davies Garage

[@DavesGarageuk]

Very kind of you.

[@martingibbs9277]

Very professional job, there's no end to your talents 👍

[@EmDeeCee6147]

You made that look easy. Superb job 👌🏻

[@derekt7606]

Dave. If you have no video on how to drill square holes then get 100k views “Dave’s garage clean up”. 😂

[@DavesGarageuk]

🤣🤣

[@gtthompson5818]

Interesting stuff. A man of many talents 👍🏻

[@anthonykinrade8642]

Don't want to be a downer, but I think that thickness of plating will not protect for very long. The striker will probably,y take it off at the contact points in no time whatsoever. Looks OK though...

[@DavesGarageuk]

Thank you for your comment. You are probably right about that, I'm still learning about it.

[@djblaxx5881]

WHATS HAPPENED TO THE MANTA 😢

[@DavesGarageuk]

It's under cover, start back on it in the spring

[@thelonelyfisherman9797]

Turn off the auto focus,it's making my head spin😅

[@DavesGarageuk]

I can't see how to, this phone camera is a pain.