Episode 15 of Retropower’s Gordon Murray Mk1 build covers the car’s first public appearance, then the jobs that stood between it and running: the oil plumbing, the dash and the wiring. It ends with the first start of the Cosworth engine, filmed live, and the two problems that held it up.
Video: Retropower on YouTube · watch “Gordon Murray's MK1 Escort - Retropower Build Episode 15” on YouTube
What happens in Episode 15
Retro Rides Weekender (1:00). The unfinished car went to the Retro Rides Weekender at Goodwood. Retropower was surprised by how many people came specifically to see it, including visitors from abroad. The Escort came home unmarked, with no ropes around it.
On track (2:44). Customer cars on track included a Chevette, an Audi Quattro and a Millington-engined Alfa Romeo, and a Toyota-engined Cortina drew a crowd.
Plumbing and dash (5:26). Back at the workshop, the oil lines were finished and the anodised breather tank fitted. The Alcantara dash top now carries Audi S3 vents: turn the ring to open or close them, and push or pull the centre to direct the air. The aluminium dash panels are now laser-engraved.
The loom (8:02). The loom is fully built from harsh-environment, chemical- and abrasion-resistant wire. Autosport connectors at the bulkhead mean the engine loom unplugs from the car through two large connectors, and the front lighting loom through another. Deutsch DT and DTM connectors handle the rest.
Controls (9:33). The Manta stalk handles indicators, wipers, screenwash and main beam. The heater is all electronic: a three-speed fan, a direction control, and a temperature knob driving a servo water valve.
The PDU in use (10:35). A laptop shows a live readout from the PDU. With the ignition on, the battery reads 12.6V and the car draws 0.37A, mostly the warning lights. Sidelights take about 1.8A and headlights about 9.5A. The flasher is drawn in software with half a second on and half off. Any input can be re-routed to a different output without touching a wire. A tripped channel shows red, and a single button under the dash resets it, so there are no fuses or relays.
First fire-up (14:14). With the plugs out, cranking alone gave around 40 psi of oil pressure. Someone from Cosworth came to check the sensor readings on the ECU. Two problems held up the start. The ECU wasn’t the type the map assumed, so the map was changed. Then it ran as if the timing was wrong, which turned out to be the coil plugs fitted the wrong way round, because the loom maker hadn’t numbered them. Once they were swapped, it fired straight up (18:04). The car now has a basic map for shakedown, ahead of full mapping on a rolling road.
Next (20:51). Still to come: clutch and gearbox checks, road testing, possibly a track session after mapping, finishing the interior, and then the handover.
Parts, tools and suppliers mentioned
- Audi S3 dash vents; laser-engraved aluminium switch panels
- Harsh-environment loom wire; Autosport bulkhead connectors; Deutsch DT and DTM connectors
- Opel Manta multi-function stalk; electronic heater controls with a servo water valve
- Cosworth engine and ECU
Lessons for your own Mk1
- Make the engine loom detachable at the bulkhead, so the engine can come out without unpicking the car.
- Label every connector, especially coil packs, or you may chase a “timing” fault that is really wiring.
- Check the ECU part matches the map before the first start.
- Use a basic safe map for shakedown, then do the full calibration on a rolling road.
Mk1 context
A factory Mk1 Escort used a simple loom with a handful of fuses, switches carrying the load directly, and cable-operated heater controls. Retropower’s car keeps the outside looking period but replaces all of that with software-controlled outputs.
Related
- Series hub: all Retropower Gordon Murray Mk1 episodes
- Previous: Episode 14, exhaust and dry sump tank; the PDU was introduced in Episode 13
- Next: Episode 16, IVA test and rolling road mapping
- Background: the complete history of the Mk1 Ford Escort
- More builds on video: Mk1 Escort build videos