escort gt-----brake/suspension swap

[cab_5150]

hey guys,
i just swaped in a 94 escort gt 1.8l into my 92festiva.
now i want to do a brake upgrade,but i dont want to use the aspire like everyone else.
i was wondering if anyone knows if i can use brakes from a 94+ escort gt/?
if i have to use the aspire i will,because with the new motor setup in this thing its very unstable, like spinning the tires on the freeway-fast.
i will post pictures once evreything is bolted down and in its place.

as for the suspension, ive read about the vw swaps in, but how about the escort gt?
any ideas. thanks

[Jimmy812]

To use Escort GT stuff up front, you will need to do the following:

Use Escort front struts.

The bolts the connect the knuckle to the strut are spaced differently. I don't think it would be advisable to try to redrill the Festiva struts to make them work. I'm not sure that the brackets are even spaced right - lot's of fab work in store if you want to go that route.

Escort springs are a larger diameter than Festiva springs. I don't think they will fit in the strut tower - coil-overs on the Escort strut will solve that problem, but then you will have to use the Festiva upper strut mounts because I don't think the Escort mounts will fit in the strut tower either.

Probably a little fab work to mate the Festiva mount to the top of the Escort struts, but less that trying to make the Festiva strut work with the Escort knuckle.

It may also open up the possibility of using performance oriented Escort struts.


At the other end of the knuckle you will run into problems trying to mate the Escort knuckle to the Festiva ball joint which is intergral to the Festiva control arm.

Escort control arms are too different to work with the Festiva chassis.

But Escort ball joints bolt to the Escort arms.

So you are going to be best off making your own control arms that you can bolt the Escort ball joints to.

This could be good if you hope to get more traction to hook up with the new found power you will be getting out the Escort engine.

Proper A-arms with spherical rod ends at the inner mount and spherical rod ends at the bottom of the radiator support (where the stock Festiva sway bar mounts) would do wonders to quell wheel hop on launch and you can also dial in some anti-dive to help keep the body under control when you stop hard from the higher speeds your car will be capable of getting to with the new engine, upgraded brakes, and better traction at launch.

The problem is you are going to lose the Festiva front sway bar - but if you are clever you might be able to figure out another way to keep body roll under control or you might be able to adapt some other sway bar.

Or you might be alright with no sway bar if it's primarily a drag car.


You are also going to have to use Escort axles.

The spline in the Escort knuckle for the CV joint is larger than spline on the end of the Festiva axles.

Might not be a problem to use all three of the stock Escort axles - they might be too wide for the narrower Festiva. You might need to have a custom axle or two made. I honestly don't know.

That's also assuming you used the Escort transmission or at least a 323GT or Capri trans. If you are still on the Festiva trans, you might have to have custom axles made with Festiva joints on the inner side and Escort joints on the outer.

But then again, if you made it this far into the Escort suspension swap and are still using the Festiva trans and axles, you need to get off your duff and get a real trans.


So that's about it for the front. I think it's the easier end to swap than the rear. If you have made it this far and haven't rethought your idea to use the Escort axle, let me know and I'll elaborate on the swapping the rear too. It's a bit harder to do.

[cab_5150]

thanks!!!
i think its the aspire way for me.

[Jimmy812]

thanks!!!
i think its the aspire way for me.

Yeah, it's a lot of hodge-podging to get the Escort stuff to work and probably not a huge benefit. It's tempting if you bought an Escort GT parts car and you have the stuff just sitting there, but unless you are prepared to throw a lot of time and money into it just to have something different, then the Aspire is the way to go.

The Aspire stuff makes enough of a difference to be worth it and can be done in an afternoon.

[gorgonheimer]

escort calipers and rotors bolt on to the aspire spindle. so you can use the aspire suspension and springs(which allows for larger wheel/tire) and the escort brakes up front. aspire out back cause the aspire beam swaps in like 3 hours or so, or faster on a lift with air tools

[festivaWES]

Don't plan on running 13" rims anymore, becasue they would clear the protege/escort calipers. I have a set of protege rotors/calipers on my aspire swap.

[festivaWES]

Rear beam swap is cake. Leave the tires and wheel on jack up the vehicle...undo the 3 mounting bolts, the cable, and the struts at the top. Roll the assembly in there and bolt her up.

[sasquatch]

Don't plan on running 13" rims anymore, becasue they would clear the protege/escort calipers. I have a set of protege rotors/calipers on my aspire swap.

not true... i thought the same thing, but 13" ALUMINUM rims will fit over them, they have a bigger inside space to fit the breaks. after i did my swap i was looking on craigslist and found so many 13" aluminum rims and didnt even go to look at them cause i thought they woulndt fit... but they would have

[GenevaDirt]

Can always use the capri set up and not have to change that much. Plus keep the Festy bolt pattern.

[FestYboy]

i agree, the Capri swap is the shiznit (i like it anyway)

[ketchup]

i used escort gt front brakes on my first bp setup they are still on it now with the RWD. i modified the stock strut to work. it also snaps right onto the stock festiva ball joint.. the only major problem is the axles are different. so you would have to use escort gt axles which have to be shortened to work i did it and it was sweet plus then you can use the stock escort intermediate shaft with no mod. and they are easy to find at junk yards. as for the rear the aspire is the only mod as the escort has independent rear by the way the capri xr2 and the 323gt/gtx have the same front calipers as the escort gt i compared them same size and markings