The hunt for spare parts

[RetroRod]

Good morning all Escort enthusiasts. Good to see that some of you are still lurking around.

I am new to your forum.

I have owned Escort vans since 1983. The surviving 1980, 1600, lives with me on a small farm at Allora, Qld. Although she needed to be introduced to a good spray painter and motor trimmer, she was nevertheless complete until yesterday when an engine fire took out most items that melt, and/or distort from flame and heat.

It looks a bit horrible under the bonnet right now, with dry powder chemical everywhere, though I suspect it looks worse that it is. Seems the fire started near the distributor, perhaps a bit of fuel, and a loose HT spark, and whoosh! up she went.

Mice can be a problem in rural areas, chewing on things, and this may well have originated the problem here. A nibble on a fuel hose, and you would never know about it.

Anyway lesson leaned, and some better maintenance in future would be warranted.

The question to all my learned Escort owners is this: do we still have to scrounge around wrecking yards to get under the bonnet bits (I would not have thought there would be too many left)? or has an aftermarket spares industry emerged, either in Oz or offshore? One might hope so.

Please advise as will I will need some Escort specific parts, although much can be done with generic parts. For instance, the accellerator cable is fried, and it is an Escort specific part.

Hope someone can help me here. RR