522HP Audi 20V Mark I Escort

Built by a Swedish toolmaker, this Mk1 Escort wields the earth-shattering power of a turbocharged 5-cylinder Audi motor.

This is our fourth Swedish Sunday in a row and we’re beginning to think that it’s the rest of the world who lack the basic skills to assemble simple things like flat-pack furniture, rather than Swedes who can’t make kits that go together properly. The construction and engineering skills that some of their amateur car builders have very much correlates to this thought of ours.

Fredrik Pettersson of Jönköping, Sweden is the creator of this turbocharged Audi-powered Ford Escort Mark I coupe. To play with cars during garage season he shares a rented shed on a farm just outside his home town with some friends including Roger Fyhrlund who built a turbo Audi 7A-powered Porsche 944.

Fredrik was planning on using a 300hp turbo Volvo motor but Roger’s persuasive powers changed his mind; it’s hard to argue with 727hp, especially when the person who built that engine will be right there to help. “After building a number of potent 5-cylinder 20-valve Audi engines, he is an expert on the subject” affirms Fredrik.

Fredrik assembled the motor with Roger’s guidance and to very similar specifications to the one in the 944. It has tough internals and overboring the cylinders increased the capacity to 2.35L. He then proceeded to make his own intake manifold and 3-inch throttle body, the fuel rail, the 7.5L oil pan, the crankcase ventilation system, the 3.5-inch dump pipe, and the 3-inch exhaust system including its muffler.

With the help of another mate, Jörgen, they wired up the harness for the VEMS v3.3 stand-alone ECU. With a GT37 “truck turbo”, 2bar (29psi) of boost and premium unleaded, the Audi 5-pot thumped out a giant-killing 522hp (389kW) and 459lb.ft (622Nm).

The car only weighs just over 900kg but Fredrik still admits that there is noticeable turbo lag so it’s very much a handful to drive, referring to the “ketchup effect” (a deliberate pun) before the back wheels release Armageddon.

The grunt is sent back through a sintered 4-blade clutch to a ’97 BMW E36 M3 ZF 5-speed that hangs on via a bellhousing that Fredrik made by cutting off the BMW’s large end and welding on one from an Audi. Down the back is an ’88 Volvo 240 diff with an Eaton Truetrac centre and 3.54:1 gears.

The suspension and steering features more of Fredrik’s handiwork; a custom 4-link rear end featuring a panhard rod, TIG-welded front A-arms, and Gaz shocks turned into adjustable coil-overs at either end. To replace the 60mm hub adaptors seen in our shoot, a set of spindles have been made using hubs from an ’06 Volvo V70, whilst an ’86 Volvo 240 steering rack was modified and teamed up with a Coleman 2:1 steering quickener and an ’88 Volvo 740 steering column.

The interior has yet more of his custom fabrication, with an owner-made pedal box, shifter and bracket for the hydraulic handbrake, a fully-integrated safety cage, a custom switchbox, and door trims embossed with flames. Cobra Monaco fixed-back seats, Sandtler 6-point harnesses, an OMP dished wheel and Hydroscand gauges (for boost, not speed and rpm) further add to the race-car feel of this angry Nordic Eski.

The body didn’t miss out on Fredrik’s attention either; there is little more than the roof, pillars and sills remaining from the original car, even the headlights are custom items with VW Mk1 Golf-style lenses and custom indicators.

There are raised and reinforced strut towers that also benefit from a custom brace, a new floor, a firewall moved back to accommodate the extra cylinder, and bubble arches that he redid himself because the set that he bought turned out to be well below his standards.

The build took approximately 18 months so it stretched across two garage seasons and the summer in between. He also nearly got kicked out of home when his mother encountered the solvent smell coming from the makeshift spray booth that he built in the yard from wood beams and tarps.

Fredrik is justifiably proud of his creation, stating “I am very pleased with the result”, yet at the same time admitting that “the car will never be 100% finished, there are always things that can be improved”.

SPECS

OWNER: Fredrik Pettersson

VEHICLE: 1974 Ford Escort Mk1

PAINT: Nissan R33 Gunmetal Grey

STYLING: Modified fibreglass bubble arches, front bumper removed, panel below grill perforated, modified headlights with VW Golf Mk1 glass, custom owner-made indicators

ENGINE: 1990 Audi 20V in-line 5-cylinder

ENGINE MODS: 7A cast iron block and alloy head, standard crank, H-beam rods, JE pistons (83mm bore), 9.2:1 static comp’, ARP bolts, Audi RS2 steel head gasket, standard 7A cams, steel billet lower cam gear, Garrett GT37 turbo, 2004 Volvo V70 electronic boost controller, VEMS v3.3 ECU and harness, 3B coil, Delphi 986cc/min injectors, Aeromotive FPR, 450x300x76mm intercooler, 3-inch intake pipe, Samco Sport silicone hoses, custom intake manifold and 3-inch throttle body, Setrab 30-row oil cooler

POWER: 522hp (389kW) @5920rpm, 459lb.ft (622Nm) @5596rpm

EXHAUST: Custom heat-wrapped manifold (37mm pipes), 50mm wastegate, 3.5-inch dump pipe, 3-inch single system with custom muffler

GEARBOX: ’97 BMW E36 M3 ZF 5-speed, 4-blade sintered clutch, Sachs 707 pressure plate, Audi 7A single-mass flywheel

DIFF: ’88 Volvo 240, Eaton Truetrac, 27 spline axles, 3.54:1

SUSPENSION AND STEERING: Gaz adjustable shocks made into coil-overs, TIG-welded front A-arms, custom spindles with ’06 Volvo V70 hubs, modified’86 Volvo 240 steering rack, Coleman 2:1 steering quickener, ’88 Volvo 740 steering column, custom rear 4-link with panhard rod

BRAKES: Volvo 240 4-piston front and 2-piston rear calipers, Volvo 740 287mm front and Volvo 240 rear discs, hydraulic handbrake

WHEELS/TYRES: TecnoMagnesio Champion 17x7-inch, Continental 225/45/17

INTERIOR: Owner-made pedal box, shifter, bracket for the hydraulic handbrake, fully-integrated safety cage, custom switchbox and door trims embossed with flames, plus Cobra Monaco fixed-back seats, Sandtler 6-point harnesses, an OMP dished wheel and Hydroscand gauges (for boost)

ANYTHING ELSE: Raised and reinforced front strut towers, Bosch 044 fuel pump, 12.5 mm fuel lines, car weighs a little over 900kg

BUILD TIME AND COST: 18 months, and didn’t keep track

THANKS: “A huge thanks to my boss at Prototal AB, I am also in debt to Servtech, Hydroscand, CP Service, VEMS, Jörgen, Nissafors, Roger Fyhylund, Hallenborg, Brunnegård, plus all the other friends who helped me out along the way”

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