Change of Ford.........

[Tonka]

Well after receiving an offer too good to refuse for the Fiesta from a customer who saw it parked outside work I washed it for the last time yesterday.

 

 

No more, one speaker radio cassete, DIY everything poverty spec for me..............well there wouldn't have been but I got offered this a couple of weeks ago, having expressed interest in it last year, well known to a certain Albert Ross of this very parish who I believe has MOT'd it in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

It's a 1.1 Base model with DIY everything and one speaker..............

 

I've removed the seat covers to reveal an interior which will clean up really well, the paintwork is a mixture of original, faded original, bloomed touch up and "close" respray but the car is exceptionally solid and well worth tidying up, I know in certain quarters a roof rack, large "go-away" alloys and chopped springs would be seen as cool and compliment the existing paintwork, but like the Fiesta and Acclaim I had last year bog standard poverty spec is cool, nothing to go wrong just basic early 80's motoring at it's best and this will make an ideal cheap tool for knocking about in and over time it's appearance may improve but for now I like the honest "survivor" look it wears with pride, it's Taxed till June, has 3 weeks MOT and cost me just over a third of what I got for the Fiesta.

[cort16]

Bloody hell a 1.1 top shiteing. Your fiesta looks fantastic in the picture.

[Lankytim]

That's super! Can't wait for the updates on this.

[Cavcraft]

Lovely!

I saw a Mk3 estate the other day and I keep thinking it's time I owned one. They have something of a (shite) charm about them, yours is doubly ace because it's such a mingebag spec.

[dollywobbler]

Sad to see the Fiesta go, but you saved it, sorted it and hopefully it'll live in for many years. Escort looks fab! I well remember listening to Radio 4 Long Wave in my Aunt's Escort van via that single speaker. Tinny.

[Albert Ross]

Phew.... I had feared for it's future when I heard that Vicky had got a Freeloader... glad it's still in the family. It's actually quite a solid car, with very few issues... I believe I may have advised rear wheel bearings had slight play last test.... Which, let's be honest, is bugger all in the grand scale of things! *

 

 

 

*(Other forgotten faults may exist on the vehicle...)

[trigger]

That's smart, it looks the same a Alex_G's but even more basic, I saw a red Mk3 Escort today in a garden locally, It was the spit of my old red one and looked tidy, was tempted to see if it was for sale but I have no use for it.

[vulgalour]

You are most definitely a man of taste and style.

[Shep Shepherd]

That looks really good (I love an unmodified, unadorned Erika), but going by your previous efforts with the Fiesta, I imagine it will look ten times better once you're done with it

[worldofceri]

What's going on with the little H's in the middle of the plates? I knew a guy a few years ago who had an XR3i with plates like that and never did figure it out.

[Tonka]

I'm assuming it's to do with the Hooleys Ford on the bottom of the plate............

[pandarus]

The Fiesta is stunning! Good luck with Escort, look forward to the updates

[Tonka]

Just to add a bit more background to the car, it was apparently laid up for 15 years for some reason, confirmed by the gap in the MoT's, and was HPI'd by a dealer in 2008 when it still had no previous recorded keepers, the mileage then was 29600 it has just gone past 57,200.

 

The previous owner has handed me a folder with everything in it, service book, past invoices etc and the top half of the original log book, like our recently purchased Civic there's something fascinating about looking through all the old paperwork it makes the car more than just a lump of metal it has a story to tell.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I approve of this trade.

[Split_Pin]

At first I thought that was such a shame that you sold the Fester as it looked great in the pictures but then I scrolled down and thought wow!

 

Escort MK3 bases have a great dashboard, blanking plates and no central vents. Nice and clean, just as it came off the drawing board.

 

10/10!

[Albert Ross]

The H is definitely a Hooleys tradition. Nothing to do with Arnold Rimmer.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

At first I thought that was such a shame that you sold the Fester as it looked great in the pictures but then I scrolled down and thought wow!

 

Escort MK3 bases have a great dashboard, blanking plates and no central vents. Nice and clean, just as it came off the drawing board.

 

10/10!

 

The centre vents are visible in one of the pictures and Tonka mentioned a speaker so it's not the ultra base dash unfortunately.

[FredTransit]

deeply jealous.

[Tonka]

One week on and I've only put about 60 miles on the Escort however with the MOT looming in a couple of weeks I took the plunge on Thursday and took it for the MOT and it failed, OSF coil spring broken and OSR brake pipe (flexi to cylinder) corroded all sorted with a new spring for the grand sum of £9.60!

 

It has recently had a full set of new tyres fitted (the spare is new too) and has yet to be welded anywhere so having bought a new Headlight on Tuesday to replace the corroded O/S one I had hoped it wouldn't fail on much so for a total investment of just under £450 I've a very solid Escort with a full MOT taxed until July needing only a lick of paint down the sides to make it look as good as the Fiesta did.

[Albert Ross]

Descars?

[Tonka]

P T round the back from work Jim

[Albert Ross]

I seem to remember the verbal advice on the brake pipes from last year, but Rich wasn't too quick in sorting them by the sounds.... His 109 steering box had been over adjusted to "take up the play" and was almost impossible to get into the workshop for test..... I had to show him "how to" when I had clocked off it....! He blamed someone else! Coupled with loose steering arms and play in a couple of TREs, it must have been a real handful.... As for the Escort, I always fancied it myself!