MK2 Fiesta

[philsford]

Well last week I brought a mk2 fiesta that I had built and sold 6 years ago now. I was going to do a collection thread but at the last min I got let down by a recovery guy who was going to collect it for me and take me with him on the 240 mile round trip. So it was all a bit crazy trying to arrange something at 9pm on a Saturday night when the deal was being done at 12 noon the following day. After an hour or so on the net I had a couple of options, I could get some guy who had quoted me £120 to collect but I had no idea where he was from but at a guess London which was where the car was, this ment I would have to drive down to pay for the car thus costing me £40 in fuel. Or option 2 was a dolly for sale in Kent which was about 60 miles past where the car was but atleast I could sell it on later and the whole collection should just owe me fuel.

 

So off I went to Kent at 6am the next morning. I paid £350 for the dolly and it was a pro looking thing and towed well. No brakes on it though.

 

 

I then collected my car on the way home. I got the petrol station shot that are all the rage on here.

 

.

 

and finally after 10 hours driving 400 miles and only turning my mondeo off to fill up I made it back home without incident and these dolly things have shot up in my estimations. I have owned and towed a car trailer all over the country and it didn't tow as well as this dolly.

 

 

On the evening after I got back I put the dolly straight back on ebay for £400 Buy it Now and someone clicked buy it now the next morning, so after ebay tax I am about £10 down plus the £50 fuel I used. That makes it £60 to get the Fiesta back from London. I would have kept the dolly I was that impressed but at 7ft wide I couldn't get it in the garage.

 

Now the main reason for this post is I am amazed how scarce parts are for these mk2s now compared to 6 years ago. I am no sranger to sene tax but some of the bits on sale are well worn and up for good money.

Does anyone know of someone who breaks mk2 XR2s or even races them? I did know a few local guys but I have either lost there contact details or they have moved on to other things.

 

The main things I need are.

Pair of wings (genuine if poss)
Pair of rear arch repair panels.
Pass sill
Battery clamp
Radiator
Drivers side front bumper end cap (XR2 type)
Rear bumper reflector
XR2 steel wheel centre (as pic below)
Boot struts
2 175/50/13 tyres
2 wheels bolts

 

The car was mint when I sold it and for the last 5 years some young kid has owned it who has no clue about cars when it comes to maintainance or sympathy so it needs some work. The main thing this guy has done is paid some aparent proffesionals to stretch the arches! I have never seen anything like it, they have just bashed them out with a hammer and charged the kid.
 

 

 

 

However it is still solid in the right places and should make a good car once again with some fettling

 

 

 

 

 

 

If only the guy had seen sence and not fitted the wrong offset wheels which led to the arch rolling/stretching which in turn led to a running with the law reguarding sticking out tyres.

[AlabamaShrimp]

I have a similar problem getting bits for mine. Most of the panels you want are out there but there all pattern. Ford ones are stupid money and just not worth it.

 

Tyers are out there and about £35

 

You've no chance on the other bits though. They just aren't out there on their own any more. Boots struts from other stuff fit, I got some mk4 ones that are about an inch too short but should work. There was a place on eBay with some stock photos of about 3 fiestas but theirs prices were mental

 

From what I can see in the pics it's a 1.1 Ghia from Germany. Everything looks really good with the boot, doors and where the wings and front panel meet. All of this is a win and saves tons of work later

[philsford]

Thanks. It is a German built 1.1L originally but I put XR2 engine, gearbox, brakes etc on it when I first had it. So it is an xr2 that looks like a base model if you like.

 

Here is a pic from when I sold it in 2008

 

People on ebay want stupid money for bits. One guy wants £50 for a damaged front bumper? Whats that all about? Another guy had a rear bumper reflector and wanted £10 for it. For a reflector the size of a keyring.

 

When I originally built it I had a donor car so everything I needed was there and duplicates of all the common trim parts but a donor car now is silly money if you want an XR2. A pile of scrap on ebay seems to go for £750 and I just don't need enough parts to justify that outlay. I only paid £500 for this car to get it back.

[HillmanImp]

I once sold a whole MK2 Fiesta for £30.

[jakebullet]

I paid the scrappie £10 to take away a tested mk1 after it got clonked a bit. A new door & wob and it would have been fine.

 

I still regret not buying a mint mk 2 xr2 in not pink rosso red for £250.

[AlabamaShrimp]

I have personally scrapped er 3 I think, swapped one for my first computer and I can't remember about the rest.

 

It seems strange the money they go for now but I suppose their getting a scene tax same as other fords.

 

BTW those side rubbing strips are impossible to get too. As are these bits of rubber on the quarter light. Mine are split

 

 

 

Edit: mine getting a wash the other week.

 

 

 

My apologies I've come over all unnecessary all of a sudden

[MrDuke]

That "as sold" picture is just ace - I would never have gone with bigger wheels than those steelies, but I suppose it was inevitable that someone would. I wouldn't stress about the side-trims though, they do look nice without them, especially if you're keeping it lowish.

[fordperv]

The kid who had that needs beating like the arch's have been, it looked a lovely car in the sold pic, I'm wanting a mk2 but I fear it may never happen as: A i have no space B there probably won't be any decent original cars that are affordable left when I do get round to getting one

[purplebargeken]

Mk2 950cc Pop Plus - A599 JLV was my first ever brand new car. Paid extra for it in black too. Now long gone.

[New POD]

I once owned a B reg Mk2 fiesta 1.1 popular plus car derived van, with rear side windows and a GL interior. in Red.

 

The only problem I had getting parts was that the front brakes were off a mk1 (I think this relates to it being an early mk2 and not a van) and the exhaust down pipe was 4 into 1, and not 4 into 2 into 1.

 

Top speed was about 85 mph. It was great. Sold it to a lovely girl and her scary dad, who said he'd have to kill me if I'd lied about the car being very reliable. My wife pointed out that we were only selling it as she was 3 months pregnant, and her dad, was selling us a cavalier which had rear seat belts, and it would be sad for a child to start life without a father.   

[Bren]

It's not just confined to ford - most 80's stuff is drying up parts wise.

 

Service bits ok, a lot of body / trim is getting impossible to find.

[dollywobbler]

Brilliant. Good luck sorting it out. My first car was a Mk2 Fezza - 957cc Popular, with the shittest paint job ever known to man. My parents got duped into paying £450 for it. They were ripped off! Sadly, I had a few 'first car' moments in it and sold it for £30 scrap the following year. Lovely little thing to drive though. 

[Jim Bell]

That looks lovely. What's happening to the Star Mags?

They're my favorite wheel.

[Vince70]

That's great news that you've got your old fiesta back after all those years and it looks in better Nick than mine was when it was 8/9 years old

 

I had fond memories of my old rosso pink 1985 XR2 but it must be really hard to find a rust free one these days as I remember mine had rotten screen pillars and when jacking the car up the jack would move but the car wouldn't, all that would happen was the car would make a crunching noise but it ran well.

 

The funny thing about mine was I sold it down the pub to a mechanic with 5 months ticket for £100 not thinking it was possible to last another 6 months let alone 6 years afterwards.

 

But 6 years later I did find out that someone got stopped in it and it was a stolen car and was confiscated so I suspect after my ownership the car had everything renewed except the number plates lol.

 

Can you tell me what's the difference between the German cars and the other Fiestas is it a build quality thing or are there external differences between them.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Ford parts are silly money. I bought an F reg Staffire GLi once, last of the proper pintos before that DOH. nonsense. It had an excellent engine, the RS accessory bodykit with seven spoke 'loys and the original Ford radio. I broke that to a grand, not bad when I gave 100 quid for it. I could do with a couple of those a month.

 

My Mum had an E reg 1.4L new as a company car. That went very well indeed.

[fordperv]

That looks lovely. What's happening to the Star Mags?

They're my favorite wheel.

They are a favourite of mine as well, i have a set of original kn Starmags for my Capri

[Jim Bell]

They are a favourite of mine as well, i have a set of original kn Starmags for my Capri

great taste. They look badass on just about everything of that period. Apart from Minis.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Can you tell me what's the difference between the German cars and the other Fiestas is it a build quality thing or are there external differences between them.

It's the build quality and that it's still here. The English and Spanish ones rotted like a bastard and we're generally scrap at a out 8 years German ones are in a different league, all the normal* places for rot on them j St doesn't happen but they were alot rarer when new. They look exactly the same.

 

My red one is only on going on the wings and inner and inns due to them being an accident repair about 15 years ago underneath there's nothing at all and looks like new.

 

In comparison my Spanish mk1, hiding in the garage, needs inner and outer back arches, boot floor and back quarter corners. It needed all the front doing too but that got done when it was crashed into.

[philsford]

The starmags will be sold. I like the wheels but they are rwd offset so stick out and can't be making the driving experience very good either. I like the standard look it had and will be returned to that apart from the plastic side mouldings.

Wings are my biggest decision to make. Do I go oe at £100+ each or do I go spurious at £44 each? For the sake of £120 I know the wing will fit but the spurious ones seem to be like lucky dip as to weather they fit well or not. But I could get the spurious ones easily and local instead of waiting for a genuine pair to appear on ebay that have not spent the last 20 years in a damp shed.

[Ghosty]

Our family love mk2 Fezzes - my mum had one from 3 years old until 2000, where my dad had it a further few years, and my aunt had one for 16 years from the same time. Both 1.1Ls from Quicks of Ashton - maroon F473KNF (probably took me home from being born) and blue F86KBU. Both long dead now. Shame the parents aren't shite-wise and won't buy old cars - I'm sure my mum would have another in a heartbeat if they were easier to maintain. Great cars.

 

Starmags do look good, but I think the steels are just a bit better. How about some L-spec cream wheeltrims for bonus shite points?

[Felly Magic]

Many eons ago I owned a Mk2 Fester on an F, got it from an old giffer in Dewsbury, was 1 owner, a Pop Plus that hadn't even got a stereo fitted or centre console, it was mint. After an argument with a British Gas van, it needed a new quarter panel and rear axle, and the local scrappies had a dead XR2 in, so I robbed it for as much as I could, also fitted XR2 bumpers and seats. It got the usual K&N pancake filter and Janspeed exhaust. I left it on the standard steels though. Loved that car, but it started to rust at around 10 years old so I got shut. It was also getting tired from being used as a van to do Castleford market in, and toyfairs, it didn't like being hammered up and down motorways filled to the roof with stock

[UltraWomble]

I was very lucky to have a German made Mk2, only thing which really let it down was the front opening bonnet hinge that seized and snapped when I popped the bonnet one day.

Went all over Europe in it and de-flowered Mrs Womble in the back seat. Didnt rust anywhere else.

[Split_Pin]

I have lots of memories of MK2 Fiestas from the 90s. I can safely say that none were German built and all were death traps, but I loved them! One had crunchy footwells, another had no boot floor and what seemed like a shoelace for a front crossmember and another was like a patchwork quilt!

[philsford]

Well today I have been ang got a few bits.

 

First up was my local factors that have been in business years and have a few bits for old cars floating about. Got a pair of rear arches and a passenger sill for £45 which aint to bad imo.

Next up was a guy off another forum who had some bumper end caps and some boot struts for £30. The struts are no better than mine and he wouldn't split the bumper corners so I have ended up paying £30 for a bumper corner which is salty but it seem to be a sellers market with these XR2 parts.

The local factors can get me pattern wings at £36 + vat which again aint bad but how well they are going to fit concerns me.

Tomorrow I hope to start cutting the bad out as long as its dry.

Base model wheel trims maybe a good shout if some could be found. I wouldn't mind a set of pop plus wheel centres which cover all the middle inc nuts but could prove as difficult to find them as the 1 XR2 one I am missing.

 

These are what I am thinking as an alternative

[Split_Pin]

I have lots of memories of MK2 Fiestas from the 90s. I can safely say that none were German built and all were death traps, but I loved them! One had crunchy footwells, another had no boot floor and what seemed like a shoelace for a front crossmember and another was like a patchwork quilt!

[Bren]

I remember the XR2 as been somewhat over rated - not so much hot as lukewarm.

 

I used to hang about with a group of friends - one had an XR2. She was top dog until my mate bought a cavalier SRi that beat her every time.

[philsford]

I think they go ok for an 8 valve 1.6 I remember in my youth before this car I had all the running gear in my dads old car that I had inherited and it would keep up with a mates 2.0 8v corsa and would only loose a few lengths upto the 80 mph mark on my other mates cav gsi. Not to shabby I thought. Even if something did come along that was much quicker I had no embarresment as my dads was as this current one is looked like a base model 1.1.

 

I remember 1 evening picking my mrs up from work who worked at a local shopping centre back then where the local boy racers hug out. Some smart arse came behind me in another mk2 fiesta and as the road turned into 2 lanes he indicated and pulled into the outside lane to pass me in an urgent way. I had held a low gear anticipating what he was going to do and I nailed it upto the next lights about 1 mile up the road. He pulled up along side me and wound his window down and said "f#ck me that goes well, what you got in it" I told him and he thought he was going make me look daft as he had put a 1.4 in. Priceless.

 

That would be 10/11 years ago now and I am much more mature now and drive more appropriately..

[greengartside]

There's at least 2 abandoned mk2's in a 10-mile radius of my house. Shame as they both look pretty tidy. I've never driven one myself but have always wanted one. There were 2 mk2's at college which I used for training back in 2002. One was a lovely 1.4 Ghia in metallic Crystal Blue. Shame I didn't buy it off the college. D166 EFL, great car.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlabamaShrimp]

Now I need to know more about the abandoned ones....

[PiperCub]

It's not just confined to ford - most 80's stuff is drying up parts wise.

 

Service bits ok, a lot of body / trim is getting impossible to find.

 

After ten years (maybe less) the car companies don't give a shit and let older stuff fall off the radar often listing it as NLA but they don't bother to check all their suppliers. Guess the reason might be that they don't want you driving that awful old crap (you know, the cars they told you were the best ever 10-15 years ago....) and you should buy a nice new car from them.

 

Some are enlightened enough to do the obvious thing and simply gather up all the old stock parts for their cars that they now regard as 'Old crap wot needs scrapping' and flog them off to one or more of the specialists that seem to exist for pretty much all marques. It generates money for them, clears their shelves and helps owners promoting their brand image - what's not to like? I'm sure tons of old parts just get scrapped every year needlessly.

Suspect this might be too logical though.