Rock Bottom motoring

[pogweasel]

When Steve Fatso Cropley of Autocar bought his 17 year old son a brand new Seicento Sporting in around 1996 there were many complaining letters (well maybe two) of the opinion that he was spoiling the lad, who should - like half the 18 year olds in the UK then - be rattling around in a B reg Pop Plus.

A 'B' Reg Pop Plus was still not a cheap car in 1996, probably a good £800 for a decent one.... In all the melee I forgot (oops!) about the one Mrs_Pog had around that time, a lovely 1.1L (luxury!!!!) in hearing aid beige with a brown vinyl roof. Classy. It was a right peculiar thing, not only was the roof a bit incongrous (and doubtless hiding unpleasantness), but it was an A-reg so super early. Oh and someone appeared to have put a 1300 engine it, certainly licked along at a fair pace (read: terrifying!). Lasted a couple of years till she decided to 'upgrade' to a Mk3.

[mk2_craig]

I always though the Mk1 Fiesta's lasted a lot longer grot wise than the Mk2's - was the metal (particularly round the front) thinner? Or was it that the 70s Festers were made in Germany whilst the 80s ones made in Dagenham? - I suggest this because Belgian built Sierra's (G reg on) seem to last forever compared to the earlier British built ones.

Nah I've had mk2 Fiestas from all three factories and they all rot! I think it has more to do with where Ford was sourcing their steel from at any particular time, some C-reg cars had especially short lives because the bodyshells were stamped out of recycled Yugoslavian trucks or something.

[seth]

I think its Y plate Fiestas that seemed to outlast all the others.

[Owain-328i]

Different years seem to rot in different places, D platers (86) are the worst for rot in my experience, I had an E reg XR2 without a sunroof that was remarkably rot free. These things rot out anywere though! Inner wings were a big problem, Craig has some good pictures of a grey XR2 he pulled apart thats displaying some MAJOR ROT, maybe he'd like to post them up for amuzment!Gran_Bollox example doesnt look 'that' bad in fairness

[Pete-M]

Used to be any Ford on a C or D plate was made from recycled Alfasuds.Mate of mine had a really shite C reg "MkIV" Escort XR3i in around '92. You could probably watch it rust if you stared at it for 10 minutes or so. Taught him how to weld, that car did. Constantly, for about 2 years.

[pogweasel]

The MkIV I had didn't look too bad from the outside. Once the wings, bumper & bonnet were off though the true horror was revealed. Rotten as a pear. That was a D reg.

[r.welfare]

My mate inherited a supa-low-miles 1.3L Mk4 3dr on a C-plate from his nan, about 10 years ago. Rust holes everywhere, including the roof - and this was a non-sunroof model! Hideous. Popped a piston eventually IIRC, thanks to his "zero-budget" maintenance program.

[CortinaDave]

Poverty Plus mk2 Fester!!! I've had a couple of 1.4 Sports which were great cars... bloody quick and cheap to run, but rusted like there was no tomorrow.The inner wings were plated so many times on my E reg one it was like a patchwork quilt.Great cars though, when they are still in one piece. Dont drive it through any puddles though, or it will dissolve like alka seltzer.C-D reg ford metal quality was DREADFUL. all sourced from some kind of contra deal with the russians apparently, and no good at all

[garycox]

My aunt used to have a D reg Orion which was terrible... It lasted about 8 years and by then about half of it had rusted away...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

B-E reg fwd fords were the absolute pits for rust, the number you used to see rattling abouit with 'hadrian panels' sills and wheelarches lashed on over the top of the old rotten metalwork and painted with Schutz...... bloody awful heaps of shite.

[CortinaDave]

Funnily enough an E reg smartie blue sierra 1.6L estate has just appeared across from my work, complete with gaffa taped door bottoms hiding the crudfest underneath. must get a pic.Didnt Ford do a deal on crap steel in 80/81 as well? Very few W reg cortinas have survived, they seemed to rust a damn sight quicker than later X and Y platers, or even the mk4s!

[Split_Pin]

One of the mechanics I worked with who was a Ford enthusiast used to say that B-E reg Fords should be avoided as they were made from 'shitty metal'.Both my mates old B-reg and the works hack e-reg Fiesta were exaclty as Mr_Bol describes, each having Hadrian sills and arches boshed over the old with underseal over the top. The entire boot floor repaired in this way really was taking the piss though!

[mk2_craig]

I had a B-reg Escort which was very good indeed at 20+ years old, its first owner in London must have looked after it well (probably garaged) but even a few years subsequently spent in Scotland didn't cause it to rust anywhere really, bottom corner of one door looked a bit brown but that's probably my fault for not replacing the window rubbers when they went shitty. Not sure what factory that car came out of.Ford probably still build rotters. I've never yet seen a rotten Focus of any age but I'll bet you can buy a last-off-the-line mk1 Ka and it will have rusted to death within ten years.

[Rocket88]

There are some pretty nasty Kas over here.Good ones seem to fetch ridiculous money though.

[M'coli]

C to E reg Metros rusted spectacularly well too. Could have something to do with poor quality coke in the smelting process as a result of the miner's strike. I'm not making this a the start of another miner's strike argument, but other than a change to how cars were painted how else can it be explained?

[AXrescuer]

C to E reg Metros rusted spectacularly well too. Could have something to do with poor quality coke in the smelting process as a result of the miner's strike. I'm not making this a the start of another miner's strike argument, but other than a change to how cars were painted how else can it be explained?

Was drug use really that much of a problem in car manufacturing back then?

[M'coli]

^^Very droll!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Festers were always crap for rust - I don't think there was ever a 'good' year. I had a Y reg 950 Plopular Pus in 1997. It was a bit rotten, so to get a ticket and keep the water out I fired a tin of expanding foam into the sills. This spurted out of every hole and, once dried, was trimmed back, smoothed over with fibreglass paste, sanded with a DA and undersealed. Kick those sills as hard as you want, they're staying on. The bad Ford metal was HSS, high carbon steel which meant Ford could get away with thinner grades without reducing strength. The high carbon content meant it rusted like buggery - I put a sill on a 1986 Escort Van for its first MOT.Sierras were very poor, and one that didn't rust was a Cologne build import. A number of X-Y plate Cortinas were South African built and were assembled on the P100 line. They were just rubbish.Metros were spectacularly bad for rot, but the later facelift ones were really Super Shite. When my Dad and I ran a garage, we supplied a new F plate 1.0L to an old boy in the village. It was just primer on the front valance lower edge so job 1 was to get a gallon of Waxoyl and give it a good soaking.I saw it about 4 years ago, and it was still pretty mint.

[CortinaDave]

Cologne build early sierras have fantastic build quality. very good metal and the things lasted forever.My Y plate capri seems pretty decent too. Cologne build again tho.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Now this is a strange one; after late 1976, all Capris were built in the Fatherland yet I've seen some shocking rotten pigs. You're right about Sierras though. If there are any left, a Y plate Cologne Sierra Ghia would still be pretty much rot free.Then again, look at some of the German GM stuff like Senators - great cars but they rot like a bastard. In the fatherland, Opel is German for rust apparently. :DOut of interest, what's your 2.0S Corty like? Has she still got the Cadiz trim and Bilsteins?

[CortinaDave]

2.0 S is pretty mint, only had 38k on it when I bought it.. now just passed 50k.Unmarked underneath thanks to the nice people who paid the man at ziebart when it was new. Bit of rust in the engine bay around the wing rails but nothing major.Mk4s seemed to be better built than mk5's but not nearly as well rustproofed.... That ziebart stuff isnt half good though.Still got the Cadiz trim and bilstiens.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Nice car, I always fancied one back in the day. I only had one Mark Four, a red 1.6 VGN655R. But I had a few Cortina 80's including a Midnight blue 2.0 GLS (CBW818V). She had the full S Pack with 185 tyres, Billies and the S springs and most importantly, the solid Estate rear axle bushes. Add the double front spotlights and Recaro seats and you had a dream car. Someone I knew years ago had a Prarie yellow W plate 1.6LS - now that's a rare beast.