Ford Fiesta - launched 40 years ago today.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

February 2nd, 1977. 

 

Is there anyone here that hasn't had one?

 

 

 

[Hendry]

I've never owned ANY Ford.

[Guest Hooli]

Christ they are less than a month younger than me!

[Felly Magic]

I've owned 2, my mum is on her 2nd, my brother's Mrs used to own one, and there have been umpteen in the family

[Supernaut]

I've never owned ANY Ford.

Nor have I.

[fordperv]

I love fiestas up to the end of the mk3 after that i think they went downhill slightly, i do have a soft spot for the mk5 zetec S especially in imperial blue

[Bag'O'Spanners]

Like the blue Popular, early ones had the foot operated washers and you could drop the exhaust downpipe via two bolts from the top of the fanimold. The memories.....

[tinribs]

Had versions 1, 2 and 3. Great little runabouts, simple to work on.

[mercrocker]

UK launch, of course, as the Germans had them in 1976.   I only remember that as my college mate's Dad fervently wanted one and had to wait.....  

 

I still think of these (as I do all FWD hatchbacks) as being modern but the old Mk1s still looked respectable well into the 1990s, something that not all contemporary Fords managed to achieve.    

 

Never owned one meself but I did buy my step-daughter a Terracotta 1.1L which she promptly binned off for a bloody Astra.   I drove the Fezza probably more than she did and found it an excellent steer.   I don't think Ford ever improved Fiesta styling.....

[saucedoctor]

The first one I had was a mark 1 957cc. There was something wrong with that thing, it flew. My mates dubbed it the "XR One-and-a-half"

[Cavcraft]

Brilliant cars up until about 1998, then they just went to shit.

[trigger]

I've had a few, a E reg Mk2 1.1 L, a H reg Mk3 1.0 Bonus, a L reg Mk3 1.3 Ghia and now a 2004 1.4 TDCi Zetec and i can easily say the Mk2 was streets ahead of my current Mk6.

 

It's bloated, slow, noisy, tramlines and uncomfortable, it's only saving grace is the £30 road tax and 55mpg but thats a big price to pay really. Mind you if you knew no better then you would probably think it's great.

[tommotech]

I've driven every incarnation but never owned one. Anything older than 05 seems pretty scarce though, or is it just me?

[theorganist]

I had 1981 mark 1 1.1 Popular Plus when it was 12 years old. It had the foot operated washers, the rubber had split and it leaked leaving a very slippery drivers footwell when it iced up in winter! It went well, after I had a recon (emphasis on con) engine and Webber carboureter fitted. I hated it, it was noisy and very basic.

 

I had a 1990 mark 3 1.1 Popular Plus three years ago. It was civilised, comfortable and surprisingly refined despite having four gears only. I loved the sound of the OHV engine on tickover, much like my Renault 5. It is still around on SORN, I know the person I sold it too had to have a fair bit of welding done.

[AlabamaShrimp]

I may or may not like them. To make it absolutely sure weather I like them or not i thought having four of them was a good way to really test myself. I drive one everyday just to be sure and I've come to the conclusion that I like them far too much and would in fact probably have a lot more if I had the room and money.

 

Got this 1988 957 pop plus

 

 

Got this 2005 ST getting fixed

 

Got a 1983 mk1 957 pop plus in beige with the floor pusher windscreen washer (no pics as it's covered in crap in the garage.

 

And a 1988 mk2 XR2 which I hate in another garage that I won't sell as it's too much to buy another.

 

I've personally had about seven. Taught myself to drive in one and was my first on the road car. I've also driven and fixed loads of others.

[Vin]

I never owned one. I used to occasionally borrow my late mum's MK3. A 1992 1.8DLX. It was DIRE.

 

 

About 20 years ago I did read the book 'Let's call it Fiesta - the autobiography of Ford's project Bobcat' by Edouard Seidler. It was GOOD.

[Split_Pin]

Works hack#1 1.1L MK2 E920JST. Awful car. Absolutely rotten everywhere at 8 years old, scuttle was even collapsing and the engine banged off the bulkhead as the lower mounting bar was not attached to the crossmember too well. Had the wing in my bedroom wall for years as a teenager because I thought it was cool.

 

Works hack #2 1.6D F457 YSF. I made about 50 percent of the body from an old shelving unit, in a vice, with a hammer before giving the patches to my colleague to weld/make silicone imitation welds onto the car. Slow, took ages to start because nobody wanted to change the glow plugs.

 

Needless to say I bloody loved both of them, never broke down and did everything that was asked of them.

 

Grandpa's car: TSJ823S 1.1L, white, black vinyl roof and houndstooth cloth trim. Say no more. Still got the owners manual onto which he handwrote every repair done to the car and the cost. I'll never part with that.

 

Mums car #1 J696 VLS 1.1 Fresco, dealer 'special' Pop Plus. Tough. Manual choke, 4 sod. Wheelspun very well.

 

Mums Car #2 P881 FMS. Endura e engined Flight. Proper nice spec with decent 'truffle' upholstery, nice state blue metallic paint and bumpers and sunroof. Drove like a French car, wallowy suspension but pin sharp handling. Slid gently long before it went straight on. Engine was unburstable. I'd totally have another of these.

 

Anything after that doesn't interest me simply because I've not sampled it.

[smellypoo]

We've had at least one of every incarnation of the Fiesta in the family all the way up to the Mk7. Various members of the family worked at Ford so it was always a natural choice for us, so very cheap to buy, run and maintain.

 

My uncle had a T-reg Mk1 Fiesta Ghia (a 1.1 I think) in gold - with velour and faux wood inside -  which I adored. I really wanted it as my first car, but just as he was going to upgrade (leaving me with a way to get my mitts on it) my cousin took it out for a drive and wrote it off by not looking on exiting a t-junction.

[chodweaver]

Recently saw the 55 diesel Fester Ghia that I sold on after I had run it as a daily for a while when Mrs CW deemed it too old and smelly (injector seals) to continue as a driving school car. EGR was becoming a pain in the arse, but apart from that, I really can't knock it. Frugal, fast enough, comfy enough, did thousands of miles without a problem. Current owner loves it too and likes cheap road tax very much, but he keeps it away from his block paving shared drive (it's getting a bit leaky)

[eddyramrod]

I've never owned a Fiesta, of any description.  However, back in 1978 I passed my test in a lovely new Peppermint Green one with BSM all over it: UYM717S.  Consequently I do have a bit of a soft spot for the early, low-on-the-ladder models.  Once upon a time the likes of an XR2 would have interested me, but no longer.  They seem to comprise about 80% of what's left, and scene tax is not just strong but positively violent, so if I ever did lay hands one one now, it would need to be as misery-spec as possible.  Which I probably couldn't live with for more than a summer!

[fatharris]

I had a Puma which tried to kill me on several occasions, brilliant fun to drive though.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[AlabamaShrimp]

I've never owned a Fiesta, of any description. However, back in 1978 I passed my test in a lovely new Peppermint Green one with BSM all over it: UYM717S. Consequently I do have a bit of a soft spot for the early, low-on-the-ladder models. Once upon a time the likes of an XR2 would have interested me, but no longer. They seem to comprise about 80% of what's left, and scene tax is not just strong but positively violent, so if I ever did lay hands one one now, it would need to be as misery-spec as possible. Which I probably couldn't live with for more than a summer!

Having driven every engine size I can honestly say the 957 is by far the best! Not too slow and not too fast plus is makes a lovely clicking sound.

[Mike D]

I learned to drive in this THROBBING LUXURY POWERHOUSE -

 

 

It was my mums '84 early mk2 950 popular - I remember it being uber stingy on equipment, no passenger mirror (although I'd fitted one by that point) no headrests, no speakers or radio, no parcel shelf, no clock! and the pauper spec half dash. It also had absolutely fuck all power or grip, I remember it used to scrub the edges off its 135s as I hooned the poor thing mercilessly around the lincolnshire country lanes. It gripped a lot better when I fitted some xr2 steelies, although it still cornered on the door handles. I also stuffed it into my parents gatepost 4 hours after passing my test

 

I'd love another, although a bigger engined one, and it'd have to be sunburst red.

[Cavcraft]

The Mk1 was ace, and a badly spec'd, mingebag 'F' reg Mk3 with the skeleton-wanking-in-a-biscuit engine about the ultimate.

[Guest Breadvan72]

I've never owned ANY Ford.

 

Ditto.  OK, two Ford era Jags.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I remember them coming out, and after about 4 days them being absolutely everywhere. Mainly signal yellow. Mother Bluejeans  looked at one in 1978 to replace her dying J reg 1275GT as well as the 127 (terrible reputation for rust), Chrysler Sunbeam (horrible, tinny), another Mini (BL were on strike, no delivery date available - and it was shit) and it came down to a 1100S Fester or a 900 Polo L. The Polo won - it was superbly built and finished and the engine was so smooth. The Valencia was quite a crude rattly old thing.

 

I had a 1981 Fiesta Popular given to me in 1997, looked clean but was pretty rotten. Went okay and I remember the cooling fan being on all the time - basic ones didn't have a thermo switch - Ford were so tight. Drove a few mark 2's and thought they were universally awful.

 

But I used an early 1.1 Mark 3 on a G plate to drive from Oxford to Darlington for a job interview, rented it from Hartwell Ford. It was a good car - looked neat, ride and handled well and had that generic late eighties Ford interior that was a decent place to be - a massive improvement over the Mark 2. The 1250 Yamahahaha engined Fez was good too, a neat car in Ghia trim.

 

Best Fiesta IMO? The RS1800 from over 20 years ago, nicely finished and great to drive.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 the skeleton-wanking-in-a-biscuit engine 

 

 

The Enduring E !

[AlabamaShrimp]

Am I the only lying one on here now that actually owns any pre mk3 ones?

[Mike D]

Unless your 88 is sunburst red and you want to sell me it!

 

I think Anglevan might still have an XR2 mk2

[Guest Breadvan72]

My Mum has a 2009 one.  No idea which number that is.  It's sort of OK, and has lots of toys, but with a 1.4 Oldladymatic it isn't exactly Fireball XL5.