HMC BMW coupe meltdowns

[egg]

16 minutes ago, HMC said:

Gearbox feels nice

in my memory they do feel nice to use too.

[wesacosa]

10 minutes ago, egg said:

in my memory they do feel nice to use too.

No external linkages or cables IIRC. just the lever directly into the box

[egg]

Thanks, I wanted to say 'snickety', but that's a car review cliché 😅 

[garbaldy]

4 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Goes to show what a decent climate does for cars

Yes they definitely last well in eu land.      This one was the very first car bought and collected from Germany and popped in yesterday for coffee and still with the mate that bought it after all the work I did on it, still looks just as good as the day I first set eyes on it on the guys drive all those years ago.  Can't be arsed to hunt for the collection thread to see how long ago it actually was.

[DVee8]

15 minutes ago, garbaldy said:

Yes they definitely last well in eu land.      This one was the very first car bought and collected from Germany and popped in yesterday for coffee and still with the mate that bought it after all the work I did on it, still looks just as good as the day I first set eyes on it on the guys drive all those years ago.  Can't be arsed to hunt for the collection thread to see how long ago it actually was.

I think that passed me on Friday afternoon heading to Wooler.

[garbaldy]

8 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

I think that passed me on Friday afternoon heading to Wooler.

Yup he was off work screeving about clocking up some miles,  I'd have been with him if I'd finished the colt.  

[HMC]

6 hours ago, egg said:

Ah, it's great. Well bought. The only thing I prefer about the earlier models is the older style 2 spoke steering wheel.

Have you got any more pictures of STF?

[HMC]

5 hours ago, wesacosa said:

My first car was an N reg Mk2

 

Quite an early mk2 !

[wesacosa]

3 minutes ago, HMC said:

Quite an early mk2 !

yeah it had the F O R D lettering instead of the Ford badges,  some kind of crest on the key and on the blank in the dash where the fuel/temp gauge go on a rev counter model, an  orange oil pressure light and different script on the instrument markings 

[HMC]

I thought this would be Portuguese made ( like the shed of a galaxy currently on the fleet), but the Vin plate suggests Germany (Cologne?) Any recommendations for a Ford vin decoder?

[D.E]

This one (still with the first owner when I took this photo back in 2015!) went to the UK as well. Solid car, despite living near the coast its entire life. 

[wesacosa]

15 minutes ago, HMC said:

I thought this would be Portuguese made ( like the shed of a galaxy currently on the fleet), but the Vin plate suggests Germany (Cologne?) Any recommendations for a Ford vin decoder?

I thought the MK2 Escort only used to be built in Dagenham and Cologne  Saarlouis so that's probably correct 

[HMC]

3 minutes ago, D.E said:

This one (still with the first owner when I took this photo back in 2015!) went to the UK as well. Solid car, despite living near the coast its entire life. 

Great photo. Im getting a bit jittery about their rot prone-ness. Presumably they are typical for the period rather than more so?

[wesacosa]

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

yeah it had the F O R D lettering instead of the Ford badges,  some kind of crest on the key and on the blank in the dash where the fuel/temp gauge go on a rev counter model, an  orange oil pressure light and different script on the instrument markings 

All like that up to about '77, along with loads of detail changes. Engine size on the wings for one, quite early autos have AUTOMATIC badges under the rear number plate, single number plate light instead of two etc etc.

Weirdest change I've discovered was door hinges on the estates. I put MK1 saloon doors on my '77 Estate after buying a '79 estate as a donor and funding they didn't fit, hard to describe but they swapped the sides on the top hinge.

[egg]

10 hours ago, HMC said:

Have you got any more pictures of STF?

Not many, because pre digital and all that - here's when I bought it from an ad in the Sporting Escorts owners club magazine

The whole reason I bought this one was because my parents had an identical T-reg (local FN registered) from 1980-until the mid 90's

As mentioned before, when dad sold it, I kept the Serck plates, which to this day are in the shed

[bunglebus]

Bought this in the mid 90s, I was still a teenager. Did lots to it but eventually it went on eBay. Still out there, last pics that popped up were someone proposing they use it as a drift car

Run to the Sun 1998 in my 1600 Ghia auto

The previously midnight blue 1300 Ghia I ended up with. Drove like a sack of shite

Signal amber 1300 Ghia I co-owned with my mate. Awesome colour

1600 Sport I bought out of the Basildon Evening Echo, fitted with a 2.0 Pinto using all the proper RS2000 mounts, bellhousing etc.

I ended up scrapping it before realising it was registered alongside some of the works rally cars

A random wide arch 4 door that turned up at work

My friend's 1300 Ghia (same silver/red colour combo as my 1600), that had been his mum's when we were at school. He spotted it for sale in the local paper years later and bought it back. Was a low mileage car and everything felt tight, best driving Escort I've experienced 

Should be black behind the grille though

[Stinkwheel]

17 hours ago, HMC said:

Once off loaded….

Thats lovely and reminds me of all the mk1 & 2's that used to litter the streets and cul de sacs when i was a lad, when i really wanted one as well. Im now jealous

[egg]

51 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Signal amber 1300 Ghia I co-owned with my mate. Awesome colour

Wow, don't remember that colour at all, must have been rare.

[andy18s]

I've never actually owned a mk2 as I'd driven a few but just felt they were good at being a car.Nothing more.

The only 1 that did peak my interest was a red mk2 Mexico that a local nightclub dj owned.

It had a 2.0 and 5 speed box fitted along with a few nice details,and probably the best paintwork I'd seen on a Ford.

When Furrows Ford of Oswestry had an Rs200 on display at their Rs showroom and we all went along to perve over it, they had a very late mk2 Rs2000 custom in Nordic Blue for sale..

[HMC]

1 hour ago, Stinkwheel said:

Thats lovely and reminds me of all the mk1 & 2's that used to litter the streets and cul de sacs when i was a lad, when i really wanted one as well. Im now jealous

Thats basically why i got it- bit of nostalgia as when i was about 10 it seemed every 17 year old had one near me. Much want!

Thanks to @wesacosa its a Saarlouis build (West Germany)

[HMC]

22 hours ago, wesacosa said:

love it. I'd be inclined to bin those red Ford badges too, even though I used to have them on my old Capri and thought they were cool 

[HMC]

Also a cool book arrived…..

[bunglebus]

4 hours ago, egg said:

Wow, don't remember that colour at all, must have been rare.

Best combo I ever saw was a 1300 Ghia two door in signal green with a green interior. Old boy in Brentwood had it for donkeys years.

I do remember an N plate near my mum's too, even in the early 90s they were unusual 

[Essex V6]

On 31/08/2019 at 17:58, BorniteIdentity said:

An old boss had one of these - a crazy 2.2 even though it was the year 2003 and big petrols were as popular as headlice. I still remember the reg: GY52ZMO (Gizmo)

I still remember how you can see SFA out of the back, and how the one touch indicators confused the fuck out of me.

Well bought! 

Aye those indicators were batshit crazy!

[mk2_craig]

On 21/04/2024 at 14:28, HMC said:

1990 just arrived with someones first set of wheels

Needs the same salvaged raised digit number plates as what the Rolls Royce was treated to. 

[HMC]

Went for my first spin in it. Wouldnt idle- noticed a split vacuum hose to the dizzy, which once sorted helped a lot; it seemed to also need a fair bit of choke. Its got an MOT currently so wonder if they leaned it off for a pass? So i ticked it a bit richer. After i got to a petrol station and added some fresh pez it ran better still. 

I think it probably still need needs a proper service and tune up but its running really nicely now…..

[High Jetter]

Are those screws holding the grille on? They don't look standard to me.

[artdjones]

On 21/04/2024 at 22:18, HMC said:

Great photo. Im getting a bit jittery about their rot prone-ness. Presumably they are typical for the period rather than more so?

They are a bit more rot prone than average but not in the Mk1 Golf league. They were awful up to 1980, then VW discovered cavity wax and seam sealer.

[bezzabsa]

is it going RHD or stopping LHD???

either way - JAMMY GIT 

but also much Kudos