Weighbridge awaits. Ford KA £75

[warren t claim]

About now my mind is drifting back to 1987 when myself and a scallywag mate spent a fun half hour rolling and bouncing a rotten and misfiring but genuine Escort RS1800 around a car park in New Brighton doing our best Ryan O'Neil impersonation before setting it on fire and running away. Sadly he couldn't sell it at the time as nobody wanted it.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Skeleton wanking in a biscuit tin

[doubleyeller]

The newer shape KAs are just as bad, I saw a 2010 example completely and irredeemably rotten go to the crusher last year, just 6 years old! 

[vaughant]

In my vast experience of these cars v/w/X/y are the best years for rot, anything else is a pure lottery.

 

For what they are and what the design spec was they are fantastic cars, never had an FTP in anyone of them we've had between us over the years, always been a great back up car as their pips to work on, bits are pence, they're surprisingly roomy inside for a small car as well.

 

The latter engined ones sound so much sweeter and drive ok, but as previously stated rust,rust, rust will be the death knell of all of them, if this ones not rotten is worth £75 as a wbod and a few hours of your time swapping a clutch out, doubt you'll get any other major issues.

 

Never touched an electric circuit on one of them but I'd guess fuse box issues had caused the above electrical problems.

 

People forget that ford designed these literally as a throwaway car, max lifespan of ten years and even the latest ones just scrape in on that.

 

I could have got one new through work in 1996 for about £4500, one of the boys still had his one up until about four years ago and never did anything to it, just kept it clean.

 

I still think they're a great formula.

[twosmoke300]

My ex had a Ka. It was a V-plate KA3 model with all the bits and pieces on it, and those slightly odd asymmetric alloy wheels.

 

What a bucket of shit it was. Uncomfortable, slow, noisy, rattly, endless electrical issues. Snapped all the plugs off in the head so had to have the head off to fix it, the beginnings of serious rot at just 5 years old, and generally a nasty hateful little car.

 

The only thing I liked about it was the remarkably powerful aircon. Which sapped so much power from the asthmatic pushrod 1,3 that ypu had to turn it off if you were going uphill.

 

An utter waste of resources,

Snapping plugs is just lack of maintainance . Also ive got a good technique at getting the broken bits out without resorting to head off stuff.

[Broadsword]

I’m amazed how polarised views are on the Ka. We just got a “rot free” example on a 57 plate and we’re big fans despite the rust. In that family we’ve had a 53 plate Duartec which actually passed an MOT first try (we were so amazed we sold it immediately). I had a 02 Endura which needed the clutch doing. That has no fuel filler rust at all weirdly. It took a full day to change the clutch at home having never done one before. Only problem we had was having nothing to help lift that exceedingly large and heavy gearbox. I later dislocated my shoulder which ruined that day. They newest one we have is just a really good drive. Driving dynamics far more than make up for the tix box feel. Anyway all newer small cars are too tall and feel unstable to me. What else in it’s class feels so planted on the road and can hold it’s on a motorway? Also, the 1.3 Duratec in my opinion is more flexible than most 1.0 offerings from the Far East despite being old fashioned. Of course it’s slow though, what can you expect. I suggest people look at “howmanyleft”. Registration numbers peaked at 200k some years ago. Now it has dipped below 50 k.

[twosmoke300]

Large and heavy gearbox ! Try a trafic 6speed - like lifting another engine off the side .

[Vince70]

My girlfriends daughter passed her test on Thursday in her 54 reg Ka and Ive got to admit I would love a rot free one as they are a great car to drive.

Last night the gritters were out and she was driving back from her boyfriends and saw the yellow flashing lights from the gritting lorry behind and pulled over for the lorry as she didn’t know the difference between blue and yellow lights so followed it for the next 10 miles.

 

I guess this morning the only thing that’s going to be rot free are the tyres.

But I did spray some cheap waxoyl on the underside.

Hers Ka looks rot free even around the filler cap but I did jet wash the car when she first bought it and It took the paint off around the filler cap and was lovely clean metal underneath the paint but the paint is so thin and it looked like it never even had a coat of primer around the filler from the factory.

[Talbot]

People forget that ford designed these literally as a throwaway car, max lifespan of ten years and even the latest ones just scrape in on that.

 

 

I am very aware that this is the case, and one of the main reasons I hate them.  Designing something as complex and resource hungry as a car to just barely last 10 years (and in many cases less) is criminally wasteful IMO.

 

In early 2008 I saw a 54 plate one in a breakers.  No damage to it whatsoever, just rampant rot everywhere you looked.  Utter utter shit.

[UltraWomble]

 

Seriously, though, this doesn't actually look like a bad example, and would be worth doing for anyone who could be bothered stashing it away. However, I am not that person.

I would but sadly have no reasonable chance of collecting this any time soon, or even remotely soon, or even not remotely soon. Which is a big shame really. Well it is for me, but thats me.

[MikeR]

I saw one killed by mot , it was up on the ramps and the tester opened up the inner sills and floor in on long sweep of the screwdriver , it was rotton !

[Talbot]

They make a Lancia Beta or Alfasud look positively corrosion resistant.

[Skut]

A good place to share this ambitiously large repair patch I snapped on a Ka in Baldovie breakers.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

They make a Lancia Beta or Alfasud look positively corrosion resistant.

Yaaaaaaaawn.

[warren t claim]

860kg. £100. Job done. Oldest Ka in Britain has bit the dust.

[SiC]

860kg. £100. Job done. Oldest Ka in Britain has bit the dust.

Really? I seem to remember seeing them on R-plates?

[sierraman]

Saw an S plate the morning.

[Split_Pin]

They started on a 96 P but I think hes being facetious due to the absurdity of this thread

[warren t claim]

I'm impressed at the number of replies and interest this simple thread has generated. It's hard to believe that a cheap Street furniture Ford can polarise opinions so much. It's a shame nobody local to me didn't have the foresight to give me £60 and make a drink on the weighbridge.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

It's a severe case of CBA. It's a pig of a job and Kas are everywhere for peanuts. It is a pity, the world we live in I guess.

[sierraman]

Some like them some don’t. I think they’re alright, most stuff of that size rots like fuck, the Ka just happened to rot slightly quicker than others.

 

I’d quite like a early 97 P plate one in that awful purple they did them in.

[warren t claim]

Sadly due to the tenacity of my ex wife I have another KA scrapper to dispose of.

 

04 plate with full leather. Quiet engine but despite being solid at it's last MOT a year ago now it is a rotten as a pear. Needs sills and other welding. The fucking rear quarter bumper even fell off on the way back from the MOT station due to corrosion.

 

£75 again.

 

She'd better not buy another!

[chancer]

I think they may all do that sir....im sure i can hear mine dissolving as I type this! Any pics? And where is this fine beast situated?

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Wish I still had mine.  Was my first car.  S434 LCW.  Many fun times were had...

[sierraman]

Worth £75 to pull the engine out of if it’s a good one.

[Cavcraft]

Is it on alloys or steels, WTC?

[holbeck]

Still mot'd? 

[stephen01]

When I was looking at Ka's a fucked ones with leather were making nearly £200 on ebay with NO MOT. 

£75 is bargain. 

[mrbenn]

The leather interior may be worth pulling out and advertising on a Morris Minor (I'll stick an ad up if needed) forum as it's quite a straighforward and popular mod to fit. I paid over £100 for mine.

[Cavcraft]

Wazzer, msg me bro I’ll have it