Ford Ka...

[Mike D]

Afternoon Shiters!My Mrs is well on the way with learning to drive, and has just booked her test. Despite my trying to woo her into shite with an A reg 205, and a G reg Civic, she hasn't taken at all, and decided she wants a new car. However, a guy i work has to get rid of a T reg Ford Ka, which i've wangled down to 350 with 10 months test and 5 tax, which she actually thinks sounds like a good idea.I'm off to look at it later, anyone up on where the supposed rot spots are? I'm assuming engine wise, being based on an old valencia or whatever it was it's going to rattle like a talbot alpine, although i guess this is normal?Cheers for your help,Mike

[Station]

I heard they're good fun to drive and a good car overall, 350 is bargain, out of all the new cars, it seems the most common sense.

[dollywobbler]

Sills are a weakness I believe - check the strut tops and anywhere near suspension mounts.There are a lot of rattley Kas out there now and is pretty normal - though I guess it can actually be adjusted out?Oh and keep an eye on the oil level too. These engines really don't like running low, as a chap at work discovered (he really did blow the engine up!)

[r.welfare]

They need regular spark plug changes too, or the threads corrode into the head.Sills are the obvious rot spot, and there are also plenty of rust traps behind the big plastic mouldings (rear bumpers etc).But £350 with much MOT and tax sounds like a Billy Bargain to me.

[johnbaz]

my mate's wife has a sports KA, two seater with a ragtop and only 10,000 on the clock, it's always locked away in her garage and is about eight years old, i'm really fancying it when they decide to get shut john

[pogweasel]

If it's on a T it will most likely have been repaired already (usually they start to need MoT welding at about 6-7 years, but I have seen 3 year old ones with rot in them), so it will probably look like a patchwork quilt underneath, especially the sills close to the b-post.Comedy tappets is standard issue, but this can be forgiven as they punt along nicely enough.

[j-j]

and decided she wants a new car.

wrong , wrong, wrong - thou shalt not (ever) partake in new car buyage The KA is all Fiesta underneath innit? I can't recall what engine it was now, but late 90s Fiestas came with one petrol engine that is so rough it sounds to me like a diesel. I'd tend to avoid that one - someone can conform the particular lump?

[r.welfare]

That's the engine alright j-j - but once you get to shite age/prices, the simplicity, lack of electronics and more importantly a cambelt make it a winner.And it's the only one you'll find in a pre-2005 Ka anyway.Too noisy? Earplugs/radio volume be your friend

[Father Ted]

£350 for a T&T T plater? You lucky lucky b.......Decide to get one myself (hence the hich as pig shit Q about the Endura / Valencia and Durotec).

[shite_meister]

Check the bulkhead carefully-I've seen rot there too on a few of these and its not always easy to see.

[Station]

Someone on another forum bought a standard Ka as a surprise for his girlfriend, and then put a Ford Fiesta CVH engine in, got the seats and interior trimmed in cream leather, sprayed it Blue with wide arches and Escort Cosworth alloys, it looked really, really nice.

[Station]

Here it is:

 

 

 

[Albert Ross]

They shouldn't be too noisy, but if it does sound like a skeleton wanking in a biscuit tin, don't worry too much.....Rocker gasket and half an hour's work should see it right.

[ashmicro]

Clattery tappets are an easy fix - 11mm coarse threaded IIRC. Just don't over-tighten them or the valves won't close correctly. Be prepared to sacrifice a feeler gauge. The procedure for this in the Haynes Book of Lies is actually correct!Rear brakes can stick due to water getting past the seal on the wheel cylinder-to-plate.The "sticky throttle body" issue - not actually the TB sticking, but a bad connection to the TPS. Clean connector and refit.If the plugs are rusted to the head, soak in plenty of penetrating oil prior to attempting removal.As said by others, check EVERYWHERE for grot.

[Pillock]

Did they have different factories knocking these out?My friend's wife had a T-reg which I warned him about all the likely rotten bits before he viewed it. He came back, told me it was immaculate with no rot and he'd bought it. I feared he'd just been duped, or blind, or something but no, when I looked it had never been welded and the sills weren't even bubbling. Same with the suspension mounts, inner arches and stuff. Could have passed for a 2-3 year old car easily.Just makes me wonder if one factory used better metal, or more underseal or something. Or if the rusty ones are just randomly poorly assembled.

[wuvvum]

Someone on another forum bought a standard Ka as a surprise for his girlfriend, and then put a Ford Fiesta CVH engine in

I thought the only reason they put the HCS in the Ka is that they couldn't get the CVH to fit under the bonnet? Something about it originally having been designed for a two-stroke triple or something equally outlandish.

[Pillock]

There's a Fiesta in the Haynes Museum in Dorset with a two-stroke engine, apparently Ford were pumping loads of cash into research at one point so it's entirely possible.Apparently they decided against it, something to do with when they start to wear the economy suffers greatly?

[andrew e]

There's a Fiesta in the Haynes Museum in Dorset with a two-stroke engine, apparently Ford were pumping loads of cash into research at one point so it's entirely possible.Apparently they decided against it, something to do with when they start to wear the economy suffers greatly?

Orbital engine?

[dollywobbler]

Aye, I remember that appearing on Tomorrow's World. Just like robots, they failed to predict the future correctly.

[Pillock]

buttocks, checked my photos from Haynes and didn't take any of the Fester!Sure the little info board didn't mention anything about an orbital engine, just that it was two-stroke. I do know that it was tiny tiny, even in the Fiesta you could almost climb in beside it in the engine bay.

[r.welfare]

I'm pretty sure it was Orbital rather than 2-stroke. There were lots of stories about the Orbital in Autocar circa 1991. IIRC, Essex police were given a couple of Orbital-engined Mk3 Fezzas to razz about in and try to break - they got an electric Mk5 Scrote van a few years later for the same purpose.At least they made a better job of the re-engine than AMC did with the Pacer, which was designed for the GM Wankel

[Pillock]

 

2-stroke

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I think the orbital and the two-stroke are the same thing, Orbital is the name of the company who developed the engine concept which Ford then picked up. IIRC they were an australian concern as well.I would love to hear that Fiesta running/take it for a blezz!!

[Pillock]

Oh

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Ka's are all made in Valencia. The odd ones are made from decent metal, most are not. They rot at the back of the sills from the B post back, around the fuel filler and check all the metal work (if applicable) under the rear arches. Plugs need removing and replacing/renewing every 6 months. Motorcraft plugs rust like buggery. A weird idle is just the idle control valve needing a clean out with carb or brake cleaner.Tappets - they get noisy because the cam and followers wear out. These old engines like regular oil changes and most don't get it. Usually they are 'the Wife's car' and suffer appalling neglect. Set them to manufacturers clearance and see how it goes. If they get noisy again in 500 miles, just leave it as the case hardening has gone. A rattly knock in the front suspension is shagged ARB bushes, cheap and simple to change. If the rear wiper doesn't work, give the tailgate hinge pins a smack with a hammer as they are the earth points.Look for rusty sumps. Ford only wants £120 for a new one - oh, and avoid Fortd main dealers for parts because they just take the piss.The Ka uses a unique floor and bulkhead to which some Fiesta bits bolt. A lot of it is different though such as the rack, rear beam etc. Avoid PAS ones because the racks leak and they are £££ to replace. Non PAS ones are easy enough to drive.I had two and recommend them. great to drive and cheap to run. Plenty of secondhand stuff around now as well.

[Mr Lobster]

£350 sounds cheap to me, especially with nice long MOT. They do rust but are generally fairly straightforward enough and are quite a nice car to drive and chuck about a bit. And ideal for a new driver as they are very easy to live with.

[AnthonyG]

Kas are excellent cars but were definitely built down to a price, even by Ford standards. The condition of a ten year old one will depend very much on the previous owners. As Rev BJ says they are quite different to the Fiesta, don't assume s/h bits from one will fit and vice versa.If it's not rotten and the engine's OK, then £350 sounds like a great price. If it's really rusty I would walk away, but any non terminal mechanical problems can be fixed at that price and it will still be a good buy.Re the other thread, for a modern car they are not particularly safe, despite 3 NCAP stars. They are still better than any small car circa 1990 though.

[Cavcraft]

Steering racks go with regularity, they rot around the suspension mounts and everywhere else, have rattly, wheezy pathetic engines that went out with the ark and you'll have to change the plugs every twenty yards or they'll sieze in place.It's all about personal opinion of course but I wouldn't have one if they were free. Well, almost, as I took three straight to the weigh in yard yard last year which, quite frankly, is the best place for them.

[Father Ted]

Frigging hell Billy. I deliberately think you are saying this just to wind me up! Get another and give me a shout will you? I fancy dicking about with one.

[Mike D]

Well, I finally got round to going to look at the Ka this evening, and didn't even have to look for any rot spots, the light tap my friend told me it had on the rear looked like Rick Waller had successfully kicked its back doors in! The rear hatch wouldnt even close, and despite me tieing my truck to it and giving it a mullering it still was a good 2" out of line!Ah well, NEXT!!