Design Of The Ford Ka - Legends of the SMOL

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Just the one?

[sierraman]

Probably bangs like a shit house door in a gale.

[oldcars]

Who was presenting Blue Peter at around that time? They're probably on Twitter.

Was it not the lad off his nut on coke? Bacon something?

[Tayne]

I doubt The Edge would have been anything to do with it. Can’t see Bono would have given him the time off.

 

 

Bono wouldn't have noticed, he was too busy searching for things as he's terribly disorganised.

He quite frequently wastes a whole bloody Sunday trying find the right set of car keys for his large collection of hatchbacks.

It's an issue for him to this day, as he still hasn't found what he's looking for.

[Aston Martin]

Even if you find the correct presenter, the chance of them remembering a segment from 20 odd years ago about a drawing?

 

I hope you find it though.

[Pillock]

I had a flick through the book.... First few pages, nothing to confirm that it had any student involvement, Blue Peter or anything. And the pictures they're using aren't the same as the sketches posted earlier. In fact it suggests it was wholly a product of a Ford design studio, cheeky gits!!

 

As I closed the book in disgust as these lies, I noticed it was a book on the history of the Puma.

[vaughant]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Lobo

 

Interweb shows "this guy" as the designer but yes it would have almost certainly fallen down the tree to the minions to make the actual sketches until he tweaked it and signed it off.

 

Ford have always been quite keen on getting lower level staff involved such ideas, I remember us being asked to name (what became) the ford focus as part of a competition plus they used to give you a pretty decent wedge of you came up with labour saving ideas.

 

We actually became the premier brake manufacturer for all of Europe in the 60's when a rather clever fitter worked out that he could basically remove a second operation or if the brake disc and get it all machined using the same machines we had in one go hence knocking at least 1/3rd off the production time.

 

Having watched a few "how it's made" style programs I was amazed how many other manufacturers still make them the "long way".

 

That lasted until ford effectively shat on its UK operations in the early 00's and sent them out to Turkey to be made most likely using a Colchester student lathe with wooden tools judging by the dismal quality at the time.

[vaughant]

I can maybe fire a few emails to those in the know about who designed it? Could take a while though as it will be through a friend of a friend of a friend type of thing.

[Datsuncog]

^^^ That's interesting about the Claude Lobo side to the design - I didn't know about that either!

It was really just an idle thought on a Sunday morning, having talked about it again the previous evening - and the fact that the story of the schoolboy on Blue Peter seems to have sparked some recall in others here means that Mrs DC can rest easy that she's not imagining things.

But I will admit... I am kinda interested now!

Don't go knocking yourself out over this, but if you think you might know someone who might know something, it'd be great to know for sure (and after all, the next best thing to a mystery is closure...)

Thanks for this!

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

Though i cant help with your quandry i must echo the sentiments of others in that these little metal weebles are disappearing QUICK..

 

The only scrappy in grimsby is Rimars.. Its bizarre (and unique most likely) in that a footbridge runs over the railway line and over Rimars Yard, Below picture (not mine and 10 years old btw) was taken from the bridge.

 

 

So if you hit the day right you can watch EMR squash cars with a crusher all day (im sad)

Last time i saw it was last year.. I left after about an hour you know why, THEY KEPT PICKING UP KA's every single fucking time, that yard must have had 20 in in 2016.

 

Endangered species indeed !

[M'coli]

Yesterday, I was behind a tidy R-reg example on the way home from work: I'd reckon that it was a fairly low mileage example too, judging by the tread pattern on the rear tyres - turn of the century Goodyears!

[LessThanEqual]

Yesterday, I was behind a tidy R-reg example on the way home from work: I'd reckon that it was a fairly low mileage example too, judging by the tread pattern on the rear tyres - turn of the century Goodyears!

Early ones seem to rust less than the later models.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

My 'S' Reg one lasted until 2013 (sold it in 2010) and it was rust that killed it but after 15 years that would be the case for most cars of its era:

 

 

It was quite a hardy thing.  Just beyond economical repair by the time it was weighed in, by the looks of it.

 

It was the original 59BHP model, absolutely base.  Loved it.  First it was my Dad's, then it was my brother's, then it was mine.

[Parky]

I had a go in one of the pre production prototypes just before the official launch.

 

Reaction was amazement, especially as (a) it was a Ford and ( it had a weird revolving glovebox thing. My then GF’s mates Dad was a senior guy at Ford at Warley so had it for evaluation. Many of the guys I grew up with worked for the company in different capacities so we tended to know a reasonable amount regarding what the pipeline had in store.

 

That would have been very early 1996 I think. Didn’t drive another until 2003 and I think it was a more basic model as I don’t recall a glovebox being present. Was it an early car thing or didn’t it make it to production?

[RoadworkUK]

The Ford Ka 2 had the revolve-o-box as standard, alongside leccy windahs, PAS and a CD player. Base models did without and of that and had a natty 'model 1000' FM-only cassette that also found its way into some Transits.

 

Our R-reg one was as base as they get.

 

 

I said farewell to it here.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

BaSe models had PAS from mid 1999. Mine, T189YNU, was a non PAS car and thus much cheapness. £4999 otr iirc.

 

Non PAS cars had a taller final drive as well so it would do a downhill 100 at about 4500 rpm.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

The Ford Ka 2 had the revolve-o-box as standard, alongside leccy windahs, PAS and a CD player. Base models did without and of that and had a natty 'model 1000' FM-only cassette that also found its way into some Transits.

 

Our R-reg one was as base as they get.

 

 

I said farewell to it here.

Great blog post. I agree with everything you’ve said. The non-PAS bASe with the push rod engine was ridiculous fun. I used to thrash mine down country lanes and it was only the fact that I was too big to sit comfortably in it for long distance and it was loud on the motorways that I found irritating.

[Aston Martin]

KA, Streetka and SportKAs are all dying, along with the the same chassied Puma and it's paper back-arches.

[Parky]

We gotta save them all!!!

 

We shalt build a KA shaped ark, forty cubits high and one hundred long. And it shalt be filled with Ford KA’s with which to repopulate the ads pages of Classic Ford In about 20 years time.

 

And there shalt be much rejoicing amongst the moneylenders as we pay them all back and then some with the profits

[Datsuncog]

There's actually quite a nice SportKa in a dealer's yard near me. I must stop and have a look at it... they really are declining in that same way that Novas and Mk2 Fiestas did 15 years ago, from everywhere to nowhere overnight.

A friend owned a black one in the early 2000s to replace his Fiat Cinq; it was a nice enough thing to drive, but as he was 6' 4" it was still a bit of a squeeze for him. Remarkably, it's the only one I've ever been in. He chopped it in for an Audi A3, which he still has.

My ex bought one when she (finally) learned to drive. She phoned me one day to ask whether she should get a Ka or a Mk1 Yaris, as the dealer she was at had one of each, for the same price. I told her to get the Yaris, no question.

She got the Ka. Because it was red.

A few months later she texted me asking how to repair rust around the filler neck and the door bottoms...

[anonymous user]

It must have been designed by a child, that's why they never thought of rust proofing

[Timewaster]

An ex of mine bought a brand new R reg Ka on pcp from the kind man at the dealer who condemned her old fiesta at MOT.

The first day she had it we went out for a spin and she belted it down the bypass at 90mph!

I didn't see her or it for ages until she rang me and said it "made a noise like a spaceship"

Front pads on the metal in about 8000 miles.

She had it years, never serviced it and was hit with a £1500 bill when she tried to return it.

Because she had done loads of miles for work, they paid it for her.

 

Lucky cow.

 

Edit: in a flashback / rain man moment I remembered the reg.

MOT checker says it has never been tested.

Shirley she didn't do enough damage to write it off?

Maybe another careless owner bought it and smashed it up.

[Alusilber]

It must have been designed by a child Ford, that's why they never thought of rust proofing

 

 

FTFY

[Alusilber]

Guy I used to work with had quite a long commute (mostly on single carriageways), so he bought a newish Ka and had it converted to LPG. Can't imagine there were many other LPG Kas around!

[Datsuncog]

On 6/19/2018 at 4:30 PM, Datsuncog said:

There's actually quite a nice SportKa in a dealer's yard near me. I must stop and have a look at it... they really are declining in that same way that Novas and Mk2 Fiestas did 15 years ago, from everywhere to nowhere overnight.

Ok, so I noticed the dealer's gates were still open while on my way home this evening, even though everything else appeared locked up. So I trundled across the road. The first time I have ever gone to actively look at a Ford Ka.

I'm well aware of the old adage about not buying a car in the rain, but... bloody hell, this one looked clean as a whistle.

June 2004 SportKa 1.6. 64k, MOT to early August. Full leather, electric windows, remote locking, radio/CD, front fogs, alloys.

No bubbling apparent around the filler neck either.

£725.

Fuck.

Stick-on faux-RS badges aside, this actually looks bloody lovely.

I think I actually kinda like this.

Someone talk me out of it, quick...

[Supernaut]

GIB.

[Datsuncog]

^^^^ Yeah, see that's not helping.

[DaveAspley]

Irish plate to disguise the mot history and more p38 than the average 'shiter buys in a lifetime. Unless you are in Ireland and a magnet sticks to it, in which I claim diplomatic immunity and the other stuff.. £5?

[DaveAspley]

I have a small workshop based on a farm that has a few enthusiast types storing odd chod and coming up for a weekend fettle away from the wife. If I'm there, it needs the ramp and it's usually a hurry to get it done due to the distance out of town. Just pulled a Toyota in when a chap 3 units down comes wandering up with a bit of metal in his hands "cor... I've had a right game putting this patch in, even on the lowest setting it's blowing holes"

 

51 plate Ka, arc welder.

 

Like trying to refloat the titanic with a party balloon

[Aston Martin]

That sportka has been gobbed, the filler cap is wrong and there's no hinges from the old one.

 

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