Bing Bong, Trigger to the front desk please.

[Guest Tony Hayers]

What do you peeps think of the Orion 1.6i Ghia's?.

They had the same running gear as the XR3i but without the chav appeal at the time.

 

A chap i worked for whilst i was at school still had one, a 1988 F reg in Mercury Grey with the full RS bodykit and spot lights, This car is mint, He lived on his own, never having a partner or kids to abuse it and he also had a Transit van which he used all the time so he never used his car.

 

When he put in a barn for storage in 2000 it has still only done 45000 miles, It didn't have a speck of rust on it and the only non original things on it was a full custom stainless steel exhaust (the old one rotted out, It's not a loud one) and some 7 spoke RS style alloys he fitted, (The original alloys went on my Escort above).

 

The car is still in this barn unused for 9 years and still mint by all accounts, I keep thinking about selling my 1602 and offering to buy it off him, No doubt he'll expect it to be worth £1000's but i know it's not, Not sure what it is worth though, It has to be one of the best left in the country though it will need recommissioning.

 

What do people think of them now?, Are they classed as a classic or are they to new for that?, If i took it to a car show would i get kicked off the field?.

 

It looks something like this but with the darker grey lower half.

 

Go for it! The thing with the Orion is that its always going to be in the shadow of the equivelent model Escort. The MK1 & MK2 models are quite desirable in Ghia trim and offer a bit more equipment than the same model Escort.

 

The handling also seems to be a bit better than a 3i, possibly because of the car being more rigid due to the saloon body or it could be because of the football pitch overhang on the arse end. As to the price of it I paid £400 for my MK1 Ghia I last year. I would not go much above that for a MK2 because there are more of them left and as such any buyer can be more picky and haggle harder.

 

I dont care if the classic car cardigan wearing idiots class them as classic or not. I enjoy mine and its nearly 25 years old -

 

 

 

 

 

Make him an offer and enjoy driving the quintessentiall 1980's middle management repmobile

[trigger]

Ah Top man!, I do keep thinking about it, Like i say I've known the car since about 1994 and been out in it many times when i worked for him, He's still friends with my dad now although i haven't seen him for 3 or 4 years.It is a mint one though, even still has it's fuel computer and Ford radio with the graphic equaliser under it and original John Grose Ford stickers and plates where he bought it from when it was 6 months old.I might get my dad to gave a word with him, but i doubt he would take £400 knowing how tight he is!.