The alternative is better...

[freebird]

Ever fancied a MK1 Escort? Maybe a MK2 floats your boat. Have you seen the prices?!?! Ridiculous.

Are they REALLY that special?

What about the alternatives? What can you still find out there that has true Auto Shite street cred, will cost bugger all in comparison and will be a grin to hoon about in.

How about..

Fiat 128. Never owned one but always fancied one. Looks good, especially pre facelifted and huge bumpers, engines are litle screamers and will get you noticed at the filling station far more than ur Ford Ecortshite.OK, You may well have to battle the galloping rot and other italian foibles BUT, bang for bucks, its a winner.

Come on, throw some more unsung Autoshite alternatives on, something different, chuckable, fun and, something with a smiley face factor. There must be loads, surely?

[Negative Creep]

Never driven either but the Avenger is supposed to be a good escort alternative

[freebird]

Yes it is, I owned a 1970 1250cc model back in the mid 80s. It had a pre MOT failure sheet running to three pages but it had 2 months MOT and tax, cost me a tenner and i scrapped it for £25. In fairness, the 1250cc lump was more than a match for a 1300cc Escort and it was great to drive, except in the wet when it wanted to go sideways around every corner. I dont know how Fords did it TBH, they must have put something in their customers cups of tea, i cannot, for the life of me, see how Escorts sold so much more than Avengers, no way were they better cars.

[trigger]

My dad sold his Mk1 Escort twin cam for a Avenger Tiger back in the 70's and he said the avenger was the better car.

[Volksy]

Think the problem with the 128, is that its not OMGRWD.

 

Guess the other alternatives are:

 

Avenger,

Chevette/Kadett,

Starlet,

Fiat 131

Fiat 125

Corolla AE86 DRIFTZYO!

 

 

All of which command the OMGRWD SCENETAX.

[Alexg]

OMG RWD, and cheap

[oman5]

My alternative suggestion? Triumph Dolomite. you can even mess with the letters on the bootlid so it says "DoloSHITE"

Get an 1850 HL which doesn't have the "sprint tax" on it, chuck some alloys on it and bobs your uncle. they aint a bad drive either.

[freebird]

Marina TC, not the coupe, that goes way beyond shite, but the saloon. Got took out in an early one once, lovely beige soft vinyl seats and a nice growl from the exhaust. The early ones look better too, there is something to be said in leaving things alone.

Anyways, Id still bag a 128, FWD or not.

[Angrydicky]

HB Viva 2 doors are still nice and cheap.

[revolting peasant]

[freebird]

Were these ever campaigned "properly" like with factory involvement?

Maybe they were the club rally weapon of choice for the eccentric?

Looks pretty good actually.

Amazing what some stripes and graphics can do, that door actually looks in proportion to the car now, if only those tight bastards at BL had bothered to make a longer door, the coupe would have looked "right" from the factory.

[Shep Shepherd]

What about the Viva HC or Magnum?

[MK5 Escort]

MK1 Escorts leave me surprisingly cold. I don't particularly find them attractive either. Personally, I've always preferred the largely forgotten Viva HC over it in most respects.

 

In this day and age they aren’t only considerably cheaper than the Escort, I’d hazard a good bet to say they’re much rarer these days too. Don't forget the horizontal speedo on the earlier ones either...!

[Negative Creep]

A mk.2 MR2 is a great alternative to traditional sports cars, without the worry of what will fall off next. Everyone should own one.

 

 

 

Well since you ask, I do know of one for sale right now.............

[barefoot]

re the Fiat 128,

 

I'm currently reading Drive On by LJK Setright & he absolutely raves about it.

Also he seems to think that the Honda Prelude was a bit clever...

 

 

He also mentions the Honda NSX, but I'll not, eh?

 

I've driven Escorts & Avengers, the latter had exceedingly smooth transmission.

My driving instructor had a Mk2 Escort 1.1 pop which didn't.

[Rusty Pelican]

Come to Daddy , Love these far more than Escrots

 

[Timewaster]

re the Fiat 128,

 

I'm currently reading Drive On by LJK Setright & he absolutely raves about it.

 

Oh, me too.

Although its slow going as I A) Don't get much time to read. Spend my spare time reading this webshite.

 

Anyway, back to the thread.

Escorts? Meh

[Guest]

Better than a mk1 escort? - step this way sir

Or if sir requires a different shape

But for myself

[freebird]

Love Hunters. My first car was a GT, top motor!!

Actually I also have had two chevettes and an HC Viva, great cars. It makes you wonder more and more how Ford managed to corner the market.

[Guest]

Any pictures of the Hunter GT? Would love to see them.

[freebird]

Nope, sorry, i owned it back in 1982, in those days, i could barely afford to run a car, let alone own a camera.

However, this one is almost identical to mine, apart from the wheels on mine being all silver, a black vinyl roof and no stripes..

It was a fab car, could really shift but didnt like sharp turns too much.

[Owain-328i]

OMG RWD, and cheap

 

Hmmm im a lover of most shite, even these! But dare i say it, this is one of the reasons why the UK no longer has a motor industry of its own

[Pete-M]

Hopefully soon I'll have at least pictures of my lovely Mk2 coming back to life...

 

My choice of non-Escort would probably be the Sunbeam, or the Avenger if it's got to be three box. Mainly because Escort bits are easy to fit to 'em.

 

I'm not gonna ramble on again about Marinas. Do like Dolomites - but I'd want the Sprint, I'm like that. Vivas and Shoveits don't do it for me at all. The Fiat 128 is a cool little thing, but it's FWD and that is a big issue when it comes to the majority of 70s cars I'd want to own for the sake of enjoying 'em. Might handle brilliantly, small FIATs tend to, but I discovered the fun that can be had chucking cars sideways and how to actually control a car in a Mk2 Escort. They're so bloody controllable at the limit that even after 20+ years of driving literally thousands of cars in all kinds of situations that not much I've driven since has been even close to giving me that silly grin that a well set up Mk2 Escort does every time.

 

I've driven plenty of faster cars, lots that grip better, ride better, use less fuel, are comfier etc etc etc, but the Mk2 is still the car that makes me grin because not much handles better.

[Albert Ross]

One of these.

 

Support vehicle.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Why not a rear-engined Skoda? I 've never driven one, but I've heard many say that the 110R and subsequent Rapid are plenty of fun.

 

A bright yellow one looks lush, too!

[revolting peasant]

[Mr_Bo11ox]

 

 

[eddyramrod]

...And these are just ones I've owned already, that could legitimately be considered Escort competition. There have been others I've had; also large numbers of others I'm yet to own, or even drive, in some cases. I've never "got" Escorts, after the singularly horrible experience they left me with in my learner days. Which is somewhat embarrassing, as now I'm closely involved with enthusiasts building several! Life is poetically cruel...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

 

 

[Negative Creep]

Anyone else getting confusing thoughts about the one in the middle?