1979 Ford Escort

[redandbluescb]

In 1980 i had a yellow Datsun sunny rust bucket

[Northcampshot]

Did like my escort, but then realised that there was only one ford to have which was a Capri. Now I loved that car.

[Fuggletim]

Did like my escort, but then realised that there was only one ford to have which was a Capri. Now I loved that car.

My late Brother had a Mark 1 Capri, but got rid of it quickly and got a Mark 3 2000 GT Cortina which he thought was a far better car. I ultimately bought this from him for £1000 in early 1982! Great car and one of our friends had an Opel Manta and those were the best 2 x cars in our peer group! Many a race on the A3 (in due abeyance of the speed limit, of course……) and the rumour we both reached 120 MPH is just a rumour……….

Sold it in late 1983 and alway regretted it. Got burnt out in a suspected insurance job, I was led to believe 2 x years later.

[NorskShot]

Three bananas and a bunch of grapes

( I'm assuming answers that bear no relation to the thread are also allowed)

[Richard Petty]

Did like my escort, but then realised that there was only one ford to have which was a Capri. Now I loved that car.

I always regret never having a Capri, I think they still look great.

I did drive a couple a 2.0 litre which was nice and once, the 2.8 injection which frightened the life out of me, it was raining so the roads were wet and if you took a corner at any sort of speed or made any sudden steering manoeuvre the back shot out and you could easily lose the car. The design was wrong for a 2.8 engine as the weight made the car front heavy and the rear end too light, the 2 litre was the one to have.

[Fuggletim]

Remember going down the A3 one afternoon just down by the Surrey/Hampshire boundary (can’t remember which car I was in) but a Capri 2.8 Ghia x was coming up fast and as they overtook there was a Granada 2.8 Ghia X directly behind it and both were doing about 100 MPH. It was as the Granada came alongside the blue lights and siren came on and I subsequentley saw both cars pulled up in Liphook with the Police talking to the Capri driver!

That Capri and its Granada counterpart were seriously fast cars!

[shots1965]

My first car
Mk1 Cortina

Also drove
2,3,4, and 5

Plus many many other old bangers

Passed my driving test in it ..2nd time
Think the test centre was by the shots football ground
Failed first time in Farnborough

[Northcampshot]

Remember going down the A3 one afternoon just down by the Surrey/Hampshire boundary (can’t remember which car I was in) but a Capri 2.8 Ghia x was coming up fast and as they overtook there was a Granada 2.8 Ghia X directly behind it and both were doing about 100 MPH. It was as the Granada came alongside the blue lights and siren came on and I subsequentley saw both cars pulled up in Liphook with the Police talking to the Capri driver!

That Capri and its Granada counterpart were seriously fast cars!

I know what you mean Tim. I remember going down the A3 from Toloworth after a night of 10 pin bolowing, my mate had a 2.8 Injection Capri, I'm sure we got back to Aldershot in about 30 mins, scared the s**t out of me, they were seriously quick for the 80's.

[Richard Petty]

My first car
Mk1 Cortina

Also drove
2,3,4, and 5

Plus many many other old bangers

Passed my driving test in it ..2nd time
Think the test centre was by the shots football ground
Failed first time in Farnborough

My first ever car was a Mk3 1.6L Cortina in Sebring Red with a beige interior and a beige vinyl roof. I had it less than a year though as I then got company cars, the Escort from earlier posts being the first as a Sales Trainee. I then progressed to Mk4 Cortina's as company cars and went through most trims 1.6L as a sales Rep, 1.6GL as a major account Rep and 2.0 Ghia as a Sales Manager. Wonderful cars especially the Ghia which was one of the last MK5's before the Sierra replaced it.

[Fuggletim]

My first car
Mk1 Cortina

Also drove
2,3,4, and 5

Plus many many other old bangers

Passed my driving test in it ..2nd time
Think the test centre was by the shots football ground
Failed first time in Farnborough

Technically the Mark 5 Cortina was a Mark 4 facelift. It was also interesting in the Mark 3 handbook I had, there was a picture of how to change the bulbs on the rear light cluster, but it clearly showed a Mark 4 cluster. In my brief time with Ford, I was told that a “New” car design often will commence when the previous model enters production and this could have proved the point.

I failed 2 x tests in Aldershot in Pound Road which is about 300 x yards from the Rec (they then moved down to North Lane), before I went down to Chichester and passed there.

[Fuggletim]

Remember going down the A3 one afternoon just down by the Surrey/Hampshire boundary (can’t remember which car I was in) but a Capri 2.8 Ghia x was coming up fast and as they overtook there was a Granada 2.8 Ghia X directly behind it and both were doing about 100 MPH. It was as the Granada came alongside the blue lights and siren came on and I subsequentley saw both cars pulled up in Liphook with the Police talking to the Capri driver!

That Capri and its Granada counterpart were seriously fast cars!

I know what you mean Tim. I remember going down the A3 from Toloworth after a night of 10 pin bolowing, my mate had a 2.8 Injection Capri, I'm sure we got back to Aldershot in about 30 mins, scared the s**t out of me, they were seriously quick for the 80's.

They were scarily fast! In later years, I had a Rover 620ti which was I think the fastest and quickest accelerating car I ever had. I took it to 120 MPH, but it was still capable of more! Gearbox went on that eventually. The garage said that Rover had produced a good bespoke turbo injection engine, but the gearbox had never been designed to go with and came from the standard car.

Still it got me up to Stoke for the playoffs with a new gearbox!

[Turnkey]

Did like my escort, but then realised that there was only one ford to have which was a Capri. Now I loved that car.

I always regret never having a Capri, I think they still look great.

I did drive a couple a 2.0 litre which was nice and once, the 2.8 injection which frightened the life out of me, it was raining so the roads were wet and if you took a corner at any sort of speed or made any sudden steering manoeuvre the back shot out and you could easily lose the car. The design was wrong for a 2.8 engine as the weight made the car front heavy and the rear end to light, the 2 litre was the one to have.

I had a 3.0S Capri, was better to drive in the wet as the engine was lighter, but still a hoot to drive. Some bastard nicked it, would love to have another but a half decent one is about thirty grand now.

[Richard Petty]

My first car
Mk1 Cortina

Also drove
2,3,4, and 5

Plus many many other old bangers

Passed my driving test in it ..2nd time
Think the test centre was by the shots football ground
Failed first time in Farnborough

Technically the Mark 5 Cortina was a Mark 4 facelift. It was also interesting in the Mark 3 handbook I had, there was a picture of how to change the bulbs on the rear light cluster, but it clearly showed a Mark 4 cluster. In my brief time with Ford, I was told that a “New” car design often will commence when the previous model enters production and this could have proved the point.

I failed 2 x tests in Aldershot in Pound Road which is about 300 x yards from the Rec (they then moved down to North Lane), before I went down to Chichester and passed there.

I could be completely way off on this but seem to have a recollection that the European Ford Taunus which was the equivalent car to the Cortina had a different rear end to the UK Mk3 which was more like the Mk4 so the handbook may have been generic for some parts of the car.

[Richard Petty]

Remember going down the A3 one afternoon just down by the Surrey/Hampshire boundary (can’t remember which car I was in) but a Capri 2.8 Ghia x was coming up fast and as they overtook there was a Granada 2.8 Ghia X directly behind it and both were doing about 100 MPH. It was as the Granada came alongside the blue lights and siren came on and I subsequentley saw both cars pulled up in Liphook with the Police talking to the Capri driver!

That Capri and its Granada counterpart were seriously fast cars!

I know what you mean Tim. I remember going down the A3 from Toloworth after a night of 10 pin bolowing, my mate had a 2.8 Injection Capri, I'm sure we got back to Aldershot in about 30 mins, scared the s**t out of me, they were seriously quick for the 80's.

They were scarily fast! In later years, I had a Rover 620ti which was I think the fastest and quickest accelerating car I ever had. I took it to 120 MPH, but it was still capable of more! Gearbox went on that eventually. The garage said that Rover had produced a good bespoke turbo injection engine, but the gearbox had never been designed to go with and came from the standard car.

Still it got me up to Stoke for the playoffs with a new gearbox!

The Rover 600's were a good performance car and well built for the time.

One car that I had that was fast was a Montego MG Turbo, I had that for three years 1989 to 1992, Montego's were a bit old fashioned by then so a lot of people turned their noses up at them but the MG Turbo was a very good car. I got stopped for speeding on the M3 and the officer who stopped me was actually very funny and apart from a humorous description of my driving, complimenting me on my road positioning, indicating and smooth overtaking of other vehicles if only it had not been at 115mph. He than said that he had actually given me longer than usual before pulling me over because he was still suffering from shock that a Montego could actually achieve that speed.

Amazingly even though I got summonsed to court because it was clear I would lose my job if I couldn't drive I didn't lose my licence and only got 6 points and a fine.

[karlready]

My first car
Mk1 Cortina

Also drove
2,3,4, and 5

Plus many many other old bangers

Passed my driving test in it ..2nd time
Think the test centre was by the shots football ground
Failed first time in Farnborough

Technically the Mark 5 Cortina was a Mark 4 facelift. It was also interesting in the Mark 3 handbook I had, there was a picture of how to change the bulbs on the rear light cluster, but it clearly showed a Mark 4 cluster. In my brief time with Ford, I was told that a “New” car design often will commence when the previous model enters production and this could have proved the point.

I failed 2 x tests in Aldershot in Pound Road which is about 300 x yards from the Rec (they then moved down to North Lane), before I went down to Chichester and passed there.

The original Test offices were demolished to make way for the Rotunda estate, almost opposite the Rec, near the Albert Rd. junction. There were a number of small shops along there, including on the High St. corner a bakers, which did a roaring trade pre-match .
I also passed my motorcycle test there, almost injuring the tester when he leapt off the pavement for the emergency stop…