RE: Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth: PH Heroes
Discussion
the_hood said:
rallycross said:
ALY77 said:
I do like an old Ford, hence the wife got put in one on our wedding day...
This is why I stopped buying them.
The twin headlights and Azev wheels wouldn't be there were it mine but when your two best men have two shiny fords that fit the colour scheme for the day the cars book themselves.
ALY77 said:
Glad I'm not the only one confused with that post.
The twin headlights and Azev wheels wouldn't be there were it mine but when your two best men have two shiny fords that fit the colour scheme for the day the cars book themselves.
The Azev wheels are certainly easier to clean than the standard "snowflakes"!The twin headlights and Azev wheels wouldn't be there were it mine but when your two best men have two shiny fords that fit the colour scheme for the day the cars book themselves.
RobinBanks said:
There were a few GSi 2000s around too, but you're right that the SRi was most popular. I was very disappointed when the C20XE red top was changed for the X20XEV Ecotec.
Yeah the GSi was a cool non-supercar to have in the nineties along with a turbo Sierra/Escort, Impreza, Calibra, Cavalier, etc. I don't know the difference between a GSi and Sri without googling it, but I think the GSi maybe had the older more powerful engine when the Sri got the newer less powerful engine?! Not sure.Edited by RobinBanks on Saturday 25th October 15:42
I think the GSi Carlton was a good car in the nineties. Someone I knew had a 2.0 Carlton and it was a comfortable, large and quiet car at the time. A cops favourite like the later 'Omega' because of the power and comfort. Also you couldn't really get a better car unless it cost much more. To be honest in the nineties I used to wonder why anybody paid so much more for a 'premium' German car, especially when buying new.
iloveboost said:
Yeah the GSi was a cool non-supercar to have in the nineties along with a turbo Sierra/Escort, Impreza, Calibra, Cavalier, etc. I don't know the difference between a GSi and Sri without googling it, but I think the GSi maybe had the older more powerful engine when the Sri got the newer less powerful engine?! Not sure.
Later SRis got the C2.0XE as well similar to the GSi/GSi 4x4 - around K-reg . SRi 16v with fan blade type alloyshttp://www.gumtree.com/p/vauxhall/cavalier-sri-16v...
Edited by s m on Tuesday 28th October 16:52
Great car the Sapph, if you find a nice one they drive so well and with not a lot of expenditure will keep up with most of the modern warm cars out there today. I owned an Ebony Black 4x4 and then a White 2wd between 94'-97'. After owning various warm cars since I found and bought a lovely clean late Smokestone Sapph running a stage 3 upgrade back in 2011, sold it on to a friend late 2013 and it's hardly turned a wheel since
.
Should not have sold it
. Should not have sold it
My thread is back at last!!
I would love to have one now but would be scared to use it as nice ones are so rare and pricey..
years ago you could get a minter for as little as £4000 to £5000 and a useable one would start from £3500. Now £8000 plus for decent one and a minty fresh standard one will easily commanf 10-15k...
no more a cheap thrill compared to imports but I tell you what this is car with heritage a car that is a bonfide cult classic in every way. 10/10 for me, especially this example is I think its one of only 4 Red ones on a L-reg.. last of the line stuff
I would love to have one now but would be scared to use it as nice ones are so rare and pricey..
years ago you could get a minter for as little as £4000 to £5000 and a useable one would start from £3500. Now £8000 plus for decent one and a minty fresh standard one will easily commanf 10-15k...
no more a cheap thrill compared to imports but I tell you what this is car with heritage a car that is a bonfide cult classic in every way. 10/10 for me, especially this example is I think its one of only 4 Red ones on a L-reg.. last of the line stuff
iloveboost said:
I think the GSi Carlton was a good car in the nineties. Someone I knew had a 2.0 Carlton and it was a comfortable, large and quiet car at the time. A cops favourite like the later 'Omega' because of the power and comfort. Also you couldn't really get a better car unless it cost much more. To be honest in the nineties I used to wonder why anybody paid so much more for a 'premium' German car, especially when buying new.
You've been reading this old Autocar test haven't you! 
I think John Barker and Dave Calderwood had similar debates with their long termers back in Performance Car magazine round 1990
The Sapphire Cosworth was the first proper 'fast' car I ever went in.
It was the summer of 1996, and myself and a few of my cousins were in West London playing football as young kids on the street near my aunt's house..
We saw a chap washing his Cossie, and he was actually using a toothbrush to clean the alloys! We got talking to him and he agreed to take us for a spin. It was a clean white example with black leather.
f
kING HELL was our reaction as young teens and from then onwards we totally understood the whole desire for the Cosworth. At the time my uncle has a 2.0 LX Sapphire and always lusted after the Cossie.
I would like mine in Magenta Red with Raven Leather and RS Alloys Please! I think the balck Recaro leather seats are some of the best ever fitted to a car.
It was the summer of 1996, and myself and a few of my cousins were in West London playing football as young kids on the street near my aunt's house..
We saw a chap washing his Cossie, and he was actually using a toothbrush to clean the alloys! We got talking to him and he agreed to take us for a spin. It was a clean white example with black leather.
f
kING HELL was our reaction as young teens and from then onwards we totally understood the whole desire for the Cosworth. At the time my uncle has a 2.0 LX Sapphire and always lusted after the Cossie.I would like mine in Magenta Red with Raven Leather and RS Alloys Please! I think the balck Recaro leather seats are some of the best ever fitted to a car.
IIRC, that red was a run out affair with very few examples (maybe only 2 or 3) sporting it.
A lot of cossie love from me too, only owned a S2 RST but having driven and been passenger in the real deal...ahhhh maybe one day.
That Carlton gsi brings back memories of my uncle taking us out in his when we were young bloods, switching the speedo to kph and telling us we're doing over 200mph.
A lot of cossie love from me too, only owned a S2 RST but having driven and been passenger in the real deal...ahhhh maybe one day.
That Carlton gsi brings back memories of my uncle taking us out in his when we were young bloods, switching the speedo to kph and telling us we're doing over 200mph.
iloveboost said:
I think the GSi Carlton was a good car in the nineties. Someone I knew had a 2.0 Carlton and it was a comfortable, large and quiet car at the time. A cops favourite like the later 'Omega' because of the power and comfort. Also you couldn't really get a better car unless it cost much more. To be honest in the nineties I used to wonder why anybody paid so much more for a 'premium' German car, especially when buying new.
They were good and I wanted a Carlton GSi 24v soooo much back then, but couldn't afford one. But from the vantage point of 2014 you can see where the extra money went. Plenty of good solid E34 5-series around still, whereas all the Carltons (apart from the odd Lotus) seem to have dissolved or fallen to pieces years ago.
Lowtimer said:
iloveboost said:
I think the GSi Carlton was a good car in the nineties. Someone I knew had a 2.0 Carlton and it was a comfortable, large and quiet car at the time. A cops favourite like the later 'Omega' because of the power and comfort. Also you couldn't really get a better car unless it cost much more. To be honest in the nineties I used to wonder why anybody paid so much more for a 'premium' German car, especially when buying new.
They were good and I wanted a Carlton GSi 24v soooo much back then, but couldn't afford one. But from the vantage point of 2014 you can see where the extra money went. Plenty of good solid E34 5-series around still, whereas all the Carltons (apart from the odd Lotus) seem to have dissolved or fallen to pieces years ago.
I'd bet there are many more remaining Lotus Carltons than M5s as a percentage of the build total, but only because they are more desirable / valuable.
Lowtimer said:
One reason alone is adequate: The Carlton was always a massive rot-box, like most Vauxhalls, with minimal corrosion protection.
I'm not trying to be argumentative (and I'm not a Vauxhall fan in particular ) but aren't 80's BMW's pretty bad for rust as well ? Was the E34 for example a lot better than the previous model, or E30 etc ?
Yes, it was vastly better than the E30 and the E28. It was the first all galvanised shell that BMW did.
Of course galvanising does not last forever, and many show rust now, because they are all between 18 and 26 years old, but year for year they always rusted a lot less than Vauxhalls or Opels of the same vintage. Or Fords, or their predecessor BMWs, which were also from the era before modern corrosion protection.
Very few E34s were showing significant rust after 10 years unless they had been crashed and badly repaired. Most Carltons and Senators, just like my Manta, had holes in them by that age unless they'd had bodywork done.
There days people's expectations are calibrated to different standards for corrosion in cars. My E39 is structurally fine but needs keeping on top if in terms of little spots of surface corrosion. But when you think back to what a 14 year old, 140,000 mile Mark II Granada looked like, there's just no comparison.
My dad's 1969 Fiat 124 rusted through the wings - right through, actual holes - in under two years from new. Our VW Type 2 camper, which we also had from new, needed a lot of welding when it was four or five years old. My 1979 Chevette had significant corrosion by the time I got rid of it when it was six years old, as did almost all of them. It's a different world now, and the E34 was one of the steps towards it.
Of course galvanising does not last forever, and many show rust now, because they are all between 18 and 26 years old, but year for year they always rusted a lot less than Vauxhalls or Opels of the same vintage. Or Fords, or their predecessor BMWs, which were also from the era before modern corrosion protection.
Very few E34s were showing significant rust after 10 years unless they had been crashed and badly repaired. Most Carltons and Senators, just like my Manta, had holes in them by that age unless they'd had bodywork done.
There days people's expectations are calibrated to different standards for corrosion in cars. My E39 is structurally fine but needs keeping on top if in terms of little spots of surface corrosion. But when you think back to what a 14 year old, 140,000 mile Mark II Granada looked like, there's just no comparison.
My dad's 1969 Fiat 124 rusted through the wings - right through, actual holes - in under two years from new. Our VW Type 2 camper, which we also had from new, needed a lot of welding when it was four or five years old. My 1979 Chevette had significant corrosion by the time I got rid of it when it was six years old, as did almost all of them. It's a different world now, and the E34 was one of the steps towards it.
Edited by Lowtimer on Monday 3rd November 13:52
Awesome cars - by far my favourite of the Cosworth variants.
My best friend and I vowed to have Cossie's before we were 25....he went for a white 2wd, and I went for a silver 4x4, both were stage 1 power. I can still clearly remember that feeling of wow-ness when i went to collect my first Cossie and drove it home, one of my favourite memories within my car history actually.
His 2wd was quick and very reliable, however it was involved in an accident and stripped for spares. Mine wasn't as reliable but was still superb fun. I ended up selling it to a guy who was going to use the running gear for a mk2 Escort, but I was delighted to find out recently that he decided to restore it, and is now used daily!
I'm in the market for another now and finding it difficult to find a nice one. I know of a lovely 2wd in grey but persuading the owner to sell it is proving difficult!
My best friend and I vowed to have Cossie's before we were 25....he went for a white 2wd, and I went for a silver 4x4, both were stage 1 power. I can still clearly remember that feeling of wow-ness when i went to collect my first Cossie and drove it home, one of my favourite memories within my car history actually.
His 2wd was quick and very reliable, however it was involved in an accident and stripped for spares. Mine wasn't as reliable but was still superb fun. I ended up selling it to a guy who was going to use the running gear for a mk2 Escort, but I was delighted to find out recently that he decided to restore it, and is now used daily!
I'm in the market for another now and finding it difficult to find a nice one. I know of a lovely 2wd in grey but persuading the owner to sell it is proving difficult!
NotNormal said:
Period road test of the 4x4 Sierra against contemporary rivals can be seen in the following link
http://www.berlinasportivo.com/magazine/alfa/Perfo...
Sierra pitted against Cavalier Turbo, Alpha 155 Q4 and Audi 80E Quattro
This helps to remind me how long I have loved cars and I still have that magazine now, I have always loved Fords but the Cavalier Turbo was a car I lusted after so much and I came very close to buying one on two occasions and I wish I had. http://www.berlinasportivo.com/magazine/alfa/Perfo...
Sierra pitted against Cavalier Turbo, Alpha 155 Q4 and Audi 80E Quattro
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