90s Ford Exclusivity - Orion Ghia Si

[Darren390]

After selling my Mk2 Orion 1.6i Ghia last year due to a divorce, I then only owned my mk1 Injection Ghia which I purchased off Mathewsons last year. Well obviously having only one Orion in my life was getting me down so I started to tentatively look at the Mk3, which without doubt is the least desirable of the 3 versions of the Orion.

Fast forward to early September and while perusing ebay I came across a mk3 1.8i Ghia Si, which sat above the Ghia due to the extra spec. I can't remember seeing any Ghia Si's in the day so I knew it was now a very rare car. From the advert it was obvious it needed some work, but it was booked in for a new MOT before collection so I decided to have a punt and was happy to be the winning bidder.

Due to various reasons, I only collected it last week. After speaking to the seller, who confirmed it should be able to make the over 200 mile drive home, I took 4 trains and collected the car. I was a little apprehensive at the beginning of the drive home and it hasn't had much use over the last few years, but it never missed a beat and got me home. It actually drives very well, and received some admiring thumbs up too! It's had some welding in the past, and will probably need some in the future.

I've now given it a wash and machine polish and given the interior a deep clean. It needs a fair bit of paintwork to bring it up to standard, but if I can keep the costs down it should be a good investment. I even found an original Ford Easy Listenening cassette!

Anyway, here's a few pics.

[StuntmanMike]

I have seen three Escort vans of this vintage this week, must be something in the water.

It looks very tidy, have you played the tape yet? Does it have Brian May on it?

I must say the red one looks stunning, any pics of that?

[A500leroy]

Had one as my 2nd car but by then it was called escort as it was a 95 car, due to the 1.4 engine probably one of the worst cars I've had, but I still think it looks posh for it's day

[mcpoot]

Had an 89 Orion Ghia 1.6i as a company car and it was by far the worst car I've ever owned.

[MattsCar]

I assume that this has 130bhp and the same Zetec engine as the XR3I?

[119]

Had an F reg Orion 1.6i Ghia moons ago and loved it for the time I owned it.

Love reading about old cars like this.!



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[rwindmill]

I had one of these back in 2002. I thought I had got myself a really nice car, but it turned out to be a compete pup.

The fuel tank delaminated and leaked, the panel around the fuel filler cap had rotted away underneath the the plastic trim, the engine temperature sensor failed meaning the cooling fan wouldn't kick in if the car got hot.

But worst of all, if you started the car from cold and then switched it off before the engine had warmed up, you it wouldn't started again unless you towed the car up to about 30mph, and then bumped it.

I had never been so glad to get rid of a car.

Weirdly, I had a D-reg mk2 Orion, 1.6 GL and that was fantastic.

I think those early 90's Fords really suffered from being made down to a cost.

[itcaptainslow]

That early 90's Ford interior smell... I can also hear the central locking just looking at those pictures!

[Writhing]

That looks great.
What does the SI have over and above the Ghia?

[bucksmanuk]

Oh wow, this brings back memories...
In '88, I bought a ’83 1.6i Ghia, which had a standard 1.6 box and then I fitted 14” wheels, so it gave 92 mph at 3,800 rpm (peak torque).
It had a phenomenal appetite for gearboxes (probably right foot related) and plug leads for some reason. Also consumed starters and alternators at a fair rate too. However, it transported me around the UK at high speed for 88,000 miles before I traded it in.

[Nyloc20]

I had a new Orion Ghia Injection as a Company car for three years from 1989. Absolutely loved it, took it to 100k miles with working all over the country and European holiday trips. I wanted to buy it from the leasing company for my wife but sadly couldn’t afford it.

[Darren390]

I'm looking forward to getting on with it, I had an early mk3 1.6 Ghia on a H plate, loved it but always preferred my mk2's. A nice mk2 injection is now £10-15k so this at £1200 looked too good to turn down. Here's my old mk2 I regretfully sold last year.

Writhing said:

That looks great.
What does the SI have over and above the Ghia?

Different wheels, sports suspension, rear spoiler and rear wiper. It's a super rare car now, single figure numbers I would assume.

[WaftyCrankerRidesAgain]

Does this model have the ENORMOUS hazard light button?

[White-Noise]

Was the rev counter in this one optional?

What are the other cassettes you have and can we have the track listing?

I've got a lot of love for an old ford. I owned a sierra glsi extremely briefly years ago, 3 weeks from memory. But I was young and needed something faster. I really enjoyed it though.

[Mr Tidy]

TBF I like your MK2 the best, although those wheels on your MK3 look good.

I started a new job in 1993 and a colleague had a MK3 Ghia Si in Metallic Blue that took us on a booze cruise to France. Boot space was great, but we didn't dare fill it as the headlights would have been pointing at the sky!

At the time I had my last ever Ford, a Sierra Sapphire 2.0 GLSi, so I have some fond memories of Fords from that era.