XR2s/XR3is in the 90s.
Discussion
The Wife had both an MK2 XR2 and then a MK4 XR3i way back in time.
The XR2 although not fast by any means comparing it today, was an absolute hoot to drive. The XR3i was also good but quite as much fun as the XR2.
Cars of that era although not fast by todays standards gave a very good sensation of speed.
The XR2 although not fast by any means comparing it today, was an absolute hoot to drive. The XR3i was also good but quite as much fun as the XR2.
Cars of that era although not fast by todays standards gave a very good sensation of speed.
MorganP104 said:
generationx said:
MorganP104 said:
From what I can remember, it went a bit like this:
MkIII Escort XR3
Carburettor-fed version of the XR3i. Not as well regarded as its fuel injected brethren, cheaper to buy. Very much a poor man's XR3i, no matter how much your mate Kev tried to convince you that the XR3 had better throttle response.
Nope - XR3 came first, XR3i a year or so laterMkIII Escort XR3
Carburettor-fed version of the XR3i. Not as well regarded as its fuel injected brethren, cheaper to buy. Very much a poor man's XR3i, no matter how much your mate Kev tried to convince you that the XR3 had better throttle response.
MorganP104 said:
MkIII Escort XR3i
The boy-racer car to have in the 1980s. Young petrolheads loved them. Older, more sensible people thought they were piles of crap. This only made the youngsters love them more.
XR3i an evolution of the '3. Different front suspension, different interior and of course the, er, "I"The boy-racer car to have in the 1980s. Young petrolheads loved them. Older, more sensible people thought they were piles of crap. This only made the youngsters love them more.
MorganP104 said:
MkIII Escort RS1600i
Seen as a cut above the boy-racer XR3i, and highly sought after at the time, especially in white with blue vinyls. Something of a modern classic these days.
RS1600i was quite different with different suspension, engine, body trim and interior. Limited run homologation special with sphincter-loosening brakes (in RHD anyway). No blue graphics sorry, either silver or blackSeen as a cut above the boy-racer XR3i, and highly sought after at the time, especially in white with blue vinyls. Something of a modern classic these days.
MorganP104 said:
MkIII Escort RS Turbo
Only the most discerning Essex boys knocked around in these. Seen as being the last word in canine undercarriage to most blokes under 25. The rest of the world (including the motoring press) were slightly lukewarm about the whole thing.
Another homologation special with, again, different suspension, interior, unique bodykit, 130bhp and an LSD. Only built for around 18 months and only available in white. Officially (ref Princess Diana)Only the most discerning Essex boys knocked around in these. Seen as being the last word in canine undercarriage to most blokes under 25. The rest of the world (including the motoring press) were slightly lukewarm about the whole thing.
MorganP104 said:
MkIV Escort XR3i
Starting to look (and feel) like a tart's handbag. Seemed to be favoured more by women than men. Seen as the "soft option". Probably sold more units than the MkIII, but generally less well regarded.
Agreed! Plus, of course available as the ultimate hairdresser convertible.Starting to look (and feel) like a tart's handbag. Seemed to be favoured more by women than men. Seen as the "soft option". Probably sold more units than the MkIII, but generally less well regarded.
MorganP104 said:
MkIV Escort RS Turbo
All was forgiven with the RS Turbo. That badge. Those wheels. The whoosh of the turbo. A proper man's car. Or so most blokes under 25 thought. Everyone else rolled their eyes. Including Tracey who worked down Tesco. She was never as impressed with Wayne's RS Turbo as he thought she was.
Really quite grown-up and much more civilised than the Mk3.All was forgiven with the RS Turbo. That badge. Those wheels. The whoosh of the turbo. A proper man's car. Or so most blokes under 25 thought. Everyone else rolled their eyes. Including Tracey who worked down Tesco. She was never as impressed with Wayne's RS Turbo as he thought she was.
MorganP104 said:
MkV Escort XR3i/RS2000/all models
The Escort had really gone off the boil by the time the MkV creaked off the production line. Only well regarded in the most hardcore of Ford enthusiast circles. Even blokes under 25 shrugged their shoulders and walked off.
The earlier RS2000s were a really good car with a very torque-y, again unique to this model, engine. Also available in 4WD in very limited numbers.The Escort had really gone off the boil by the time the MkV creaked off the production line. Only well regarded in the most hardcore of Ford enthusiast circles. Even blokes under 25 shrugged their shoulders and walked off.
MorganP104 said:
SPECIAL DISPENSATION: MkV Escort RS Cosworth
A shortened version of the Sierra Cosworth, with an Escort body plonked on top. Therefore not strictly a MkV Escort, which means it wasn't crap. It was actually very, very good.
Without question!A shortened version of the Sierra Cosworth, with an Escort body plonked on top. Therefore not strictly a MkV Escort, which means it wasn't crap. It was actually very, very good.
Then and with out question the daddy Gartrac g6 ,rear wheel drive mk3 xr3i.
I worked for Ford in the late 80's and early 90s, and passed my car test while working there. I'd had bikes for years prior to this and obviously had begun to drive Fords when I got the job at the dealer.
I bought a mint 3 year old XR2 in '91, had it for 4 days and a foreign guy in a Lada ran up the back of it in the rush hour on the way home. In the time it took for his insurance to pay out ( 5 months ) I did 27,000 miles in it. The day I got it back from the bodyshop a woman in a Metro at Tescos opened her door into the side of it.
By this time I'd already found what would turn out to be my next car, an '87 XR3I, stolen /recovered with 12,000 miles on it..........the appeal being that it was modified with a Power Engineering 1.9 conversion, Janspeed exhaust and Spax suspension. It made an eye-watering 120 brake at the wheels and it felt pretty quick back then. It managed a laughable 6,000 further miles before it cracked the block, and the engine was replaced with a standard item.
I'd had about enough of it, but it was worthless due to insurance costs going berserk, so I was pretty chuffed when a guy in an Escort van hit me head on when I was on my way to work. They had to cut me out of what was left of it, and the impact broke two bones in my neck, but all that paled into insignificance when the insurance coughed for about 3 times what the car was worth.
I was just about to leave Ford and start at the local Toyota dealer.........I drove a mate's '86 plate Corolla GT Twincam with 108k on it, and it felt like it came from a different planet, revvy, smooth, no rattles or knocks, just a different world. My next 4 cars were Corolla GTIs, and I never considered another performance Ford again. I'm not knocking them especially, but you either had to love them unconditionally, or simply be unaware of what else was out there to buy them repeatedly.
I bought a mint 3 year old XR2 in '91, had it for 4 days and a foreign guy in a Lada ran up the back of it in the rush hour on the way home. In the time it took for his insurance to pay out ( 5 months ) I did 27,000 miles in it. The day I got it back from the bodyshop a woman in a Metro at Tescos opened her door into the side of it.
By this time I'd already found what would turn out to be my next car, an '87 XR3I, stolen /recovered with 12,000 miles on it..........the appeal being that it was modified with a Power Engineering 1.9 conversion, Janspeed exhaust and Spax suspension. It made an eye-watering 120 brake at the wheels and it felt pretty quick back then. It managed a laughable 6,000 further miles before it cracked the block, and the engine was replaced with a standard item.
I'd had about enough of it, but it was worthless due to insurance costs going berserk, so I was pretty chuffed when a guy in an Escort van hit me head on when I was on my way to work. They had to cut me out of what was left of it, and the impact broke two bones in my neck, but all that paled into insignificance when the insurance coughed for about 3 times what the car was worth.
I was just about to leave Ford and start at the local Toyota dealer.........I drove a mate's '86 plate Corolla GT Twincam with 108k on it, and it felt like it came from a different planet, revvy, smooth, no rattles or knocks, just a different world. My next 4 cars were Corolla GTIs, and I never considered another performance Ford again. I'm not knocking them especially, but you either had to love them unconditionally, or simply be unaware of what else was out there to buy them repeatedly.
Downward said:
I had an Orion 1.6i ghia.
Wanted one with an rs kit but they were rare and the ones I saw were bad.
Picked up this mint one.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/BQ42dhHJ.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/1H7A1BOb" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/1H7A1BOb.jpg)
Lowered it and it was good fun. Nice comfy seats and lots of electric bits.
Never did get round to clear front indicators
My cousin, God rest him, had one the same but in black with the RS kit on it. It looked smart and next stop was me putting an rs turbo engine in it for him.Wanted one with an rs kit but they were rare and the ones I saw were bad.
Picked up this mint one.
Lowered it and it was good fun. Nice comfy seats and lots of electric bits.
Never did get round to clear front indicators
Stolen one night from outside a club and found stripped to a near shell up a back road the next day. So that was that.
One thing I'm glad has moved on is car security. The manufacturers needed birching with how poor the locks were back then.
Downward said:
I had an Orion 1.6i ghia.
Wanted one with an rs kit but they were rare and the ones I saw were bad.
Picked up this mint one.
Lowered it and it was good fun. Nice comfy seats and lots of electric bits.
Never did get round to clear front indicators
That looks in lovely condition. Wanted one with an rs kit but they were rare and the ones I saw were bad.
Picked up this mint one.
Lowered it and it was good fun. Nice comfy seats and lots of electric bits.
Never did get round to clear front indicators
A friend's dad had a 1.6Ghia version followed by a 1.6i Ghia. He used to let my friend borrow it on occasion if the cars were 'out of order' on the driveway. Very much the mini exec saloon back then although it used to be a bit tail happy in the wet on the original tyres. I would have liked a rwd one with maybe a YB in as they were quite light and compact and still seated 4 adults OK
I have had my XR3i since I was 19 (I am 34 now) and still have it today - although it is part of my collection rather than my daily drive.
My particular car has never been welded and still goes through MOT's without drama although I am currently replacing bushes as they have deteriorated. Haven't touched the car for a few years and off the road for the last year but I am determined to get it back on the road this year.
WRT the XR3i, I really like my XR3 but I am not blind to its shortfalls. I think Ford should have fitted the rear anti-rollbar off the RS and fitted a 120bhp version of the RS Turbo engine. The mk4(which mine is) was heavier than the mk3 which blunted performance (mk3 was 8.6 secs to 60, the mk4 9.1) I think they should have fitted the RS Turbo engine with 120bhp (maybe a smaller turbo like the Fiesta RS Turbo), which would have made the performance that little bit better and would have brought it up to the middle of the pack. The RS Turbo should have had 150bhp to align with the Astra GTe and would have differentiated the RS and XR still, whilst giving good performance.
The 105bhp in the XR3i was optimistic with the arrival of Unleaded petrol and this is why they feel flat. Ignition timing was reduced from 12 degrees to 8 degrees and with it went the sparkle. I run mine, when it is on the road, with Super Unleaded and 12degrees and it feels much perkier and it pulls a lot better (relatively speaking of course).
My particular car has never been welded and still goes through MOT's without drama although I am currently replacing bushes as they have deteriorated. Haven't touched the car for a few years and off the road for the last year but I am determined to get it back on the road this year.
WRT the XR3i, I really like my XR3 but I am not blind to its shortfalls. I think Ford should have fitted the rear anti-rollbar off the RS and fitted a 120bhp version of the RS Turbo engine. The mk4(which mine is) was heavier than the mk3 which blunted performance (mk3 was 8.6 secs to 60, the mk4 9.1) I think they should have fitted the RS Turbo engine with 120bhp (maybe a smaller turbo like the Fiesta RS Turbo), which would have made the performance that little bit better and would have brought it up to the middle of the pack. The RS Turbo should have had 150bhp to align with the Astra GTe and would have differentiated the RS and XR still, whilst giving good performance.
The 105bhp in the XR3i was optimistic with the arrival of Unleaded petrol and this is why they feel flat. Ignition timing was reduced from 12 degrees to 8 degrees and with it went the sparkle. I run mine, when it is on the road, with Super Unleaded and 12degrees and it feels much perkier and it pulls a lot better (relatively speaking of course).
Looks great.
I regret not buying a pre production MK3 Escort that came up on eBay a couple of years back. It was a genuine Ford MoCo car, in pretty good order throughout. Best of all, it was rear wheel drive with a 2 litre Pinto! It only made about £1600 which I think was a bit of a steal at the price. I'm a bit of a BMW fanboy but had MK2 RS2000's and 1600 Sports for a few years. I love them still. In fact, the closest thing I've had to my current E30 BMW was an RS with Vauxhall 'red top' and 200+bhp. That thing was just so much fun.
I regret not buying a pre production MK3 Escort that came up on eBay a couple of years back. It was a genuine Ford MoCo car, in pretty good order throughout. Best of all, it was rear wheel drive with a 2 litre Pinto! It only made about £1600 which I think was a bit of a steal at the price. I'm a bit of a BMW fanboy but had MK2 RS2000's and 1600 Sports for a few years. I love them still. In fact, the closest thing I've had to my current E30 BMW was an RS with Vauxhall 'red top' and 200+bhp. That thing was just so much fun.
This was my Mk2 XR2 I had in around 1986/87.
I made the foolish mistake of selling a W reg RS2000 for this as I wanted something a bit more modern. Always regretted it later on as although it wasn't a bad car it never quite had the character of the Escort. And of course the values of them now are substantially different.
I fitted the Cibie 35 fog lights, 4 spoke RS steering wheel and the steel wheels with the hub caps as I never liked the original pepperpot ones.
I made the foolish mistake of selling a W reg RS2000 for this as I wanted something a bit more modern. Always regretted it later on as although it wasn't a bad car it never quite had the character of the Escort. And of course the values of them now are substantially different.
I fitted the Cibie 35 fog lights, 4 spoke RS steering wheel and the steel wheels with the hub caps as I never liked the original pepperpot ones.
MH82 said:
If Ford has indeed fitted the XR3i with a 120bhp engine, the XR2 should have had the XR3i lump (think this was the original idea but with the XR2 being really light, it would have really outshone the XR3i)
The xr2 was quite a machine with the Blydestein B+ pack head on it and twin webers. A bloke on my submarine had one and it was a total weapon.Other option was the rs turbo transplant which was a short days work for two lads who knew their way around a spanner. Put a piper cam in it and up the boost before you fire it in and you had a seriously fast car. I never owned any but I helped convert several for friends and don't be in any doubt, not much could get past it. As an example one we did for a lad, his father had a lovely 944 turbo. Ok thats an old car now but it was pretty quick back in the day, and the converted xr2 used to leave it for dead all the way through the rev range.
Good times.
Hainey said:
Downward said:
I had an Orion 1.6i ghia.
Wanted one with an rs kit but they were rare and the ones I saw were bad.
Picked up this mint one.
Lowered it and it was good fun. Nice comfy seats and lots of electric bits.
Never did get round to clear front indicators
My cousin, God rest him, had one the same but in black with the RS kit on it. It looked smart and next stop was me putting an rs turbo engine in it for him.Wanted one with an rs kit but they were rare and the ones I saw were bad.
Picked up this mint one.
Lowered it and it was good fun. Nice comfy seats and lots of electric bits.
Never did get round to clear front indicators
Stolen one night from outside a club and found stripped to a near shell up a back road the next day. So that was that.
One thing I'm glad has moved on is car security. The manufacturers needed birching with how poor the locks were back then.
Brilliant thread, I love reminiscing.
I had a mk3 escort just done up with the RS kit and loved it. A friend had an XR2 which all of our group in the late 90's loved even if it was a little dated by then.
Ford must still own the names and should bring the back just for the fiesta. XR2 sounds so much better than ST for a sporty model, especially now they have an ST line model too!
I had a mk3 escort just done up with the RS kit and loved it. A friend had an XR2 which all of our group in the late 90's loved even if it was a little dated by then.
Ford must still own the names and should bring the back just for the fiesta. XR2 sounds so much better than ST for a sporty model, especially now they have an ST line model too!
swisstoni said:
Ford was really on a roll in those days. Perhaps a little hard to believe now.
I actually remember when I saw my first XR3i - it was red and the wheels with the big holes in seemed a bit outrageous.
They still have the hot hatches these days ( and very popular too ) with the Fiesta ST and Focus ST plus the Focus RS as the flagship. They don't have a Capri like coupé I guess to compete with the GT86 or Nissan 370Z but then market sales in that sector maybe tell you why they don't bother.I actually remember when I saw my first XR3i - it was red and the wheels with the big holes in seemed a bit outrageous.
Some great pics/memories in here - I'd echo what the guy above said though about the Mk4 XR3i - not as hard edged or raw as the earlier Mk3 cars
It was nice to see an early XR3 yesterday - a while since I saw one in the yellow
We had a Mk4 XR3i for a while but it did feel a 'softer' car than the earlier models
However, I always preferred the short-lived RS1600i, with the lovely seats and touch more poke
It was good to see a fairly standard one of those yesterday as well
Plus a Mk1 XR2
Edited by s m on Sunday 21st May 10:02
Hainey said:
As an example one we did for a lad, his father had a lovely 944 turbo. Ok thats an old car now but it was pretty quick back in the day, and the converted xr2 used to leave it for dead all the way through the rev range.
Good times.
That is amazing. The 944 Turbo might be old now, but still had a 250bhp engine in a car that wasn't massively heavy, almost a super car in relation to an XR2.Good times.
I have seen a 944 Turbo uprated to about 350bhp keep up with very capable and expensive modern Porsches which makes it even more amazing to think of the XR2 outgunning one!
It is still the prices that amaze me. I wonder how many people in the 80s thought that the XR2 and the 944 Turbo would both be worth five figures today, when you can buy a capable 200bhp hot hatch about a quarter of the age for a couple of thousand!
kingston12 said:
Hainey said:
As an example one we did for a lad, his father had a lovely 944 turbo. Ok thats an old car now but it was pretty quick back in the day, and the converted xr2 used to leave it for dead all the way through the rev range.
Good times.
That is amazing. The 944 Turbo might be old now, but still had a 250bhp engine in a car that wasn't massively heavy, almost a super car in relation to an XR2.Good times.
I have seen a 944 Turbo uprated to about 350bhp keep up with very capable and expensive modern Porsches which makes it even more amazing to think of the XR2 outgunning one!
It is still the prices that amaze me. I wonder how many people in the 80s thought that the XR2 and the 944 Turbo would both be worth five figures today, when you can buy a capable 200bhp hot hatch about a quarter of the age for a couple of thousand!
Hainey said:
kingston12 said:
Hainey said:
As an example one we did for a lad, his father had a lovely 944 turbo. Ok thats an old car now but it was pretty quick back in the day, and the converted xr2 used to leave it for dead all the way through the rev range.
Good times.
That is amazing. The 944 Turbo might be old now, but still had a 250bhp engine in a car that wasn't massively heavy, almost a super car in relation to an XR2.Good times.
I have seen a 944 Turbo uprated to about 350bhp keep up with very capable and expensive modern Porsches which makes it even more amazing to think of the XR2 outgunning one!
It is still the prices that amaze me. I wonder how many people in the 80s thought that the XR2 and the 944 Turbo would both be worth five figures today, when you can buy a capable 200bhp hot hatch about a quarter of the age for a couple of thousand!
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