Stolen ford cosworth stories...
Discussion
epom said:
Never actually thought things were that bad, had heard the 'stories'. Seriously though, I still can't believe no one came up with a solution to prevent them from being stolen. It sounds absolutely daft, most likely because it was.
like all fords of the era, they could be opened and stolen with a screwdriver in seconds, most aftermarket immobilisers where very easy to remove since the cars had very small looms (compared to modern cars) and most fitters are lazy and only wired them in a few obvious places on my first car we actually welded a plate behind the lock to strengthen it to stop them using a screwdriver, they just smashed the window >.<
Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Monday 27th January 11:11
One of the London forces had a Cossie that was converted to a trap car which had cctv inside and once broken into would lock all the doors and the smash proof windows to trap the would be twockers inside.
It apparently lasted 2 days before being nicked and was later found burnt out in Liverpool.
A bloke who used to work for my old man had a Calibra 4x4 turbo that was almost as bad. He had that 6 months and it was nicked about 4 times with several othert attempts. It was sold following a lot of pressure from their fleet insurers.
It apparently lasted 2 days before being nicked and was later found burnt out in Liverpool.
A bloke who used to work for my old man had a Calibra 4x4 turbo that was almost as bad. He had that 6 months and it was nicked about 4 times with several othert attempts. It was sold following a lot of pressure from their fleet insurers.
Dave Hedgehog said:
like all fords of the era, they could be opened and stolen with a screwdriver in seconds, most aftermarket immobilisers where very easy to remove since the cars had very small looms (compared to modern cars) and most fitters are lazy any only wired them in a few obvious places
You could even open a Sierra with a 12" plastic ruler as quickly as you could with the key. I locked the keys in mine a couple of times, and did just that.The number of performance cars I know that were driven away under their own power with expensive "approved" immobilisers installed is depressing. As you say, lazy fitters, and in one case, it was strongly suspected that a chap associated with one of the major car security installers where I lived was actually linked to the thefts.
Dad had two Sapphire Cosworths and neither was targetted in the 5 year period that he had both. Ironically, both the Sierra 2.0iS and the XR4x4 he had before the Cossies were nicked. The 2.0iS turned up in Manchester and the XR4x4 did two or three Post Office jobs in Birmingham before being recovered. The XR4x4 was then stolen from its next owner and never seen again. Fast Fords were definitely the weapons of choice in the late 80's and early 90's.
JDMDrifter said:
Here's a quick question, did the Lotus Carlton ever become victim to large amounts of thefts?
Don't think so. Built in very low numbers and sold to rich people who kept them out of sight alongside Ferraris and Porsches. Cosworths were sold to 'normal' people who kept them on the street or their drives/gardens.
TonyHetherington said:
pti said:
JDMDrifter said:
Didn't Mr Clarkson have a cosworth at one point? Allegedly he was quoted £26k to insure it.
Have no idea if there's any truth in this though
Escort IIRC.Have no idea if there's any truth in this though
NotNormal said:
With all these Cosworth's being stolen it certainly makes you wonder about all these "project" cars you see, Mk1/2 Escorts, kit cars etc with a YB installed under the bonnet....
....just how many of those engines came from cars that were removed without the owners permission.
Probably a considerable amount. I was looking through some Sierra Cosworth spares when I was looking at one and noted a number of items like front bumpers selling for £1000 and up! The market for used parts for these cars, and engines being transplanted into other cars, probably holds a few dark and shadey secrets. ....just how many of those engines came from cars that were removed without the owners permission.
I don't know about a few dark secrets.. Id expect that more than half is stolen, whether owners bought it knowing this or in ignorance.
I was heavily involved in Porsche parts in the nineties and I don't believe that the industry would've existed without stolen parts. No matter how hard you tried to ensure that everything that you bought was legitimate, it made little difference unless everyone else did the same.
I was heavily involved in Porsche parts in the nineties and I don't believe that the industry would've existed without stolen parts. No matter how hard you tried to ensure that everything that you bought was legitimate, it made little difference unless everyone else did the same.
As a kid the house 3 doors from mine had a number of Cosworths throughout the years. A Grey Sierra 3dr with whaletail, White Sapphire and then a Purple Escort Cosworth which looked amazing.
The White one got stolen from outside his house, and when the police found it the thieves had stripped off everything. Only thing left was the shell of the car. Luckily the grey one was in the garage. When they got the Escort they kept that garaged as well.
The White one got stolen from outside his house, and when the police found it the thieves had stripped off everything. Only thing left was the shell of the car. Luckily the grey one was in the garage. When they got the Escort they kept that garaged as well.
Dave Hedgehog said:
it would be interesting to know how many died to being stolen, stripped, destroyed by joyriders etc
i bet its a lot
Having lived on an estate in Oxford during the joyriding epidemic of the early 90s, it was heartbreaking to see what happened to the cars that ended up being "displayed" in our neck of the woods. 6 month old cars entered the estate as minters, and were write-offs 30 minutes later. i bet its a lot
Cosworths, XRs, Vauxhall SRI and GTEs, VW and Peugeot GTIs, MG Maestros/Montegos - all were fair game. Driven way beyond anything any engine, transmission or tyre designer would ever have envisaged, until something inevitably failed or there was an accident. It would then be vandalised / rolled over / burnt.
Extrapolated across the country, it is easy to see how this kind of activity must have had a marked impact on the numbers of these kind of cars left today.
Edited by Limpet on Monday 27th January 12:16
Limpet said:
Having lived on an estate in Oxford during the joyriding epidemic of the early 90s, it was heartbreaking to see what happened to the cars that ended up being "displayed" in our neck of the woods. 6 month old cars entered the estate as minters, and were write-offs 30 minutes later.
Blackbird Leys estate? It often featured on the evening news for the aboveepom said:
Never actually thought things were that bad, had heard the 'stories'. Seriously though, I still can't believe no one came up with a solution to prevent them from being stolen. It sounds absolutely daft, most likely because it was.
It is absolutely ridiculous, but the Ford Cosworths attracted the most determined of thieves, the likes of which have never been seen again. Usually they were just stealing to joyride and then destroy the car. A mate of mine was on the vehicle crime unit of the local police force in the late 90's and early 00's and even then, they were still following up leads that led to stolen Cosworths; lockups full of stolen parts and stripped out shells from cars stolen a decade previously. Things have changed massively now though. Most of the Cosworths are gone, and the joyriders prefer 125cc motorbikes and small scooters, knowing that as long as they don't stop they'll probably never get caught as the police won't even attempt to follow them.
Roman Moroni said:
Many years ago there was a story (apparently true) where a guy had his Cosworth stolen from his drive way, fortunately it had a Tracker fitted. It was found very quickly, nearby, and subsequently returned to it's rightful owner.
Within a day or 2 the owner went outside, to find the car gone and in it's place was the Tracker unit. The car was never seen again.
Like I said it maybe true and could well be an urban myth.
Very possible. A mate of mine left his Orion Ghia Injection (sort of XR3 saloon) in the station car park, and came back to find just the alarm and immobiliser in its place. They were just fitted under the bonnet, so the crooks simply ripped it out and dropped it.Within a day or 2 the owner went outside, to find the car gone and in it's place was the Tracker unit. The car was never seen again.
Like I said it maybe true and could well be an urban myth.
It was a bad time for owning any performance saloon/hatch. My Astra GTE was stolen in broad daylight while I sat 6 ft from it in my living room. It was off the road for a couple of weeks so I'd removed the rotor arm, but it still got taken. The car was never recovered.
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