RE: Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia | Shed of the Week
Discussion
Mr Tidy said:
That could certainly be a decent buy before it attracts "Old Ford" tax!
My late Mum had a series of Fiestas starting with a Mk1 1979 1.1S, Mk2 1985 1.1 Ghia, Mk3 1994 1.3 "Frascati" and finally a Mk4 2000 1.3 in billy-basic spec.
The one thing they all had in common was that they drove really well compared to their rivals - much better than the Nova Luxe+ she had briefly between her Mk2 and Mk3.
But your specification details look wrong somehow.
SOTW is a 1.4 Ghia so may well have had 80bhp, but it wasn't a 1.3 litre and would have surely exceded 89mph!
Possibly one to look after and use sparingly.
This generation really didn't drive better than its rivals, 205 was far superior, it was at best average in class.My late Mum had a series of Fiestas starting with a Mk1 1979 1.1S, Mk2 1985 1.1 Ghia, Mk3 1994 1.3 "Frascati" and finally a Mk4 2000 1.3 in billy-basic spec.
The one thing they all had in common was that they drove really well compared to their rivals - much better than the Nova Luxe+ she had briefly between her Mk2 and Mk3.
But your specification details look wrong somehow.
SOTW is a 1.4 Ghia so may well have had 80bhp, but it wasn't a 1.3 litre and would have surely exceded 89mph!
Possibly one to look after and use sparingly.
Notanotherturbo said:
Mr Tidy said:
That could certainly be a decent buy before it attracts "Old Ford" tax!
My late Mum had a series of Fiestas starting with a Mk1 1979 1.1S, Mk2 1985 1.1 Ghia, Mk3 1994 1.3 "Frascati" and finally a Mk4 2000 1.3 in billy-basic spec.
The one thing they all had in common was that they drove really well compared to their rivals - much better than the Nova Luxe+ she had briefly between her Mk2 and Mk3.
But your specification details look wrong somehow.
SOTW is a 1.4 Ghia so may well have had 80bhp, but it wasn't a 1.3 litre and would have surely exceded 89mph!
Possibly one to look after and use sparingly.
This generation really didn't drive better than its rivals, 205 was far superior, it was at best average in class.My late Mum had a series of Fiestas starting with a Mk1 1979 1.1S, Mk2 1985 1.1 Ghia, Mk3 1994 1.3 "Frascati" and finally a Mk4 2000 1.3 in billy-basic spec.
The one thing they all had in common was that they drove really well compared to their rivals - much better than the Nova Luxe+ she had briefly between her Mk2 and Mk3.
But your specification details look wrong somehow.
SOTW is a 1.4 Ghia so may well have had 80bhp, but it wasn't a 1.3 litre and would have surely exceded 89mph!
Possibly one to look after and use sparingly.
OpulentBob said:
This is horrible. As soon as the engine mounts are even 10% worn, the engine feels like it's going to jump through the bonnet, terrible condensation magnets, woefully unsupportive seats (look at the photos, 55k and baggy as f***!), crap gearchange, very poor build quality. I'd take last week's Zaf in a heartbeat over this turd.
And they haven't even pumped up the tyres for the ad.
Crush it.
Horrible horrible piece of s
t.
So do you like it or not?And they haven't even pumped up the tyres for the ad.
Crush it.
Horrible horrible piece of s
t. My mum had two of this generation of Fiesta, a 1989 one in Matisse Blue shortly after this model was launched. She bought it on 4th August on a G plate with some life insurance payout money after my father died of Cancer. My parents had had a Metro Moritz which wasn't reliable enough to get my father to Christies every other day as it kept breaking down, so the scrimped for a pre-reg Fiesta Popular that didn't even have a passenger door mirror it was so basic. My mum bought the blue Fiesta to replace that. Someone jealous of the new reg car in an eye catching colour key scratched the bonnet from corner to corner on the town centre car park a few days after she bought it. Especially nasty as although she had a new car, it was in generally st circumstances, but they saw fit to make a judgment and act out of jealousy.
She replaced that with a 1994 solid red one that pretty quickly faded. She'd gone to the dealership for a Freestyle special edition with power steering, but it had run out and she was given a deal on an LX. She was given a choice of white, blue and red and evidently red wasn't the wisest choice.
t circumstances, but they saw fit to make a judgment and act out of jealousy. She replaced that with a 1994 solid red one that pretty quickly faded. She'd gone to the dealership for a Freestyle special edition with power steering, but it had run out and she was given a deal on an LX. She was given a choice of white, blue and red and evidently red wasn't the wisest choice.
A lot of predictable responses in here.
I always quite liked the MK3 Fiesta. Maybe it's because they were popular when I was 17/18, as most MK2s had rotted away by that point. In XR/RS/Si, they looked rather good I thought. While not exactly sophisticated (what was at that time?), they were fun and had plenty of potential. A few modifications transformed them.
As for the CVH engine...*YAWN*. Same old tired comments made by people who have driven knackered ones. I'd like to know which 8v engines of the '80s and '90s were so much better? I don't remember driving any that weren't a bit gutless or felt harsh at high RPM. The CVH wasn't the best out there, but it wasn't massively worse than anything else. It's just one of those stories that has been repeated so many times that it's been exaggerate to the point of parody.
I always quite liked the MK3 Fiesta. Maybe it's because they were popular when I was 17/18, as most MK2s had rotted away by that point. In XR/RS/Si, they looked rather good I thought. While not exactly sophisticated (what was at that time?), they were fun and had plenty of potential. A few modifications transformed them.
As for the CVH engine...*YAWN*. Same old tired comments made by people who have driven knackered ones. I'd like to know which 8v engines of the '80s and '90s were so much better? I don't remember driving any that weren't a bit gutless or felt harsh at high RPM. The CVH wasn't the best out there, but it wasn't massively worse than anything else. It's just one of those stories that has been repeated so many times that it's been exaggerate to the point of parody.
rallycross said:
This era of fiesta (and escort) was one of the worst, they became so much better after Richard Pary Jones joined Ford and refreshed them got rid of the crap models they’d been making up to 96.
Actually, most of the issues with the Escort had been sorted by '92. It's only the very early cars that were a bit rubbish, and then only the base models. Higher spec cars (with PAS) were fine, and the fitment of the 16v engine sorted most of the range out. The facelift in '95 did make them better still, but it was only really the 1990/1 cars that were particularly lacking.Mrs 131 Sport had a 95 ‘Sapphire’ version of this model in 2001. It was in the same great colour that was nice and was well specified with electric windows etc. However the drive was absolutely horrific and ranks alongside my Capri 1.6S as one of the worst cars we’ve owned.
We didn’t keep the Fiesta long as the lure of the Ghia badge had us replace it with a 99 T Plate 1.25 (Zetec Engine) Ghia in Metallic Black.
It was a great drive and with all that Velour Interior, Plastic Wood, Alloy Wheels, Air Conditioning and a Sun Roof it was a great second car.
We didn’t keep the Fiesta long as the lure of the Ghia badge had us replace it with a 99 T Plate 1.25 (Zetec Engine) Ghia in Metallic Black.
It was a great drive and with all that Velour Interior, Plastic Wood, Alloy Wheels, Air Conditioning and a Sun Roof it was a great second car.
This hasn't reached 'classic' status yet and is not in good enough condition.
We only got £500 for our mk2 Focus that was much better than this.
Header says 1.3 but wording says 1.4 in ad.
Those red dot things (locking wheel nuts?) would rule it down on an OCD basis for starters.
These are nice cars but not this one at this price.
We only got £500 for our mk2 Focus that was much better than this.
Header says 1.3 but wording says 1.4 in ad.
Those red dot things (locking wheel nuts?) would rule it down on an OCD basis for starters.
These are nice cars but not this one at this price.
Stoned said:
They can make good power. Mine pictured made 165bhp using a T2 turbo with T25 internals. It's just a shame Ford never gave them a LSD from the factory because even with stock power they were a handful, and not in a good way!
Jon_S_Rally said:
As for the CVH engine...*YAWN*. Same old tired comments made by people who have driven knackered ones. I'd like to know which 8v engines of the '80s and '90s were so much better? I don't remember driving any that weren't a bit gutless or felt harsh at high RPM. The CVH wasn't the best out there, but it wasn't massively worse than anything else. It's just one of those stories that has been repeated so many times that it's been exaggerate to the point of parody.
I'm baffled you can actually type that out.wormus said:
I’ve read you can create a ZVH by putting a CVH head onto a Zetec bottom end. This enables you to keep all the fuel injection etc of the original car, but with a stronger, bigger capacity engine. You can add a turbo for decent power apparently too. Could be quite a sleeper!
We’ve always had Fords in the family and I still love them.
That was quite fashionable for a while, but a bit of a faff as you had to block a few galleries and things. You could get adaptor plates to fit the RS Turbo exhaust manifold on a Zetec head, which opened that option up. Once the Focus RS arrived, that made it even easier to go full 16v.We’ve always had Fords in the family and I still love them.
Last time I checked, the best budget option was to use an ST170 bottom end with a standard 2.0-litre Focus head and Focus RS head gasket. That would give you an engine that could take about 300bhp if I recall correctly, and cost buttons to put together.
GCH said:
Used to pootle about in one of these after passing my test - H plate in silver.
Awful, awful thing.
And the non-original wheels on this one are
I seem to remember that these wheels were offered on the later Ghia. I've seen them on quite a few, so I doubt it's purely coincidence.Awful, awful thing.
And the non-original wheels on this one are
njw1 said:
Lots of comments here (and on the Sierra thread) saying how crap these were/are but wasn't everything from the 'mainstream' manufacturers a bit crap in the 80's?
I've actually got a bit of a soft spot for the mk3 Fiesta as for many years from the early 90's to mid 2000's it seemed like at least one family member or friend had one, the missus had one, my father had one and my mother had three! I found them great to thrash about in mainly because they were so tinny, harsh and unrefined.
Exactly. Other than the 205 driving better, it's not like anything else was streets ahead. The Polo of this era was a fugly thing, and the Nova and Corsa B were hardly precision instruments either. The Fiesta did exactly what it needed to. They sold bucket loads of them, so it was obviously doing what Ford needed it to do.I've actually got a bit of a soft spot for the mk3 Fiesta as for many years from the early 90's to mid 2000's it seemed like at least one family member or friend had one, the missus had one, my father had one and my mother had three! I found them great to thrash about in mainly because they were so tinny, harsh and unrefined.
Powerfully Built Company Director said:
Username checks out, and look at those miscreants at the back of the photo! Chav tastic!
Wow.Drive Blind said:
I'm baffled you can actually type that out.
Why? It was a cheap engine made for cheap cars. I don't remember driving an equivalent Vauxhall or VW with similarly utilitarian engines and thinking, "Wow, these are wonderful!"It's boggo engine for a boggo car, not a Fiat twin cam or BDA.
Worth £1500, I'd say, keep it clean and look after it, it'll be one of those automotive passenger pigeons that one day soon you realise you just don't see any longer.
As a car, I feel the mk4 that came after with the Zerec S engine is a lot better, but I don't like the droopy sad face headlights on those. Mk5 with the updated front end probably the best version of this same basic foundation.
I don't think it'll go up in value fast enough to make it an investment as such, but if you or a family member had one and there's a bit of nostalgia there, why not?
As a car, I feel the mk4 that came after with the Zerec S engine is a lot better, but I don't like the droopy sad face headlights on those. Mk5 with the updated front end probably the best version of this same basic foundation.
I don't think it'll go up in value fast enough to make it an investment as such, but if you or a family member had one and there's a bit of nostalgia there, why not?
Jon_S_Rally said:
Drive Blind said:
I'm baffled you can actually type that out.
Why? It was a cheap engine made for cheap cars. I don't remember driving an equivalent Vauxhall or VW with similarly utilitarian engines and thinking, "Wow, these are wonderful!"It's boggo engine for a boggo car, not a Fiat twin cam or BDA.
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