1983 Ford Sierra BASE (Poverty/UN Spec)

[alexrowe2000]

I absolutely love this thread.

I remember poring over the large Ford 'Cars' catalogues that got issued several times a year back in the 70s and 80s. When Ford upgraded the GL to include electric windows (early '89 perhaps?) I'm not sure I'd ever been more excited in my life up to that point.

My Dad had several Sapphires when I was a nipper and I've got fond memories of them. I remember his first, a Sapphire 1.6L picked up on August 1st 1987. We were one of the first 'E' registrations out on the road and you couldn't wipe the smile from the old man's face (getting misty eyed thinking about it). E973 JBK where are you now? I used to sit in it for hours reading the owners manual and getting annoyed it didn't have some of the fancier options the rest of the range had. Still, I remember us marveling over the carpet-lined glovebox. Oh, what luxury!

An '89 Sapphire GL and then a '91 LX followed but none matched that euphoric feeling we had picking up that navy blue Sapphire on 1st August.

I do have a Sierra question that I've never been able to find the answer to and this feels like the perfect forum.

In the *very* early models - late '82 into '83 - heated front seats appeared as an optional extra. These were seemingly abruptly stopped and I was curious to know if there was any other reason apart from that they weren't very popular?

[monthefish]

Benmac said:

....3 door Sierras that weren't Cosworths......

Slightly O/T, but why did the 3 door sierra XR4i have an extra bar across the rear window, when other 3-door sierras (including cossies) didn't?

[Top Banana]

top marks to the OP for some great writing and a fantastic project..

My own Sierra memories are thus..

one of my first company cars was a 1.8CVH engined Sierra, after coming from a 2.0l mark IV Cortina it seemed like something
out of the future..but i remember the CVH engine was as asthmatic as hell, and really did the car no favours (mind you, it did teach me
about how to slide and play around with oversteer in the wet, so it wasn't all bad... )

second 'Sierra' memory is a close friend who bought one of the first turbo-technics XR4X4 conversions...not sure how much power they
came with (and I'm sure most hot hatches of today would blow it into the weeds..) but it seemed like a rocketship at the time, and made a fabulous noise - all V6 warble and wastegates...

Regards - Tb

[DiscoColin]

Speed 3 said:

...It also had full wheel trims like these, but that may have been an upgrade from the "look the other way" parts bin at the Ford dealer he was a mechanic at:

IIRC those wheel trims were standard, but were deleted and replaced not too long after launch. When it came out it developed a reputation for unstable wobbling at speed and the cause was ultimately traced back to those very hub caps.

This thread reminds me more of my first car than the family Fords that dad had previously had though (at various points he had most of the 70s-80s company fleet car classics, including Cortina, Sierra and a couple of Granadas). My first car was actually a Vauxhall Astra, but like this Sierra was a base spec model. That was a C reg and did have a radio (just radio though, no cassette) and front headrests, but no rev counter, 4 gears, no cigarette lighter, no rubbing strips on the side, nasty hubcaps, skinny tyres, cheap plastic everywhere etc... I have a lot of nostalgia for the 1980s base models. It was almost like they went out of their way to try and make it look horrible to try and up-sell to the L while retaining the ability to put a lower price next to "From" in their advertising. As if people literally weren't supposed to buy them.

[TWPC]

Top Banana said:

second 'Sierra' memory is a close friend who bought one of the first turbo-technics XR4X4 conversions...not sure how much power they
came with (and I'm sure most hot hatches of today would blow it into the weeds..) but it seemed like a rocketship at the time, and made a fabulous noise - all V6 warble and wastegates...

Regards - Tb

Turbo Technics Sierra XR4x4 2.8i conversions generated 200hp, 230hp, 250hp or 280hp (twin turbo).
0-60mph in 6.4 secs for the 200hp.

See these links:
http://www.fordpower.org.uk/nik/NikImages/28%20pt2...
http://www.fordpower.org.uk/nik/NikImages/28%20pt4...

[philkermeen]

alexrowe2000 said:

I absolutely love this thread.

I remember poring over the large Ford 'Cars' catalogues that got issued several times a year back in the 70s and 80s. When Ford upgraded the GL to include electric windows (early '89 perhaps?) I'm not sure I'd ever been more excited in my life up to that point.

PMSL at this - i was the same. Electric windows were like Star Trek back then. Had a Sierra XR4x4 in the late 90s, awesome thing. For poverty spec the Fiesta Popular Plus (ooooooooooo!!!! Plus) i inherited from my sister was pretty basic. I replaced it's (off pink) interior with seats from the scrappy so i could have head rests! Thought i was the dogs :-) Great little car

Edited by philkermeen on Friday 26th January 16:45

[shalmaneser]

monthefish said:

Benmac said:

....3 door Sierras that weren't Cosworths......

Slightly O/T, but why did the 3 door sierra XR4i have an extra bar across the rear window, when other 3-door sierras (including cossies) didn't?

This is a good point!

Why is this sierra beards? Is it a facelift thing?

[TWPC]

DiscoColin said:

Speed 3 said:

...It also had full wheel trims like these, but that may have been an upgrade from the "look the other way" parts bin at the Ford dealer he was a mechanic at:

IIRC those wheel trims were standard, but were deleted and replaced not too long after launch. When it came out it developed a reputation for unstable wobbling at speed and the cause was ultimately traced back to those very hub caps.

This thread reminds me more of my first car than the family Fords that dad had previously had though (at various points he had most of the 70s-80s company fleet car classics, including Cortina, Sierra and a couple of Granadas). My first car was actually a Vauxhall Astra, but like this Sierra was a base spec model. That was a C reg and did have a radio (just radio though, no cassette) and front headrests, but no rev counter, 4 gears, no cigarette lighter, no rubbing strips on the side, nasty hubcaps, skinny tyres, cheap plastic everywhere etc... I have a lot of nostalgia for the 1980s base models. It was almost like they went out of their way to try and make it look horrible to try and up-sell to the L while retaining the ability to put a lower price next to "From" in their advertising. As if people literally weren't supposed to buy them.

I also loved the way the Ford marketeers called the least desirable model 'Popular'. Sadists.

The wheel trims were also a key factor in promoting class war in 1980s car marketing. The 2 vent round trims above were for the Sierra L and GL, while moving up to the Ghia got you 3 vents:

[m444ttb]

There's a point in the life of almost every car where it suddenly (re)gains some appeal. In some cases more than it ever had to begin with. When I saw this pop up on the PH front page I jumped straight in to the article. Similarly I was excited to see a base spec Marina behind me in traffic the other day. I wonder, if it's still going by then, my old BMW e36 will arouse similar feelings in weird car perverts in another 10 years when it hits 30 years old.

[Muzzer79]

Lovely, lovely car. The lack of equipment makes it somehow even more endearing.

Back in the day, my Dad had an 'ice green' 2.9i 4x4 estate to which he added a Cosworth grille. I can still remember the factory-fitted graphic equalizer. Fantastic.

There was also several company cars in various specs, from hatches to Sapphires.

My Step-Dad had a red 4x4 hatchback for a time but didn't get on with it - he was a Granada man

A guy who worked for my Dad had a 'D' reg 2.0L hatchback in finest beige coachwork. That had a mileage documented at over 200,000, which in those days was truly starship. It could still drift around roundabouts with the best of them though

When I passed my test, a 1986 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 was procured for me as transport. I still wish to this day that an equivalent Sierra was sourced instead.

[DoctorX]

philkermeen said:

PMSL at this - i was the same. Electric windows were like Star Trek back then. Had a Sierra XR4x4 in the late 90s, awesome thing. For poverty spec the Fiesta Popular Plus (ooooooooooo!!!! Plus) i inherited from my sister was pretty basic. I replaced it's (off pink) interior with seats from the scrappy so i could have head rests! Thought i was the dogs :-) Great little car

Edited by philkermeen on Friday 26th January 16:45

I still remember my first time. A fraction of an inch in a Thema at the Whitley Bay motor show on the links. My first ‘proper’ go was in a knackered 3500 SD1 in my uncles workshop. We had to nick the keys to power them up. God, we were excited by some strange things back then...

[dickieboy28]

Loving this. My grandad had a Sierra 1.6 Laser of a similar vintage. I still don’t know where the Laser fell in the model hierarchy though? I’m assuming it was basically an L with a few added trinkets. I distinctly remember it not having rear seat belts - always felt naughty riding in the back of the Sierra versus being strapped down in my Dads Audi 100 Avant.

[georgezippy]

monthefish said:

Slightly O/T, but why did the 3 door sierra XR4i have an extra bar across the rear window, when other 3-door sierras (including cossies) didn't?

I always wondered that, I thought the XR4i shape looked much better than the single rear window Cosworth shape.
I have enjoyed this thread, so rare for such an utter base model to be preserved. I bought a Mk1 Sierra back in 2005 and they were like rocking horse poo even then.


My 2.0i GLS (rarer still!) having some fun in the snow. One of the few cars I wish I'd never sold, the prices were on the up when I did back in 2008 but I wanted an E30 and couldn't justify both.
I think in my life I've only ever seen one other Mk1 S or GLS (pepperpot wheel covers) on the road, and that was in the 80s. They came with factory fitted lowered and uprated suspension

Edited by georgezippy on Monday 29th January 17:01

[howardhughes]

I'm opening the XO cognac. Bloody well done sir.

'This' is how the real world used to be before all that Paddle shift stuff came along.

[alexrowe2000]

Some great old photos from the Sierra launch brochure back in 1982.

Looks remarkably like the OPs car....

[alexrowe2000]

philkermeen said:

PMSL at this - i was the same. Electric windows were like Star Trek back then. Had a Sierra XR4x4 in the late 90s, awesome thing. For poverty spec the Fiesta Popular Plus (ooooooooooo!!!! Plus) i inherited from my sister was pretty basic. I replaced it's (off pink) interior with seats from the scrappy so i could have head rests! Thought i was the dogs :-) Great little car

Edited by philkermeen on Friday 26th January 16:45

Hilarious isn't it. Such simple times. I used to hate the blanking switches for the fascia light dimmer and variable intermittent wipe on the dashboard and when Dad finally got a GL and those magic dials were in place it was a big day for me.

A remarkable thing that I'm sure we've all noticed is how small these cars look now compared with modern equivalents. I saw a mk2 Cavalier not so long ago and was surprised how low it was

[Martingt4]

Regarding the different body style on the xr4i.
I think it was Ford's attempt to differentiate it from low spec models, it was a high spec performance model after all.
I remember Ian Cullum being on top gear circa 2003 saying that his first job at ford was doing the xr4i and he was trying to evoke the look of the Porsche 928!
As for why the Cosworth used the normal 3 door shell I guess it was for ease of production as they had to crank out 5000 in short order. Plus I think the xr4i windows were considered quite controversial at the time along with the bi-plane rear spoiler and the lower cladding

[LanceRS]

The XR4i had the ‘six lite’ shell to look sporty and differentiate it as the flagship model. It was ditched partly as it didn’t really take off the way Ford had hoped but mostly because of cost.

In answer to the 1.3 question, there was indeed a 1.3 Pinto. A place I worked in at the time had a 1.3 in. Being young and inquisitive, I opened the bonnet and found a Pinto. I was unconvinced until I spotted the 1.3 cast onto the side of the block.

[BFleming]

Sierra stories are funny. They've been lurking in my memory for 30+ years, and it's only reading this thread they come out again.
Brochures - I must have a fair few early Sierras ones tucked away in storage; they're the Irish editions, but then again so was the Sierra back then - manufactured in Cork. Probably assembled there in reality. It closed in 1984. I don't think Ireland got the Irish-built Sierras.
Even in Ireland Diesels were rare, mostly as they were Peugeot 2.3 units and road tax on a 2.3 was massive (still is!).
A family friend bought a XR4i in silver in 1984. A unbelievably rare car in the west of Ireland. He replaced it with a Cosworth, bought brand new in 1986. White, and a headturner!
Other friends has a 2.0 GL Estate in a sort-of brown/beige metallic. A plush car, complete with a manual sunroof.
In 1990 I worked for a company in North London that ran a fleet of Fords; that was my first (and last) drive in a 1989 XR4x4. All I remember of that was it was a G-Reg, white, had air conditioning & a carphone. And it was quick, very very quick! A lovely place to be!

[VTECMatt]

My Dad bought one the red was EWK557Y in Gold, think it was an LS had hub caps with the double slits in, nice car, possibly got a photo somewhere. Pretty sure it had a radio and rear seat belts !

It took a hammering after crashing into the back of Volvo when my Dad was drunk, got let off due to pending divorce and actually this crash brought them back together, 1986 and got swapped for the Sierra Sapphire in Red which was subsequently replaced by Sierra Sapphire 2000E with Cosworth Spoiler. Loved that car until I drove it when I turned 18!