Friday 21st July 2017

Shed of the Week: Ford Mondeo ST24

The pictures may be rubbish, but this Mondeo has been with the same owner since 1998...

---

Oftentimes, a Shed will jump up and down in the PH classifieds like a puppy hoping to be rescued from the dog pound. Other times they'll sit unnoticed in a quiet corner, furkling away to themselves, ignored by all and sundry.

What we can see here looks rather good...

This week's Shed, a Mondeo ST24, is definitely a furkler. We've been eyeing it for a little while now, half expecting it to disappear before we could gather it up into our Shedly corral. Now, its moment in the sun has arrived. Well, the watery sun of Shed of the Week anyway.

Yes, it's a Mk2 Mondeo, and as such a slightly embarrassing symbol of Ford's failed $6 billion attempt at global domination. It's not the sort of car you'd buy in order to make a splash at the Henley Regatta, unless you were thinking of driving it directly into the Thames as some kind of proletarian protest. But this one is an RSAP (Rally Sport Appearance Pack) ST24 saloon, and that's rather more interesting.

There are now about 600 ST24s still running about on UK roads, which is a biggish drop from the near-1,000 that were registered alive in 2015. If you think, as some do, that this model is likely to appreciate in value, you'll want to find a clean, solid example to lay down in your temperature-controlled underground bunker - and this one could be exactly that.

Now, the ST24 is not an ST200. It has 15mm lower suspension than cooking Mondeos but it only has 168hp in its chain-driven Duratec V6, which means the sort of performance (if not the fuel economy) you'd expect from some diesel Golfs.

Lusty V6 still in fine order too

The good thing about this one is the provenance. The current owner bought it 19 years ago when it was just nine months old, and seems to have lavished much love on it in that time. The rich paintwork is either a credit to him or a miracle, depending on your attitude towards Fords. We're inclined to believe the first option. There seems to be a blemish on the join between the boot lid and the offside rear wing, but we're going to put that down to the marksmanship of a seagull or some other type of flying rat.

How many of you, right at this moment, are thinking RUST? Well, maybe you don't need to fret about that because last summer this car had some pretty major rust-remedial work carried out on the rear suspension, seat belt anchorage points and sills in order to get it through the MoT. He did it so you don't have to, etc.

Presumably the owner was a bit skint after that outlay, or has possibly had some bad luck in his life since then (which might explain why he's selling), because the Mondeo has done less than 2,000 miles in the 12 months between last June's MoT and this year's one, through which it gaily skipped with no advisories.

As in 1998. Which probably wasn't great then

Keying a model name into a well known auction site is quite interesting as the Parts section will give you a snapshot as to what bits are likely to need replacing. In the Mondeo's case they're mainly the usual consumables like brake discs and shock absorbers, but things like ARB links and bushes and front lower wishbones pop up quite a lot too. Oddly, despite their amusing reputation for falling off, there aren't that many Mondeo bumpers on there at the moment, or indeed rolls of gaffer tape to fix them on with. RSAP ST24s like this one don't appear to suffer from this comedy ailment.

It's worth checking that the plastic impeller fitted to pre-2000 model water pumps has been replaced. Given the history, you'd like to think it has. There's a syndrome called 'moosing' which is a weird honking noise that generally happens at higher temperatures. The Mondeo Enthusiasts' Group can help with this. Throttle hang is another potential annoyance, and the inlet manifold runner control (IMRC) system has a reputation for melting thanks to its ingenious placement in the engine bay.

Some folk fit EGR blanking plates to ST24s. As every self-respecting PHer will know, probably, the idea of the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve is to send exhaust gases back through the inlet manifold for a second burn, with a view to reducing emissions. Over time however the build up of unburnt fuel and oil particles can clog up the EGR valve and the inlet manifold.

Anyone got a spare Blue Oval?

Blanking off the valve doesn't just stop this clogging process, it often results in a better running and more responsive engine, albeit at the cost of higher NOX output. Not that you, as a self-respecting PHer, will care two hoots about that.

Whether you do that or not, we reckon this fully-MoT'd and welded up ST24 four-door represents pretty good value. Elsewhere on the Internet we've seen an equally clean 91,000-mile ST24 in the same colour at £1,450, and a 4,600-miler perhaps a little optimistically priced at £10,893 (gumph!). So, a bargain really.

A propos of nothing much, when a Frenchman sees a Mondeo, does he think "oh look, there's a Worldo"? Just wondering.

Here's the ad.

Rare ST24 Saloon for sale which is well above average condition.  I have owned the car for over 19 years (car was 9 months old when I purchased it) and still have all the Ford books and paperwork for any work that has been carried out on the car.  Mileage is 93k and I have original keys including the spare master.  Metallic red paintwork has a brilliant shine and is regularly polished using high quality products.   Common problem point with the sills rusting has been dealt with with both sills being replaced to a very high standard.   Interior is in immaculate condidtion with no rips or tears.  Under bonnet area and boot area is in excellent condition which shows how this car has been looked after.  Original ST24 wheels, unkerbed with good tyre tread depth.  All usual extras plus air conditioning and optional sunroof.  Serviced by Ford technician every 6k miles and all MOT's carried out by Ford main dealer.  In all this excellent ST24 (rarer than the ST220) that has been very well looked after. Inspections welcome.

 

[alorotom]

these have aged very badly, the saloon moreso ... never driven one but cant imagine they are inspiring ... this is just very lack-luster to me

and a garage wanting over 10bags for one ... this is not an RS and not THAT desirable for a 'collector' IMHO