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Post by Gene Hunt on Mar 26, 2021 9:43:09 GMT
The second car I owned was a W reg (DSG 135W) Mk3 Escort 5 door 1.3L in light blue with a thick dark blue stripe down each side and XR3 alloys. Typical boy racer stuff (I was around 19-20). Was a great car and stuck to the road like a limpet. As usual, I seem to be in the minority and prefer this shape to the facelifted one in the mid 80s. 100%. I disliked the facelifted version which came in 1986 I think. My Mk3 XR3i was one of the last of that shape and it was one of the best cars I've ever had. Here it is circa 1991, with the Mrs' shit heap parked behind it.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Mar 26, 2021 11:05:36 GMT
A very nice XR3i that Gene.
Strangely I preferred the Mk3 Escort/Orion over the Mk4/Escort 86 version which came along although I did have a Mk4 '88 Orion from that period as my first car so naturally do have a soft spot for those too.
Still I simply preferred the grills and 'raked' styling of Ford from that period on the Mk3's to the smoothed out stuff on the Mk4's ad other Ford's which emerged in the mid/late '80's.
The Mk4 wasn't too bad in XR and RS trim but Ford seemed to lose it's way a bit when the Mk5 Escort range appeared just didn't look right for me regardless of whether they were good cars or not. Took them until the 1995 facelift to get it sort of right in comparison to what went before it was a bit lost in a sea of similar cars - like today, until the Focus changed the rules in 1998.
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Post by Steve Austin on Mar 26, 2021 21:18:30 GMT
The second car I owned was a W reg (DSG 135W) Mk3 Escort 5 door 1.3L in light blue with a thick dark blue stripe down each side and XR3 alloys. Typical boy racer stuff (I was around 19-20). Was a great car and stuck to the road like a limpet. As usual, I seem to be in the minority and prefer this shape to the facelifted one in the mid 80s. 100%. I disliked the facelifted version which came in 1986 I think. My Mk3 XR3i was one of the last of that shape and it was one of the best cars I've ever had. Here it is circa 1991, with the Mrs' shit heap parked behind it. Nice, it fitted in with Ford's styling at the time with the Granada and Cortina, just a good looking car. Mrs Hunt's Micra brought back memories too as at the time of owning my Mk3, I worked at a Nissan franchise and made number plates up (among other duties) on G & H reg cars. I can still remember the oil filter part number for those too; 15208-01BOO. Pretty sure they had issued with the back boxes which we used to have to fix under warranty.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Mar 26, 2021 21:39:20 GMT
Funny you mention that about the Micra. The back box of that thing dropped off and you'll never guess where..... On the drive at Thorneley Manor.
Gene.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Mar 26, 2021 21:48:07 GMT
That XR3i appears to have died in 1999.
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Post by Steve Austin on Mar 26, 2021 21:49:32 GMT
Funny you mention that about the Micra. The back box of that thing dropped off and you'll never guess where..... On the drive at Thorneley Manor. Gene. Oops!! Couldn't remember if it was the orignal or facelifted Micra, I guess it was the facelifted one They used to rot and fall off as you discovered.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Mar 26, 2021 22:01:39 GMT
That XR3i appears to have died in 1999. Yes. Very disappointing as the car was showroom condition when I sold it. Some rep type chap came and paid cash for it for his son so it's odds on that he thraped the b***ocks off it. It is one car that I wish I'd kept in storage. Funny you mention that about the Micra. The back box of that thing dropped off and you'll never guess where..... On the drive at Thorneley Manor. Gene. Oops!! Couldn't remember if it was the orignal or facelifted Micra, I guess it was the facelifted one They used to rot and fall off as you discovered. To be fair it was a very reliable car. Far far better than the pile of cack Bolly replaced it with - a brand new Vauxhall Corsa. Now that was one pile of shite. Gene.
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Post by Steve Austin on Mar 26, 2021 22:20:18 GMT
Oops!! Couldn't remember if it was the orignal or facelifted Micra, I guess it was the facelifted one They used to rot and fall off as you discovered. To be fair it was a very reliable car. Far far better than the pile of cack Bolly replaced it with - a brand new Vauxhall Corsa. Now that was one pile of shite. Gene. Yes, apart from the back box, they were a good car. A bit basic and plasticky but very reliable, cheap to run and so much better than a Corsa.
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Mar 26, 2021 23:09:19 GMT
When the Vauxhall Corsa came out at first, this girl in the office I worked in at the time was talking about getting one, and just said "Corsa", not mentioning Vauxhall. I'd not heard of them at that time and thought she wanted a Ford Corsair!
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Mar 26, 2021 23:15:13 GMT
Funny you mention that about the Micra. The back box of that thing dropped off and you'll never guess where..... On the drive at Thorneley Manor. Gene. Did you cut a handle of the Wheelbarrow and wire tie it on ? Sounded like a cherry bomb
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