Escort Mk4?!

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

They're definately retro in my book. My mate at work has got a base spec 5 door 1.3 which he's lowered and put some fatter, later Escort wheels on. It's got rust issues though.
It's very rare to see them now, that includes Orions. The only ones I do see are chavved up, smokey Cabriolets. The prices of the XR's are mental.

[willowandmikey]

They definitely have a place, as the mk3 become rarer the mk4 will become more sought after. They are a good looking car easier to find as a cabrio down here in the south. Finding a rs turbo , xr or cabrio that hasn't been messed with is hard. I think the estates have huge amounts of win

[stealthstylz]

They'll end up rarer than the mk3 I reckon, the mk3s were a lot more rust resistant.

[johnson]

I'm bouncing about in this at the moment. Great little car IMO
Still on the hcs 1.3.

[Mystery Machine]

Is it really a question of a Mk4 being retro? It's 27 years old!

I've always loved the Mk4 but they are getting a lot rarer nowadays. The Mk3 had a better follolwing from the outset because the RS Turbo and RS1600i were so distinct from all the other models, but the RS Turbo in Mk4 form was less of a statement. Even with the wider arches and 'those' wheels (THE wheel of the era!) they never quite stood out like the sportier Mk3's. To the untrained eye, it could have 'just been' an XR3i from a distance.

This had a knock on effect right down the ranks, and as said by Carl, the Orion was the stand out version more so than the sporty RS! "Sixteen eye Ghia's" were there in great numbers as the hot hatch (and crazy insurance hikes thanks to joy riding/ram raiding/stereo/alloy theft) gave way to more executive looking motors. I genuinely remember when the Orion 1.6i Ghia was more of a status symbol than the RS Turbo! The Mk4 RS was often seen as an engine donor. The S1 RS Turbo never was..it was a classic right from the outset.

It's onlyin the last three or four years that the S2 RS Turbo and other Mk4 models have been seen as anything but donor vehicles or scrap fodder.

Plus, as Matt has said, the dreaded tin worm has claimed more than a fair few along the way.

[willowandmikey]

Johnson like the white mk4 love the wheels , are they hubcaps if memory serves me rightly. I haven't seen a set of those in years. I always liked the 1400 cvh equipe the spoiler and wheels always suited it well

[ben1]

Yeah, they are wheel trims, got a set i picked up from carboot sale to sell, no one wants them though.

[willowandmikey]

Maybe I'm mad but I like them

[ToolsnTrack]

retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=display&thread=97415&page=1



Will be an interesting build...

[johnson]

Yer they are xr3 hubcaps I believe, they are on banded Citroen bx wheels

That red one looks awesome. I'm assuming its got a mk3 lower front panel?

[tri]

Shameless self promotion time:
I like mine, but it's obviously not without its problems. People on here calling them unreliable rustbuckets are missing the point aren't they.. isn't that what this site is about??




^ in its natural state

[RobMorris]

I quite liked my old MK4. It wasnt an RS but a hybrid of Ford.

[markgenesis]

Jan 3, 2013 13:31:06 GMT johnson said:

That red one looks awesome. I'm assuming its got a mk3 lower front panel?

Cheers mate and yes, it's a mk4 shell with a MK3 front panel (done by the original builder), going to be using MK3 bumpers too with Morette headlight housings so it's a bit of a mongrel

Did try changing the whole front to MK3 but the MK4 has a different shape scuttle.

Not really a MK4 anymore, so much has been chopped out and re-enginered.

I like them though, would regard them as retro and well worth saving

[njw]

ben1 said:

We need some pictures:


If that was a four door it would be identical to my first car, it was a 1.6GL and went well until the head gasket let go (then I bought a mk3 Granada ). My main memory of it was the knackered rear suspension, if you had people in the back you wouldn't be able to steer!! ;D.

I do like the look of a base model car, lowered, on a nice set of wheels, I think thats all they need to look cool enough. Stick a cammed, twin-carbed cvh under the bonnet and you've a decent car I reckon.

[njw]

johnson said:

I'm bouncing about in this at the moment. Great little car IMO
Still on the hcs 1.3.

I like the look of this of this one , How does that little engine perform with the bike carbs?

[bl1300]

The mk4 is definatly retro now just park it in a random carpark and see how different it looks to everything else. Id even go as far as saying that the Mk5 is going toward retro now lets face it you don't see that many of them around anymore.

[mattxr3i]

Big fan of the mk4, I have a standard XR3i which I really enjoy driving:





As for the mk5 Escorts, they are already really rare and missed the mark when they were new although the sporty ones are quite good. I have used a Xr3i 130 as the basis for a track car and it goes quite well.

[totti]

[Robinxr4i]

Jan 2, 2013 20:10:03 GMT johnson said:

That's awesome love the XR3i hub caps with that stance!

Anyway I've owned two mk4's both XR3i's IMO great cars, I never found them as rusty or unreliable as many people say they are.

My grey EFi


Can't find a photo of my reg K-jet one at the moment

[kelvfoozinda]

Just sold on my shonky denzil 4 door.