One For Classic Car Fans.....

[Illaveago]

Aye them 160's revved like crazy

It was a bit of an Odd Ball. They think it was made up in the parts department from what they had lying around. The frame was the same as the 250's but with different front forks and swinging arm for 16 in wheels. I can remember seeing quite a few of the 350's for sale in the early 70's. I think a chap from Liverpool bought up a lot of Ducatls which didn't sell in America and sold them over here.

 

[Illaveago]

Can Peeps remember the Quasar motorcycle from the late 70's? They were made in Calne. They had an enclosed type body. I can remember the son of the boss of a body shop where I worked spraying several of them.

 

[Profpointy]

Can Peeps remember the Quasar motorcycle from the late 70's? They were made in Calne. They had an enclosed type body. I can remember the son of the boss of a body shop where I worked spraying several of them.

I was aware of them but I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild. Seemed to solving a more or less non-issue (weather protection) by making a quite expensive motorcycle with no other virtue. Wasn't it powered by a Hillman Imp engine or something even worse?

 

[Profpointy]

I don't get fast fords tbh.

I (sort of) get the notion of proper Cosworth twin cams, but not for £60k !

I seem to remember fwd Mk3 Escorts (of the ordinary versions anyway) as being fairly unpleasant cars to drive. The Astra of the same era being a hoot in comparison, even our 1300 works van was brilliant

 

[derrick]

MK1 Escort twin cams drove great.

 

[Drago]

But the likes of the Vauxhall Firenza 2.3 was more powerful, handled superbly, and pre dated the fast Escorts by some years, yet people still get moist over the slower Fords.

 

[Profpointy]

MK2 Escort twin cams drove great.

To be fair the rwd Mk2 was a perfectly good car even with the lowly Kent pushrod engine

 

[Illaveago]

I was aware of them but I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild. Seemed to solving a more or less non-issue (weather protection) by making a quite expensive motorcycle with no other virtue. Wasn't it powered by a Hillman Imp engine or something even worse?

No. It was a Reliant engine and gearbox with a modified gear change . We thought they looked quite smart but dangerous if you came off as there was no way of escaping and you would be carried along with the bike .

 

[raleighnut]

No. It was a Reliant engine and gearbox with a modified gear change . We thought they looked quite smart but dangerous if you came off as there was no way of escaping and you would be carried along with the bike .

There was also the Z 1300 6 cylinder 'Phasars' built by Malcolm Newell, similar to the Quasar but with no roof

 

[biggs682]

Marginally more powerful than the original XR3i ....
View attachment 746391

The early versions suffered with handling issues but Ford soon changed the set up and they handled well from memory.

I bet there's not many original ones left these days.

 

[Gunk]

To be fair the rwd Mk2 was a perfectly good car even with the lowly Kent pushrod engine

You could easily get the tail out with a basic 1.1 Mk2 popular on a wet greasy roundabout

 

[raleighnut]

You could easily get the tail out with a basic 1.1 Mk2 popular on a wet greasy roundabout

Under the new body was basically a Mk2 Cortina, Ford did it a lot with the Capri being another variation on the theme.

They fitted a different rear suspension to the Mk3 Cortina onwards, you could always tell when the bushes were worn cos they had that 'bum wiggle' when stopping

 

[Grant Fondo]

I was never into fast Fords either, but secretly wanted the turbo version at the time. Great ad.

 

[Profpointy]

Under the new body was basically a Mk2 Cortina, Ford did it a lot with the Capri being another variation on the theme.

They fitted a different rear suspension to the Mk3 Cortina onwards, you could always tell when the bushes were worn cos they had that 'bum wiggle' when stopping

I had a Mk2 Cortina; my first car. It was a hand-me-down from my Dad who'd put it aside intending to fix a gearbox fault. Six years later I had my licence so got going again. It handled OK, albeit with poor roadholding, but it was very predictable if a bit slidey. Gripped a lot better with modern radial tyres in place of the East German cross-plies, and better again after I replaced the front struts.

Learnt how to fix cars working on the Cortina. It was to be fair, pretty reliable once I got it going. Don't think I ever broke down as such, though jobs did need doing from time to time. Did some 70,000 miles in it on top of my Dad's 47,000 from new

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I (sort of) get the notion of proper Cosworth twin cams, but not for £60k !

I seem to remember fwd Mk3 Escorts (of the ordinary versions anyway) as being fairly unpleasant cars to drive. The Astra of the same era being a hoot in comparison, even our 1300 works van was brilliant

Or the factory(?) rear wheel drive Escort mk3’s?

I take it the Escort fans have seen/know of ‘Baby Blue’?
Frank Kelly’s rally car in Ireland?
300-350BHP?
Sequential gearbox
Etc….