Ultra rare mk 1 Escort at upcoming auction
Discussion
Touring442 said:
OK. So what actually happened:
Betas suffered corrosion in the (floor mounted) front subframe's rear mountings. No engines fell out, no crashes, no fatalities. You would get a creaking noise under power on/off on bad ones. However, unlike just about everyone else, Lancia acted honourably and recalled anything over three years old to be checked. Their mistake was to not make this an official recall but do it on the sly.
If it was still good, the Lancia dealer would clean it up and fire some Waxoyl type stuff into the box section. If it was rusty, Lancia condemned the car, offered you full book value against a new Lancia and yours would go off to a scrapyard in Somerset to to crushed. Those who weren't there say it was only Series 1 cars; it wasn't. There were 1977/8 cars in there of all types when the campaign ended in 1983. Saloons, HPE's, the lot.
Again, Lancia tried to do it on the sly and they were getting cars trucked in overnight but some NIMBY turd got wind of this and wrote to That's Life upon which that buck toothed hag Esther Rancid got involved with that other bastion of truth, the Daily Mirror running all kinds of 'my engine fell out' bulls
t stories.
The Beta could rot, but no worse than a Cortina. What Lancia should have done is just repair the cars FOC. The repair itself wasn't difficult.
Thanks! That is very useful info and sounds legit.Betas suffered corrosion in the (floor mounted) front subframe's rear mountings. No engines fell out, no crashes, no fatalities. You would get a creaking noise under power on/off on bad ones. However, unlike just about everyone else, Lancia acted honourably and recalled anything over three years old to be checked. Their mistake was to not make this an official recall but do it on the sly.
If it was still good, the Lancia dealer would clean it up and fire some Waxoyl type stuff into the box section. If it was rusty, Lancia condemned the car, offered you full book value against a new Lancia and yours would go off to a scrapyard in Somerset to to crushed. Those who weren't there say it was only Series 1 cars; it wasn't. There were 1977/8 cars in there of all types when the campaign ended in 1983. Saloons, HPE's, the lot.
Again, Lancia tried to do it on the sly and they were getting cars trucked in overnight but some NIMBY turd got wind of this and wrote to That's Life upon which that buck toothed hag Esther Rancid got involved with that other bastion of truth, the Daily Mirror running all kinds of 'my engine fell out' bulls
t stories. The Beta could rot, but no worse than a Cortina. What Lancia should have done is just repair the cars FOC. The repair itself wasn't difficult.
Having owned a number of classic and fast fords over the years and seen many a 'restoration' via club or forum id suggest that very few old cars will be rust free as the restorations on the whole do not go nearly far enough to get rid/prevent it.
If you want to see the detail you need to go to to sort a rusty ford shell have look at RetroPower building Gordon Murray a mk1 escort.......they started with a 'good' shell......and ended up with the roof, chassis rails and inner wings as original by the end
If you want to see the detail you need to go to to sort a rusty ford shell have look at RetroPower building Gordon Murray a mk1 escort.......they started with a 'good' shell......and ended up with the roof, chassis rails and inner wings as original by the end
Legacywr said:
I must admit, my first Mk1 Escort that I had in 85, which was a 74 car, had a very rusty floor pan, I guess that the rest of the car had been resprayed.
My 2nd RS2000, on a N plate, which was bought knowingly with a bit of rust 
......but it was a factory black car, with wood dash and console, factory radio etc., but when I stripped it for restoration, it turned out to be a sieve.....and this was 1984 so 10 years old......even the roof panel had rot in it. The rear panel and bootlid, and the bulkhead/firewall were the only panels on it that were not rotten enough to not need replacing.
Didn't Lancia try and buy back a load of the UK Betas? I used to look after the Mazda press fleet in Staplehurst, Kent and there was a Lancia dealer there that told me something along though lines. I'm sure I heard it elsewhere too, but I couldn't verify it as being fact.
I've had many a rusty 70's BMW though and I recall Escorts, Cortinas and Capris all had their issues.
I've had many a rusty 70's BMW though and I recall Escorts, Cortinas and Capris all had their issues.
I remember being told at college that the rust issues in the 70s were due to inclusions in the metal. It basically rotted from molecular level outwards. The main cause was poor quality control aggrevated by poor industrial relations and lack of investment. Not protecting the outside of the metal didn't help, but the steel was doomed from the day it left the foundry.
Touring442 said:
That was the Alfasud. The rear section of the front wishbone would rot through causing a front wheel to go astray. Alfa officially recalled all Suds in 1985 to have new wishbones fitted.
It could have been an Alfa, it was a long time ago. I remember it being A beta, but i cant find any Thing on google.My late mother in law had a 12 month old S-reg Alfetta, as well as being a pig to start and having a truly awful gear-change needed the screen removing for rust repair before it was two years old.
A bright red, dual side draught carbed twin cam with a rear mounted five speed transaxle from one of the great car makers sounded like a dream especially in the seventies but it was a disappointing nightmare.
A bright red, dual side draught carbed twin cam with a rear mounted five speed transaxle from one of the great car makers sounded like a dream especially in the seventies but it was a disappointing nightmare.
Legacywr said:
I had an Alfetta GTV6, apart from the looks, and sound, it didn’t have a lot going for it.
Certainly sounded decent in “Octopussy”vpr said:
Ziebart
I remember I got hold of a 78 escort Ghia in 84 and the holes that were drilled in the sills for the treatment had rotted to about 4 times the size. That’s a classic case of irony
One of the old Mk2 1300s I bought in the latter half of the 80s ( was about 10 years old by that time ) had been owned by a farmer’s daughter I remember I got hold of a 78 escort Ghia in 84 and the holes that were drilled in the sills for the treatment had rotted to about 4 times the size. That’s a classic case of irony
Her dad had owned it before and told me he’d sprayed the underneath with old engine oil every couple of years. It lived in an open-fronted barn so I suppose the inevitable oil drips as the overspray dripped off wasn’t an issue
Have to say, it was very solid and rust free even when I sold it on a fair while after. We used to buy old cheap ones out the paper to save our nice cars from the winter salt.
Remember swapping out the 1300Xflow for a modded 1600 - also remember swapping some suspension bits over - rear leafs and struts - and getting fairly plastered in old oil! Had preserved stuff well though
In the UK, but my uncle had a lovely bog standard factory 2 litre Pinto Mk2 escort GL 4 door in Australia in the early 80s, that is until he bent it around a rather large tree one night and popped out of the side window with the car ending up a further 100 yards down the road!
Maybe they were a bit overpowered
Maybe they were a bit overpowered
generationx said:
Pinto = overhead cam (camshaft in the head operating directly on the valvetrain)
Crossflow = overhead valve (camshaft in the block with pushrods to the valvetrain)
As mentioned the Mk1 only had a 2.0 litre Pinto in the RS2, the Mk2 used it in the RS2 and in the Mexico as a 1.6 litre. The crossflow went in all the other "non-special" models.
<<edit>> dammit - Aero's answer beat me, and is much higher quality...
Crossflow = overhead valve (camshaft in the block with pushrods to the valvetrain)
As mentioned the Mk1 only had a 2.0 litre Pinto in the RS2, the Mk2 used it in the RS2 and in the Mexico as a 1.6 litre. The crossflow went in all the other "non-special" models.
<<edit>> dammit - Aero's answer beat me, and is much higher quality...
Edited by generationx on Thursday 6th August 08:54
PAUL500 said:
In the UK, but my uncle had a lovely bog standard factory 2 litre Pinto Mk2 escort GL 4 door in Australia in the early 80s, that is until he bent it around a rather large tree one night and popped out of the side window with the car ending up a further 100 yards down the road!
Maybe they were a bit overpowered
Australian RS2000 Mk.2's also came in 4 door versions as well, complete with 4 lamp nosecone Maybe they were a bit overpowered
Legacywr said:
I had an Alfetta GTV6, apart from the looks, and sound, it didn’t have a lot going for it.
It was perhaps off its feed. I have driven a well sorted one of those, and it was great fun. I didn't drive it as fast as this bloke does -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCHzuCeojgo
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 7th August 10:59
1602Mark said:
Disappointed there's been no collection or road test videos yet though.
Covid got in the way and I suspect GM is a tad on the busy side currently ...Callum said in one of his recent walk round videos that they were planning to do an update/feedback once GM had driven it more.
kev b said:
My late mother in law had a 12 month old S-reg Alfetta, as well as being a pig to start and having a truly awful gear-change needed the screen removing for rust repair before it was two years old.
A bright red, dual side draught carbed twin cam with a rear mounted five speed transaxle from one of the great car makers sounded like a dream especially in the seventies but it was a disappointing nightmare.
My first car was a 1.8 Alfetta saloon r reg 1977 bought in 1982 for £595 from Tewksbury auctions. I had it 2 yers and sold it for £465. I still miss that car. Yes it rotted. Yes the gearbox was at times uncooperative. Starting had a knack to it. But it had character, the engine was superb and I just loved it. If I could get another one now I would - red with black interior. Surprised a couple of quick escorts in its day as well.A bright red, dual side draught carbed twin cam with a rear mounted five speed transaxle from one of the great car makers sounded like a dream especially in the seventies but it was a disappointing nightmare.
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