1987 Ford Escort XR3i
Mercury Grey
106, 000 Miles
Restored to last forever, selling to help with buying our first home.
I have heaps of photos, showing most of the work carried out.
RESTORATION
This car needs nothing, it is ready to drive away and will keep driving for years to come.
- We have lots of paperwork, but most of the restoration work was done at home in the last two years. I've had the car since 2018, it would have been on the road much sooner but my dad's Capri took priority, naturally.
- All bodywork, including paint, was done in 2022-2023. The underside has been sealed and all the suspension components are new, including the steering rack.
- The sunroof works perfectly.
- It starts right away, every time. The engine was compression tested, showing no issues and has had all it's exterior gaskets replaced for good measure. Along with new tappets and lifters. There are no leaks and the car does not overheat, the fan works perfectly. Interior heating works flawlessly.
- It has one modification, the exhaust back box has been replaced with a delete pipe. We have the original back box still, it and the rest of the exhaust (bar the manifold) have less than 200 miles on them. As it is now, it's not yobo-loud, but it does sound very good. The overrun especially.
- The gearbox and clutch are healthy, driveshafts are new, and all the wheel bearings are new.
-All wiring has been reconditioned and everything works except for the directional speaker controller, which did work and has the wiring, but didn't play nicely with the Blaupunkt radio for some reason, so we bypassed it.
- A dashcam has been fitted and will go with the car. It also has central locking, and Bluetooth.
HISTORY
The car is kept in a garage, but is driven often. It's been well looked after in the time I've had it and will do it's next owner well.
- It's had 13 owners, including me. As stated, it's done 106, 000 miles too, but as we didn't buy it to sell on, none of this ever bothered me. We've taken a car with a long, and in some places clearly difficult history, and turned it into something you could feasibly drive every day. If not for the need to start a family, this car would never leave me.
- The car's history shows milage loss, one of these was a result of the clocks rolling over to 0, and one was a result of the clocks being changed for working ones. The milage listed is the cars actual milage, allowing for me driving it a bit from now. The rev counter on the current clocks does sometimes stop working. The signal is reaching the clocks fine, we think the needle itself is getting stuck. Time permitting, this will be sorted soon.
- The rest of the interior is all present and correct, comfortable, and genuinely cool. There are signs of wear, as you can see in the photos. I found replacement's for most bits online, but decided against buying anything as I found it more freeing to not fear taking anyone out in the car.
This car is great fun to drive, it feels especially good owing to the new suspension and drivetrain components. It starts, even on a winter's morning, and runs all the way through the revs with no misfires or dead spots. It turns heads all the time through town, and often sparks conversations when you take it for the weekly shop. People always stop at car shows and seem to appreciate the honesty of the car, it's clearly a car to be driven rather than something to be stored away and taken out for the annual shows.
It sounds as good as it looks too. The exhaust note is deep and has a pleasing resonance, the crackle it gives when letting off never fails to make me smile. It sounds better even than by dad's Mk3 Capri, a fact that annoys him greatly every time we go for a cruse through town.
You won't need to get under this car, nor will you need to pull over at the side of the road, or worry about taking it on a long journey.
It doesn't clonk or rattle, the engine doesn't knock or overheat, the paint and bodywork need no attention beyond the typical weekend cleaning and waxing when the weather's right.
Being inside the car is a joy, it's comfortable, and has a retro charm. It smells great inside, is very clean overall, and has been the place of many long road trip conversations with friends and family.
It's a small car, surprisingly small stacked up to a modern Fiesta, yet there seems to be acres of boot space and legroom. For a time, I had to use the car to get to some band rehearsals, so I can personally confirm that a Marshall 2x12 amp, two electric guitars, four PA speakers, a 12u PA rack, and a 6ft 2in bassist, will fit comfortably inside the car with the seats down in the back. It was considerably slower on the pick than usual though. I can also confirm that people will be considerably more interested in your car than your performance after your set.
I'm not so attached to the car that I wouldn't be willing to negotiate a fair price. Viewings are always welcome, you can see it start cold, and I have no issues with test drives provided your insurance is in place and will cover any damages.
