Escort GT

I have a bit of a long term project in mind, however I need to try and procure a mid 80's Ford Escort GT to move forward. Does anyone have a line on a running and driving version of said beast? Western Canada or Montana to the PNW is preferred. Please and thank you.

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Yes, it's a Ranger.
Xr4Ti, it is rwd and was made in Germany.

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MattP
I have a bit of a long term project in mind, however I need to try and procure a mid 80's Ford Escort GT to move forward. Does anyone have a line on a running and driving version of said beast? Western Canada or Montana to the PNW is preferred. Please and thank you.

They were all crushed 15-20 years ago because that version was a massive horrible piece of shit.

Why those horible ones and not something actually half OK like the next couple of versions?

I mean really--ever driven one? The North American versions? bring me a bucket, I'm gonna vomit.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
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is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I'm going to have to agree here. Nobody "needs" an '80s Escort. Theoretically they are sort of like the UK version but that just means they had shit on that side of the pond too.

Only nice thing I can say about them is they rusted out quickly so people didn't have to suffer for very long.

When I started working on cars for a living, those were still kinda-sorta common. They drove like shit and sucked to work on and it wasn't due to one or two flaws but an overall general shittiness with respect to both design theory and actual production. Cars like that made me think the Rabbit GTIs that were also common were the best small-car ever possible. (They're great, but they have their problems. Compared to an Escort though it's like comparing a new swivel-head Snap-On ratchet to a piece of shit ratched from Marc's in the 80's that you have to hold at just the right angle or it won't ratchet or hold torque)

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2016 08:22AM by Pete.

Pete basically said what I was thinking, sort of.

When I got my license in the late 80's, one of my first cars was an 83' Rabbit GTi. One of my best friends had a late 80's Escort GT. I want to say it was a 1.9 to my 1.8, if I remember correctly. I was already racing in the mini sprints, and being a typical hooligan teenager on the streets and fire roads in our local area. He had no experience at all.

He never could even stay with me anywhere we messed around. Auto-X, streets, fire roads, anywhere. We switched cars one day, and I let him lead, and I couldn't stay with him, while he was driving my car. The car just had no grunt, no gearing, and no suspension. Even stock vs. stock.

Once I started modifying my GTi for track events, he didn't even try anymore. About the only thing the Escort GT was good for, was setting the E-brake, and doing FWD burn-outs.

I will admit however, that the mid 80's GT was a handsome design, for a FoMoCo product.

What about finding yourself a mid 80's Mercury Capri? Beautiful car, IMHO, and you could do a lot with it considering it shares everything underneath with a Fox body.