Faults:
My first fault with this car was from lack of maintenance by the previous owner, and it was that the tailgate lock was jammed. This was rectified by dismantling it, soaking in WD40, cleaning off the excess WD40 then lubricating with 3-in-1 oil.
My second fault was the Clutch. This was very stiff, which I did not realize as my previous car (Ford Sierra) had a very heavy clutch. The Clutch was replaced, and now I have a very light clutch. Gear change when cold, from 3 to 2, is very tight. This appears to be quite common with the Mk1 car, so I live with it.
My third fault was also from poor maintenance, in that the engine overheated, due to corrosion on the radiator fan switch, hence the fan never came on. This was temporarily rectified by repairing the wiring, only to find the switch was faulty. So until I could get the car to the garage, I fitted a 30A fuse electrically in place of the switch, and fitted a dash mounted switch in place of the 'fuse box' fuse (located on the under right side of the dash). The garage duly replaced the switch and the fault was gone. Unfortunately this problem led to my next fault.
My fourth fault was that the Cylinder-Head Gasket had to be replaced & the head skimmed. Since then the tappets have been noisy, but this has not been rectified yet.
My Fifth (and hopefully last) fault started as a Petrol leak around the Fuel-Filter. Unfortunately as my Mk1 car was a first registered in 1994, and was one of the early examples into the UK, it had metal fixings to the Fuel-Filter. Once the filter was replaced, the car then had a leak around the fuel-outlet port of the tank-mounted fuel pump/sender unit. This was repaired by my mechanic with combination of a short length of rigid a short length flexible hose. Now no leaks.
