1969 Ford Escort 1100 1.1 petrol from UK and Ireland
Summary:
A fine starter car
Faults:
Bodywork was already rusty when I bought the car, it was 10 years old.
Ignition failed at 67,000 miles.
Head gasket blew at 69,000 miles.
Engine ceased up at 73,000 miles.
General Comments:
For its age, the Escort was a reasonable car.
Just three major faults occurred by the time it was 11 years old and had over 70,000 miles on its clock.
Engine was a bit short on performance, but long on economy.
Interior was slightly cruddy, but fairly comfortable and spacious.
Good value for money at £250 for a 10 year old small family car.
After the engine ceased up, I sold it to a mechanic for £25.
It lost 90% of its value in the space of a year, but that was because its engine was useless.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 16th April, 2006
8th Sep 2006, 07:08
- I also had a Ford Escort 1100 (1971 model) as my first car, purchased in 1978.
- Mechanically it was very reliable, however, it had a couple of significant shortcomings, namely :
1. Lack of performance (not surprisingly) from small 1100cc OHV engine.
2. Very poor brakes - drums front and rear (a friend with the 1300cc version had discs on the front)
3. Water leaked through the front windscreen
4. One day the gearshift lever came out of the gearbox! It turned out that a cheap plastic ball joint fitting under the gear lever broke.
- On the plus side it had good steering and handling - particularly after I changed the tyres from cross plys to steel radials.
- I kept it for 6 years and traded it in at 100,000 miles and it needed no engine or transmission/clutch overhaul in that time. It was an economical car to run.