Dodgy gearbox?

[gasgas]

No it was definitely the Skoda.

I must be one of the rare people who actually liked Fords. My dad would have nothing else and taught me to drive in his Mk2 1600E and I remember later borrowing his Mk3 1600 to go on holiday in my courting days, the gearbox on that was like silk. The only problem I ever found with them was that just about any key from another vehicle would start them.

Ah... Now you are talking. I once had a Mk2 1600E. In Silver Fox. What a lovely car to drive. Its loveliness didn't keep the gerastick attached to the gearbox though. I maintain that Ford invented Bio-degradable plastic, which is what they used to keep the gearstick attached to the box.
Maybe your dad changed his car every two years. That's the only way to run a Ford. Nowadays you will be lucky if your £2,000 - £6,000 Wet Belt lasts that long. Makes the £23 gearstick (because they wouldn't sell you the 50p plastic nut, you had to buy an entire gearstick) look perfectly reasonable.

 

[gasgas]

I rebuilt quite a few of the pre-crossflow 1200 cc Ford engines. With only 3 Main bearings you were lucky to get 40K before they failed. Luckily it was an easy job, just like an adult lego set.

They weren't even crossflow. Were Ford the first to use the expression 'crossflow'? I don't know. Anyway, the fuel/air mix would enter the head on one side and go down into the combustion chamber. Then it would get all confused because it had to stop what it was doing and where it was going, turn a 90 degree angle in order to reach the exhaust valve and then another 90 degree turn out to the manifold. If it was crossflow it would enter the combustion chamber on one side of the head, and go straight aCROSS the combustion chamber and out the other side.
I'll give Ford one credit though. My dad's Mk1 Cortina had what I think was / may have been / was certainly claimed as the first 'Through Flow Ventilation" on a car. Instead of having to open a window, fresh air would enter from under the bonnet and travel through pipes to vents each side of the dashboard. Woopee. Well actually, credit where it is due, it did work. It didn't help a young lad (me) who was stuck to the plastic seats when we went through Germany on a camping trip on a hot summer day.
Interestingly (well I think so anyway) when I bought a new Citroen BX in 1985 I discovered that it did have the 'through flow ventilation' as did all cars, but the fresh air intake was the grille at the bottom of the windscreen. They had cleverly noticed that there is a high pressure point where the windscreen meets the bonnet so that is a logical place to source your fresh air.

. . . . .no. wait a minute. Minis had through flow ventilation, as did all BMC cars, from at least 1959. The air entered the heating / ventilation pipes at the front of the car and went inside the passenger compartment. So Ford, you were way behind with your claims.

 

[trevskoda]

When only the best build a engine in alloy with removable liners and totaly rebuildable & abble to go round the clock over 3 times then i buy.

 

[Robmac]

Ah... Now you are talking. I once had a Mk2 1600E. In Silver Fox. What a lovely car to drive. Its loveliness didn't keep the gerastick attached to the gearbox though. I maintain that Ford invented Bio-degradable plastic, which is what they used to keep the gearstick attached to the box.
Maybe your dad changed his car every two years. That's the only way to run a Ford. Nowadays you will be lucky if your £2,000 - £6,000 Wet Belt lasts that long. Makes the £23 gearstick (because they wouldn't sell you the 50p plastic nut, you had to buy an entire gearstick) look perfectly reasonable.

My Dad's 1600E was Silver too, with a black vinyl roof we had that one for about 3 years until my older brother wrapped it round a lamp post. But yes, generally after that he kept his Cortina(all Mks), Granada, Sierra, Focus etc. for 2 years. He was very handy mechanically though and did all of his own maintenance and servicing.

 

[trevskoda]

All my g dads cars were kept in the garage and never taken out on a wet day, most traded in after 2 years with maybe only a few thu miles on the clock.
If caught out in rain he would come home and jack it up remove all the wheels and dry the compleat underside down with rags before putting wheels back
and letting it down again, plastic seat and door covers were never removed from new, all his cars were hand undersealed from day one.
Granmother used to say whats the point you are only doing all that for the next man, he spent all our money on new cars, total bonkers.