1.1 OHV Escort, any views? (an update 6 years on!)

I change my oil every 6-10,000 miles. I know some people leave it longer, i know some people just don't! lol

Oil filters are nice and cheap, they don't need espensive oil either just some normal mineral 10/40 is fine an they're easy to do so don't cost much.

The 1.1 escort must be one of the most underpowered cars ever,it was painfully slow back then,the 1.3 would be a much better bet but still pretty poor.
If it were me I'd buy the 1.1 but go and get a 1.3 x flow for it out of an old fiesta as that's a much better engine.

They don't break though as posted above,the 1.3's will do as much mileage as you want out of them with little to no issues other than valve clearances which is an hour at most,sound quiet then.

As for the cvh snapping cams at 60k miles that's total codswallop,I've know a few to only snap their original cambelts over 100000!!!!
Those engines are bombproof as well,I had a 1.4 cvh (which are terrible on petrol) in a mk6 escort early last year and after degutting

Well this is a blast from the past!! I googled what oil i should be buying for my Ford Escort and up popped this thread i made 6 years ago, discussing the idea of buying a 1.1 Escort and being a musician and traveling around the country in it.

I thought i'd resurrect this thread because, i'm a a point where again i'm wondering can i keep this car forever and also... someone might find this interesting.

Between 2012 and 2018.

I never went for the original car and carried on driving my old 1.4 Focus for a couple of years. I figured it would be a bad move swapping a great car for a rusty old Escort.

Then 2 years later some stars aligned and rather than driving all over the place playing average gigs I got a decent touring gig. During rehearsals for the first tour i noticed on eBay what was possibly one of the best examples of a Red mk3 Escort 1.1 3 door (pretty close to my "dream car") that i think i've ever seen.
Realising that i was embarking on a couple of tours for the USA and i might either never have the chance to buy one again (part of me thought i wouldn't want to come back ), i went and made a deal on it for a lot more than i'd have liked and when MOT day rolled around, the amount of rot that was hiding was ridiculous. The waxoyl was hiding everything and the garage that sold it me must have known. At the end of the day bought with my heart and not my head. Now i'm 30 i'd hoepfully make a better decision. 

I decided to get all the welding done or it was no mk3 at all (Cills, Both inner wings, rear valence quarters, 2 small patches inner front wings) so know i was in for double what i started off at. But it looked great!! Plus it was so cheap to insure and i had some money so i kept my Focus for all the big tasks. Thats been the state for the last 4/5 years and its since also have a new scuttle panel and touched up around the rear windows... the garage did a full respray for as much as i thought the welding would be  and now it looks like i'll have to get them to do the floor behind the drivers seat.

Fast forward to now and i've moved from Manchester to London and with that my Focus is on deaths door sat outside my folks waiting to be scrapped or sold for £100. So, now the 1.1 Escort is going to be my main car!!!
In the years of owning it i've learned:
- Its a very practice musicians classic car
- the 1.1 is does great MPG
- it has a manual VV carb, seems ok but would be interested in a weber if i keep the car for longer.
- it isnt that painfully slow and it will go north of the speed limit slightly if you like.
- fairly reliable (only one AA break down i can think of) 

Now I've moved to London and its way more expensive, its finely going to be my only car for the first time!! So i'm going to have to figure out if i can really make this my daily. I imagine my needs have gone back to driving around the country for odd gigs (probably a lot in the summer) or just London. I still tour with various acts which is usually Vans in the UK.

I think i need to keep on top of it more as i left the exhaust to long and it broke while on a show in Oxford on Tuesday. It was a loud 2 hours 60 mph drive home... to cap it off Kwik Fit want £280 for a new pipe and back box!!!!! the local garage who sent me there said they'll have a look tomorrow... fingers crossed.
It also tends to run quite rough and stay on the choke for ages. Changed plugs, lead and dizzy cap last year. Theres an air filter in the post but, maybe its the carb or just needs a good tune up?


Some more recent photos.









Used to have Capri wheels on it.

Nice to see a basic model being enjoyed & cherished for what it is. Keep on top of everything and one day soon it'll be rare;

www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=ford+escort+1100

I'm with you on that. I always liked the basic ones (as much as i love xr3's etc) i always wanted a sunburst red early spec 3 door 1.3... this was as close as i could get. A lot seemed to change on the B-C reg cars. I do prefer the early ones with the chrome Escort badge and the tops of the doors showing the metal, also the dash without the glove box i think is cool, just because you don't see it.
This will do though!


I was checking that out last night. cant quite tell which ones are 1100 Mk2's and if mine is classed as the Escort Popular. i alwasy think of those being the mk4 but on the log book it does say Popular .... still either 308 or 2 left, if its Popular base.

Next on the check list is:
- Air filter
- oil change
- find the leak thats making behind the drivers seat soaking.
- look at the rust thats coming through in that area.

Local garage is fitting and exhaust for half the price of the ridiculous quote i got yesterday.

Fingers crossed i can make it work for me as a daily now.

If it’s a VV then check the diaphragm is not perished or split.

Takes me back to my days as an apprentice when these first came out.

P.

That's lovely, great to see a lower spec one being looked after.

I had one of these, a white W/81 1.1 ohv that i really should not have bought when it was 10 years old and well past it! The state it got into, and the next 2 1.3 Escort MkIII i owned, I'm really surprised to see any have survived.

Will be keeping an eye on this and wonder if you would ever go bigger engine?
All the best,
Geoff.

maybe this could be adapted?

fastroadcars.co.uk/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=60_73&product_id=542