Current cost of fuel.

I had a mini, well 3 actually and the engine noise when you went above 50 was so bad you couldn't even talk to the passenger, not really built for the motorway.

But when I tried out a Vauxhall viva I realised just how nippy the mini was, with the viva it was foot on the floor in every gear and wait for something to happen.

 

I had a couple of Mini's, Viva and a Renault Dauphine which left the Mini's standing........Then a Humber Sceptre plus 4 x Ford Fiesta's.
I think with most older cars you could see the fuel gauge go down while watching the speedo go up

 

My first car was a ford escort. MK3 but with only a 1.3 litre engine. It was rubbish in every way. I remember driving up a steep hill in first gear with my foot full to the floor doing about 10 mph, and my friends made a joke when we passed a 30 mph speed limit sign. The hand brake was ornamental, changing gears was as a mate put it, like stirring a pot of rice pudding, and the body roll on bends was quite terrifying.

The one 'advanced' feature it had, according to the Haynes manual, was it would pump more fuel than the engine needed to some gadget or other up front when you accelerate hard, only to let it drain back into the tank if it wasn't used. Something like that anyway. But I did notice the fuel gauge would drop if I floored it, but then go back up a bit when I eased off the throttle.

Oh. And by flooring it, what I mean is pressing the throttle full to the floor and waiting patiently for the car to lazily accelerate in its own sweet time.

 

I had a mk 3 ford escort and although it didn't stack up to modern cars it wasn't too bad.

It sounds like yours was a fairly clapped out one.

 

It was. It was also a Frankenstein car. Actually when I think back, it wasn't MK3, it was closer to MK4, but not officially mk anything. It was a 'Saphire'.

From what I can remember learning at the time, it was supposed to be a special edition. What that meant is they were discontinuing one of their standard models but had loads of parts left. I'm fairly sure the engine was from the early MK3, because I think the MK4 onwards came with either 1.4 or 1.6 litre petrol options, whereas my thing was 1.3 litre. I think fuel injection and electronic ignition was standard by MK4 while mine still used a carburettor but strangely, had electronic ignition. The interior was more MK4 or possibly Mk5? So it was heavy, but with an earlier engine and possibly earlier suspension.

So it was rubbish. But in fairness, it was a Ford. And what does FORD stand for? Fix Once, Repeat Daily

 

I thought the Sapphire was a Sierra.
Ford used to come up with these special versions at the end of a model run to sell off the old ones before the new model was launched.

 

BP have been charging £1.61p for unleaded since Friday 5th August, within in a few days Asda, Morrison's and Sainsbury's had price matched, except Tesco. Me and the Mrs went to watch, "Maverick" that Friday, Tesco were charging £1.71p for unleaded. Tesco paid out £190 million last year for an outstanding account scandal, so they are probably recouping that.
Locals have been giving the supermarkets the big thumbs down, I don't think it's just fuel. The local Aldi and Lidl stores seem to be a lot more busier than they used to be.

 

Morrisons, 12 bottles of San Miguel £11.50 online, £9 at their garage.
Work that one out.

Looks like rip offs all round in Britain these days.

 

I think there was a Sierra Sapphire. There was also a much lesser known, Escort Sapphire. It was rubbish.

 

Never heard of it.

 

This is nearly it.

1994 Ford Escort Sapphire for Sale | CCFS

But this one has the newer front grill than mine did.

I wish I'd kept it now and stored it. It seems that while the escort sapphire was pretty uncommon, the particular variant I had seems even more rare. I can't find the exact same spec.

 

Never came across one of them, maybe you should buy it.

 

I would, if I wanted to sit in my uncomfortable saggy seat feeling a combination of envy at every other driver, and guilt for delaying everyone foolish enough to not set off five minutes earlier so they didn't get stuck behind the world's slowest car.

I'm not even kidding when I say the day I bought it, I got overtaken by a Reliant Robin on the dual carriageway. To be fair, that was because the clutch was slipping, a common problem on ford Escorts I gather. But even after the clutch got replaced, there was still a few bits that needed doing, like, new engine, new brakes, new suspension, new gear box, new wheels, new tyres, and new badge

 

There is a vintage rally held every year in our area, cars, tractors, bikes, trucks, buses, steam engines, even tools, it's a good day out.

Someone in our area owns the mini police van that was seen of the TV series, "Heartbeat", I actually seen it on the road yesterday. Image below is at the show, not my photo.



There was some really nice Ford Escort's, they will be worth a few quid.

 

I love how at classic car shows there's always a few with their bonnets open. This is done for a good reason. It is for the men folk to pause for a rest while not admitting they're legs are getting tired, while simultaneously convincing ourselves that the women are impressed by our engineering knowledge, as we stare at things knowingly and occasionally nod, as though we understand it all when in reality what we see is, some pipes and wires that do stuff.