Germany wasn't it...???........but where and were all done in the same place....cheers Pete

 

they were actually made in Genk In Belgium but its classed as a german factory for some reason

 

......Ooo ya learn something new......

 

The Ford factory in Ghent (Genk) in Belgium, operated by Ford of Germany, hence 'German'. All the Cossies were made there, so should all have VINs starting WF0.

 

Was it 100% construction in Genk ? I mean were the cars built from scratch.Does anyone know the paint process as well.I ask this because if I remember right the XR4i had something like 14 different stages of paint<I dont know where they were assembled but was wondering if the sapphire had the same.

 

Well thats answered part,I am slow at typing

 

escorts were mostly hand built at the Karmen plant in Germany

 

when you say where was cossie made you do know the cylinder heads are and were made in Northhampton England.

 

i just wanted to know where and what models but.....if ya like where were all the bits made and then put together.....

 

They were actually made(the heads) in Worcester at(then) a very leading edge casting facility owned by Cosworth, the heads were then brought to Northampton for assembly/machining with rest of engine and all engines hot tested for 10 minutes.
The reason why they were made/cast in worcester is that is where the ATOMIC ABSORBTION SPECTROMETRE was operated by cosworth, to test each batch of aluminium before it was cast.
tabetha

 

What about the shell/doors ? I am not trying to be pedantic??< is that the right word ? I was just wondering about the steel used.Were they standard uk spec/made shells and just treated to a different paint proccess.I know they rot but dont seem to be as much as a standard model which goes back to my other post.XR3/4 cosworth paint specification.Anyone ? ?

 

dunno if i agree with that mate, ive seen cossie shells as rotten as normal ones plenty of times aswell as mint standard ones still driving about now!!

Wouldnt have thought a manufacturer would change a paint process just cos of a model ie cosworth etc!!

 

Yep I half agree with you there but some models did have higher paint spec.Like I put about the original 4i.I just wondered if someone knows exactly what.

 

I have always believed that parts like doors were made at a different factory or metal and lower spec models were built elswhere saarloulis I think?? every wondered why the doors of a saph cossie rust less than any other modal sierra particlularly just under the windows

steve

 

Nothing to do with the metal is simply because cossie are broke for 60% of their lives!as such are tucked away in garages!!

 

bit of boring trivia i was told about a while back
dunno if its true but the guy sounded like he knew what he was talking about

due to a international trade deal set up by the british/german governments in the 80's and 90's
all the german built cars where made with imported british made steel,
and the british made cars were made with imported german steel,
it was a deal devised to to try and help relations between the 2 country's and help with the import/export industry

i was told this a few years ago, it came up cause we were saying that the british built cars(sfa's) (not just sierra's but fiesta'a escorts and transits etc) always seem to be more rotten than the german built cars(wfo's), i was saying that the germans must have used better grade steel than the british fords, the guy was heavily into his mk2 escorts and classic fords, and he is quite knowledgable(sp), so it may well be true

 

Were the early XR/RS range dipped before the cost cutting? They always seem to fair better than later models,I would have thought that the RS branded Sapphires would have been too.

 

Some clever people on this thread.I never knew some of the things that have been metioned.

 

RSs fair better because most of them are only outdoors for 7 days a year

No Sierra RS Cosworth was built at the British (SFA) plant, so they were all treated with whichever processes were used a Genk. Other Sierras in the European range were built at both Dagenham and Genk, but British production of the Sierra stopped some time after 1990 - 91 I think. None were built at Saarlouis. 2,500,000 Sierras were built in total. Production of the Mk1 Sierra continued until 1994 in Argentina.

The engines were put together in Northampton and sent over to Genk to get loaded into a shell at the factory.

There was a thread a little while ago as to the origins of the steel used - I always thought that it was low quality steel that was used in early Sierra production in Dagenham which made a load of early rot boxes, while the Genk factory had higher quality steel, and as the flagship was built at Genk, you'd like to think that the higher quality steel was used.

I think you'll find that the original 4i's were also built at Genk.