Fed up with the Golf

Want another blue oval, cant afford another S1 but seen a few nice 1600i's about

Anyone run one as a daily?

I don't go far, probably 5 miles a day, no garage though, parked on road

Ive read the coil packs are problematic especially with damp ect? Fuel pump relays and ecu's are troublesome also ive heard?

Im expecting the odd break down but is running one as a daily practical and realistic?

Ive thought about getting one with a zetec conversion but thin on the ground....

Id even consider an S1 replica if it was really solid

Should have between 4/5k

 

I would have thought £4/5k would get you a reasonable S1 even if it needs a bit of TLC.

 

I ran one as a daily for a while, had a few problems with it though. Best bet if it is running on twin coils is to take them off and keep them somewhere safe and just run it on a dizzy, it's easy to swap over and can be done so its reversable. The coils are impossible to get new and the crank sensors are pretty rare too so I'd whip that off as well.
£4-5k should get you a good one though and the main thing you'll have to keep on top of is rust ect, I miss mine and would get another if I got chance... Great cars!

 

dont do it!

thats a waste of an iconic car!

if your looking for a ford as a daily driver that will be a bit of fun then at your budget you could get a tidy st170.
not a bad car at all and you will get a cracker if you are willing to hunt about and travel to get one

 

Plenty out there for that money but would want to run this as a daily for a couple of years so an S1 at that price the tin rot would be well on the way to a pain in the arse.

A mint shelled replica would tick the box though

 

Didn't realise it was easy to convert too Dizzy..... Thats hope, will have to look into that, Thanks for advice

 

There's a mint replica in the for sale section,think he wants 2.5k for it,it's x plate but never been welded etc and is standard under the hood.
Once you rip the coils of the rs1600i it's only a glorified xr3i and you could get a show stopping one of them for £3k.

Edit:Rs turbo s1 replica.

 

I personally wouldn't bother with one for a daily drive, its still a mk3 Escort so not really that 'nice' to drive and to keep it in good condition without a garage will be labour intensive. The novalty will soon wear off.

I Love 16i's and will have one as a toy if and when my S1 finds a new owner. Imo they are best left as a second car living in a garage as they are also a bit spesh now. The british weather will soon turn it into a swiss cheese.

How about something less criminal as a daily like a Mk5 or 6 RS2000 or if you want something older a S2? Although some of the above 16i points also apply to S2's.

 

my s2 is a daily and i do only about 8miles in total a day.

not bad drive - im rarely in traffic so the paddle clutch isn't too much of a big deal.

 

The more I think the more your right to be honest, I've thought about an S2 but ive never fancied them but they are growing on me, im not in the modern fords so no Mk4 or RS2000 deffo not an option.

My S1 was kept as a weekend car in the old fellas garage but after 4 years he got fed up with lifting the lawn mower over it ect ect and now he's got his garage back he wont part with it (Fair enough he's in his late 50's)

ARRRGHHH why's nothing never simple

 

dont use a 16i as a daily, especially if you have no garage

 

Any car realistically can be used as daily drive! Afterall that is what they were built for. But would you really want to? They are so rare now. If you buy a cheap one its going to have rot somewhere and using it daily will only worsen that till it falls apart. Buying a more expensive one might be rot free, but would you wanna ruin it then?
I'm on my third Rs1600i now, caspian blue. I love the cars, so more unique than the S1

 

lee that is so true

 

Lee get pics up i would never use a old rs as a daily driver apart from the risk of it getting nicked the weather takes its toll on them now at a alarming rate

 

One thing i can never understand is why people want to use an old old car as a daily hack? I hate newer or most newer cars with a passion, but you could get yourself a nice modern reliable mondeo, focus etc for upto a £1500, then id spend the rest on a toy? I know a bloke who runs his own business, earns a bomb, but he potters around in some shitty old mk3 fiesta 1.1.. in a suit and all sorts WHY ? lol

 

MK5/6 RS 2000 - brilliant daily car and with a few mods a lot of fun to drive.

 

Just came back from heathrow airport in the s2,

Luggage + passengers + 30mm springs = extra lowerage

= scrape scrape

Not the most practical if tuned/modded - can still work.

I will end up taking it off the road around april time as I will no longer need it as a daily. Good excuse for more power

 

tbh,id be more concerned you want to park it in the street!......

 

First off to the OP, dont change the coils there is no need. They are perfectly relaible when set up as per the factory supplementary manual

If you put it on a dizzy it will never run as well as it can on the coils

I also noted that running it daily it seemed far more relaible than my friends who holed them up in a grage and in carcoons and used them once a month, they need to be used or things degrade IMO


I had one and ran it as a daily for over two years, then sold it for double what I paid nearly

The ONLY problem you'll have apart from the degredation caused by being open to the elements 365 days a year are

1) Folks taking too much interest in it and stopping your for a chat, all the time, about when they used to have an xr3i
2) Folks wanting to nick it
3) and this is the biggie, getting hold of the rs1600i specific parts that are nigh on impossible to find

Most of the ignition system is not found on other models, altho the fabled sensor lead is the same as a brooklands capri but a tiny bit longer, the K-Jet metering head is 16i specific as are most of the suspension bushes, fuel pump relay, the koni shocks and oddly the wheels!

basically service items are as per any cvh but once you need to do more than an oil change and the filters you can hit problems

Also, if using as a daily you will be more likely to have a bump and then you'll be stuck for bumpers, overriders, lights, spotlights, grille, front/rear spoilers and glass and interior trim

One thing you wont need to do is anything to adjust for using super unleaded, its a straight swap for 4* and it has inserts in the alloy head already, plus by the time any damage had occured ( which would be 100k miles plus ) it would need a freshen up anyway!

Finding somewhere that knows the correct geometry is also a pain in the cunt as well, I had to do a lot of research and trial and error with my local alignment specialist to get it sweet


Overall I did £25k in mine in 2 1/2 years and loved every mile, it never once let me down come wind rain snow and shine. Bit tiring due to the heavy low speed steering, but what great steering at speed.

I loved it and would have another like a shot if I wasnt constantly worrying about it and getting hold of parts. If i had plenty of spare cash to pamper it then it wouldnt be as much of an issue

Oh yeah, i'd suspect mine was turnkey reliable because I totally rewired it when I got it to solve the problems of two imobilisers have been fitted and removed. Most problems folks have are electrics based because of old/shonky wiring


If I wanted a cheap RS daily hack i'd find a mint mk6 rs2000 2wd

Mega mega mega under rated car and a nice place to be if its got all the options

 

Why not just get a mk3 escort and put whatever engine you want in it,

I defo wouldn't put a zetec in a 16i cos it's a little bit special for that, if it was a xr3 it's not so bad, I personally still wouldn't do it but its better than butchering a classic car!

 

From experience I wouldn't. I ran an XR3 as a daily drive and the novelty of it did wear off after a few months. Not a great car to drive everyday and it got alot of attention when parked up which used to worry me. It was infact broken into about 5 weeks of being on the road. I'm now smoking around in a MK6 Escort RS2000 and it's bloody cracking, everything electric, very comfy Recaro seats, everything works and not too bad on fuel either.

 

Just a few here before I bought it mate, Im currently on with the engine bay and some other bits







Got new decals to go on rear as these are incorrectly spaced - annoying lol

 

Just a few here before I bought it mate, Im currently on with the engine bay and some other bits







Got new decals to go on rear as these are incorrectly spaced - annoying lol

 

Looks really good that Lee!

 

yeah good idea, seems a shame to inflict parking dents and scrapes etc on a rs1600i when rs2k's are cheap and fun to drive.

plus i dont think id want to drive a mk3 everyday, fun for weekends, but could get annoying when commuting.

 

this...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1963747.htm

it is also on here in the sale section.

 

I did daily driver in my old one for 2 years 2001-2003 ish .. was fine.

Take the coils off and run a dizzy - better reliability.
Fuel pump relay is a pain as is the ECU but it can all be solved as its very basic shit.

If you get one with decent seats then stick seat covers on them.

Be prepared for those that know to stop you to talk ALL the time and those that don't to ask WTF it is.

Biggest prob with parked on the road and daily is theft - very easy to steel.

 

Cheers Rab!

 

why not? i use my 3 door cossie as a daily drive except for winter and thats painted body colour underneath, just means i need to keep it clean
before my 3 door i used my s2 rs turbo as a daily

i wouldnt want a modern car myself being a mechanic as i know how much they cost to repair and how unreliable 90% of modern cars are, people complain about how exspensive cossies are to repair well they aint when compared to modern vw's, mercs, even mondeos, i know of people spending 1000's just fixing one fault on a ,odern car these days whereas you could keep a retro ford on the road year by year for no more than a couple of hundred quid for repairs if you buy a good example in the first place and keep on top of it

 

the car looks great good job.

 

I bought my RS1600I which was tatty anyway and used it daily and the little problems started to mount up but it is nice sitting in traffic in something old amongst all the modern junk.

as said before though, i wouldnt leave any type of MK3 escort parked on the road as it might go walkies.

 

get a mk1 frs! 5-6k nowadays

 

been using a rs1600i as a daily for the past 4 years!no problems!been using this one for the past 12 months!still on twin coils!great motors!
and its can be yours FOR ONLY 3k!not a minter like lee,s but good everyday user!

 

I would buy a mint xr3 instead no problems with twin coils ect

And along as it's an old mk3 it's just as iconic

 

When I broke my mk1 frs I used my mk3 which is show car condition everyday with no problems,
But now I've fitted a n/a cvh with well over 150bhp and power steering

 

There are no problems with the coils, they can easily be refurbished or replaced with modern ones, a different pickup for the signal and a cheap ecu. Why the hell would you want a dizzy over properly mapped ignition