I need to buy a new car badly, the car im driving at the mo is dying quickly so its time for change before it gets past selling point. Im looking into buying an escort gti,
My first question is i have seen 1 or 2 1.6 gti, did the gti genuinly come as a 1.6 and 1.8 or is someone pulling a fast one, they were clearly described as a gti and not si.

Whats the main checking points when buying one,

also whats the power spec on the 1.6gti if there is one.?

 

Always thought GTi was 1.8 115PS

 

Gti's are 1.8 only arn't they so are Si
Look out for rust holes above the back box area on the chassis

 

Nope they did do an early mk6 1.6 baged as a gti, no rs2k or spats or half leathers tho with a 90ps 1.6 zetec as found in any other escort

 

Si's also come in a 1.6

 

1.8 as said rear chassis legs back arches boot floor front wishbones high and or erratic idle which points to idle speed control valve iscv maf airflow meters can occasionally be a cunt too and can be hard to pin point depending on how they fail trust me lol

 

Check

Rear arches
Battery tray
Rear chassis rails
Sills as the side skirts can hide a lot

Generally though they are a good little car

 

check A pillers for rust and battery tray,floor and rear chasis rails,fuse boxes can be a pain and often go tits up,iscv also go wrong but are a cheap and easy fix.RUST as stated is the biggest pain
cheeRS gary
AKA shrek

 

Owned and broke mk6 escorts for years, as a rule always go for 3 door models as there are so many 5 door ones about the prices are rubbish, apart from whats said above check clutch and drive it as these suffer bad with wishbone wear and rear handbrakes often sieze too, also pull boot carpets up as these are prone to leaking,No1 killer of these cars is rust, they will never set the world on fire with performance as they are simply a normal escort with a body kit and and half leathers fitted but can make decent rs2k reps

 

I fail to believe that.Any evidence of these cars?

 

check for rust between the front bumper and back bumper lol they rot like fuck mk5 and mk6 escorts

 

fail to believe that all you like mate its the truth, I've owned both, the 1.6 was a 96 model and I've had 2 1.8s on a 98, I've also had a 1.8 si and my mum had the 1.6 si both at the same time on the same year, im not telling you what I believe to be TRUE im telling you what I know

 

Ford didn't make a 1.6 gti,they made a 1.6 si.I owned one of them and i later owned a 1.8 si.

The 1.8 si is the same running gear as the gti just no kit or half leathers.

Are you sure someone didn't just stick a gti badge on it?

 

No mate they definatly did a 1.6, the logbook even stated so, I also know this to be true as I learned to drive in one, they may be rare but they do exist, I believe they badges them as a cabaret after the 1.8 one was released

 

according to all the info the gti came out in 1997 and is a 1.8.so you having a 1996 gti with a 1.6 does seem to be a bit odd
cheeRS gary

 

I can assure you turbocabessex is 100'% correct, I have had a couple of these to break over the years, the spec of these early ones were terrible with no half leathers no body kit and not even a fogged front bumper and the one I had event had wind up front windows and a 1.6 engine, it stated gti on the v5 and ford at the time simply thought by adding the gti badge would generate sales and needless to say it failed hence why the gti as you know it now is a poor copy of the rs2000 with a gutless 115ps zetec instead of a 150hp I4 engine

 

been doing a search and all i could find was this
The last "standard" model to be introduced in 1997 was the GTi — the only GTi-badged Ford to ever be sold in Europe. This used the same existing 115 PS (85 kW) 1.8 L Zetec-E engine found in other cars in the range, but included a body kit borrowed from the now cancelled RS2000 model, part-leather seats plus the standard fitment of ABS. The GTi was available in 3- and 5-door hatchback and estate bodystyles
cheeRS gary

 

they did exist for definate and to get hold of one of the very early gti models is way rarer than getting hold on the gti that most of you know today

 

Cheers 1pd
what is written Gary Is a bit misleading tbh,
If you look hard you will find one somewhere

 

no thanks needed mate as you were spot on, anyone that is up on their ford history especially the mk6 escort knows all about these, even wikipedia dont mention it

 

I've had more mk6 escorts than I care to remember, bar 2 vauxhalls I've only ever had fords

 

the thing is most would have bought that terrible version and thought the gti bit was a joke and simply thought ford made a cock up on the V5, as some lx versions had better spec,

 

they say you learn something new every day and today i have lol
cheeRS gary

 

The gti badges also looked like they had been stolen off a mk2 golf lol

 

this is why ford based websites like us exist, full of know it alls

 

a few years ago i had a mk6 rs2000 which was good and at the same time my cousin had the mk6 mexico which too was a 1.6i, imo it's a really under powered car the 1.6i, dont do it, at least get the 1.8

 

There we go then.I know they did a Mexico which was a pile of shit,never ever seen or heard of a 1.6 gti though.

 

There good little cars mate. Slow as shit though but I have had four of them.
As said above rust rust and more rust.
I picked up my latest one for 700 bucks
Genuine 43k with all old mots service history etc same owner since 1998 had a few small patches on the chassis legs but nothing major

 

Learn something new everyday as I wasn't aware of the 1.6 GTi, knew about the Mexico though.

Don't bother with the 1600 Zetec though mate it's a steaming turd of an engine.

This is the GTi my brother has been building for his missus. Although he drives it now and she drives his M3.... Hmmm



And with its nice Focus ST170 motor

 

I met your bro and his misses 4-5 years ago(at a guess) when i had my GTi and i had a drive of hers as it had been chipped so wanted to see what difference it made.
Im guessing the ST engine went in because the Zetec died? my head gasket went a week AFTER selling it(3 years ago) glad i sold it when i did To be fair it was a good reliable motor for the 2 years i was running it

And on topic, i thought they only did the GTi in a 1.8 and then the Si was 1.6 and 1.8, that was my understanding but to be honest who cares, theres hardly any difference driving the two(standard anyhow)

 

Engine was strong as an ox when it came out, was also running Piper cams and a few other bits to make a genuine 150bhp. You know what it's like, always on the hunt for a bit more. lol. Mate of ours had an ST170 for breaking and half a joke comment soon turned into an engine sitting in my mums garage and a long list of headaches to make the bugger fit as she didn't want to lose the aircon.

 

Sounds like a woman yeah

Ive got air con in the civic, i havent used it once in 3 years

 

Not sure it's been used much since it all went together actually. Mind you we've only had 3 days of sunshine this Summer.

To be fair to her I wouldn't like to lose something like that as the car came with it.

 

I saw a 1.6 gti for sale a few months back on ebay thought it must have been a mistake as theyre 1.8s but obviously not lol...

My mates had a 3dr and 5dr in blue and they were both pretty fun cars.. id like one myself to put a 2.0 in it,, but even with the 1.8 insurance companies will want my legs as a deposit

 

most of the early sh1tty gti models were on P plates or early R, then the bigwigs at Ford realised it was a bad move and added all the rs2k stuff to make it look like the gti that most of you know today

 

as for the 1.6 zetec engine being totally shite... i disagree..

Had one in my fiesta si and it got thrashed every single time i drove it... it never missed a beat , had it for about 2 years and i never replaced anything, not even a tyre or a fuse

 

It produces bugger all power and doesn't respond at all to tuning. That, ime makes it pretty poor. If you're happy with the standard power of it then it's ok I guess. Personally I would rather have the 1600CVH which makes more power and torque albeit slightly less refined

 

i never tuned or intended on tuning mine tbh... so wasnt that bothered ...just whacked an induction kit on it, got it lowered and was happy lol, it was more fun on the twisties ... was stuck to the arse of an audi tt through the lanes

would love a 2.0 si though....