Oppertunity has come up to buy a mk3 se cabriolet.

Its the limited edition one, which came from the factory with the S1 kit on it. and this one has also been given a tidy S1 engine with a healthy 200-210bhp.

BUT ive always said i will never buy a convertible, as i always think what tools blokes look like driving them around, as soon as theres a smudgin of sunshine.

I want another S1, but want something different, and this sort of fits the bill, but can i really live with the fact that i'll have a car?

Here are some examples, none of these are the cars concerned, just borrowed from the net!

The original car, as it came from the factory


fettled examples

 

short answer,


no

 

I purchased 1 because I couldn't find a decent looking series2 in my budget but got a mint cabrio with ease, at the end of the day the escort cabrio's not like say a MGF or a MX-5 in the hairdresser stakes

 

I view them more as a girls or young lads car TBH, dont think it would really suit a big fat 6 foot bald bloke in his 30s like myself

 

Agreed its not like them, cause they actually handle well.

 

haha good answer

 

Bloody cheek!! lol

Why are you so concerned what people think?? Fuck everyone else, go enjoy yourself!

I think the best example can be seen here...

 

Im not concerned what others think, im giving my own opinion, and the "go enjoy yourself" in the context of me, involves a car which is fun to drive, which isnt a rs turbo cabriolet IMHO.

Ive never seen a quick one.
Ive never seen one that handles well.

So what is there really to enjoy if you are into quick cars like myself?

 

No Lee. Step away from the car !

 

Did i quote you chip?

No i don't think i did!

I was talking to Lee, i'm not talking about flat out, 0 - 60 fun, just the laugh you can have in general in them.... Its not all about speed and handling!

Sure theres scuttle shake, rattles and leaks.... But thats all part of the quirkyness! But then any Ford has its issues.....

I love mine.

 

Ah, so to sum them up then:

CONS:
Dont handle
Dont go quickly
Look ridiculous for a bloke

PROS:
They rattle
They shake
They leak



Right, thanks for clearing that up

 

Yeah but i aint you am I Chip and i don't lust after perfection from a car...

I don't get the concern on why your so worried what you look like in one, your ugly in or out of a car!

All this coming from a man with a Nova Pot. Kettle.

Its a Nova, wherever you've stuck the engine.

 

If you look, I put the looks as the LAST thing on the list, so that shows my priorities mate, was just keeping it on the list for those who do care.

That hideous red thing above for example, whoever owns that obviously cares what it looks like as they have spent ages polishing it by the looks of it, nowt so queer as folk!

 

I was thinking about this myself...............was just looking at M3 cabs

 

Of course i care what the car looks like, i didn't spend 6 years restoring it for it look shit!

Its the car that draws the attention, not the driver!

TARD!

 

I dont like them as the drivers of these things like to put the roof down at every opportunity, slightest bit of sun although -20 outside. My mates had the BMW convertibles, they use to come round to pick me up with the roof down and I use to tell i would take my car.. I hate the bloody things

I always laugh when they get caught out in the rain

 

cabrios are handy! we used ours as our dump run and christmas tree transporter

 

Right i dont know what happened back there, i must have been starved of oxygen.

Im going to go away and think about what ive done here

at chip and billy tho.

But im afraid i agree with chip, i just cant do it. Working on the Aston i think has made me go a bit confused with my car sexuality

Gna go out in my big landrover and find some manly mud, then go drink some beer, wait for the wife to come home and cook me dinner

 

i couldnt give a crap what i looked like in a car, if i like the car ill quite happily drive it

i had a s2 turbo cabby, soon as the sun was out roof was down, the car got attenton because of the way it looked and how clean it was, and i even sold it to a bloke in his 40s!! who still has it now and loves it

there good cars, mine drive lovely, handle nice and could keep up with porsche boxsters, ok not fast but quick enough, with a cabby you dont really want loads of power, you want just enough to make it a nice car

 

Youve said that about every car ive ever bought

Ive never lost money on them tho, always make at least £1k profit

 

evidence submitted and case closed

 

Yeah and you've always had a mammoth task of getting them on the road!

You can't deny, you do have a shonky car fetish!

 

Billys does look ace, but i wouldnt own one personally, because firstly i dont think it would suit me, and secondly because i just wouldnt want one.

 

I want an e36 m3 cab at some point, dakar yellow ftw.

I wouldnt buy one now as im fat and would ruin the image though.

 

Its an escort, its a cabriolet. It's not even a proper rs turbo which are bad enough. All asmatic and wheezy

So no is my answer.

 

Yes but you forget, they are my hobby. I dont buy all these cars simply to drive, driving really bores me these days.

What i get a buzz from is working on a car, fixing it and seeing the fruits of your labour.

I dont like to spend more than a few grand usually, as any more than that then you become dissilusioned. Just look at the escort cosworth, it was my dream car, and ive never been so dissapointed in my life all because i broke my £2k rule!

And you cant deny every car i have owned i have always sold it at a profit ive neve lost money.

How about that S1, i blame you for that, you found it and convinced me to get it A £600 snotter that had been sitting in some chaps garden in manchester for the best part of 10 years, the whole car in bits and half of it totally mising. I was 18 when i bought that!!!

Ok i lost intrest in it, and should have spent another £1000 on the engine.
But i sold it for just shy of £6k back in 2006

And believe it or not its still going strong today, the last 2 pics of it were taken just before christmas buy the current owner. dont like the gay flaps and sticker, but you cant say it was shonky considering what i started with!!!





how about that for a battery tray and inner wing

humm blasted and zinc'd



to this when i sold it






and this is it a few months ago



SO EM I BLAME YOU, YOU GOT ME HOOKED ON THE MK3, ITS ALL YOU FAULT!!!

 

so your going to buy a car that other people like how gay is that i have an rst cabrio and i never put the roof down and if you didnt like the roof down thats your choice my mate has just bought a black s2 and it looks crapnext to my cabrio the s2 might be for sale it runs great untill on boost needs setting up t&t is it worth around 1200

 

I voted yes - love the SE Mk3's and they're cool.

 

Christ some punctuation never killed anyone

I would never in a million years buy a S2!

 

I couldn't agree more, Billy. And that's a stunning example of a cabbie you've got there.

I've got a normal RST and a Cabbie stored in a shed but I've always fancied crossing them together. The RST is only a summer/weekend car for me so I might just aswell drive it with it's roof open and enjoy the nature around me.

Another bonus: The Cabbies were built by Karmann and have much better rust protection than normal Mk3/4 Escorts.

 

thers a difference between

1. yes i'd drive a cabriolet

and

2. yes i'd drive THIS cabriolet.

My answers would be

1. Perhaps

2. No chance as its shit!

 

exactly. i would be seen in a decent one like an s2000, elise, boxster, 911 etc but not an escort

 

Fpmsl!

 

My one outing in the back of a cabrio made me cringe. It was a "cal-look" Mk 1 Beetle finished in fetching grey primer, the back seat was the size of a postage stamp, and well it was pants. Even though I was a stewdent at the time, I worried about my credibility and reputation.

Being in the back of an open Series 2 Landrover was different though - that's not a real cabrio is it... in fact it's probably the only exception to the rule that roofless is crap.

 

I wouldnt buy one cause personaly i would feel i tit.Nice S1 by the way.

 

How much is said convertible

 

The car is an ex fast ford feature car, and requires minor cosmetic and a bit of mechanical work.

I estimate it cost to £1500 in total

thats buying it, getting it home, The few small jobs,( i have a shed full of spares for my last S1 and 2 ltrs of paint left) MOT and Tax.

£2000 at the most if something goes dreadfully wrong, say head gasket or what ever.

Its a well specd car with a proven 216bhp. With stage 2 turbo and chip and cam. Only reason for intrest was looing at what else is around at the moment it is a good buy providing you dont mind driving a cab.

And before people pipe up and say oh it must be a dog, well its not, ive seen some detailed pics of it, its been sitting in a gararge the last 3 years, and the bloke lost intrest in it as he only has a basic knowlegde of mechanics and it all got too much for him.

 

sooner have a proper S1 myself

 

Aside from the obvious camp/gay associations which i wouldnt care about, i wouldnt ever own/drive a cabriolet for the reasons specified by Chip.

The only cabriolets i would drive cost £50k plus and are genuine super cars so it balances out.

However something like a lotus 7, cobra replica or similar I would drive but they are sports cars and have the performance to boot, not cabriolet conversions of normal cars.

 

how can sum one thats drives a sierra estate slag an escort convertible off,the only sierra i would have is the sapphire cosoworth and everyone on here said they always break down i use my rst cabriolet every day with no problems,i had a 57 plate focus on hire and it was the dullest car i have driven,imo people dont like them cause they have little arms and not strong enough to turn the steering wheel and can't take the bumps,wimps