RSandy

iTrader: (1)

been informed that a retired friend of a family friend is selling his mk1 fiesta, and have been given 1st refusal before it gets advertised

literally know naff all about what to look for when buying 1, other than i know people will obviously say rust, but where exactly are they prone to this? i will be going round with very little knowledge of the car, all i know is they guy has owned it since new in 1982, its done genuine 73k with history to prove etc, and it supposedly has MOT, but how much im unsure

anybody know to a buying guide or anything for these, with any guideline prices and such? im unsure of their rareity these days, so value is completely over my head, and until i view it, i wont know if his 250quid price tag is good money or money down the drain

any advice would be a massive help, cheers

dazoriginal

have a look here

http://www.fiesta-mk1.co.uk/magazine...2_2005_pg1.asp

RSandy

iTrader: (1)

cheers dude

cant believe i missed that buying guide article on that site, was mooching on there aswel

RSandy

iTrader: (1)

oh, and what do you reckon to their price guide? shall i assume the prices wont have changed much in the past few years, so use it as a good estimate?

part of me wants to bag a bargain, but my morals are saying due to him being a friend of a friend, and a pensioner, and having owned it from new, i dnt want to rob him blind

m4tt274

iTrader: (2)

i paid Ł900 for myn and it was advertised for Ł1150.
1.1 L aswel.

although its had one owner since 1981 and hed always garaged it and only driven it like once a month. so there was actually *zero* rust, and it was like new.

this is on the day i bought it, i was just seeing if i could fit some 15' ronals to it



check the rear arches, and the sills, and check under the boot lining for rust, and if it has a sunroof any bubles around it, thats alot of work.
check for smoke when it starts up cold.

Ł250 is very cheap m8. any pics m8

xr-stu

under the headlights and the seam between wing and front panel
around the strut tops
under the battery
around the windscreen
in the footwells, especially the outside corners by the sills
the sills in general, especially if its got a sunroof
the back of the sills, up under the fuel filler cap and the same the other side, hardest place to weld em and they go there often
rear arches
boot floors in the corners


so basiclly the whole car

RSandy

iTrader: (1)

just got back from viewing it, was like stepping back in time!

its a beige 997cc popular, completely standard, including standard radio and brown vinyl factory trim, perfect carpet, even the boot flase floor cover panel things were as new!

wheeled it out from the garage, hadnt been started for a month or so, and started 1st crank from stone cold, no smoke, and is possibly the quietest OHV lump iv ever heard!

now the annoying bit, being an 80sumthin year old fella, he relied on a local mechanic to keep it serviced every 6 months, and obviously at some point rust has appeared on the front edges of the front wings and around the aerial hole, so some idiot has plastered filler over them badly, and caused it to massively rust in these areas! wings are shot, no saving them.

rear arches have surface rust but are solid enough, except for the passenger side lower corner where it meets the sill, again caused by some terrible filer work.

other than that, its solid as a rock, all the inner wings are solid, bootfloor solid, underside has been kept clean and waxoyl'd and the onyl welding ever done was a sill, which has been done neatly enough. the doors are the most solid and rust free iv seen on an unrestored car of this age for a long time! inner sills solid.....basically solid. no sunroof so roof is mint, tiny rust spot at bottom corner of front screen on drivers side

even more amazing was wen he toddled off into the house and came back with the v5 to prove he was the original owner, and the original ford bill of sale!

if it wasnt for the dodgy filler work, i would have left my vectra there and driven off in the fiesta as fast as i could. but now all i can think of is how much extra rust has set in due to this, and if replacing the wings finds a whole load more nasties

going to have a think about it overnight. i also cant help thinking it would be sacrilege to do anything to that car other than restore it to standard, which isnt exactly what i had in mind lol

but still, cheers for the info, didnt get any pics as i ran out the house so fast i only took my shitty work phone with no camera lol. but will get his son to email me the pics he has, and then pop them on here for opinions

andy s2k

hi its sounds great cond tbh i wouldn't worry about the rust on it im restoring one now a 1.1l and i found a website that have every replacable panel possible for the mk1 and there cheap too the site is: www.autopanels-castleford.co.uk if you decid to have it give these guys a ring there based near leeds. good luck and hope you get it there a cracking little car the one iv have has been in my family since new and i will be the 3 rd owner its been garaged for 17yrs and that turned over first time on easy start and jump leads runs like a dream.