THOR

Just after advice on the above car, I fancy a 300 - 350bhp saph cossie (not yet but just doing research) and need advice from you cossie guys for the following:

What to look out for (reliability issues)

2wd or 4x4?

Is the insurance still silly for these cars ( I am 35 with a clean licence and 12 years no claims)

How much does is cost to service them?

Any weak points?

cheers.

STeve

iTrader: (11)

reckon you will be fine insurance wise ,2wd are more rapid unless your names charlie luciano ,pop along to mondays Middx RSOC meet as your not that far as there will be plenty of saphs and owners there to ask and look at in the flesh

mechanic28

iTrader: (5)

stage 3 power either 4x4 or 2wd perfectly realiable at that power!look at plenty tho mate,the sapps seemto be climbing in value now, specially the good ones i would be looking at 6-7k for a good 2wd prob around the same for 4x4 maybe bit more

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Rust rust and rust are some of the bigger problems you face on any old ford!!!but seriously,their good OLD cars which give you a lovely feeling when your out and about in them,but the latest examples are 17years old now so you don't always get the mod cons of traction control,ESP that type of thing.even mildly tuned their a nice quick raw car,but still turn plenty of heads.

If you can,go for one that's had the big money spent on it by someone else,the classified ads on here will be probably be your best bet.I know jay has a stunning standard one and there's a nice noveau red one on there too (both 4x4).there was a lovely gloss black 2wd one a few weeks ago as well,nice rare colour that.

All down to personal preference really but one things for sure,the people on here have done literally everything that can be done to these cars so there's plenty of info and support at your fingertips!!

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

Well for the power you want thats known as a stage 3 conversion, mechanically look for obvious signs of blue/white smoke blue indicating engine problems and the latter indicating turbo trouble.

2WD or 4x4 must be one of the most popular questions asked about these cars and it really is down to personal preference, I have 2WD diden't even look at 4x4s as don't like them. If you are undecided then perhaps try both before you make a decision. 2WD you have less transmission loss as well so they are be faster for the same power.

Insurance is very expensive (Insurance group 20 the highest there is) but having said that I am much younger than you so for you it woulden't be to bad given your driving record as well.

Do all the work myself so woulden't know about service costs but they are a joy to work on, if you do entrust the work to someone I would not take it to your backstreet joe but someone who specialises in these cars as most don't understand them and have the correct parts, service should be no dearer than average car really.


In terms of weak points the 4x4 transmission cannot handle much more power over stage 3, you also want to make sure the cooling fans work and ideally rewired this is a chronic weak point even when the cars were new (The fuses etc burn out hence you have a no fan situation)

The fuel pump wiring also degrades and so under load it cannot supply the power the fuel pump demands and so this can result in an engine meltdown! Again you ideally want to see a rewire or a voltage check has been done to show it's ok.

Apart from that they don't have any real weak points, obviously the bodywork needs checking for rust the common places being crusty wheel arches and rusty door bottoms although don't be put off if mechanically sound as this can be cheaper to sort out than the latter.

Martin