MozzaXR3i

helo peeps

i've just bought myself a 1992 (k) XR3i Ford Escort....

its the 130BHP version and as it stands its had no modifications at all...

i've been serching long and hard for any info i can get my hands on but to no avail.....

1) how rare are these cars?
2) are they collectable at all?
3) does thir value keep at a good price or increase with age?
4) What is the history behind the engine? - i want the gory details!! :P
5) Shud i modify the body & to which extent? - does it de-value the car by ££ or by its likeability factor?
6) How far can we mod the engine? whats the highest BHP possible? - any detalis on what to do?

loads of questions i know but i will be overwhelmingly gratefull for ANY knowledge of this marvelous machine!!


thank you so much

Mozza

Paddy

Welcome to the site I'll try and answer your questions and those that I can't I'm sure someone else will come along and help with:

1. Not very rare to be honest. I don't know how many were made but I'm guessing quite a lot. I remember reading Ford sold something like 11,000 XR3's in one year. Having said that, if you come to some shows you're likely to see a lot more fiesta XR2i's than your escort

2. If you like collecting things! They definitely have a following, just check out how many people belong to the XROC!

3. It's too early to tell with them, look at the original mk3 Escort XR3i's they're the sort of benchmark classic for XR's and you can still find cheap half decent ones of them. Alright mint ones are always going to make money, but trust me they're not easy to sell no matter what people say that don't/haven't ever owned them! Particularly with your Mk5 xr3i, it would have to be pretty exceptional to make more than £1k

4. It's a 1.8 Zetec with slightly lairier cams than the other escorts. It's a good enough engine as long as you look after it, same as any other!

5. That's down to your choice! look at some of the cars here, on ebay or whatever and get an idea of what you like. You sound worried about the value of the car? Don't spend any money on it then as you'll never increase the value by more than what you spend on it

6. As far as you want, exhaust, air filter, chip etc. etc. Twin carbs, throttle bodies etc. It's as much as you want to spend! staying normally aspirated I think 180bhp is realistic, but turbo it and 300bhp+ at the right spec

Post up some pics for us too

MozzaXR3i

thank you very much!!

im not worried about the value of the car as such - i've owned a 1994 1.4LXi escort for 3 years and have been very happy modifying it slowly into a very recognised car on many modified car sites...

the oppertunity was there to buy the XR3i and so i took it but was then told that the car was very rare and mostly unheard of and would be better kept how it is...

i understand if this is so and totally respect it and if so will tidy the car up to be a fine example... but i would now like to concentrate on tidy modifications and want just want to know where the line is... XR3i splitters or body kits etc.....?? lol!!

Paddy

Just do it how you like it! Come to some shows and see what you like, take the best bits and ignore the bad bits!

I don't know why someone would tell you they were rare... may be worth going on the XROC forum and finding out how many were made that year? maybe it was that spec/colour/year thats rare?

the saint

iTrader: (1)

the xr3i 130 is rarer than the 105 xr as they only made it for 18months or something like that but there are plenty of them ,they are good cars but they are not worth much which is good if your buying but not if your selling of course

tune it up have some fun is order of the day mate

MozzaXR3i

great news - thank you very much!

my aim is to tidy the car up more than "modify" it.

i believe that someone can spend thousands of ££ modifying the balls off a certain car and turn into Optimus Prime from the transformers.....

But then another individual could spend half that amount on making the car look "tidy" and add only the slightest of materials to emphasise certain aspects and enable the car to look much nicer than the later example.

what are people's views on this thought? does it make sence or am i talking out of my ares

Q:1 should i put a F-50 bonnet vent on it from a mk 5b escort or a RS2000?

Q:2 should i swap the headlights for smaller mourettes off my 1.4 and replace the sidelights from the XR with the clear indicators and replace said indicator with the sidelight bulb?

ScORTED

1) how rare are these cars? not very - more scarce than 105spec 3i's but still not hard to find
2) are they collectable at all? depends on conidition and milage
3) does thir value keep at a good price or increase with age? prices are rock bottom, i don't think they will ever be classic though

5) Shud i modify the body & to which extent? - does it de-value the car by ££ or by its likeability factor? upto you - will make it harder to sell and you won't get your cash back
6) How far can we mod the engine? whats the highest BHP possible? - any detalis on what to do?
160bhp on stadard inlet and managment - beyond that its a zetec can get serious power... its all about how much money you want to spend

MarkW

Hi,

1) 1200 130 spec 3i's were made on a J (early registered) or a K in the mk 5 shape. 12 rumoured to make it into mk5b shape and 1 confirmed late registered M plate mk5

2) Yes to an enthusiast same as any performance ford the XR's will never achieve as strong a status as the RS's but theres a good club at www.xroc.co.uk. Down Under the XR badge still flys the flag as Fords performance wing they're awaiting the release of the Focus XR5 Turbo

3) Prices vary from nothing to silly money for a 14 year old escort but I wouldn't expect them to gain in value

4) 1.8 Zetec, different cams, throttle body and ecu to the 105 and lower spec zetecs.Oil Colling jets to cool underside of the pistons, slight differences in the intake trunking but otherwise the same as any zetec.

5) Up to you but try and steer clear of cossie reps

6) How much do you want to spend? BHP anywhere from 130 up. NA 200+ is possible but not cheap or easy. Forced induction with turbo or supercharger skies the limit. Some loony yanks have been running 500+bhp in single use drag engines

ScORTED

1) Bollucks - the 130spec engine found its way into loads of 1.8 escorts... XRs, Si's and Ghias from the factory, there are plenty of mk5b 130's and even some mk6 Si cabriolets

4) the under piston oil sprays are present on all zetec E engines - they're blanked off on the 1.6/1.8 105/115, having played about with lots of zetec E's the inlte trunking is of the same shape and bore for all engines fitted with the EFi manifold. also the MAF sensor had a different element to measure increased flow.

the saint

iTrader: (1)

Mark nice of you to pop over here

No to the bonnet and no the the smaller quad lights mate, do it properly lol

MarkW

Read what I actually posted before you spout crap. Those numbers are for 130PS XR3i's, the numbers are fords own statistics. We are talking XR3i here not Si's GTI's etc etc.

Again read what was posted, I didn't say the other engines didn't have the jets but the 130 is the only one to have hem working. Also check your ford parts microfiche and you'll find the 130 3i trunking is a different part number unique to this model.

Only answering Mozza questions about 3i's as originally posted not talking about the rest of fords zetec powered escorts

Bungle

Wrong the throttle body on a 1.6 90 ps is 40mm diameter as are 1.8 105 and 115 ps the 130 ps has a 60 mm throttle body for a start,

Also the 130 are slightly rarer but nothing to shout about they do usually fetch a bit more than 105 though it just depends what people want to pay for them,

Remember it's not always what you know it's who you know, I bought my 130 today for £145 but it needs work for the mot although only bottom arms and a 50p sized hole in the rear floor pan,

Hope this helps cheers, Grant.

XR Dougie

Yeah grants right I bought a K93 no t or t for 200 notes. It had FFSH Tax Disks the full monty and sat on 42k miles pure minty fresh and sold it to a collector for (well lets just say a very very tidy profit )

Do what you want to the car not what others tell you mate.
But steer clear of cossie reps!!!

Good Luck