N1ck

soon to be the owner (hopefully) of a 1990 (?) orion...
its a light blue colour with one owner from new and 32000 miles on the clock...its a completely standard...garaged model
its a 1.6 LX which is the carbed engine i believe but i dont have any other knowledge about it. i know its a low spec model with little optional extras and no electrics but thats it...picture follows

any information about the spec line up and engine statistics would be much appreciated...ie the bhp and bad spots to look out for

also! i plan to do a lot to the car as im selling my present car and will have a bit of pocket money. ive heard they are underestimated greatly as cars, and when slightly tweaked can handle rather well. ive also heard that the engines are pretty decent...and the 1.6 isnt as slow as youd think... My mods would mainly be based around the handling as im hooked on fast cornering and agile driving... :P does anyone know the best setup to use on these cars?

more photos on request

tabetha

1.6 carb is I think 79bhp.
Sorry don't know much else about these.
tabetha

rsvan

have had a couple of 1600e orions, handling was pretty crap even when lowered and wider wheels fitted, but that was over 10 years ago, looks clean enough tho.

good luck with it and keep the pictures coming as and when you do it

N1ck

wahey thanks tabetha

the pictures will keep coming in...just need to sort out when im picking it up.
is the rear suspension the same as escorts as well? or is it slightly different?

does anyone know how much they weigh?

749steve

iTrader: (1)

i owned a 1.6 lx years ago
it came with a twinchoke webber carb as standard,as well as a sunroof,half velour seats, electric windows, electric mirrors, central locking and rev counter clocks
and a 1.6 carb cvh is 96bhp

N1ck

79 sounded okay but a little low considering its a similar engine to the XR2...96 sounds a lot better

is the twinchoke as standard or an optional extra?

any complaints at all or things you were surprised with?

thanks...comments appreciated

andyorion

Looks very clean from the picture, places to watch are the bottoms of the doors and front door rear corners, around the rear screen and around the sunroof, battery tray and fuse box area, rear wheel arches and tops off all the doors and the inside edge of the bonnet to name the most common areas for concern. From the picture I would say it was a 1.6 LX manufactured between 1986 and 1988 as it has the earlier bumpers fitted i.e seperate front bumper and grille and the rear bumper isn't a full rear bumper like the later models. Being a 1.6 it runs a twin venturi caburettor and pumps out 90 bhp or 133 nm of torque or so Ford claimed at the time for a 1988 model year car

32,000 miles is certainly low and if looked after should be a nice base for modifications. Its never going to set the world alight but a nice free flowing exhaust a decent carb and perhaps a mild road cam should provide a respectable amount of power and make all the right noises

N1ck

hey andy! thanks for the information! i havent yet looked around it...but ive written down the points to look out for. it is indeed an LX its an E-reg so it should be 1987...i do plan on perhaps new bumpers...but still orion ones. im ideally looking for the sleeper look...and concentration on handling as i mentioned before. the speed seems okay and torque is high as with old fords

it sounds like 110 brake is easily acheivable and for the weight of the car will carry it along rather well...can i ask what yours is and what youve done to it etc...and future plans?

andyorion

110 bhp should be achieveable without any major headaches and will put you on par with standard 1.6i/XR3i performance if not a touch more depending on how it is tuned. As for mine it is lowered -35mm on Spax shocks and springs and runs an Escort RS turbo engine and box. As for future plans not many really probably a full front mount cooler and an alloy rad other than that I am more than happy with it as is.

ScORTED

i'm not sure on the suspension i imagine its the same as the hatch if it is rst setup with some lowered springs will be a good start along with some 195/50/15tyres and suitable alloy wheels perhaps a pair of strut braces would be an idea to help prevent body flex