Trans_Maro wrote:Any aircraft mechanic will tell you, lockwire = the devil.
Shawn
I safety wire parts many times each day... some days my fingers feel like a
pincushion 
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Feb. 23, 2010 3:52 p.m. wbjones HalfDork
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Feb. 23, 2010 9:37 p.m. fornetti14 Reader
I prefer the SVT.
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Feb. 24, 2010 8:38 a.m. 7pilot New Reader
In reply to Samurai07SS:
People bought enough of them though. That's good for us so called kit car owner/builders. The Zetec is the Miata of kit car engines, although the Miata engine is quite handy for kit cars also.
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Feb. 24, 2010 8:43 a.m. poopshovel SuperDork
Must be some sort of rule.
Yes. It's called the "Oh E36 M3, this is gonna be a knuckle-buster, but that berkeleyer's gotta come out" rule.
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Feb. 24, 2010 12:31 p.m. rogerbvonceg New Reader
Samurai07SS wrote:
it always amazed me that the European Ford Mondeo was such a good car and the North American Contour/Mystique was such a turd. I've worked on too many of these things to ever like them.
talk about lost in the translation.
You've owned/driven both? Wow.
Main change between the two was the sheetmetal, and interior trim quality. I think the Europeans had more engine choices, but I don't recall for sure.
It didn't do that well, here, commercially because...
...well, for all the reasons Euro Fords never do that well, here. American values and culture, and consumer expectations of what it means to be a "Ford." The primary deficiency of the Contour seems to have been the smallish back seat, which on the contemporary 3-series BMW was casually brushed aside. Here is a FWD car that targeted a European standard of driving dynamics, but was marketed in this country as a competitor to the Honda Accord.
I will admit that the engine bay is cramped, but you can do far worse in terms of ease of maintenance.
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Feb. 24, 2010 12:42 p.m. pinchvalve SuperDork
rogerbvonceg wrote:
I will admit that the engine bay is cramped, but you can do far worse in terms of ease of maintenance.
Some things were great, like removable access panels to get at things, and the design of the exhaust header made it totally accessible from above. But other things sucked like hose clams that were completely hidden and strange electrical connectors that could only be broken...not disconnected. And no release for the Transmission Park Interlock and a secret, hidden fuse panel struck me as odd. But it was no better or worse than anything else I have worked on.
Oh, and I can type with the finger again!
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Feb. 24, 2010 1:32 p.m. pigeon HalfDork
fornetti14 wrote:
I prefer the SVT.
Mine was Toreador Red. I still have some regrets about selling that for my E46 328i...
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Feb. 25, 2010 12:59 a.m. Samurai07SS New Reader
In reply to rogerbvonceg:
it was the 'weakness' of the car itself. In cold climates, such as northern new york where I am from, the car just did not do well. Starting issues, issues with the transmissions failing prematurely, issues with the wiring just corroding to nothing in the presence of the salt used on the roads. It seemed like when a cold snap hit where it was subzero for any length of time, the garage i worked at had no shortage of work getting Taurus 3.0L's, Tempo/Topaz's and Ford Contours/Mystiques started again. I would say that 99% of the time, it was the plugs fouling on cold start that was the culprit. No other car seemed to have that much trouble starting in the cold. Another thing that I noticed about the Contour/Mystique was how rapidly the bodies seemed to corrode and rot through... was this a northeast/new england thing only?
if you have a Contour, it was not my intention to detract from it. My hobby/lust for many years was the lowly and much maligned Chevy Cavalier/GM J-body.
