CL Columbus: Running '80 Ford Fiesta (not Festiva)

You never see these around here any more.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/car/692856220.html

No affiliation.

$1300?? holy crap! Even with the price of gas driving up econoboxes, a 28 year old car is $500 at best.

I had one in the late 80's. Blast to drive. Easy to fix.

That's a steal...

If a 28 year old car is $500 at best, then a '66 Cooper S is worth what? ;-)

The Fiesta 1600 is absolutely an enthusiast car similar to the Mini... if I had the time or the sapce I'd be all over this...

Bill

Touche

Actually curiosity got the better of me and i emailed the seller. The car seems to have the typical midwest rust issues:

"It's fair share. Right front fender, Left floor board, both rocker panels has some, rear wheel wells has some."

To me that does make the price a bit steep, especially with high miles as well.

And Minis are more fun to drive anyway. ;-)

Bill

http://columbus.craigslist.org/car/722270568.html

Almost a month later the Fiesta is back on CL and this time $300 cheaper.

That looks like fun. For those of you who have owned them, does his 30mpg estimate seem realistic? I may pass this on to friends who are looking for econoboxes.

For as rare as those are, $1k isnt bad. They arent really worth messing with in california though because the engine has to stay totaly stock for smog, otherwise id think about getting one. I really dont want a car with a carb on it though.

I put a brick on the gas pedal of one once.

Engine made it almost 4 minutes! Kinda anticlimactic finale' though.

Having owned an '80 "base" model Fiesta....yes, 30 mpg is possible. However, keep in mind that this model never had a 5 speed tranny, so driving on the interstate at 70+ mph will keep you close to 30 mpg.
If this car has rust in these places, I would NOT recommend buying it. Aside from the "typical" rust areas, Fiestas were know to rust through the rear spring perches...and it's difficult to detect this if you don't put the car on a lift before buying it. On the positive side? The Kent engine is pretty sturdy and you can still get parts in the U.K. for them...even hop-up parts. Down side? Repairing rust in some areas of the body (like around the windshield) can be difficult, thanks to Ford's NOT engineering the body for ease of repair.

I had a 79 and an 80. Back in the days of 55mph limits I regularly got 38 mpg cruising at 65 mph between New York City and Savannah, Ga. once a month. Cruising speeds now are closer to 80, so I don't think I'd get more than 32 now. S models were much nicer to drive, and came with a tach, but were slightly heavier with no more power. Supremely fun car to drive. Had a big valve head and a BAT suspension on one that was further reworked by some friends at Ford Motorsport, and it would really kill the GTIs in the Georgia hills. Had another in the 90s in Miami and it was nothing but problems. Hurricane Andrew picked it up and threw it into a house in south Dade. Cool little cars.