I'll soon be getting my grandpa's second-gen Escort hatchback.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 12/17/2013 at 23:09 • Filed to: None

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Not sure when exactly, but yeah.

That's not it, but it's the same color (or lack thereof). Spotless blue interior, which is neat. After a brilliantly red one in my Mustang, I have decided right now that I shall never own a car without a colored interior. That will probably change after the Escort.... But ANYWAY, it's super basic. I don't know much about it except that it's automatic and very, very well-maintained. My grandpa isn't overly cautious or clueless or anything bad like you might expect based on age, but he's definitely smart and does nothing that could ever possibly harm the car unless absolutely necessary. I'll probably be the first to take it above 65mph, if it can even do that much.
And now, there's the issue of.... what can I do with it? One thing is, like the one pictured, it has steelies with hubcaps. So those can come off, but I think that would make it look so much cheaper considering how well it's aged. So I dunno. Used higher-trim wheels (or anything else compatible and better) are always an option, but I don't know what else can be done to the thing on a budget. Performance is the least of my worries since as far as I know the only options are eBay's "universal" turbo kits that probably serve just to explode the car of anyone dumb enough to install them. I mean, this would make an AWESOME sleeper if anyone has any ideas, but I'm more interested in making it look less like something that the one nice old lady in the middle of the ghetto drives.
I'm thinking maybe get rid of the amber lights. Buy clear ones, but give them a mid-level tint. So it's not blacked out or white and tacky, but basically the stock ones in grayscale. Beyond that, I have no idea. I'm trying to find examples online, but I keep getting the Euro version of the car.

Ian Duer (320b) > Rainbow 12/17/2013 at 23:12

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Pretty sure that escort was on the Mazda 323 or Protege platform, can't remember which. Some nice dual cam engine options (with 5 speeds). I seem to also recall rear disk brakes can be sourced from certain of the later Zx2 era escorts.

thebigbossyboss > Rainbow 12/17/2013 at 23:14

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Free cars are good cars. If you want to have some fun order hubcap spinners from Craigslist or similar. I used to drive a ford tempo of the same vintage. The spinners were really fun on that car. They only cost $60, and the comments I got on them were hilarious. It's one thing to fake it and pose, it's another when you know how ridiculous you look, and are just having fun.

quarterlifecrisis > Rainbow 12/17/2013 at 23:14

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Drive it. Just drive it.

Nibby > Rainbow 12/17/2013 at 23:16

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Don't change anything with it unless it's broke.

Boxer_4 > Ian Duer (320b) 12/17/2013 at 23:16

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It's shares a platform with the Mazda Familia (Protege, 323).

Rainbow > thebigbossyboss 12/17/2013 at 23:18

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$600, actually. But it's kind of like I'm obligated to buy it, so yeah.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > thebigbossyboss 12/17/2013 at 23:19

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That reminded me of a Dodge Caravan in high school that had those hubcap spinners. that plus the badly done purple window tint job, and it always blasted rap every time it passed.. ugh..

thebigbossyboss > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 12/17/2013 at 23:21

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thebigbossyboss > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 12/17/2013 at 23:22

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My Tempo was a good first car. Hard to street race when it takes you miles to get up to 100 MPH.

Rainbow > Nibby 12/17/2013 at 23:24

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But what if I can find the parts to turn it into a Laser?

Lets Just Drive > Rainbow 12/17/2013 at 23:25

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The sky's the limit.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Rainbow 12/17/2013 at 23:51

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Have fun getting used to the automatic seatbelts.

Unwound > Rainbow 12/18/2013 at 00:18

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Buddy of mine had one that had 260k miles on it when he sold it, he had a going away party for it before it was sold. Damn good car, easy and cheap to fix yourself.

orcim > Rainbow 12/18/2013 at 04:42

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What engine is in there? It's a great DD with reasonable mileage (for an old fuddy duddy like me, anyway), but there are a few things to know about.

It's common, but not guaranteed, that those stock valve seats, typically on cylinder #4, will come apart. Mine was at 185K when it happened. It's a non-interference engine, but if you bust a timing belt on it, that starts some sort of counter inside the deepest darkest pit of engineering design failure and the vseat let's go sometime lateron. I ingested one, and it spread to all the other cylinders through the intake manifold before I got it turned off. Gods, what a mess.

Hoccy > Rainbow 12/18/2013 at 05:04

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Some classy wheels which aren't too big, clear blinkers and then you can start to search for fancy original equipment these cars were sold with. Since it is in such good condition you shouldn't mess with it too much, and there are better candidates for a sleeper. Just DD until you're bored with it.

Klaus Schmoll > Rainbow 12/18/2013 at 06:27

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You can always follow Tohru Rokuno's footsteps. Have the engine die on you, get another Escort to swap the engine out, then another one.... and so on.