Ford Orion 1.6i Ghia Mark 1

Peterbilt

Greetings all

Apart from rust issues, were there any other probs with this model Orion?
Can they run on unleaded?

Opinions/experiences from past owners please. And thank you.

PS: Anyone know what BHP we're talking about on that engine?

johnos1984

Probably best asking in the Classic cars forum but if I remember correctly they were pretty rubbish with rust being a big issue

spiggotpaddy

No! Please don't bring one back to life.Its got to be a contender for the worst of all time ford.
Slotting in beween the cortina and the focus, its the ford we should try to forget.

colm_mcm

Focus was probably one of fords best cars compared to rivals.

Same engine as in the XR3i iirc, so just less than 100bhp, one of the neighbours had one back in the late 80s, early 90s, a 1986 one, even back then the arches on it were rusting.

Very decent cars though, I worked with a lad years ago who had a later Orion 1.6i ghia, a 1990 one, he had it chipped and lowered with a few other small mods, it was a little rocket in fairness to it for what it was.

colm_mcm

My uncle had one, white on black.

johnos1984

colm_mcm wrote: »

My uncle had one, white on black.

Dulux on Hammerite :pac:

mickdw

Id actually like to see a pristine one now. They were quite nice at the time.

johnos1984

mickdw wrote: »

Id actually like to see a pristine one now. They were quite nice at the time.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2697216

jca

I think the Ghia versions were more rust resistant than the "lower" grade versions. Better rustproofing seemingly. Still a horrible car though,like most fords completely characterless.

colm_mcm

johnos1984 wrote: »

Dulux on Hammerite :pac:

It actually came like that

UK company car.

Chriscl1

Mk1 105bhp then the mk2 114bhp i think, mate of mine had one when I had my mk3 escort xr3i when we were 18/19 years old.

spiggotpaddy

We used to leave the keys in the beige beauty back in 1990, going from job to job around dublin.

But nobody ever took it, and the bastard would'nt die.

shawnee

" beauty" is in the eye of the beholder.... but they were an ugly boring bastard of a yoke and even the general public hated them. I associate them with a grumpy auld bol... that I used to work with so that probably doesn't help. Good thing is you won't have much competition if you re looking for one

McP2011

I wouldnt know alot about the mk1 but id say they are decent like any of the fords of that era, the mk3's were a fantastic car tho.

bazz26

I remember my old fella having one of these over 20 years ago, it had "go faster" stripes along the bottom of the doors. I remember him trading in a MkI Fiesta for it because the Fiesta didn't give him a moments trouble. The Orion though was the opposite, a complete disaster of a car. From being unreliable to being poorly screwed together. Not one of Ford's finest moments.

The only reason I can think of buying one these days is for the nostalgia factor. That can wear off very quickly though.

corktina

they are only Escorts with a boot. What could be wrong with that? 1.6ghia particularly nice car.

Peterbilt

Thanks everyone. Does anyone know can it run on unleaded? Am guessing it should, late '85 injection model.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

they are only Escorts with a boot. ............. 1.6ghia particularly nice car.

Not just an Escort either, a booted XR3i, folks seem to be forgetting that in the 80s an XR3i/Orion 1.6i would have been a very swift little car.

R.O.R

Would it have been 100bhp?

My 93 1.8i Ghia was only 105bhp - they used that engine in the XR3i along with a 125bhp version as well.

Had a lot of trouble with the electrics on that car, that was eventually traced to the battery being underspecified for the amount of electrics in the car (Windows, Sunroof, Fogs, Heated Windscreen, central locking). Putting the battery from the diesel in to it sorted out all the issues.

R.O.R

R.O.R wrote: »

Would it have been 100bhp?.............

I thought they were just less than the 100bhp tbh

si_guru

XR3i was 105bhp.. so was the Ghia Injection..

The competitors were more with VW at 112 and Astra GTE at 118 (or was it 115?).. big numbers in those days!

Remember these cars weighed f-all compared to todays cars.

shamwari

Peterbilt wrote: »

Greetings all

Apart from rust issues, were there any other probs with this model Orion?
Can they run on unleaded?

Opinions/experiences from past owners please. And thank you.

PS: Anyone know what BHP we're talking about on that engine?

I had an '88 Escort Ghia with the same engine. Quick for its time but the CVH engine was a rowdy unrefined contraption. Decent fuel consumption of driven ok though.

These can be tuned to run on unleaded. There's usually two marks on the the distributor base (one for leaded, other for unleaded) about 5 degrees apart. Failing that, you need a good old timing light and tippex

Problems: Engines can get smokey and consume oil. If compression test shows rings are good then valve stem seals are duffed. They can be replaced with a special tool in situ without removing the cylinder head.

The breathers clog too.

The hydraulic tappets can make the engine sound like an old sowing machine. Again these are easily replaced by removing the rocker over the cam and withdrawing the tappet. A full set from Ford were not to expensive to buy either.

The bottom wishbones / balljoint are notoriously week on these things but parts again are cheap.

I've never touched an injection system on one of these and I don't know how you troubleshoot one unless you've got the right gear.

Apart from that, they are about as mechanically simple as you can get.

si_guru

si_guru wrote: »

XR3i was 105bhp.. so was the Ghia Injection..

The competitors were more with VW at 112 and Astra GTE at 118 (or was it 115?).. big numbers in those days!

Remember these cars weighed f-all compared to todays cars.

On a seprate note - Did you get the Vauxhall Belmont GLSi (I guess it would be a Kadett Saloon) here in Ireland. In the UK we used to hunt them down as a cheap GTE alternative.



Note the key brochure features... a gearknob and a badge!

si_guru

si_guru wrote: »

...............
Note the key brochure features... a gearknob and a badge!

Gearknob to highlight it was a 5 speed maybe?

si_guru

RoverJames wrote: »

Gearknob to highlight it was a 5 speed maybe?

Only the 1.3 Base and Merit were 4 speed IIRC.

Here's some Vauxhall trivia for ye...

Base model - no pinstripe
L - Single pinstripe
GL - Twin pinstripe
GLS - Triple pinstriple

corktina

I had a 1.3 LS new in 1989. Was probably the best car I had ever had (at that stage)...and that from a Fordie!