Anybody remember these weird Fords from the ‘80s-‘90s? - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anybody remember these weird Fords from the ‘80s-‘90s? (Page 2 of 4)

Posted: 4/3/2019 8:42:04 AM EDT

[#1]

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I don't think the top photo of the "Ranger GT" was ever offered in that configuration from the factory.

Escort GT pictured is actually the second generation Escort. World car, yeah.

The EXP had a Mercury twin, the LN7. Both those cars were introduced without a back seat. The original prototype EXP did have a back seat, until Henry Ford II decided to take three executives with him to lunch in one. The rear hatch was open, so Henry went around the back and slammed the hatch - right on the back seat occupant's heads. The rear seat was deleted from production that afternoon, but it was too late to remove the rear seat ash trays.

I worked for Ford back in those days. Good times...

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I had a friend who had a maroon ranger GT manual, looked almost exactly like that but i cannot recall the wheels

Posted: 4/3/2019 8:47:07 AM EDT

[#2]

Cash for clunkers seems to have killed off a lot of interesting stuff from the 80s.

The Escort GTs actually do pretty well on autocross courses, IIRC.

Posted: 4/3/2019 8:47:48 AM EDT

[#3]

Weird Ford list is lacking

Posted: 4/3/2019 8:48:15 AM EDT

[#4]

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I've still got one, but sadly (at 450K miles) it leaned out, nosed over, and scorched a piston.

https://i.imgur.com/lci0Uqv.jpg

It's a one owner and I'll pay new car price to restore it someday just because I can't stand all the B.S. on new cars.
These things were way underated, the Mazda BP engine and the other GT package stuff made them really cool.

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Wife had that exact car and color back in the day. Manual trans went at about 85k if I recall correctly.

Posted: 4/3/2019 8:59:02 AM EDT

[#5]

I thought about picking up a new Mercury LN7 back in the day, but we went with the much more useful Escort GT that it was based on instead.

Posted: 4/3/2019 9:03:00 AM EDT

[#6]

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This thread needs more Supercoupe.

Supercharged, RWD, stick, IRS... The car ahead of its time.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:12:31 AM EDT

[#7]

I was remiss I’m not mentioning the SVO and meant to add it on a later post but then forgot. The ‘86 was the one to have as it looked much better with the flush instead of sunken headlights.

1984-85

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1986

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I see somebody posted a photo of the Supercoupe I mentioned but no turbocoupe so...

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I liked my XR4Ti and got my ‘86 in 1990 when I was in the Army. It was a fun car but mine was unfortunately an auto.

They never sold well as they were strange, nobody knew much about them and they were expensive in their day. I also don’t think it helped that the Ford turbo 2.3 didn’t have the best reputation thanks to the ‘80s mustangs and capris that came with them.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:26:33 AM EDT

[#8]

I remember when Shelby made 4 cylinder turbo cars in the 80's. I think for Dodge, just not the Daytona but some real shit cars.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:33:12 AM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/215362/DSC_3870_JPG-899540.JPGThis thread needs more Supercoupe.

Supercharged, RWD, stick, IRS... The car ahead of its time.

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Drove one and drove a V8. Both very good cars, esp. at the price point.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:34:16 AM EDT

[#10]

The 1983 Ford Mustang was the worst production vehicle I've ever driven.

The 1984 Ford Mustang SVO was a very decent one.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:37:22 AM EDT

[#11]

Escort GT was my first car. Manual. Fun car. Paid $4k for it at an auction in 95-96

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:39:27 AM EDT

[#12]

I had a 1993 Tbird LX with the V6. Drove well, handled well, VERY easy to go about 20mph faster than you thought you were going.

The quality wasn't very good, though. In 150k miles, a LOT of stuff broke...

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:41:36 AM EDT

[#13]

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The 1983 Ford Mustang was the worst production vehicle I've ever driven.

The 1984 Ford Mustang SVO was a very decent one.

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My sister got a '81 Mustang for graduation. First year of the serpentine belt I think. This was before lemon laws. Took forever to get the deal straightened out. She was going to college out of town and the damn thing broke every time she drove more than 5 miles. Eventually after tons of crap Ford bought the car back from my parents.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:42:04 AM EDT

[#14]

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I remember when Shelby made 4 cylinder turbo cars in the 80's. I think for Dodge, just not the Daytona but some real shit cars.

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Some of those were actually pretty fast.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:43:19 AM EDT

[#15]

They sold a shit ton of those Splash's.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:44:26 AM EDT

[#16]

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Yes.

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Quoted:
The Merkur was a Mercury, no?...

Yes.

Technically, it was a Ford Sierra, which was a very widespread car in Europe. The XR4i was the performance model, and the only one brought to the US. I had a regular Ford Sierra as my first car. After that, I had a Ford Capri, another European Ford that was never sold in the US

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:45:41 AM EDT

[#17]

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Drove one and drove a V8. Both very good cars, esp. at the price point.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/215362/DSC_3870_JPG-899540.JPGThis thread needs more Supercoupe.

Supercharged, RWD, stick, IRS... The car ahead of its time.

Drove one and drove a V8. Both very good cars, esp. at the price point.

I had the regular Thunderbird, and I really liked it - and lusted after the SuperCoupe.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:46:03 AM EDT

[#18]

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I remember when Shelby made 4 cylinder turbo cars in the 80's. I think for Dodge, just not the Daytona but some real shit cars.

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Omni GLH

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And charger which they had a turbo and non-turbo version of

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Posted: 4/3/2019 10:46:35 AM EDT

[#19]

Those trucks were ahead of their time. They started a weird and terrible trend that shows no signs of abating.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:46:56 AM EDT

[#20]

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The general idea wasn't but the name as well as the colors and graphics they put on them were kind of odd.

Like I said, I still kind of want one.

The EXP and LN7 were even stranger looking before they changed it to Escort EXP and it had the square lights.
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/164962/E28B6627-392E-4CAD-B6B3-04180B4AE25C_png-899457.JPG

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I had one just like that.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:49:22 AM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/215362/DSC_3870_JPG-899540.JPGThis thread needs more Supercoupe.

Supercharged, RWD, stick, IRS... The car ahead of its time.

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I had one back in the 90’s shipped it from Benning to Schofield then back to Benning. Only Ford I ever owned.

Traded it in on an Impala SS

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:52:37 AM EDT

[#22]

So many 2 door cars back then. Today a 2 door is rare as hens teeth.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:53:57 AM EDT

[#23]

Remember? I drove two of them.
I also have an I/C from a Turbo Coupe laying around somewhere.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:54:31 AM EDT

[#24]

I always thought the Ranger Splash was a pretty dumb name especially the decal they stuck on it was so corny. There was also an Edge version I never got the difference from the splash but looked better and it had a red decal.

My parents bought my middle sister a brand new hatchback Escort in maybe 1996. Had those automatic shoulder seat belts that were broken in 5 years they wouldnt move at all, both sides. I haven't seen one of those model Escorts in years.

I do remember the radio antenna was at an angle by the drivers door and could be pushed in and out manually, weird.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:57:55 AM EDT

[#25]

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The Aerostar had nothing on the king of all minivans from that era.

https://b-a.d-cd.net/da43738s-960.jpg

You could option this with any number of individual seats and arrange however you wanted.

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I had a 1989 Escort Pony. It came so stripped down that it did not even have a radio. Since I had also purchased a 1989 Aerostar (It should be on the list too) the Pony was my go to work car. Never any problems with the Escort and we took some epic vacations in the Aerostar with the 4 boys and towing a Jayco pop-up.

The Aerostar had nothing on the king of all minivans from that era.

https://b-a.d-cd.net/da43738s-960.jpg

You could option this with any number of individual seats and arrange however you wanted.

Man, I haven't seen one of those on the road in forever.

Posted: 4/3/2019 10:58:39 AM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/215362/DSC_3870_JPG-899540.JPGThis thread needs more Supercoupe.
Supercharged, RWD, stick, IRS... The car ahead of its time.

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My DD was a 93 5.0HO Davey Allison Tbird from ~2004-2011.

Loved that car, but it was on the edge of needing major engine/trans work. Sold it after I picked up the 07 350Z, which was a rocketship by comparison and twice the overall quality.
I had a M5R2 5spd from a Supercoupe that I had planned to swap in but never got around to it. Would have made it a much more fun car.

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Posted: 4/3/2019 10:58:43 AM EDT

[#27]

I talked my then girlfriend out of buying an Escort. She ended up with a Jetta.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:01:04 AM EDT

[#28]

The one thing I really like about Ford is that they don't have a problem making all these weird cars.

I really hope the new Bronco is very Wrangler like in its abilities.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:02:13 AM EDT

[#29]

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The one thing I really like about Ford is that they don't have a problem making all these weird cars.
https://photos5.motorcar.com/used-2003-ford-thunderbird-premium-4162-16534679-1-800.jpg

I really hope the new Bronco is very Wrangler like in its abilities.

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Barbie Bird

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:04:48 AM EDT

[#30]

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I had the regular Thunderbird, and I really liked it - and lusted after the SuperCoupe.

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We were a Ford family, and my father was a T-bird guy, and he was a big engine/nice trim package in an egalitarian vehicle consumer.

The 87 T-bird LX had a 24 gallon gas tank in it. I did 8 hours, 24 minutes non-stop, once.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:07:49 AM EDT

[#31]

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Quoted:
I always thought the Ranger Splash was a pretty dumb name especially the decal they stuck on it was so corny. There was also an Edge version I never got the difference from the splash but looked better and it had a red decal.

My parents bought my middle sister a brand new hatchback Escort in maybe 1996. Had those automatic shoulder seat belts that were broken in 5 years they wouldnt move at all, both sides. I haven't seen one of those model Escorts in years.

I do remember the radio antenna was at an angle by the drivers door and could be pushed in and out manually, weird.

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Had a '94 Splash in blue, removed the decals immediately (they were rainbow lol)

Currently own a 2003 Ranger Edge

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:08:52 AM EDT

[#32]

Quote History

Quoted:
We were a Ford family, and my father was a T-bird guy, and he was a big engine/nice trim package in an egalitarian vehicle consumer.

The 87 T-bird LX had a 24 gallon gas tank in it. I did 8 hours, 24 minutes non-stop, once.

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the 87 Tbird Turbo was a badass-looking car. Unfortunately, IIRC, Car & Driver said the LX front end looked like "a Polynesian war canoe."

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Posted: 4/3/2019 11:09:50 AM EDT

[#33]

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I wanted an XR4Ti to drop a 5.0 in...

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Similar to how the Ford Pinto became a popular donor vehicle for kitcars and homebuilt cars, after the aircooled VWs got scarce, there were some people looking at the XR4Ti as a donor vehicle for their builds.

I honestly can't remember how long it's been since I saw a Pinto.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:13:01 AM EDT

[#34]

I remember Ford offered the Splash in white with a few splash graphics. I needed a small pickup and came close to buying one when they were new. I may be way off, seem to recall about $14K when new.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:14:12 AM EDT

[#35]

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Barbie Bird

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QFT

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:15:45 AM EDT

[#36]

My auto body teacher drove a Splash and I always kind of liked it. The color on it would change from red to pink to orange depending on who was looking at it and in what light. We’d sit in the parking lot smoking and would get random kids walking by to tell us what they saw. Good times.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:17:59 AM EDT

[#37]

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Quoted:
Either of those Rangers is still probably programmed from the factory to explode if it gets within 10mph of the posted speed limit.

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Ad for New 1987 Ford Ranger GT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTUe8MIomc

(it was a normal Ranger with a bodykit and different exhaust exit)

Splashes were kind of a weird deal, you could get them 4wd too.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:18:57 AM EDT

[#38]

Quote History

Quoted:
Technically, it was a Ford Sierra, which was a very widespread car in Europe. The XR4i was the performance model, and the only one brought to the US. I had a regular Ford Sierra as my first car. After that, I had a Ford Capri, another European Ford that was never sold in the US

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Quoted:
The Merkur was a Mercury, no?...

Yes.

Technically, it was a Ford Sierra, which was a very widespread car in Europe. The XR4i was the performance model, and the only one brought to the US. I had a regular Ford Sierra as my first car. After that, I had a Ford Capri, another European Ford that was never sold in the US

The Capri was sold here under the Mercury name.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:21:07 AM EDT

[#39]

I used to bang a chubby chick that drove a Ranger Splash. She loved anal.

That’s all I got.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:24:13 AM EDT

[#40]

Best 90's Ford.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:27:55 AM EDT

[#41]

All but the ASC McLaren .

I don't think it was available here.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:28:49 AM EDT

[#42]

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Either of those Rangers is still probably programmed from the factory to explode if it gets within 10mph of the posted speed limit.

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My 4 cyl 85 Ranger would not pass CA emissions. It was a known issue and I had to keep some damn form in my glove box. It was a piece of shit due to bad ignition module design and placement.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:29:26 AM EDT

[#43]

Dad had a fire engine red Merkur XR4TI. Hot car.

He got pulled over in a notorious speed trap town once when he was poking along at 5 under the limit.

Dad- “why did you stop me? I wasn’t speeding.”
Barney- “No, but you looked like you wanted to.”

We also had a 72 Capri with a stick and the 2 liter DOHC four that loved to rev.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:30:29 AM EDT

[#44]

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I used to bang a chubby chick that drove a Ranger Splash. She loved anal.

That’s all I got.

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There’s always one in every GD thread.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:30:45 AM EDT

[#45]

No Taurus SHO?

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Posted: 4/3/2019 11:32:36 AM EDT

[#46]

The merkur was capable of quite a bit.

I'll always say Ford royally screwed up by not offering the escort cosworth here. They could have beaten out the WRX and stole the whole market.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:36:01 AM EDT

[#47]

My friend had an XR4Ti. He pronounced it “exerati”. He thought it was a foreign exotic sports car and drove it like hell.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:38:03 AM EDT

[#48]

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No Taurus SHO?
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/284997/EB617045-67B0-4105-ADCF-923B57B7F821_jpeg-899646.JPG

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SHO package is still available today.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:39:53 AM EDT

[#49]

My X has an 88 McLaren. We bought it new off the lot. A lot of fun to drive, for sure. Power wise, nothing like todays vehicles. The McLarens were lowered (body) a bit, and the windshield was also lowered some. The best feature of the that convertible was the top storage in a rear trunk, forward of the main trunk. This removed seating in the rear, with storage boxes in its place.

I could never really drive it comfortably, being 6' tall. It was OK with the top down, but with it up, my head was nearly up against the top, and the top of the windshield and rear view mirror were always in the way.

Posted: 4/3/2019 11:40:06 AM EDT

[#50]

Quote History

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No Taurus SHO?
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/284997/EB617045-67B0-4105-ADCF-923B57B7F821_jpeg-899646.JPG

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Mmmm, backwards fanblades.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anybody remember these weird Fords from the ‘80s-‘90s? (Page 2 of 4)

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