Just worth saying that the 74 facelift Mk III was a much greater update (inc new dash etc) than was the 80 facelift Mk IV>>
74MY Cortina facelift was.. er, a new dash and er..
80MY Cortina had new seats, revised carbs, new wraparound bumpers front and rear, new rear lights, new indicator design, new seats, new center console, new side mouldings, new front grille, revised plastics for glovebox and facia, air intake slots under front bumper and so on..
So there!
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I think there is even more difference Imagos - I'm fairly sure the area of glass was increased from MKIV to MKV (or Cortina 80). I don't know if this was done by slimming the pillars, or by raising the roofline, but there is a subtle yet noticable difference.
Number_Cruncher
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Also worth adding to the list of long-running models - the K11 Nissan Micra (I owned one for 8 years), from 1992 - 2003. There were relatively minor body-styling changes, and a small change in engine capacity/power (1.3-1.4), but was essentially the same car underneath all the way through its lifetime.
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& the old Micra is a Perodua Kelissia now, isn't it?
VB
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No... and it's Kelisa, I believe.
Anyway, just been trawling through this thread and came across a few references to the Sierra's independent rear suspension being revolutionary for a cheap car at the time. Tell that to a Triumph Herald owner! 1959 was slightly before 1982, I think.
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Yes, but it worked *well* on the Sierra!
From the horses mouth (a *very* senior Ford engineer at the time), Ford were trying quite hard to produce a rear suspension like that of the 3 series BMW of the time.
Number_Cruncher
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ear suspension like that of the 3 series BMW of the time.
! The original 3 Series of that era was a vicious beast in the wrong hands !
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Oh, I quite agree ;-)
A well sorted 323i of that era was a real joy to drive hard - excellent engine response and tail-happy behaviour which could be easily controlled with the throttle - excellent!
Of course, driven by a throttle happy dullard, they would bite back!
Number_Cruncher
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Exactly. So I wonder why Ford wanted to emulate them ?
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The sierra never had the power to unsettle it so it was no problem.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The sierra never had the power to unsettle it so it was no problem.
XR4, Cosworth, RS500, Sapphire Cosworth? Also the 88 on 125 bhp twin cams (GLS etc) were fairly lively.
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cobblers.
cosworths were not sierras. the xr4 was dog poo,
the xr4x4 xr6 and xr8 were something else however.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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cobblers. cosworths were not sierras. the xr4 was dog poo, the xr4x4 xr6 and xr8 were something else however.
The XR4 looked like dog poo, would have been much better with the "L" 3dr shell as the Cosworth later used (which was of course a Sierra) however it handled very tidily and could have done with another 30 bhp or so.
The XR4x4 had the most sophisticated 4x4 system of the time, all viscous coupled.
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The xr4x4 was a very sweetly balanced machine indeed. How it never got developed into other ford ranges in the future is beyond me.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The xr4x4 was a very sweetly balanced machine indeed. How it never got developed into other ford ranges in the future is beyond me.
It did, there was a 4x4 Sierra estate and a 4x4 Granada / Scorpio all using the same system, after which they went FWD, there was also 4x4 MkI Mondeo though a different system due the FWD plaftorm.
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i thought they were dangerous especially if you hit a pothole mid corner i did,
i picked one up an auto 1600 and was returning to work in the thing and it fair caught me out
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"
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The engineering team initially set the Sierra up to handle in a sharp way, but they were over-ruled (I don't know which department), and had to detune the suspension and steering to make it more palatable for Joe and Jane public.
They also found out along the way how BMW's materials choices weren't always technically superior - or even appropriate!
Number_Cruncher
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74MY Cortina facelift was.. er, a new dash and er.. 80MY Cortina had new seats, revised carbs, new wraparound bumpers front and rear, new rear lights, new indicator design, new seats, new center console, new side mouldings, new front grille, revised plastics for glovebox and facia, air intake slots under front bumper and so on.. So there!
The MkIII facelift had a completely new dash assembly that was carried forward into the Mk IV and Mk IV facelift (80's if you prefer), plus new seats, door trims, lights, front grill and a new engine!, the 1.6 xflow was replaced by a 1.6 version of the 2.0 Pinto, these engines were carried forward until the Sierra came along in 82 and beyond.
Ner ner na ner ner!
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Only two half decent Cortinas they made was MK2 and 3,Sierra was biggest load of rubbish they made.
IMO they could have produced better than that,but IIRc cosworth was based on sierra spec but upgraded body suspension chassis to take engine and drive.
Cosworth based cars were better than Sierra for drive and drivability but still lacked in handling,not forgetting high accident rates with these cars,but would put that down to driver not car?
--
Steve
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2WD Cosworths handled very well, 4WD Sapphire was superb.
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2wd cosworths handled like, well I would have called it a sierra fifi. Like my dog.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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2wd cosworths handled like, well I would have called it a sierra fifi. Like my dog.
What have you been drinking?
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Sierra was biggest load of rubbish they made.>>
cobblers.
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I can't believe how wound up you lot are getting over cortina's and sierra's!
Anyone would think your discussing mondeo TDCi's!
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cobblers
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Wound up?, no idle musing over distant memories.
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Very distant.
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I see the baby has woken up for his evening feed
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I can't believe how wound up you lot are getting over cortina's and sierra's!
>>>
I'm a 70's/80's child. I grew up with these and have owned several of both. When someone quotes the Sierra being rubbish I do get annoyed. I'd be quite happy to own either again. I trawl eBay freqently waiting for the right one to come along.
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In truth the sierra was a poorly sorted wagon when it first hit the streets. It was a an old car in fancy clothes. The fancy clothes were an aerodynamic mess (so bad it have to have bits tacked on later), and ugly (in basic trims) to boot.
and yes I had one and drove loads of variants.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>>Wound up?, no idle musing over distant memories
having had a few cups of tea tonight,I was musing over distant memories of this awful car,But as most seem to like em,probably why secondhand prices dropped so fast as no one would buy secondhand..pause for thought on that one...........paused, was a load of rubbish
--
Steve
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My dad had a few sierra's - a couple of nasty 2.3 diesels and a 1.8 TD Sapphire and to me they just seemed like run of the mill family/rep cars. The only one i ever really liked (apart from 3dr Cossies) was the rather smart looking 2000E Sapphire which our neighbour had from new.
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>>I see the baby has woken up for his evening feed<<
I didn't want you to think I'd gone or anything.
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