AX wanted

Mrs Sleepy · Post by **Mrs Sleepy** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:28 pm

Hee hee he's not safe! Why would I want a KA they are only suitable for banger racing

. I want a AX cos it was the 2nd ever car that I drove and it suited me.

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:31 pm

Welcome aboard Mrs Sleepy and thank you for the cuppa you made me last time I visited!

DavidRutherford · Post by **DavidRutherford** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:37 pm

Mrs Sleepy wrote:Hee hee he's not safe!

Keeping an "eye" on him by any chance!

Ian_Fearn · Post by **Ian_Fearn** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 6:37 pm

Hi Mrs Sleepy!!!

My ex girlfriend had a Ford Ka brand new. 3 years later it failed its first MOT to the tune of nearly a grand! I personally thought it was the worlds worst car in every respect!

OK, the AX isnt the worlds best car but from a value for money point of view they are brilliant little cars.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 7:04 pm

Sorry, the Ka is a God awful car and the engine is the real achilles heel. Gutless, noisy, tinny slow and appalling in my experience. I can`t believe they came from the stable from the Fiesta tbh. Yeah, quite a few smaller engined Fiesta`s sounded rattly but get a good 1100 or 1300 Fiesta and to be fair they`re a bloody great little machine, ditto the 205 in petrol or diesel. The 205 suffers from the usual Peugot syndrome though: buy a bad one and you`ll spend a lifetime regretting it, buy a good one and you`ll love it. The trick is, as with most cars, to weed out the rubbish ones.

M · Post by M » Wed Apr 19, 2006 7:45 pm

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Opened a can oe worms suggesting a Ka didnt I - and I only did it because I honestly thought they were the same as the Fiasco under the skin.
So its Fiasco Good - Ka Bad.

Still think the AX is a bag of nails though

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:03 pm

Have all mechanics forgotten the art of adjusting tappets? The reason I ask is that every KA and some Festers I encounter suffers from extremely noisy tappets. Don't remember hearing them 20 years ago but perhaps tappet noise was so common it passed without comment.

jeremy

DavidRutherford · Post by **DavidRutherford** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:35 pm

jeremy wrote:Have all mechanics forgotten the art of adjusting tappets?

Quite probably.

I was talking to a 20-ish year old mechanic at a local garage... and he had no idea what I was on about with a "pushrod" engine

"You know, like a Rover V8, a Land-rover TDi, or a mini engine"

- not a clue!

I like the fact that I can adjust the tappets on my C25D van with a screwdriver and a spanner. Makes the engine *slightly* quieter... not that you'd notice though!

Mrs Sleepy · Post by **Mrs Sleepy** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:18 pm

Thank you for the welcome, he keeps saying he's going to hide the keyboard.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:40 pm

Just think of the fun you both could have with wireless keyboards!

M · Post by M » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:10 am

jeremy wrote:Have all mechanics forgotten the art of adjusting tappets?

as David says - Probably. Was a ususal 20 thousand mile job for me on the Fester - didnt really need it doing as it sounded no different once done, but it was one of those jobs that I happily did thinking I was prolonging its life.
But who in their right mind would leave spark plugs in a iron block for 30K miles?
Back in the days when I owned cars like this every week there would be something to do - just routine fettling, but this routine fettling ensured the cars never ever let me down, in fact I went all over Europe one summer in a MK2 1.1 Pop Plus - never missed a beat and by that stage had done about 85K. In some ways this is why I like the BX as its simple weeekly fettling and excuse to get out from under the wifes feet... Sorry where were we - an AX.... Ewwww

Mind you my first car was an ADO16 Austin 1300 - I loved it and would have another tomorrow - so I cant really comment can I

DavidRutherford · Post by **DavidRutherford** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:25 am

Marty wrote:But who in their right mind would leave spark plugs in a iron block for 30K miles?

No-one.... No-one with any clue as to what they are doing anyway.
The problem is that the KA, and aparently the very late Festers have a spark-plug interval of 30k, and no requirement to clean/gap them in between. So they never get touched.

According to one of the (shockingly helpful) service managers at a Ford garage near here, the problem with the KA is caused by the very high grille and poor shielding, which allows road salt spray through straight onto the head, causing it to corrode really badly. The Fester doesn't suffer from this, as it's front is a different shape, with better shielding/guarding.

Maybe having a slightly weepy rocker-cover gasket and a fim of oil on the engine isn't such a bad thing!

Getting back to the point of the OP..... As Mrs. Sleepy is now a member of the BX club... I think she needs a BX.... His and Hers matching BX's!

RichardW · Post by **RichardW** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:49 pm

The KA got the old push rod engine, becuase it was designed for a new 2-stroke engine. Unfortunately, some legislation (nox I think) canned it, which left Ford with a car and no engine. Only one that would go under the bonnet was the old 1.3 pushrod.

My wife's best friend has got one. She thinks it's great - we both think it's a pile of poo - but each to their own! ZX is a much much better car. Especially with an XUDT under the lid

Oh, back to the AX - OK as far as they go. My Dad had a 1.4D which was OK (ish - I can't drive them as I can't get my feet in the footwell!) - never broke down, and did 60mpg. He sold it to my sister, then it threw its cambelt about 14 months later

He found her a nice ZX instead though

Pity it's missing a turbo, but you can't win them all

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:57 pm

That`s a point Richard, I remember a few years ago now the local police were trialling cars with 2 stroke engines and I never heard anymore about it. Shame, as a dedicated 2 stroke bike enthusiast I`d love one. Looks like I`ll have to save up and get an late sixties Saab instead or even better a bright green Wartburg Knight. Mmmmmmm

Mrs Sleepy, in a vain attempt to go back on topic slightly, have you considered a Renault 5? You can them very cheap nowadays and they`re suprisingly nice and easy to drive, good on fuel and pretty well made too.

M · Post by M » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:50 am

cavmad wrote:a bright green Wartburg Knight. Mmmmmmm

One of the few cars with the potential to start up with the engine running backwards leaving you with 4 reverse gears and one forwards one.

For a truly outstanding 2 stoker car go for a Bond Mini with Villiers engine - under bonnet kick start and a turning circle to weep for! My dad had one he restored a few summers back it was fantastic driving into the garage forwards - and coming out the same door again forwards! ( though there is a repair in the asbestos panneling on the garage where I clobbered it doing this trick)
Top speed of 40 ish, 50 downhill with a following breeze - but that was lairy stuff when your arse is 3 inches from the tarmac. Think it was a 172cc engine.