Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing?

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 02:26
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jt7747

Delighted to have picked up a pretty good condition mk3 fiesta for £350 on ebay. I was the only person to see the car, not a great deal of interest because it's 1993.

Only 60k miles, pretty sure that's genuine as the last half dozen MOTs tally.

I've booked a full service at my local independent, I have no service history. I wonder what things I should mention in particular, eg timing chain? I'll get hold of a haynes manual asap, but I just wonder what I should be keenly listening out for?

Compared to the old mk2 1.1 I recently scrapped, this car feels great. Drives really nice. Pristine inside. Sills starting to rust, but hopefully that will just mean a few cheap plates to weld before the MOT in Jan. It's even taxed until Aug.

I also thought they'd sold it with 3/4 of the tank full. Then I noticed the petrol needle didn't move when the ignition was off, so I guess it's stuck! I can live with that, I don't do long trips, so will just keep it topped up to be safe.

Hopefully it will be a great car. 5 doors and a sunroof! But if there's anything to be worrying about please let me know.

Thanks!

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 03:37
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - Duncan112

Check the age of the tyres and the condition of the sidewalls, especially the inner ones - if they are more than 5 years old then I'd get new ones. Also have the brake fluid changed - bought an old car once and it wasn't funny when the fluid gassed going down Wrynose Pass in the Lake District.

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 08:20
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jc2

The gauges on some of these don't go back to zero when you turn the ignition off;could be one of those.

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 10:08
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - daveyjp

These had a constant read fuel guage, so it won't go to zero.

It might may be rattly, but these engines always were - get all the tappit clearances checked and reset as this may improve it.

Coolant and brake fluid flush are always worth while and while changing the coolant fit a new thermostat.

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 11:40
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jt7747

Thanks everyone. I'm delighted to hear the fuel gauge might not be faulty! That must be worth another 30 quid at least with today's prices.

I will avoid steep descents, I took the mk2 fiesta to yorkshire and discovered that hot brakes aren't really up to scratch. I'll leave that to hire cars.

I will learn about tappets. I thought they were the noise you get, but everyone refers to them in a different way. Not that I'll even venture to remove the rocker cover. One day perhaps.

The front tyres are new, but I need a new spare wheel anyway so I'll try to find some decent part worn, or wheels from the scrappy. THANKS!

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 12:16
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - Dutchie

Good luck with your car a full service should go a long way and if needed fluid changes.

Your independent should sort it for you.

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 14:21
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - daveyjp

Your indie can do a tappit check, it doesn't take long and you'll get a new rocker cover gasket!

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 15:27
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jc2

Just don't set them too tight-the engine works better with them mid/top limit.The gauge won't drop to zero but it'll only give an "accurate" reading with ignition on.

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 17:02
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - Lygonos

Don't be shocked if it needs a new water pump after a coolant flush as sometimes it's the coolant crud blocking up any leaks ;-)

Not expensive to replace anyway.

As said above - it will sound like a box of rocks being shaken compared to most newer engines - this is normal for the OHV engine even with correct tappet settings.

Keep a can of WD40 in case the coil gets damp in heavy rain too.....

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 18:40
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - ddr

Surely at that price/age you are well, well into bangernomics territorry. This means that spending money on servicing or any kind of preventive maintenance isn't worth it.

If it was me I'd forget all but the most basic of services - oil, filters. Would not dream of touching things like tappets etc unless it was DIY + free.

Cambelt... well if it goes the car is scrap, but to get it replaced will cost the value of the car. Probably better to leave it. For all you know it'll crash out of the MOT with uneconomical repairs needed.

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Wed 30 Mar 2011 18:45
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jc2

Cambelt??? It's a 1.1 ohv-chain and short chain at that!

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Thu 31 Mar 2011 19:25
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jt7747

Ok Thanks - that's what I suspected, it doesn't even have a timing belt!

Engine sounds OK. I'm no expert tho. Reckon the battery might be cranking pretty low, but that's no problem as I kept the (almost new) battery from my mk2, they let me take it out at the scrap yard!

The start up crank / starter motor is MUCH louder than my mk2, not sure why that is. Otherwise the brakes are much smoother, and the overall handling is OK. I'm very happy without power steering, espcially on a small light car.

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Fri 1 Apr 2011 23:00
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - jt7747

My headlights point down ridiculously. I can hardly see the road on country roads at night. Is it easy to raise the beams? Must've been some idiot MOT tester lowered them that much...otherwise car performed great on a 12 mile trip today

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Sun 10 Apr 2011 01:44
Ford Fiesta mk3 - Just bought 1993 Fiesta 1.1 for £350. Servicing? - renorti

rust would be the biggest issue,especially underneath

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