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Ford Escort ZX2

1555 messages,  Last post on Dec 19, 2012 at 2:18 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Escort, Coupe

Messages Page 96 of 157

#942 of 1555 Perils of a failing DSL connection.. by photog0264

Jun 12, 2001 (10:36 pm)

Perils of using a failing DSL connection. I have tried to post several times over the past 2 nights. However when I get connected "poof" I can't do anything. At any rate here we try again...
 
Rick...
I know the place on 50... To be honest I was trying to remember where it was. You are quite right about an MG grave yard. If memory serves me there was quite a few older Mgs over there. In truth it is not very far from as live within sight of Dulles Towncenter. By the way what colour is your ZX2?
 
Hmmm...
Now there would be an interesting kit car to get my hands. Grab an old MG cheap, and blow out my limited entertainment funds restoring it. Of course it wouldn't be a very practical to do, given that I live in an apartment building and don't even have a garage. However perhaps in the not too distant future if I could scrap together enough cash for a small house with a garage... Maybe a nice green Triumph convertable. IT would certainly be an eye catcher. There again at the moment I can barely afford my current hobbies and despite everyones words of advise against. I am still hanging on to the fantasy of getting a second car. Somehow I think a Classic sports car would not be very practical.
 
Floridian...
I have heard of Creative mods where they turn normal cars in to convertables. THere are in fact several ZX2 in this area that I have seen with modified sunroofs. On my first ZX2 I spent quite a bit of time moaning over how it didn't have one. I even went so far as to contact several companies regarding sunroofs. Several offered up some interesting different variations on the normal roof. Most notable where several designs that where both slimmer and larger.
 
However I think this kid who talked about the convertable ZX2 was almost certainly confusing the ZX2 with another similiar OTHER sports coupe. Like I said I even offered to send him a camera if would only shoot some pictures of it for me. Sort of ashame though because though I am not a convertable fan, the ZX2 would look pretty cool as a roadster. There again I think Ford already has a roadster don't they? I believe it's called the Miata.
 
Which reminds me wasn't the old Escort GT available as two seater?
 
The mystery car to me though is the ultra limited Super ZX2 S/R 2001. The one that was mentioned to me by a Ford Exec. at an airshow last year. On the two or three occasions I questioned Ford about it they have politely confirmed for me that such a car does exist, only they have not had any details regarding it immediatly available. To date the only independant information I have about it came from a phantom E-mail with a dead address. So again the question raises it's head, does it exist?

#943 of 1555 Wow I made it!!! by photog0264

Jun 12, 2001 (10:38 pm)

Sorry I was in utter amazement that my posting went through...
 
While we are on the subject of older cars.. Does anybody know of any books covering the history and lineage of Fords?
 
Also does anybody have any refs to the Concept car that became the ZX2?

#944 of 1555 Ford "EXP", two seater by floridian

Jun 13, 2001 (1:56 am)

photog: yes, you are correct. The first Escort line-up did include a two seater (Mercury had a version also)These are fairly rare and seldom seen. These were the "hot ticket" at the time for conversion to a neat little convertable,kind of like a "do it yourself Mercury Capri". I used to see a lot of these running around Boca Raton, Fl. It seemed that all the rich college kids had one of those. I suspect some local "converter" was sawing tops off these cars and thus a convert. I looked one close up and it was a very professional job, nice folding top hardware etc. The more I think about it a ZX2 convertable would be as cute as heck.
 
Floridian

#945 of 1555 restoring cars? by rickgonz

Jun 13, 2001 (6:31 am)

I would not personally want to restore one of those older sports cars. If it doesn't run, I'm leery of it. Also I am a bit more practical now, wanting heat and A/C in a car.
 
Older cars will need some body repair work to replace rusted sheet metal parts. Those replacement parts are available and made by specialist companies. Then the seats, top, suspension. And the engine will definitely require some work.
 
A friend of mine from NJ had a Triumph sitting in his garage for 5 years. I think he finally sold it off 'as is' after much nagging from his wife. He had put in a lot of money in to the engine, had not gotten around to body repair and paint yet.
 
Although not in the same category, I had an old Renault 4L back in Manila which I intended to restore, but alas a couple of thousand dollars later had it towed away as I could no longer afford to keep sinking money into it.
 
Probably better value as an everyday driver would be the Mercury Capri convertible. It would be cheap to drive and maintain. However, wouldn't expect it to be any kind of performance car as it was tested against the Miata by the car mags. It lost on all counts: acceleration, slalom, comfort, etc.
 
It doesn't share much with the ZX2 beyond the chassis, but they're both based on the Mazda 323 platform.
 
Oh yeah, my car's dark blue but nothing else to distinguish it. Can't remember exactly what Ford calls that color. I haven't modified the car at all, not even the wheels/tires. But I've seen lots of ZX2s around Loudoun, most of them driven by 30-something women.

#946 of 1555 ZX2 market by ralex2

Jun 13, 2001 (12:09 pm)

I know Ford aimed the Z at college age females, but I see mostly thirty something women driving them. I suspect most are second cars and the wife gets it. There are a few college males driving lightly modified Zs, but not many.. According to the local Ford dealers, they are all automatics. The dealers just don't want a 5 speed on the lot - hard enough to sell with an automatic. How old are the Gen X folks now? That's what the "X" in ZX2 supposedly stands for. I have forgotten who is included in Generation X, probably because I'm mch closer to Generation B. Floridian may be an A. : )

#947 of 1555 Better late than never posting by photog0264

Jun 16, 2001 (7:01 pm)

Oh the joys of a failing DSL provider... Occasional drops in service, the hell of trying to get my E-mails, lost pages. Could life get any better?
 
At any pardon my little bit of venting...
I agree Rick the Fantasy of restoring an old car versus the Reality are two quite different things. As your friend and others have indirectly remarked here it takes quite a bit of dedication and commitment. Without question far more than I am likely to have.
 
I suspect a more practical idea would be buy Camaro as my general sports car, grab up a high milieage used mini freighter, for the occasional Pc monitor. Then follow Ralex's example and start turning my ZX2 into an s/r. Now does that make sense? Damn I think I just spent about $40 Grand!!! I think I need to rethink this or get a $20 per hour raise. But then I could probably afford that two bedroom one den Townhouse.
 
ah the insanity of it all!!!

#948 of 1555 Alternative Automotive Aquisition Technique by ralex2

Jun 16, 2001 (8:02 pm)

Photog,
 
Marry a girl with a Navigator and a house. Trade the ZX2 in on a Miata. Let her make the payments, and ... oh yes . . . .tell her you love her.

#949 of 1555 Thats all??? and an odd coincidence... by photog0264

Jun 17, 2001 (12:22 am)

The only problem is the Girl I am currently dating is too young for anything serious. She is in fact an East German (yes some still refer to that region by that name) is on a temporary visa and she has her eyes on my ZX2. The first time I took her out in it she was a buzz with all the techno facts about sports cars.
 
I just wish it could last a little longer with this girl, but it all ends on August 28th when she goes back home for good. Ah well that body does make an older fellow smile and for a couple months at least I can be happy. She really is a charmer a looker, a brain, and sadly for me only barely an adult.
 
It is interesting to hear though that the Miata and the ZX2 share a lineage with the Mazda 323 (also know as the GLC in it's first US incarnation). This is something I did not know. One of my first cars was a Mazda GLC. At one point just before I went back to England to join the services of the crown. I dated a West German girl on a similiar visa program to the one I am seeing now. Then as now I started seeing her just a few months before she went back. A bizzare coincidence or what? So hear again in my strange life I have gone the full circle. One of my first cars, a strange relationship with a German girl on a preset time limit... Flip forward 15 years later... An indirect relative of that car, a relationship with a German girl on a preset time limit.
 
Whats next another tour of Beirut??? thanks no 3 tours was more than enough for me... Besides the 18 weeks of basic, and 36 weeks of regimental training I went through would probably kill me this time through. Which is of course what those sadistic $%$#% tried to do to me the first time around 15 years ago. An American Accented Brit in the British Army is a natural target.
 
Damn it I am in a way too serious mood tonight (this morning). I guess it must be the Guiness (way too heavy for this heat).

#950 of 1555 by freddy_k

Jun 18, 2001 (1:12 pm)

Just got back from a tour through Israel. About the only thing I missed from home was my car. It was my first time off this contenant and really cool. er- hot. Anyway cars are a fortune there so it really is a land of econo cars, but because of that there are some pretty funky ones on the roads, and some I'm sure would sell well over here, and maybe draw people away from the mighty cavalier.
 
Anyway, photog, from what I understand the ZX2 was a pretty last minute design and there really isn't much in the way of concepts.
 
For the convertable ZX2 - no thank you. Ever driven a sunfire convertable? I love the idea of a convertable, hence my almost impatient waiting for my miata next year, but I wouldn't want a cheap half a$$ed one, which is exactly what it would end up being. From roof to stability I doubt they would be able to make it work right and still keep the price respectable. Maybe some T-tops though...
 
One last thing, Ford owns the majority of Mazda but I believe mazda is still in charge of their little roadster. If I am wrong about this please don't tell me, I'd rather remain igorant

#951 of 1555 Convertibles by ralex2

Jun 18, 2001 (3:22 pm)

There was a time, when convertibles were heavier than coupes. The roof adds strength to a car and without it, extra cross members were added to the frame to eliminate twist. With unibody construction, I'm not sure how the strength is regained. Not sure I want to find out.

Messages Page 96 of 157

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