How Can I Put This.................................

[Jimbob-Squarepants ©]

Do you have one of those times when you want to ask a question, but you are not sure how to word it???

 

Well, I am having one of those moments. This general subject has been skirted around many times before, but they weren't answers I really wanted. So, here goes...............

 

Think back a few years to the very first release of Classic Ford Magazine. If I remember rightly, there weren't any other specialist Ford mags out there (for the old skool), so at what point did this whole Old Skool Ford scene kick off?

 

I know some are cult cars for various reasons, and I know some of the owners now, had the same cars when they were new. But, this is where I am struggling, how did things actually change when the Guv (Posse) launched this great site???

 

I get the feeling that some of the original Old Skool mob were originally a close group of friends, but what was the actual reasons for having this idea???

 

Finally, in what way has this site infuenced you in your choice of car? Did you already own an old Ford, or did you get one just because there is a big scene out there for them???

 

I personally had a Capri 7 years ago, and have always bought Classic Ford since it was released (Not at the moment though ), as time went on, I was getting slightly depressed that there was no one around my general area that had a similar car. The only place I could go to for advice was Tickover in Bexleyheath. (Top Lads)

 

It seems like things back then were a bit grim, I mean, what is the point of owning such a car if there is nowhere local to show it off? Not to mention the great bunch of likminded friends I have made during my short membership here.

 

So, if you are still reading, humour me with your replies

 

Cheers - Jim

[quickrack]

Well for me it started when i got sick of FWD and no style. Every car looked the same and were no fun. So i bought a MK1 Escort stuck a lightly tuned 1600 in it started going sideways and cheered up!!

[Rick]

i saw a group of lads thrashing around in an old 4 door mk1 escort

 

i thought wow that car looks great i want one.

then my dad showed me a pic of his old one when he was a lad.

 

that was then my one and only ambition (didnt know a whole scene existed til i started reading a few mags)

 

now im hooked on anything old and ford

 

pure style

[MightySprocket]

i'd always had fords just not all oldskool, First car Mk2 4 door, 1600 sports, 1300e when they were £100's to buy and not £1000's, had all the RS's from the 80's & 90's. Last year I wanted a weekend toy, stipulations were RWD, Tax Free & Ford!

Then bought the mags to see what was about and found this site!

I thinks OSF is responsible for one of, if not the biggest scene's.... and long may it continue

[Vista]

There was Ford Heritage magazine before Classic Ford, though I think it was a quarterly publication.

 

I got my first classic Ford in about 1993, is was a mk1 prefacelift 3 litre GT capri. I had big plans for it, but it was rotten to the core and ended up being broken for parts. Promptly replaced by a part finished facelift 3 litre GXL that was cracking when I'd finished it. I had it for nearly 10 years and still regret selling it.

 

As to what started it off for me, I'm not really sure. I wanted to restore a 70's car, and originally was planning on doing a TR6 or Stag. When I looked into the cost of one of these though it was frightening and there was plenty of them around anyway. I settled on Fords coz they were a lot rairer then (and still are now). Never looked back, and definitely no regrets!

[pelvins]

had a hilman imp as my first car ! , a few poo heaps in between , dident like any new cars at the time as they had no origonality , then by chance i bought an anglia and after that i was hooked on old skool cool and the rest as they say is history

[Mark2Mark]

I was bought up on mk2 escorts mostly RS2's and mexico's my dad always had one most of the time 3 or 4 and all his mates had them and they used to hang round at my dad's house as he lives in the countryside with some great lanes around him, so there was only one way i was going to go SIDEWAYS!! DAD YOU HAVE GOT A LOT TO ANSWER FOR

[60ftman]

Bought my first Mk1 Escy in 1979, and since then have had 3 mk 1's, 6 mk 2's (including 3 RS's and an X-Pack), 4 Mk 1 Granny's, 2 Capri's, 1 100E, 1 x 123E, 1 x E93A(Pop)

 

(5 XR 4x4 Sierra's - though not strictly Old Skool).

 

Love em. Reckon I'll always either have or want one.

[CéDriC]

I thought Owning an OSF isn't to show it to other people, it's firstly because You want it for you...

Personnally, iwant a Anglia pop and beg, but found the opportunity of the mk1 escort for cheap in the state she is, so i take it...not my first plan but really happy to have this one....

 

[MadMark2]

I have absolutely no idea what started me off........!!

 

All i know is that when i was 17 and id passed me driving test i had to have a mk2 escort. Me mum and step dad dont drive so it aint from them !

 

Maybe i am the chosen one and it was my destiny to own many a old skool ford ????

 

13 years later and probably 30+ Fords from 1974-1998 im still lovin it just as much as i did the day i got my first mk2.

 

OSF 4 EVER

[Jimbob-Squarepants ©]

Keep the replies coming people

 

Though Cedric, I do see your point there mate, I don't own an old Ford specifically to show. I was mearly using that as one example. My Capri is the daily weapon of choice for me, and if that is broken, I am quite happy to use the Anglia.

 

I am pretty much the same as other members on here, I have never had a car that was newer than an F reg (1989), I used to drive lots of different new cars for my job and found them annoying, plain, character less, and sometimes, unreliable.

 

I have always loved Capri's since I can remember, the programme The Professionals took care of that, but I have always wanted an Anglia. My dad had a few when he was my age, and he used to rally one.

 

I just often wonder how it would be now if OSF & eBay were not around. I know I would still be behind the wheel of a Capri as I have always liked to be different. Without this site though, I would certainly have not met the friends I have now. I always look forward to the meets, The Ace particularly, just so I can meet up with other likeminded people to exchange advice, ideas and to look at other old Fords.

[Mark2Mark]

Well for one thing it would be a lot cheaper to run one if there wasn't e bay and the big scene that's for sure

[CéDriC]

Well for one thing it would be a lot cheaper to run one if there wasn't e bay and the big scene that's for sure

That's right...

I was mearly using that as one example. My Capri is the daily weapon of choice for me, and if that is broken, I am quite happy to use the Anglia.

It's easier to understood that last thread...

 

It's well true, with or without ebay (how did i do with my last anglia?????

have to phone when found a great number or article, try to explain, need to go in england 2 or 4 times a months???

But that's great because i meet some really nice people as i do here....

ps: sometimes one word make a different way in a sentence, and i could sometimes missed a word or two....

[Wessie]

i got into osf's by watching rallying and oval racing - it was watching george polley and barry lee sideways around the oval racing expo @ the NEC that made me buy my anglia

[Posse]

good post jimbob i was thinking this the other day.ive owned osf cars most of my driving life and for me the scene has really picked up over the last 4 years .

[Gareth]

I love any old car...

 

But, to be honest at first I really wanted a yank.

When I started trying to turn my dream into reality (the second

I passed my test),

the reality hit that I'd never be able to afford one

 

Yet...

 

So I thought about classic English cars, and the first car to enter

my head was the Mk1 Escort :D

It was decided from then on I had to have a 2 door tax exempt

Mk1 Escort.

 

At first I thought "Yeah a grand or so for a good 'un..." How wrong I was

I decided to start lookin for one at the start of the BIG price boom

So I got my Mk1 smoked around in it for a while before takin it off

the road for the impending rebuild....

 

Since then, I flogged my Rover (the most modern car I've ever owned )

Bought another RWD ford in the shape of an XR4i

and got rid of that in favour of a Mk3 Capri, which

is my current road car :D

 

I drove my Grilfriend's Astra after she hurt herself

at the Christmas bash and thought "This FWD b*llox sucks!!"

Dont think I'll everr own a FWD car again....

[bomber1]

ive always wanted a rwd escort. then come into a bit of cash 2yrs ago. just as i saw this mk1 for sale happy days ive never been into modern cars. mini van fintail cambridge morris oxford 67 morris minor a couple of sieras then transit van then sprinter van. love rwd fullstop osf even better joining this site is just the icing on the cake

[martymk1]

25 years ago i had a mg1300, one night just before christmas i wrapped it round a back of a lancia;

 

didn't have a car for 2 months, then my brother in law knew of a mk1 tina for sale in portsmorth, wanted me to take a day off to go to see it,

 

couldn't get the day off, so him & my dad went to see it, & bought it on the spot for £300,

 

the first time i saw it was when they pulled up outside, thought it looked ok & fell in love with it, & had it since, joined the the owners club, started going to shows, & got into the scene that way

 

now my other half is as mad about her as i am, she's got her own story's to tell about them

 

[EmmaOrbit]

It all started for me from day one, as my dad raced them when i was a nipper. Have had all sorts of cars from new to old, but always go back to the old skool. My angle box is in homage for my dad as he is no long with me.

[bortaf]

Got me first Mk1 escort when i was 15 in 1984, when they where £50 for a 2 door with no ticket

Never really done the new car thing, did have a wild 9 months with a J reg rover 420 GSI back in 99 but that was a 3rd car to a Mk2 granny GhiaX and a Mk2 transit minibus .

 

Still drive the same old shitters it's just other people call em old skool or classic

[V8ian]

Being the old fart on here, I suppose I have never known any different, Allways been part of the Sarf London scene evan in the 70s, First car was a 1948 V8 Pilot, 22 anglias, 400e Thames, cortinas Zephyrs and so on, the scene has allways existed, but generally was more people of my age and older, with just a few younger "Hard Liners", a lot of the SE hardcore has revolved around the Harris family, with Ron and Andy being forefront with Martin, Geoff and Lil Ron bringing up the rear, and their subsiquent families keeping the torch burning, of course the likes of Nick Arlett, Terry Ross of Speed Freak models fame and many others have allways had fast, clean, 60/70s fords, The scene never really went away. a few of us slowly kept building cars while our families grew up, some are still building the cars they started 20 years ago ,

The Escort thing may well have survied as they have been well thought of by the Rally brigade since their inception, and many were kept going well beyond their sell-by dates and seemed to allways be about,

Ian

[arch]

bassicly for me i was born an bread with a old ford my dads mk3 cortina gt love tht car an sum day i will own it hopfully but now iv got to put up with my escort so bassicly deep down im a mk3 tina man but i do like all the other fords out ther an hopefully have a chance of owning a few love them i dont like anything with bodykit its all shite

[Jimbob-Squarepants ©]

V8Ian, that is a good reply mate I have always lived in SE London, but never knew about this "South London Scene" untill a few years ago.

 

Do you know how it all started? I am assuming it is pretty much how things start these days, i.e. a weekly cruise.

 

Why is it there seems to be more of a following for our old Fords down south???

 

Full of questions I know, but like I said at the beginning of this thread, I am not sure of how to word the relevant question.

[Jelly]

I want an Escort Cosworth!

 

Insurance Man: You want what?! I think not!

 

Damn. How about something like an RS2000 Mk6..?

 

Insurance Man: Har! Think again!

 

Um.. How about something lukewarm like a 1.8 GTi?

 

Insurance Man: That'll be £10,000.

 

Eh?!

 

Insurance Man: Per Month.

 

*Sniff* What about a older car then, like a Mk1 or something?

 

Insurance Man: Ah, that's Classic Insurance, so let's say... 25p?

 

 

 

And that is the story of how Jelly started his love affair with Old Skool Fords..

 

[V8ian]

V8Ian, that is a good reply mate I have always lived in SE London, but never knew about this "South London Scene" untill a few years ago.

 

Do you know how it all started? I am assuming it is pretty much how things start these days, i.e. a weekly cruise.

 

Why is it there seems to be more of a following for our old Fords down south???

 

Full of questions I know, but like I said at the beginning of this thread, I am not sure of how to word the relevant question.

 

 

Questions Questions, have you a couple of days,??

Modifying cars has been a ongoing thing since the car was built, build a better moustrap scenario, look at the racing Bentleys of the 30s, Lighter body will make it go faster rarher than that big pullman body, then lets fit the bigger engine, still not beating the Bugattis, lets fit a Supercharger, still not winning, 8 litres might work then, and so on, Austin 7 specials, and ford specials have allways existed, their definition has allways been strange, Specials, I was at Bromley Peagent 20 years ago with my mate in his Rover powered 1948 Austin Devon hot rod, standing in the background I was listening to a fella tut tutting and saying the beautiful car was ruined,made into the F!!!!!g abortion of a car [this car went on to win the NSRA best of Britian award] Me being me asked him what was wrong with it, and I got a real gob full, I then asked him what he had, "Oh a Austin Special, 2 seater boat tail bodywork, different brakes, bigger wheels and an engine out of a bigger car", Ah a "HOT ROD" I replied I am surprised he dident die of a heart atteck there and then, he went ballistic, but still a modified car.

The "scene" was never just a SE thing it was nation wide, and personally I think the mod car scene was a throwback to after the war [gettin deep now] but I will spare you that, Just have a look in old car & car conversions or Hot Car of the 60s & 70s, fords have allways had a good following with a common thread thru all the ranges with continuity of parts, for me I can see a thread back to 1932, if not earlier with the model Y, 4cyl flathead engine, this engine then was fitted to the E93a and similar range of car [sit up and beg pop] both had a similar engine and chassis, that engine then went on to power the 100e, which in turn was ftted with a small pre X flow [107e] that was then seen in the Mk 1&2 cortina, classic, anglia, then the X flow in the Mk2 cortina and the Anglia replacement the Escort, This is why Ford has/had such a modifying history, people can see a common thread and think if that engine will bolt to that box with this prop and brakes from that I can get a better/faster car, Ford were also clever in the racing scene with Anglias Escorts and Cortinas, and when the home grown tin was not fast enough, importing big HP falcons, fairlanes and galaxies to beat the jags, Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday was what they went by.

The same existed with Austin/Morris/MG/Riley/Wolsley, the same interchangeability existed right up untill the rover220vittesse,

The chelsea cruise was a major part of my motoring education and the street racing down trinity road and nine elms lane, the streets were packed on cruise nights with cars and spactators, it got so busy the cruse moved out of Chealsa and went onto a route around Batersea and Chelesa bridge untill the whole area became gridlocked, complete with a few accidents and the police moved in, and shut the cruise down, turning it into a static car show in batersea park. and dishing out tickets like there was no tomorrow, the street racing was blamed mostly on the "Escort Boys" who were destroying the cruise, much the same as the FWD brigade are blamed today, for ruining the evening car events today, Even the Chealsea Cruise was deatroyed from its initial founding by cars, as it was a bike event in the 40s but as the bikers got older and more money they bought cars, the story repeats its self again and again.

 

Later

Ian