How easy is it to 'keep' a mk1 / 2 escort these days?

[c0s]

Hi all, not been here for a long time, was only that i came across a nice tidy looking mexico rep on ebay just now with the site name across screen that prompted the appearance

 

I'm seriously considering getting another one, been without for far too long and although it's really going to hurt paying 4-5k+ for a nice one (i used to pay 2-300 quid! I only paid £500 for a mk2 midnight blue RS2000 custom!) I think the smiles will be worth the cost

 

 

my concern is keeping hold of it, back when i owned them 15 ish years ago they went missing very easily and were worth next to nothing, now their value is obscene and i'm wondering how people have managed to keep theirs in their possession?

 

 

obviously i'm not expect you all to start listing where the cars are kept and security measures you use!!! But just a rough idea of what's become available on the market to upgrade the standard locks / good security measures etc would be usefull before i decide to get one or not. Unfortunately while i do have a garage, the bikes do and always will take pride of place in there before any car ever does! (and if i start putting a car in there the missus will think she can put hers in there too!)

[mk3tina]

well apart from the obvious alarms you can get, you could go the route of making the door locks non functional and have solenoid opening doors like modern cars. quick release steering wheels, polycarb windows, garage it!!! sell the bikes

[mk1super]

Garages big mean dogs always helpful Also never return to "base" in the same direction

[GJUK]

Snap off steering wheel, imobiiser, jack the car up if left for long periods of time, block the car in with other cars and things. Buy a rottie.

 

J

[lotusless]

+ in this world sleep in it with a loaded ak47

[RETRO_AL]

You need a garage to lock it away,Snap off steering wheels are a great idea i had one on the mk1,dont leave in carparks or it will be gone

[Sheepy]

if they want it, they'll take it, wont matter what you do.

 

when i lived in uk, there was a guy in my village who had a really nice gsxr1100 bike, it was locked in the garage, and blocked in with a car.

they broke in, moved the car, took the bike, then spotted the kids qud so took that as well.

no one saw or heard a thing!

 

another thing with alarms, years ago when you heard one, you used to look outside see who or what it is, but now too many people just think, another bloody alarm going off.

i cant remember the make, but there is one alarm that calls your mobile to alert you if its going off! (obviously no good if you miles away, will make you even more gutted)

[Pipster007]

Fit a Tracker

[Mexico]

I always garage mine, take of the steering wheel and bring in the ecu lol oo plus i got a whole lot of shit infront of it at the moment, welder, engine hoist etc

 

before they get it, the roller shutter door will probably wake me, if not the moving of the welder and than mite, and if not the bloody great big garage alarm will lol

[TooAteLeed]

dogs are fantastic alarms. im sure my german shepard tells me if someone passes within half a mile of our house!

[radar tech]

in short, watch it like hawk & trust nobody. it deffo makes me paranoid

[Retromotorsport]

Modifiy the hell out of it ... then they cant use the shell

 

Standard cars and proper gp4 cars are stolen all the time, because with a quick paint they are totally different cars.

 

Another thing to do, is stop taking pictures of it from 3/4's, low down, fancy locations and take pictures of teh cars fingerprints ....

 

In escorts, the seam sealer in the boot, above the two surport brakets and center brace are unique to every car, no two swirls are alike.

 

check yours and your mates out.. you'll see they are different.

 

When a quick blow over is done, these are just scotch brighted and painted.. they still show up. and if you find a shell, and its had top plates, these 'fingerprints' can get your car back.

 

Also, you've slipped with a screwdriver under the dash, scratched the paint, instead of swearing and cursing ..take a pic, and dont show it on teh web..just keep it, it will still be there after its painted in another colour .

 

The thing with 'standard ' cars is they are easy to shift on.. the buyer is non the wiser.. but even here, the buyers can help, if your buying a car, and the owner seems to know feck all about the car, or the sites that we all use, then walk away, and ask the police to go and have a look.

 

Its the same as tools and parts, if 'we' didnt buy stolen parts and tools they thieves wouldnt nick them.

 

I get scrotes coming round in a car, snap-on top box in the back, the same old story , ' i'm giving up being a mechanic' and they try and sell the tools.. i send them away and often say take them back to the bloke you stole them off.. of course they deny it,

Ask to see the spanners.. if he dosnt get the right draw first time.. its not his box, if he does, .. pliers, etc .. anyone whose worked a box for a year will know where they are ..

[H.P.E harry]

+ in this world sleep in it with a loaded ak47

 

not far wrong!!

[sampedlar06]

i really need to sort out a garage before i start finking about cars lol

[RETRO_AL]

I have a alarm in my garage aswell very simple unit,as soon as any door is opened it goes off unless you have disarmed it with the remote,i also have two massive flood lights which come on when you get near the garage

A good idea aswell would be a secruity post,and if keeping her stored over the winter remove the wheels

[aled]

A baby monitor hidden in the garage / under seat of car, receiver in the house.

[BaileyMex]

A baby monitor hidden in the garage / under seat of car, receiver in the house.

likeing that idea

[c0s]

scary replies!!! I thought it would be a problem, i didn't think it would be 'that' bad a problem!!

 

may have to delay it's purchase till house purchase is sorted (currently in a flat with a garage) so i can keep it off road at least to begin with, and later in the workshop (which is obviously silly secure for the bikes)

 

It's a sad state of affairs when you can't have what you want because someone else who hasn't paid for it will want it more

[SebringRS]

Mines in my grandads garage.

 

I do wonder everyday if its still there, cus to be honest i see it wheneva i go round, and that ain't much. Last time i saw it was bout 2 months before christmas

 

Its still there at the moment cus my grandad keeps me updated.

 

 

The only thing stopping them at night is my Grandads F-off big Ranger infront of the door But in the day, we got the door locked, and padlocked from the inside twice.

 

 

In the garage at our house with my dads zephyr in, we've got full alarm system in the whole house, which is set every night. Locked front door, and side. And a really bright security light inside the garage to blind the fook out of em (this was all after we got broken into ) Oh and infront of the garage door a big bit of American Muscle. It'l take alot of doin gettin passed that without makin a noise

 

Dad was thinking bout a big dog, that would be left in the garage at night as a kind of gaurd dog, but were still yet too get one

 

But we do have quite a large set of gates going up soon to stop em from being able to get anything out quietly.

 

And at the moment if we do catch em, we've only got a Metal Baseball bat, but im sure a gun can be arranged

 

I dnt think its just us thats gettin targeted though, its pretty much anythin classic and worth abit of money......it just seems to be Fords are the ones the theiving scum go for the most

[mrcheese]

I use a mk1 everyday for work shopping etc.. and have done for years, ok its only a 4dr, but its mexico spec with all the toys and there's no reason you can't use these things everyday! if you want an everyday mk1, aviod any rs escorts, even back in the day (20 yrs ago) I never bothered with them as you were paying a premium in purchase price and insurance for a log book a badge and bragging rights really, and you ran a much greater risk of theft, we used to just mod standard cars to the same spec very easily. The locks are poor and need to be modded, we used to fit modern barrels from mk3/4 escorts, they can be easily fitted. If someone wants to steal you car then its going to be hard to stop them, but of course this can be said for most things. A tracker is a good idea and also a kill switch, to combat theft from your home a wheel clamp is an excellent deterent, and i've found that the best tool against oppurtunist theft is to put a quality steel cable looped around the seat base and then threaded through the steering wheel and padlocked when you leave the car, easily visible to any potential thief. Ive always used a cable/padlock and a kill switch and so far never had a car stolen and I know that this has saved at least one of my vehicles in the past!