If a person were looking for a car that gets better MPG than a 750 Honda motorcycle, this 1984 Ford Escort Wagon diesel 5-speed is it. Or, it was one choice in the 1980s. This mpg king is on craigslist, or here on the CL archive, with an asking price of $4,500. It’s located in Bear Creek, Wisconsin.
EPA figures weren’t quite as accurate as they are today, and even today there are those of us who find fault with those numbers. Ford touted the diesel Escort as having better MPG than a Honda 750 with believe it or not 68 mph highway. I lived through that era as a lot of us did and I don’t remember a car getting even close to that number of miles per gallon of anything. But, the seller mentions “50 city and to 70 highway”. I may have to buy this for my business road trip car if it gets that kind of MPG.
Whether it’s 68 mpg or 58 or even 48, which would still be great, this car itself looks great. Actually, adjusted for the new EPA method those numbers aren’t quite as mind-blowing: 35 city and 47 highway. That’s still great mpg but it’s not Daffy Duck jumping up and down nutso. The good part is that I don’t see one flaw on the exterior of this car anywhere. The two-tone paint scheme is pretty elegant, if that can be said about a Ford Escort. This one has “4 Newer w/w winter tires (2 new all season($375) incld), new struts on rear,new front incld.($225), new 1,050 Cold Cranking Amp. battery($110), will include a box of oil filters and an extra injection pump ($250 value), new starter($125), new muffler/tailpipe($50), floor mats, etc.” And, a trailer hitch?! I’m guessing and hoping that’s for a hitch-mounted bike rack and not for pulling a trailer.
There’s a lot of stuff happening in the console area, I don’t quite know what that is, maybe an aftermarket radio/bluetooth/oxygen hose/who knows. The front seats look great as do the back seats. The seller says “No Rust-No Dents-No Smoke No Accidents. All oringinal [sic] panels, near perfect inside and out. Very clean door jambs and all door bottoms and tailgate bottom is perfect also.” It has “tilt, cruise, a/c(needs a hose, easy access, pump belt on), stereo radio, rear wiper/wash and def., lugage rack, rust proofed(Ziebart) when new, cargo cover, new OE Ford logo mud flaps, dash lights changed to LED’s. Reconditioned wheels and trim rings with new center caps.”
The mpg king is running Mazda’s RF 2.0L diesel that would have had a whopping 52 hp. The Escort and Mercury Lynx diesel lasted from 1984 to 1987 and this car paired up with that 5-speed would at least be somewhat fun to drive but obviously not quick in any way, taking almost 21 seconds to get to 60 mph. Sometimes life isn’t about a 0-60 number it’s about having an unusual, obscure but still useful car, one that you won’t see at every stoplight. Wait, that’s just my life, never mind.
I don’t remember diesel Escorts, but Escorts were not that memorable. I am amazed that I’ve not even heard about them. My father was a fuel economy geek, and he drove a Honda Civic 1300 DX. He got 51 MPG commuting on mostly expressways. It looks to me that the leading edge of the hood on this car has been hit.
I don’t either, but I can’t imagine it’s a real ‘high spot’ for 1980’s autos.
Ford used the Mazda Motor for 1984, 1985, 1986 only in the Escort and Tempo. The Mercury sibling Lynx and Topaz also. The Ranger diesel was a different Mazda Motor. No hood damage on this car, or any
I just bought a 1984 escort 1.6 4 dr. 5 speed with only 130,000 original mileage
I had the 86 sedan. Loved it. The only problem I had was the fuel clogging up. I learned to carry an extra filter. I was going to drive forever until the head cracked. I drove it for 8 years.
If this was a Lynx I would think it would be just the thing to park next to my 72 Colony Park wagon at the car show. Big and little.
I have had a new Mercury Lynx diesel, 1984. Bought new cost around $7800.00. My mileage was around 40 city and 56 highway. Drove from Michigan to Florida put 2995 miles in 2 weeks on this vehicle. Diesel was cheap then, 78 cents per gallon. Total cost for fuel was $56.00. Still have original sales brouchere. Should have kept this ride. Still miss this to today.
the price is $5,500. not sure if it was raised or if your price is typo.
bdub, if you look at the “CL archive” it shows that they originally had it listed at $4,500.
I’d rather have the Honda 750!
There’s a guy that specializes in 750 restos and restomods close by, complete and incomplete project bikes and parts too. Iconic machines for sure!
I own that 750 Honda nighthawk. Sexy and loud. On the highway it’s revving around 4600 but nice street bike.
I wonder how emissions are on it
Exempt
For anyone thinking they might buy this, be advised. These engines have belt driven overhead cams. Be sure to do the belt service or it can get expensive. Being a diesel, the required compression ratio for compression ignition will not allow a so called “freewheeling” engine design. Making enough clearance for the valves and the pistons to occupy the same space if the cam belt were to break would reduce the CR too much. The injection pump is also driven by a belt from the back of the cam. If that belt breaks it will only leave you stranded, no other harm done. I do note and am not quite sure why this has the turnbuckle between the injection pump and one of the valve cover bolts. That is not stock.
That turn buckle was used to set the timing. The pump is loosened slightly, and the turn buckle tightened or loosened to rock the pump toward the motor to advance or push toward the radiator to retard the timing. A very rare car now, maybe only 20 wagons out of the 200 or so diesels vehicles that are drivable! I can see this car hit $10k in just 10 yrs or less!
I have one also
Did not realize they made a diesel. Would love to have this. My very first brand new car was a 93 Escort GT. Loved it. Eventually traded it in for a BMW 318 convertible. Should have kept the Escort.
My recollection is that diesel engines from that era, is that they weren’t exactly top notch. Sounds like this is a Mazda engine, so perhaps its foreign sourcing makes a difference, not sure if they were already owned by Ford by then. I would be hesitant to count on this ol’ wagon for necessary things.
Lots of NOS parts available for this car, even complete engines and trans. The body parts are very easy to find out west and down south, the car was basicly the same for 9 years. The factory kept parts available for 20 years or so, right at the parts counter.( I thinks that is by law). Since the body was the same till 1989, the parts were still at Ford till 2009, and some dealers still have them on the shelf. Great Rare Entry Classic Car, that no one else has! Not like the Mustang or Camero.
In 1983 I was offered a promotin and an Escort company car. I quit.
Only thing I see going on in the console is a clip on cup holder and a phone charger. 2018, and all. Not sure why anyone would want this, but someone will. It is remarkably preserved.
Yup cup holder and phone charger and Radar detector LOL!
Ford also made a diesel Tempo and diesel Ranger pick up in this era.
Ah yes, the “diesel craze”. Everybody and their brother jumped on the bandwagon. Diesel was a lot cheaper than gas at the time( just the opposite now) and everybody thought this was the answer to their commuting needs. Not so. 1st, no freakin’ way on the fuel mileage. Maybe if you idled it all day. Small diesels like this generally got high 30’s, maybe low 40’s, almost unheard of at the time, but the problem was, they were so underpowered, drivers had their foot to the floor all day. I can’t even see if it has a/c in that spaghetti bowl under the hood, making matters worse. While dependable, small diesels are a pain to work on, and cold weather woes, diesels fell out of favor. Gas jobs were just so much more civilized. These were ok cars, but I’d pass on the diesel.
The EPA est. is near 50 MPS on the window sticker. My parents 84 Tempo diesel was able to get 62 mpg’s on long trips with 4 people and luggage! Wonderful savings on fuel, on the farm fuel was about 65 cents a gallon back then. The Mazda engine was well proven and easily capable of achieving 500,000 miles or more with very little service.
I owned the hatchback of the 1984 Escort Diesel from 1984 to 1996. It was an awesome car and got over 40+ mpg around town and 52 mpg on the highway. We made several trips from NC to AL back then and it always got over 52 mpg. You are right about one thing. They are a real pain to work on. Very little room in that engine compartment.
No clue why, but I really like this. Would be an interesting commuter car.
I actually had a brand new, 1986 Escort wagon with the diesel during my senior year in college. It was mighty slow, but got an honest 55 mpg, no matter how hard you pressed the pedal. You always had to press it hard. Drove from South Jersey to Fort Lauderdale and back on spring break, cost about $45.00. I didn’t hate it, and to me it proved that they could make real fuel efficient cars now, if they really wanted to.
I knew a family that has a Mercury Lynx wagon and sedan. The family lived 40 miles away from the nearest large city
Both cars went over 200,000 miles. The husband was a stickler for maintainance
I’d buy it. This would be a great spare car to run errands in. I had several escorts in a fleet of company cars for a service company I managed in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Escort wagon was a particularly useful size vehicle and were great in the snow. We had some from 1982 and 1988 and 1989. They were all gas models and got in the 30’s on average. I had a 1983 Escort GT for from 1983-1985 it always did 30+ MPG and once achieved 50 MPG on a Drive from Baltimore to Ocean City, MD. It was a 5 Speed.
This is an interesting “survivor” but that two-tone paint is not a factory paint scheme and while you could get a roof rack from the factory, the one installed here doesn’t look factory correct to me. The back paint on he hood and roof looks funky to me, almost looking like vinyl on the roof. My guess is that this probably had some hail damage and or as stated earlier, hood damage and rather than try to match the color, which would take some skill, or repaint the entire car, they just did the hood, and painted the roof and hatch in the back to gain some resemblance of a factory two tone paint job. The bottom of the hatch would be be prone to rust on these Escorts too so look there but from the looks of the rear door jam, that probably isn’t a problem unless that too has been painted. They liked to rust there too. Had two, dad as a FOMOCO engineer, I also sold Fords in the 80’s and I’ve never seen another so it probably is rare so you’ll never see another at the car show and not a bad price for classic car entry. FWIW…
The black paint on the hood and roof is an easy fix for damaged clear coat.
This car is not as nice as the seller claims, the interior shot of the rear seat shows rust in the lower left corner. There are also no other detailed pictures of rust prone areas.
It’s a $2,500 car, at best, if you buy into the sellers hype.
Steve R
Bad clearcoat was my thought given the year and colour; Fords in silver or grey from this era were clearcoat deficient… seemingly it peeled off in the wind once you left the dealer’s lot..
The car shows the regular paint chips from being driven at the front of the door bottom edge and rear quarter edge. The common sand and stone chips like every car on the road. The new larger and lower Mud flaps will prevent any further imprint from that. There has been no cover up of the chips at this time, to make it Perfect, those areas could be addressed. It’s only original once, next owner may want to just keep it clean and dry and not have any new paint applied. A sealer of sorts can preserve these areas without much notice.
All original panels on this car. No hood or roof damage ever. The clear coat was getting thin and foggy. The top and rear surfaces were scuffed and sprayed semi-gloss black. This paint scheme tho not available on the wagon was similar to the GT models of the Mustangs and Capri’s of that period. This would be how Ford would’ve painted it at the factory, the owner worked at the local dealership at this time period. Correct about easier fix of the paint, and looks a little sportier!
I owned 2 Escort wagons – neither diesel, but durable little cars, nonetheless. I was newly married with a young family – that 2 door Monte Carlo just wasn’t going to get it anymore. I had an 85 and an 88 – both 5 speeds. I wouldn’t hesitate to get one like this little car. Mazda was making some great diesel engines at the time. If you did lots of highway driving, these would really knock you out, not just with the mileage, but with their durability. Good thing this is further than I want to drive for an older used car because I’d DD the heck out of this thing.
At last, an Escort wagon slower than my “SS” 5 speed.
The ’81-only Escort SS did not have a 5-speed.
Correct. Wouldn’t have mattered as it wasn’t going anywhere anyhow anytime soon.
I had a 1981 Escort SS 3-door hatch. It was the only new car I ever bought. It stayed with me for many years, to be replaced by a 1986 Mercury Lynx 5-door hatch. Solid cars, weak front ends, crappy EGR set up, not fast but fun to drive. I cannot imagine it with a diesel. I don’t remember the diesel being available here in Canada. Possibly due to the very common cold-weather starting challenges that diesels had.
I just did a standing start run with this Diesel, it’s not a race car, built for MPGs. I am able to hit 60mph in under 13 seconds and just into 4th gear. It actually pulls quite well up to 80mph in 4th and still about 4k on the tach. It has a red line starting at 5k and this motor can easily handle that. The Mazda motor has proven it’s durability with decades of use world wide, and Ford used it well in this Escort. This was Fords “World Car” in their marketing.
This diesel is quite nimble. 0-60 in under 13 seconds, hits 80mph in forth in about the quarter mile. Still have all of 5th after that. No race car for sure but faster than most compact auto trans cars of that era and into the 2000’s.
Personally I love it for it’s quirkiness factor and that fuel milage. Thing is, if I brought it up my way it would dissolve from salt in a year or two, not worthy of being a weekend cruiser to me.
It made it 34 years already. A bi-weekly full car wash with under carriage rinse is all that is needed, it was rust-proofed when new. A 2005 of any make, most likely will not last this long and still cost more to buy today, and No cool factor either.
As far as the fuel mileage claims. I’ve heard more than one person state they were capable of 50+ MPG on the highway. Remember the double nickel speed limit back then? That had a lot to do with it.
I had 2 of those in the past. I lost one in new Orleans because of Katrina storm. Other one was a hit and run in Miami. Flo. Great car for 4500 is to much and high miles I won’t mind have another great on gas
This Escort with the Very Low Miles for a diesel, has an average yearly of Less than 3000 miles. It’s a 34 year old car that is in better condition than most cars just 10 yrs old. Very Very few of these remain, and even fewer on the road. That said new and used part are easily available, as this body style was the same for 9 years. Tens of thousands of parts on line all the time. A Classic Wagon at a reasonable price, too!!!! Have the only one in your State !!!
Tim, has this sold? shawnehoover@yahoo.com. Had one 20 years ago, got 50 miles a gallon, would love another.
I have no recollection of Escort Diesels but I did have a Honda 750. The Honda’s gas mileage was’t breathtakingly extraordinary.
I remember when the Ford Escort was first introduced to the North American market. I was too young to drive at the time. I’d seen ads for the Escort Diesel, but for some reason, it never remained on the market for very long before being discontinued. I’ve never understood why.
My friend’s dad had a 2 door. It wasn’t put together anywhere near as well as my ’76 Corolla. The front passenger seat in the Escort was pretty uncomfortable, as the center radio/hvac pod seemed to be pushed to the right, probably to increase room for the driver, but it really cramped the passenger’s leg room.
Ivan probably 15 in different variations The only hang ups were timing belt water pump and starters and if you could dial it in it’s a good car and today’s market it’s not economical because of the overhead cheaper just to get a gas as much as I thought it was so cool and I got a wall full of parts I still don’t think I’d go after one but this car looks really well preserved how many miles are on it and what’s the service record on the timing belt everything else should be fine
As part of my ongoing mid-life crisis (15 years and counting) I have owned a MkII Escort (pictured). By the time I’d finished with it it was like driving a go-kart. It’s one car that I wish that I’d kept. Selling it was a mistake.
While I don’t mind the styling of this car, the thought of a diesel engine just seems wrong to me. I think that I’d pass on it, but only because I suspect that it would sour my memories of the fun I’ve had driving Escorts.
A turnbuckle? A turnbuckle?
Hey Comet, it’s the silver thing in this picture just below the Diesel badge on the engine mate.
Hey Comet, it’s that silver thing just below the Diesel badge on top of the engine mate. You can see it in this picture.
Possibly some sort of anti-vibration addition. Diesels from that era can shake themselves to pieces. I often had to rescue a co-worker with a VW Rabbit Diesel in that period. There was not a single circuit board that was not cracked and soldered on that thing, after 300,000 km.
The picture was taken while the turn buckle was on. It is used to adjust the injection pump and set the timing. Simple idea and similar to the factory tool in what it helps to accomplish.
Ha! I had to take my drivers license driving test in my dads ‘86 diesel Escort wagon. Sand beige inside and out. The instructor/tester made me do a three point turn during the driving portion. In a manual diesel wagon. Passed and didn’t stall it once!
Only about an hour away from me. Wonder why his price went up though. Had a diesel sedan back in early 90’s. Couldn’t beat it for mileage that’s for sure!
Hmmmm,…….
Meh! Gas is cheap right now.
Not as cheap as 60+ mpg diesel. Nearly $5.00 to go 60 miles IF you get 30 mpg’s, on gas, that’s $2 more to go that distance in this diesel car. Diesel is just $2.85 a gal now. This would figure out to $712.50 a year for 15,000 miles. A gas vehicle at 30 mpg’s, at $2.45 a gal. for the same distance will pull $1,225.00 out of your pocket. It’s just math and a Smart Car to save money with.
See if you can get a spare cylinder head first.
If you keep the Radiator full and clean it will do it’s job. Make sure the fan works too, and never need a head or repair. Proper attention to the engine is always best.
I wouldn’t necessarily pooh-pooh the mpg claims. I had a VW Dasher diesel (1st-generation Passat outside the US) which really did get 50 mpg on long highway drives. So it’s entirely believable this car could do likewise.
I’d forgotten there was an Escort diesel. This is very cool just for the oddball factor.
I heard of VW’s getting 50 mpg too, mostly from owners that knew how to drive a diesel. Fact is, most people that bought these, just came out of V8 gas guzzler, and bought these solely because diesel was almost half the price of gas at the time,( gas was $1.25, while diesel was still around .70 cents) had their foot to the floor all the time, and were happy with 38 mpg.
My mother in law had the sedan version. Once and a while it wouldn’t start and was towed to the dealer for the fix. If I remember, there was a cutoff for the fuel pump if You shook the car too hard, or even if it was was windy in the parking lot???
the rounder bodied 1 (90s?) in our fam got close to 250Kmi (a gasser).
Shipped to the continent/GB & used for sight seeing another yr (300K) the europeans begged to sell it rather than bring it back 2 USA. We obliged & they refreshed and DD’d it. Probably still crankin thru the streets of France!
A sacrilege (esp ina diesel) I’d like an auto. Would keep the motor. This is the right sized wagon 4 me…
A check of Ford records found that while these cars got great mileage, they were not known for any type of normal acceleration …In fact in place of the speedometer was a calendar….
It’s only a 0-60 car in under 13 seconds and still just shifted into 4th! Easy to speed in a stick shift.
My 1994 Escort Wagon had the high output gas engine, 5 speed. I got it in ’95 with 7K. The car performed well. I was dubious, but a friend I was helping to move, was able to put a 6 foot buffet in the back (rear seat folded down, of course) and the hatch even closed! The car was taken out by a deer, the right side smashed in, windshield cracked, but the car still ran. My insurance company wound up totaling the car due to repairs, and I had driven it 333K + miles.
Diesels stink. This one included.
My mother bought this car used and it is what I learned to drive stick in.
The year was 88 and I was 10. I knew very little about cars and when she went to buy a cheap used car in upstate NY I said “What ever you do don’t buy a volkswagen”. At the time volkswagen to me meant station wagon.
I died when she pulled in the driveway with the new to us 1984 Ford Escort Diesel Station wagon. It was so slow and lame. The only positive aspects I remember from it were learning to drive a stick for the 1st time in a friends grass lot and driving through a hip lake town during a busy summer night and blaring House of Pain while I ducked in the trunk area while my mom tried to figure out how to turn the radio down. By 92 I had talked her in to trading it in (I think they pitied us and gave us 1k and sent to junk yard) on a 1988 Jeep Cherokee Limited which was amazing by comparison and which I took to college and put over 180k on it before selling to another guy who stuck a snow plow on it.
This car is still FOR SALE in Wisconsin, Has a set of vintage wood water skies on the roof!!! Awesome!! Now only $4850, sweet!
Mom had an 85 1/2 70 hp gas engine wagon. After 11years an 63k the head gasket blew. Annnndddd off to the junk yard. One cold morning I warmed it up for her, turned on the rear window defroster and the glass blew out.
We had an 84 regatta blue GL diesel wagon. Everyone knew when I got to soccer practice because it sounded like a school bus.
I drove a Tempo diesel for years and it regularly got 46mpg at 75-80 mph on the freeway. It took LONG time to get there though! I stopped driving it due to rust and growing tired of how long acceleration times were. More income helped me from missing it too much. I still have several part cars i’m slowly selling parts off of.