The Escort was Ford’s successor to the Ford Pinto. As such, it was produced as the company’s first “world car” from 1981 to 2003, sharing a lot with its Ford of Europe counterpart. This 1996 edition wears LX trim and a 5-speed manual transmission but has been off the road since 2017. A true barn find, dust, grime, and small woodland creatures have invaded this vehicle, so it may be only a parts car now. Located in Huntsville, Arkansas, this set of cheap wheels is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $500 OBO.
Early Escorts were subcompacts, but later they graduated to compact status. Millions of copies of the Escort were sold over two decades, and it would become the best-selling automobile in the U.S. for most of the 1980s. The second-generation Escorts rode on the same platform as the Mazda 323, and examples like this one used a 1.9-liter inline-4. This version was last registered eight years ago and started five years back but has since succumbed to the passage of time and critter damage.
This Ford has had just two owners and covered 226,000 miles before being parked. The body is said to have held up well and may have no rust. That will have to be verified by giving it a good bath and inspection. The interior is okay but dirty, and the headliner and sun visors are a mess. The tires are likely as hard as rocks by now and will have to be replaced if you dare to get the auto on the road again.
Escorts aren’t likely to ever be considered collectible, so a restoration here may be remote. Using it for parts may be the only way out, and we assume the wiring has been chewed up as pack rats took up shop under the hood. Bring $500 (or less) and a trailer and this barn find can be yours. Assuming you’re able to determine why. BTW, thanks for the tip, barn finder Terry.
The old hot rod guy in me says to sub frame it and put a 4.6 under the hood and go have some fun ,my logic brain says scrap it