The Ford Escort had a good run of a little over two decades, having been introduced in 1980 for the 1981 model year. This 1989 Ford Escort GT is the trim level that you want and the seller has this one posted here on craigslist just south of Tacoma, Washington. They’re asking $3,200 or best offer and given how nice it looks, this could be a nice buy.
We recently saw a very nice red 1988 Ford Escort GT here on Barn Finds and I have to say that I very much prefer the 1988 offset grille to the 1989 grille. It had an unusual touch being offset like that compared to the regular look of this one. That isn’t to say that I don’t love this car and wouldn’t like to have it if shipping costs wouldn’t add 50% to the asking price.
I think that’s water running over the rear bumper, those aren’t cracks! This car doesn’t appear to have any flaws on the exterior at all that I can see. The seller says that this is a “barn find” but it doesn’t appear to be a dusty, forgotten car that’s in need of a major reconditioning to get it on the road again as is often the case. The seller says that everything works right down to the cruise control and AC.
The Escort was made for the North American market until 2003 and by that time they had devolved into the typical melted-bar-of-soap style that was all the rage. Give me a square, blocky car anytime over that era. Unfortunately, you can see that in this mostly pre-airbag era, a lot of vehicles had those damn automatic seat belts so you have to listen to that creaking sound every time you open or close a door. I’m not sure if the driver’s side is working or not and whether the dash top is cracked and covered up or if the dash cover is protecting a perfect dash. Seller, please answer those questions or better yet, show a few more photos.
They show a good variety of photos even though they’re in an aggravating vertical format. Cars are horizontal, why do some sellers take vertical photos? They show the clean rear cargo area and three engine photos (!) so I can’t really complain too much – I know, that’s unusual for me. The engine is Ford’s 1.9L naturally-aspirated (a turbo was available in 1984/85) inline-four with a mere 110 horsepower so it isn’t a stoplight king, but I think this would be a fun car for the collection. It would draw a crowd at almost any car show. Have any of you owned one?
I like it. Pre- SVT, right before they created SVT. Cool factory headers and a cold air intake. I believe they added roller rockers to these to make it an HO. Nice seats and a 5 spd, I’m guessing some suspension tweaks. Not bad…
A 94 Escort GT (with the Mazda 1.8 engine (127 bhp) and 5-spd) was on my 3 vehicle short list to replace my 85 Dodge Lancer. The other 2? Honda Civic Coupe Si with a 1.6 125 bhp and 5-spd and a Acura Integra 1.8 142 bhp and 5-spd. I chose the Honda and never regretted it. I often wonder though what the other 2 might have been like.
I had the Acura. It was indeed a fun little car.
My brother had one of these back in the day. Decent car actually. True, it would not win many stoplight races, but it handled well and was fun to drive on a nice curvy road. An accident was the end for his car but it was fun to drive up until that happened. His was white, tan interior, and the oh so period correct white matching wheels.
Sure’d like to get me one. At 3.5k she won’t last long. Too far for me but the drive would be fun. Very common in the day. Nearly extinct now.
I’ve been told there was a lot of head gasket issues with that car, true?
I had a white ’89 GT when I was 19 and loved it.
Same here – white with the tan interior (I hear that was one of the rarer color combos). Fun car to drive and the MPGs weren’t too bad, either . . . unless you drove the way I did (haha). Unfortunately, I got t-boned by a 94-year-old driving an ’84 Crown Vic. We all walked away unharmed, which I think is till amazing. My GT was a total loss and I’m still bummed about it.
5 Digit odometer and pre Carfax and auto check so you have to take them at their word and a inspection if its actual mileage, my co-worker had one she got new and years later when she sold it she had put 230k miles on it but because she always kept it in the garage it looked nice the odometer read 30k miles
I did own a new 1993 Ford Escort 4 door LX. It was easy to drive and park, the square roofline was wonderful in getting into the driver’s seat and helping 2 children out of car seats in the rear without bumping my head. The 1.9 liter engine had more rated power than my Mercury Bobcat 2.3 and Cavalier 2.0 liter and Tempo 2.3 I had owned immediately prior. I had no mechanical issues in the two years I owned the vehicle. Hopefully, the lucky person who gets this car for sale likes the Escort as much as I did mine.
Back in the early nineties, I had a 86 EXP , automatic and carburetor so embarrassingly slow. But I thought it was an attractive car and one of the best handling cars I’ve ever owned. And as has been said much more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. Any who the thermostat went out on a hot day and cracked the head before I could get out of traffic. A reconditioned engine was half the price if the car and it was never the same after that. Sold it soon after.
Back in 84 I bought a New 84 RED EXP manual…..fun little car…AWESOME MPG!
SHE did start to run warm though on a HOT Detroit Summer night if I had a car full of my friends and in bumper to bumper traffic…..I had to watch the temp guage as it would go up to 3/4 just below the red zone. Ford dealer said that’s where they can run, I said it’s too hot! They didn’t care, I was a 23 year old kid!
My wife drove it out to So Cal in 86 following me on a 82 GS 750 Suzuki and I traded it in shortly after for a New 87 manual Chevy Turbo Sprint after we had my son and needed a back seat.
I had this exact car in the same color all through college. Electrical problems were a constant pain. The head gasket went at 120k and I sold it to the gas station attendant for $400 in 1998. No Fords for me since, but it’s cool to see one of these still alive.
My first brand new car was a 93 Escort GT. Loved it. Traded it in for a BMW 318i convertible. Big mistake.
Just in response to “no Ford’s for me since ” I did the same think after my 86 EXP cracked the head in 92. Until the focus came out in 2000. Bought one of the first ones and kept it 19 years with very little trouble. Between myself , wife , father and son , we’ve had 6 focus of various model years. Fantastic little cars.
nother 1 I’d like in a waggy (just bought the fox it’s predicessor as it’s a bit bigger & has 16+ yrs of swap ins [some say 26 yrs] ltd/marquis – not crown vic/Grand Marquis).
Fa shipped his w/140K to GB, ran it all over the Continent for a yr and every town they ran after him: “Wanna sell that Mister?” in 5 different languages post Y2K. Sold it there rather than ship back and made a good proffit. Each country had knowledgable service provided for all components w/o problems…