The Ford Escort GT and its sibling, the almost-extinct EXP coupe, were two respectable offerings in the burgeoning sport compact car scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. While the Escort was not a powerhouse, the overall package was pretty slick, and if nothing else, it looked like a car that could potentially embarrass you on the back roads. The Escort GT shown here on Facebook Marketplace was apparently found after being parked since 2012, and the seller believes it hasn’t seen much use over the last several years. It’s been repainted and someone went through the trouble to put all the GT decals back on. The asking price is $5,500.
That’s a fair amount of scratch for a car like this, but there really aren’t many left. And when they do pop up, it’s oftentimes in sorry shape. The seller’s car doesn’t appear to have much (if any) rust and the original details, outside of the paint, seem to be mostly accounted for. The side sill extensions, the 15-inch wheels, the rear spoiler, and the Marchal fog lights are still attached, which is even more amazing when you consider the respray likely wasn’t done by the most detail-oriented body shop. Is the paint original to the car? It’s hard to tell, so if you know the factory color codes, feel free to confirm or deny in the comments below.
The 1.9L “High Output” offered 115 horsepower, but truth be told, it wasn’t all that special. You could find similar power output in competitive offerings from Honda and Toyota, but both the Civic/CRX Si and the Celica GT-S were quicker cars and typically better handlers. Front-wheel drive Hondas from this era still dominate local autocross courses but you’ll never see an Escort GT. Even among the domestics, the Cavalier Z-24 was a more powerful option with similar levels of cosmetic dress-up and a 0-60 time in under 9 seconds. The Escort GT was over 10.
The fact that we see matching blue paint inside the door jams and the engine bay tells me this was a factory color that a previous owner attempted to improve upon with the respray later in life. Tan interiors tend to show a lot of dirt, and this one could use some cleaning. Blue over black would be quite fetching, but beggars can’t be choosers. The interior appears to be holding up well, but it’s a shame Ford didn’t jazz up the cabin like they did the bodywork. The seller has added loads of new parts and claims it runs great, but it’s not registered for road use so your test drive will likely be kept to a fairly limited loop.
Remember seeing many on the road back in the day. Lots of white ones w red decals.
My wife had a black 1987GT when we met and it was a fun little car.
Don’t see these much anymore… Now a collector??
1977 Plymouth Volares are considered collector cars, too.
I know, right?
Yes, mostly because they were run into the ground and very few are still surviving 40 years later.
Drove an 86, red with grey graphics and interior over 200k miles. Was an awesome little car with the 5 speed. Traded it in on a 93 Sentra SE-R, which was a pocket rocket comparatively.
At this price point get it on the road and drive it until it drops no computer garbage just feeling the road and if someone does crash into it you will probably get double your money back from insurance because they won’t find another one to compare price to.
I bought a red ’86 GT in late ’87. Had like 10K miles on it, I must have put 50K on it in the short time I had it. Fun car, handled well, awesome mileage.
This engine/transmission combination is very reliable. It was unused in the SCCA Spec Racer cars of Generation II. If you go to the track. The drivers of these race cars. Are the ones sitting around until the next session. No fiddling around, adjusting this or that. Just check the tire pressures and go. Since the entire race car only weighs 1,200 pounds. It’s an entertaining run! I know, I had a spec racer for 15 years.
Since this is a Virginia car, better check close for rust.
My brother had two of these. One was actually a mercury lynx. They seemed to go through had gaskets about every time you changed the clocks ( daylight savings, twice a year). This was mid to late 90’s.
I think that’s why they’re endangered species listed.
I had a Mk1 US spec Escort for about 8 months, leaked oil like the Exxon Valdez from the valve cover gasket before I knew how to repair such things myself. Whaddaya want, I only paid $50 for the whole car and it was road legal long enough for me to get something else.
Oooo la la Barn Finds !
Ive been hoping to find one of these, especially in blue.
Near extinct indeed .
One of the first ive seen with tan, and so hoping itd have power windows.. oh what to do …
The red flag on these chassis i know of from first hand experience is the rear strut towers can rot and the struts break through into the car.
So, first things first is a rust/rot inspection.
I had thought all GT interiors were gray, guess I was wrong. IIRC this dark blue was really common on regular Escorts and almost always had a blue interior.
It’s funny how seeing pictures of old cars (and trucks / cycles / snowmobiles / riding lawnmowers / etc.) brings back related memories.
I worked at a museum when I was a young guy and a fellow employee had one like this but in red. It was in great shape and let’s just say so was she. She HAD to have known she was off the charts but she was still a sweetheart and always classy, which was nice. Every time I see an Escort GT I think back to this gal.
Good write-up, Jeff. Thanks for the memories, BarnFinds.
~Lothar
I don’t think I knew these came in blue – I like it!
That’s a pretty funny-looking autobox! They’ve disguised it to look like a manual!
The only thing that is a must-do for this vehicle is to check the rear shock towers. If they are rotted or rotting, it is going to take someone with some mig welding/jigging skills to repair. I let my 1987 Pony go for this reason, wasn’t willing to do the repairs.
The only additional caveats to this little gem would be: The timing belt, which needs to be replaced immediately. This one WILL bend valves, the throttle body injected 1.9L did not, even at highway speeds. I know, because I had one let loose at 70MPH the day before I was going to replace one. The timing belt was almost guaranteed to break like clockwork at about 40K, regardless of brand.
The other issue would be the TR tire option, which this does not appear to have. If memory serves me correctly, the TR rims had a weird oval pattern to them, very different from these rims which appear to be Ford aluminium wheels. I’d take this in a heartbeat, although probably not for this money.
It looks like it has opening wing-windows in front, in 1986! I thought they were long gone by then. Was this the last car made with them? (Some quick research reveals they hung on on pickup trucks into the 1990s.)
1987 was the change to an all-glass side window.
The big question is: Would BFer Charles Atlas trade his white ’84 Escort manual for this?