Ford Ka 20 years this week

[gingerdave]

Ford ka went into production 20 years ago this week.They still look good today and handle better than some more modern compact cars.

 

[gingerdave]

[post]356395[/post] Ford ka went into production 20 years ago this week.They still look good today and handle better than some more modern city cars.

 

[oilburner]

Absolutely, the SportKa was a great little car to drive and the prices of them now are nearly at rock bottom

 

[gingerdave]

So following on from my first post.I have a 1996 Ka which was assembled in the first month of production ie between 11th? and end of Sept.1996.Cant remember when i last saw a'96 ka on the road,im thinking it must be one of the oldest Ka still taxed....and its never had any welding.

 

[Lord B]

Remember having an R plate one on loan from dealer for week whilst they tried to fix my new van, thrashed the bollocks off it and it would drift across road if you booted it into a corner.

Van turned out to be lack of sealant in windscreen, filling electrics with water when it rained :roll:

 

[Catweasel]

Great little Ka, nearly as much fun as the Puma.

 

[TGPlayer1]

I still maintain they are in the top 5 of first cars, never driven one that wasn't a gem.

 

[Neil]

Contemplated one many times as a cheap runaround. Driven several and whilst they are fun, the rustproofing is utterly woeful. Put me right off.

 

[gingerdave]

[post]356435[/post] Contemplated one many times as a cheap runaround. Driven several and whilst they are fun, the rustproofing is utterly woeful. Put me right off.

Yep i agree with that comment ,thats why early ie '96 appear to have vanished.

 

[oilburner]

Early cars had a water ingress problem that didn't help much either

 

[tuonokid]

And later ones had if my Sons car is anything to go by. Cured the majority of it but can't find the last little leak at the drivers side.
Barry

 

[Catweasel]

Had Ka's in 60bhp and 70bhp versions and also a Sportka which we found rather a disappointment.

 

[red]

I've driven a couple of SportKas and I quite liked them. Rust around the filler cap seemed pretty common on these.

 

[lusid666]

The Mk1's were great little cars but the Mk2's were shite

 

[Robyorks]

God awful cars. Worst thing the wife ever owned!
Should have never even made if off the page of the colouring book it was obviously 'designed' on in the first place!

 

[gingerdave]

[post]356461[/post] God awful cars. Worst thing the wife ever owned!
Should have never even made if off the page of the colouring book it was obviously 'designed' on in the first place!

If you find the shape so bad why did you buy one in the first place???Afterall the DNA for ride ,floorpan ,suspension and driveability is much the same as a Puma.

 

[Robyorks]

Was the boss Dave, she wanted one. Told her not to but she liked it because it had pink flowers on it, I shit you not :roll:

 

[gingerdave]

Pink!!!!!! Ffs should be saffron yellow.

 

[Robyorks]

It was royal blue or whatever they called it, just had stickers all over it. Ended up half stonechip black by the time the welder had finished! Also had to reset the tappets pretty much every weekend :x

 

[MikeT66]

Loved mine, and did 100,000 miles in it over ten years with no real issues. Most costly things (and common ones) - had the left rear wing replaced due to rust around the petrol cap and the power-steering pipes corroded. Finally said goodbye to it when I saw the underfloor rusting and the bottom of both doors started to rust, too. A guy I knew saw them lined up in a field in Spain where they were built - all the unprotected/unpainted body-shells were left open to the elements whilst waiting for assembly in the nearby factory - hence the rust issues.
Under-powered, though, but great fun around corners, which you never really had to slow down for - good job, too, as the brakes were sh!te.