English Fords in the USA?

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katpeeler

katpeeler

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katpeeler
Hey everyone. I have always wanted an English Ford..Ever since my father had one 30 years ago. If I knew now back then I would have tried to save it from the junk man after he passed. Anyway, I have done Google searches but it seems there are very few of these in the states. Has anyone here in the states tried to get a foreign car shipped over here and how hard of a proccess is it..The car the I was wanting was a Ford Escort MK2 or even a Ford Cortina...Would it be just as easy and cost effective to buy one that is already here??....Thanks for any guidance
 
Thanks....I failed to mention I live in Florida...and were more relaxed on emissions than say California
 
I can only really see two options here.

You source one in the US and pay a lot of money for it, even if it's not in great condition.

Or you choose from the many Escorts, Cortinas, Capris, Fiestas etc. that are already in Europe, have more luck in finding a stunning one and ship it over. Then you have a choice of LHD or RHD depending on where you import from. I will say that Mk1 & 2 Escorts are fast becoming expensive. Cortinas are on the rise too as are some Capris. But there are still plenty to choose from right now.
 
If you can find an old Ford outside of the UK, that's your best bet. Classic Fords are worth stupid money in the UK.
 
Merkur Scorpio (Ford Scorpio) and Merkur XR4Ti (Ford Sierra)

Other than that, you'd have to import, unless you get lucky and find one of the rare ones that was already brought over here by someone else and is up for sale, but they're not going to be cheap.
 
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GTPorsche
Merkur Scorpio (Ford Scorpio) and Merkur XR4Ti (Ford Sierra)

Other than that, you'd have to import, unless you get lucky and find one of the rare ones that was already brought over here by someone else and is up for sale, but they're not going to be cheap.
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Fixed. 👍



Leonidae@MFT
You can find the old Capris here in US.
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Whilst you can find Mk1 & 2 Capris in the US that were built for the USDM. They will only come with 1.6/2.0 and 2.3 engines IIRC.

To get the fast Capris, you'd have to get one from Europe. RS3100, 2.8i (Turbo and N/A) and 3.0S are the most desirable fast ones.
 
SVT Cobra GT
Whilst you can find Mk1 & 2 Capris in the US that were built for the USDM. They will only come with 1.6/2.0 and 2.3 engines IIRC.

To get the fast Capris, you'd have to get one from Europe. RS3100, 2.8i (Turbo and N/A) and 3.0S are the most desirable fast ones.
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The 2.3 was replaced with 2.8 in North-America at some point between 1970 and 1975.
 
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SVT Cobra GT
I can only really see two options here.

You source one in the US and pay a lot of money for it, even if it's not in great condition.

Or you choose from the many Escorts, Cortinas, Capris, Fiestas etc. that are already in Europe, have more luck in finding a stunning one and ship it over. Then you have a choice of LHD or RHD depending on where you import from. I will say that Mk1 & 2 Escorts are fast becoming expensive. Cortinas are on the rise too as are some Capris. But there are still plenty to choose from right now.
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Can you get an LHD Cortina or are the Euro ones all Taunus with the slightly differing rear?
 
There was an old Ford Prefect that would tootle around in my old town:

FordPrefect.jpg


('merican flags 'cause 4th of July parade.)
 
SVT Cobra GT
I can only really see two options here.

You source one in the US and pay a lot of money for it, even if it's not in great condition.

Or you choose from the many Escorts, Cortinas, Capris, Fiestas etc. that are already in Europe, have more luck in finding a stunning one and ship it over. Then you have a choice of LHD or RHD depending on where you import from. I will say that Mk1 & 2 Escorts are fast becoming expensive. Cortinas are on the rise too as are some Capris. But there are still plenty to choose from right now.
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Thanx for all the responses. Is there a certian company that would Import (ship) the car if I found one say in Portugal??...Looking mainly late 70's MK2 LHD. It seems that I would need to do some homework on different models/engine sizes with this car. What about the Mexico edition??...are there many of them in Mexico or is this a model that is not worth messing with. Keep in mind I dont want a show car, I want a fun little car to drive back and forth to work and around town....
 
katpeeler
What about the Mexico edition??...are there many of them in Mexico or is this a model that is not worth messing with.
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Mexico relates to the car's success in rallying in that country, rather than its availability there. @Cano is the one to speak to about whether they actually sold them over there.
 
katpeeler
What about the Mexico edition??...are there many of them in Mexico or is this a model that is not worth messing with.
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homeforsummer
Mexico relates to the car's success in rallying in that country, rather than its availability there. @Cano is the one to speak to about whether they actually sold them over there.
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Not a single Escort ever touched the streets of Mexico until this came about:
1996_ford_escort_4dr-hatchback_lx_fq_oem_1_500.jpg


which is really damn sad.
 
Anything that new I dont want......But Im anxious to learn of differnet Egnlish Fords out there....
 
Everything I've read on the subject seems to indicate it is convoluted as well as expensive. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but this article seems to delve into how complex and expensive it is.
 
How about a Ford Anglia or a Lotus Cortina? These were both sold earlier this year at a local dealer.

DSCN9039.JPG DSCN4006.JPG

If you are serious and have the money contact a dealer that specializes in the cars you're after.
 
katpeeler
Thanx for all the responses. Is there a certian company that would Import (ship) the car if I found one say in Portugal??...Looking mainly late 70's MK2 LHD. It seems that I would need to do some homework on different models/engine sizes with this car. What about the Mexico edition??...are there many of them in Mexico or is this a model that is not worth messing with. Keep in mind I dont want a show car, I want a fun little car to drive back and forth to work and around town....
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I don't know of many companies in continental Europe who ship cars regularly to the US, but in the UK there are a few companies who import cars from the US so I'd imagine they'd export cars back there too.

A MK2 LHD Escort isn't exactly rare, there are still plenty around. As for engines, you only got a 1.3, 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0! The most desirable of those are the RS models. If you can find one of those in your price range, go for it as they will only increase in value.
The Mexico as @homeforsummer only refers to the success Ford had with rallying the Escort there. If you're wanting a Mexico, you'd need to go for the MK1 model, they're much more desirable.

If you're not wanting a show car and just something that will run then you still have plenty of choice. But always the best one you can and buy one that has zero rust on it, as you live in Florida you won't have to worry about it as much.
 
If you want an older Euro Ford, you probably want to be looking in a warmer/dryer southern European country. Rust will be a big issue from anywhere north of Spain, unless you have deep pockets for a mint example. You will pay a scene-tax for any of the more interesting models though.
 
TheCracker
If you want an older Euro Ford, you probably want to be looking in a warmer/dryer southern European country. Rust will be a big issue from anywhere north of Spain, unless you have deep pockets for a mint example. You will pay a scene-tax for any of the more interesting models though.
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This ^ once an old Euro Ford rusts, it could become a one way ticket to the scrap yard.

Also another very important point to keep in mind is that old Euro Ford engines will run on leaded fuel.
Quite a lot of them have now been converted to run on unleaded but there are still ones out there that haven't.
If they haven't been converted, you can run them on unleaded fuel without modification but you will have to use lead additive in the fuel in order to keep it running smoothly.

My car still runs on leaded fuel and I use the Castrol additive with octane boost extras.
 
Thanks for the tips @SVT Cobra GT What makes a Euro Ford rusts why is it any different than a domestic Ford rusting??....Im assuming replacement parts are hard to come by. How about replacement parts for other parts of the car??...Domestic parts wont enterchange??....This adventure may be put on hold if its that big of a deal to keep up maintenance..
 
katpeeler
Thanks for the tips @SVT Cobra GT What makes a Euro Ford rusts why is it any different than a domestic Ford rusting??....Im assuming replacement parts are hard to come by. How about replacement parts for other parts of the car??...Domestic parts wont enterchange??....This adventure may be put on hold if its that big of a deal to keep up maintenance..
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It's not just Fords that are prone to rust. Northern Europe is wet and cold. Any 30 year old car will suffer from rust in that environment. The more valuable cars will have been cherished, but your average, pre galvanised body will rust.

Replacement parts are fairly easy to come by. Fairly. In the UK at least, Fords have pretty much been the best selling cars year on year for decades so they're not thin on the ground.

Plenty of Euro and your domestic Fords shared engines or blocks at least. So parts or swoops shouldn't be an issue.
 

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