Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i Classic Ford

Just when you think you’ve got over the Classic Ford Show, along Jcomes another major Ford event! Yes, Sunday, August 10 sees Ford Fair returning once again to Silverstone Circuit — now amazingly in its 29th year. If you haven’t been recently, you may be surprised just how many classic Fords attend — with many taking part in the popular track sessions around Silverstone’s impressive National circuit. Elsewhere, you’ll find one of the most hotly-contested show and shine events in the UK — Street Elite — plus some of Europe’s finest feature stars courtesy of Classic Ford and Fast Ford. Trust us, it’s going to be impressive. Stunning features aside, there are literally 100s of clubs attending bringing 1000s of Fords, and if you’re bringing your kids, you’ll be pleased…

Inside your October issue Despite more and more classic Fords being restored, the need and desire for power and usability never seems to wane. So the October issue, available in print and to download from Friday, August 29, is an Engine Swaps Special, packed with advice and inspiration for your project whether it’s a simple Crossflow to Pinto upgrade, or something more outlandish! Also in this issue you’ll find an eight-page Ford Fair review, which as we write, is shaping up to be something truly special.  The October 2025 issue hits the newsstands on Friday, August 29. Why not subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it and save a few quid in the process? Turn to page 24 for our latest offers. ON SALE August 29!…

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH LIGHTWEIGHT ZETEC ALTERNATOR AND FITTING KIT £379.57 Retro Ford Running a Silver Top or Black Top Zetec in your classic Ford? Retro Ford can now supply a compact, lightweight (just 2.75 kg) 40-amp, motorsport-spec alternator and fitting kit for this set-up. With twin internal fans and a maximum of 18,000 rpm, the alternator is more than up to the job, and is designed to work with the fitting kit which mounts the alternator closer to the engine block and which includes the mounting brackets, v-belt and fitting hardware to mount the alternator on the inlet side of the engine. Contact: 01536 204823, www.retro-ford.co.uk WEBCON 0-5 BAR ADJUSTABLE PRESSURE INSERT £112.10 Webcon Adjusting the fuel pressure on an EFI system using an in-rail regulator has traditionally involved…

Ex-Formula Ford and historic racer Greg Caton will be familiar to many, especially to those readers with an interest in motorsport. Right on brand, we caught up with the G-Cat main man live from a French autoroute, fresh off the ferry, as he and CNC machinist and master mechanic, Tony Davis, headed for Le Mans Classic for customer race support. “I have been saturated by cars and motorsport since a very young age,” says Greg. “I started racing karts at 14 years old alongside working weekends and holidays at Romford’s BAC Windows garage, helping keep their fleet of 250 Dagenham Motors-supplied Fords in tip-top condition.” His talent secured a drive for Wright Karts, and he simultaneously worked for them, subsequently honing his engineering skillset by working for various companies in…

Parked among several hundreds of some of the best modified cars Europe has to offer, in one of central Europe’s largest and most prestigious car shows, a car here must be pretty special to stand out. A lone Mk6 Escort, seemingly a little out of place in a hall full of VWs and Skodas, caught our eye. On further investigation, we found out that far from something put together for the show, in its previous humble incarnation, it was Thomas Hausner’s rusty and rundown first car, one he has owned for nearly 20 years. We went to the little mountain town of Usti nad Labem in the north of the Czech Republic to see it for ourselves. A story perhaps familiar to many readers, Thomas has loved cars since he…

AUGUST Mk1 Cortina Club National Show August 2-3 Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse, Warwickshire UK www.mk1cortina.club Mk2 Cortina Owners’ Club National Rally August 2-3 Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse, UK www.fordcortinamk2oc.co.uk Ford Anglia 105E Owner’s Club National Weekend August 2-3 Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse, UK https://105eoc.com RS Owners’ Club National Day August 3 Mallory Park Circuit, Leicestershire UK www.rsownersclub.co.uk West Berks Classic Vehicle Show August 3 Newbury Showground, Berkshire UK www.newburycarshow.co.uk Ford Fair August 10 Silverstone Circuit, Northants UK www.fordfair.co.uk Top Of The Pops August 16 Industry & Supply Coffee Depot, Weedon Bec, Northants UK Retro Rides Gathering August 17 Prescott Hillclimb, Gloucestershire UK http://retroridesgathering.com Croft RS Show August 17 Croft Circuit,UK 07808 474026 Silverstone Festival August 22-24 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire www.silverstone.co.uk Rustival 3 August 30 British Motor Museum, Warwickshire www.rustivalshow.com SEPTEMBER Kent’s Classic Car Show September 7…

The ignition system has to work in harmony with the rest of the engine. The goal is to ignite the fuel at exactly the right time so that the expanding gases can do the maximum amount of work. If the ignition system fires at the wrong time, power will fall. When the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder burns, the temperature rises and the fuel is converted to exhaust gas. This transformation causes the pressure in the cylinder to increase dramatically and forces the piston down. To adjust the ignition timing on a classic Ford fitted with a points-based distributor, you simply loosen the clamp at the base of the distributor and rotate the distributor in very small increments. SAFE TECH When working on cars and using tools of any kind…

What an emotional roller coaster it’s been seeing the Sierra finally make such huge progress in the last few weeks. I’ll let on that I was getting a bit fed up with the slow-speed build, but such is life when it comes to time and budget constraints. However, I knew I wasn’t far away with the car, and feeling a bit down with the progress, I decided to blow the credit card budget by pushing on and sending it for paint, and final fabrication work while I was at it. As a result, the car has moved on massively since the last update. First, the front roll cage bars were cut out, the B-pillar roll cage gussets were welded in and then the passenger-side seat rails were knocked up and…

HI TOM! WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND THIS CAR? I have owned the car since I was 14, it was an ex-rally car that had seen better days! Me and my father, Age, completed its first restoration and got it on the road for when I was 17. It was used as my everyday car as well as doing the odd track day. During lockdown we completed a full restoration, with dad carrying out all the welding and paintwork before handing it over to me for everything else. In 2021 we made our debut at the Brands Hatch meeting of the CTCRC Group 1 Touring Cars. We’ve achieved many podiums over the past four seasons, with the continued support of my dad making it all possible. WHAT GOT YOU INTO RACING…

Round 3: Argyll Rally, June 20-21 The third round of the championship took crews a long way north to the spectacular Cowal Peninsula in South West Scotland, where the Argyll Rally runs on some truly challenging closed-road special stages from a base in Dunoon. After two short special stages through the town centre of Dunoon on Friday evening, the action continued in the surrounding hills before an overnight halt and then a full day of rallying on Saturday, taking in some of the UK’s most spectacular and technically challenging special stages. To add to the challenge for Stevenson-Wheeler, it was his first event with Richard Wise co-driving as his regular partner John Pickavance was unavailable. Stevenson-Wheeler and Wise only met a couple of days before the rally, but they gelled…

For fast Ford fans there was a pleasant surprise when Ford unveiled the Mk4 Mondeo in February 2007. On top of the traditional essentials that had made previous generations of the Mondeo such a smash, including loads of room and plenty of trim and body styles to choose from, there was the addition of a 2.5-litre, turbocharged engine available with Ghia, Titanium and Titanium X versions. The top specification trims leaned more towards comfort and luxury, but the turbocharged 217 bhp engine ensured that the Mondeo was every inch an executive express. Essentially the same as that which featured in the Focus ST225, the five-cylinder, 2.5-litre engine enabled the Mondeo to reach 0-62 mph in only 7.5 seconds and then go onto a mind-boggling 150 mph. With standard Mk4 Mondeo…

Pop music, fashion trends, politicians… looking back, they all help define the previous decades, and so does the automobile. So while in popular culture the late 1990s and early 2000s might be remembered for Coldplay, plaid shirts and Tony Blair, this issue we’re here to sing the praises of cars that proudly wear the badge that is blue and oval. The years around the new millennium saw European Fords change forever, with big changes to the styling in particular. This issue celebrates those cars, which are not just now bona fide classics, but downright heroes, too — whether it’s on the high street or the race track. If all this talk of modern classic Fords is making you want to go out and see them in the (restored) metal, then…

As ever, we’re hosting Classic Ford-only track sessions for pre-2005 Fords to show the moderns how it’s done. The 15-minute sessions cost just £40 when booked in advance, and are open to road-legal cars. The sessions make use of the National Circuit — and no matter what your experience or skill level, you can follow in the footsteps of Button, Hamilton and Mansell — in your classic Ford! Even better, you can be one of the few to drive the circuit, as Ford Fair is one of an exclusive number of events that are been granted full access to the track. The Classic Ford session is at 2.20 pm. To book your place, go to www.fordfair.co.uk.…

John Haynes Classic When: September 7 Where: Haynes Motor Museum What’s going on: Classic fans in the South West have a new autumn event to add to the calendar, in the shape of the inaugural John Haynes Classic. Held at the Haynes Motor Museum and named in honour of its founder, the late John Haynes who established the Haynes publishing empire, the event will take place from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, September 7 and promises to be a great spectacle marking the 40th year of the museum. Attractions will include a Haynes Manual Display featuring some of the cars and bikes featured in the iconic books, plus a club arena, dedicated classic parking and a live stage hosting discussion and live music. You’ll also find vehicle parades,…

FordFest is back! Now at Mallory Park Race Circuit in Leicestershire — and taking place on Sunday. September 21, FordFest will provide the ultimate summer show season finale for Ford fans. Featuring high-speed circuit action, thousands of the UK’s best Fords on display, a huge retail area and loads more, FordFest brings together fans of both old and new Fords. Here are just some of the features you can expect to find at FordFest 2025. TAKE YOUR CLASSIC FORD ON TRACK Ford-only track sessions will be running all day so there is plenty of time to take to the track and test you and your Ford’s ability. If flying round the track isn’t for you there are viewing areas situated right around the track to soak up the action. As…

Cast your mind back 20 years; it takes us to sometime in the 1980s, right? Alas, as time plummets onwards and we old-car owners cling to the remains of our youth beneath ever-receding hairlines, it’s easy to deny the fact that two decades ago it was 2005. A time when YouTube was already a thing, and Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? had hit number one again to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Blimey. Meanwhile, passion for classic Fords has continued to rise — and while contemporary mag cover cars were unfailingly old-school and rear-wheel drive, their legendary abilities led to high values and the resulting search for affordable Blue Ovals. We’ve witnessed Cosworths ascending into silly money; we’ve seen RS Turbos becoming treasured. We’ve noticed the Focus RSs and…

After two successful events, the annual Ford day at the Great British Car Journey museum in Derbyshire has become a firm favourite on the blue oval calendar. Sticking with the regular tried-and-tested first Sunday in June date, the weather this time wasn’t quite as welcoming as previous years, but it certainly could have been much worse. Most importantly, it remained dry which as ever brought the classics out in large numbers. Although there were more newer-generation blue ovals coming through the gate this time, there was still plenty to keep the classic fans happy. As in previous years, the variety of cars on offer was varied to say the least with Capris, Escorts, Fiestas, Sierras, Cortinas along with a Zephyr and a Consul Classic soon filling the venue’s generously-sized car…

The Duratec HE I-4 is Ford’s 2-litre-based inline four-cylinder engine – in fact it’s often simply called an I-4, but in Fordspeak that’s actually a generic term meaning inline four. Luckily, everyone else knows it as a Duratec – but HE to distinguish it from everything else. Ford loves a bit of engine-naming confusion! The Duratec HE replaced the Zetec in the Mondeo in 2001; breaking tradition in that it doesn’t actually derive from Ford. It has an enormous amount of Japanese influence – it’s efficient, light, free-revving, has the crank sited up in the block, and so on. But we’ll come on to these in more detail. The Japanese characteristics are because the Duratec’s roots are in Mazda engines – Ford bought the company, therefore the use of a…

Since the 1960s, Ford had been prominent, and often dominant, in saloon car racing. During the 1980s the Sierra RS500 Cosworth was unstoppable and made mincemeat of all its rivals. When the authorities changed the rules to reset the RS500’s dominance, by imposing a new formula for normally-aspirated 2-litre cars (which would have to be rev-limited to 8500rpm) Ford then dropped out for the next two seasons. Even so, when Ford decided to return in 1993, the decision caused controversy inside and outside the company. Choosing to use front-wheel-drive Mondeos was logical enough, but to power them with Mazda-manufactured V6 engines? What? This story goes back to two principal sources. First, Ford had set up links with Mazda in 1974, and by the 1990s was on its way to taking…

Back in 1997, the chances of a 19-year-old being able to afford to run a relatively youthful hot hatch were extremely remote, but Daniel Finnigan made it his goal to make it happen. “Insurance premiums were high as hot hatches were often stolen,” he tells us, “but I had such a hankering for an XR3i, I felt the associated costs were worth it!” After looking at a handful of examples with questionable history advertised in the local paper, Daniel’s dad appeared to come home one day with an ad for the ideal candidate. “It was a 1989 model in Diamond White for sale at a local used car dealership,” Daniel remembers. “The price tag of £3500 was about right at the time and I was pleased to see the car…

When we discover a new innovative project car in the making, there’s usually a back story that involves improving on a past build with a stricter focus on a certain style or theme. This 100E build certainly ticks those boxes thanks to the lairy looking Pinto set-up and those perfect split-rims, which is why we were a little surprised to learn that owner, Jamie Webster has never built a cool Ford before. “This is my first classic Ford or even Ford in general,” he confirms. “My dad’s friend, Glenn Woolway helps run the Kent section of the Ford Sidevalve Owners’ Club and when one of their members passed away he left it to the club, so I purchased it from them.” Together with his dad Howard, Jamie has been busy building…

This November’s Classic Motor Show at the NEC will welcome a total of 16 clubs participating for the first time, some of them newly created. Bringing the total to a staggering 310 clubs, the newcomers represent the diversity of the classic car world and should present some interesting sights. We’ve all seen countless beautifully restored E-Types but the Post Office Vehicle Club for example is likely to trigger some nostalgia in most of us, while the Mk2 RS1800 club display illustrates the trend for the classic scene to segment into smaller enthusiast groupings. The Classic Motor Show takes place over the long weekend of November 7-9. Tickets from www.necclassicmotorshow.com…

SAVE 38% ClassicFord ON YOUR SUBSCRIPTION It couldn’t be easier to sign up for a whole year of classic Fords with a subscription to Classic Ford — the magazine which loves our special cars just as much as you do. Join the Classic Ford family and you’ll be part of the ever-growing community who love everything to do with our wonderful Ford cars. Guarantee your copy every month with a subscription to Classic Ford and have each issue delivered directly – sent out in plastic-free, recyclable, biodegradable, carbon-balanced paper envelopes – while saving 38% on the yearly cover price with this great offer. REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE 1 Enjoy one whole year of Classic Ford 2 Get each issue delivered directly to your door in 100% plastic-free packaging 3 Save 38%…

In the last few years, we’ve seen a growing trend towards Fords from the late 1990s and early 2000s, and we’re not surprised as there was certainly no shortage of cool cars to be found at your local blue oval dealership at the time. Amongst them was the Mondeo ST200, an unmistakable repmobile with attitude — and a 200 bhp V6 twist. Available in saloon, hatchback and estate variants, the ST200 drove well, more than looked the part and kept the wannabe BTCC drivers happy, but over the last decade or so they’ve become a rare sight. Arguably, the most practical Mondeo ST200 has always been the spacious estate, but with only around 15 examples of this oftenoverlooked longroof left on our roads, it turns out its the rarest of…

There’s definitely something to be said for playing to your strengths. It’s a bit like using a chainsaw to cut cake — it’ll certainly cut it easily enough, but unless you want to be covered from head to toe in sponge and buttercream, you’re surely better off using a tool that’s built for the job. Life just runs smoother when you lean into what you’re naturally good at. Got a knack for charming people? Maybe don’t hide in a spreadsheet dungeon. Excel with Excel? Let someone else handle the awkward small talk while you dazzle with the formulas. Ignoring your strengths is like casting a cat in a dog show. It’s confused, unimpressed, and definitely not fetching that stick. It’s not about avoiding the hard things — it’s about choosing…

The past month with the Orion has been great, as the new Gaz Shocks coil-overs have transformed the ride and handling. Even though I am gagging to get my Sapphire Cosworth back out (updates soon!), its 1980s sibling has still been overshadowing the Sierra. There’s a lot to be said about a car that can actually just works! It may sound mad to some, but the Orion and the Saph actually feel quite similar to drive in many ways. Sure one has several times the power, and various added creature comforts like electric windows and central locking, but there is a rattly creaky flimsy lightweight feel to these cars which are half their appeal. So for now the Cossie takes a back seat, but I am sure panic stations will…

The speed at which you can turn your front wheels when steering has a big effect on how fast and safely you can drive a classic Ford. The more turns lock-to-lock your steering system has, the slower it will be. Therefore you’re going to have move your hands more frantically to get around that quick bend — and you don’t want to be flapping your arms like a headless chicken when there’s a dirty big brick wall getting ever closer. As far as classic Fords are concerned this problem can also be affected by what type of steering system you have fitted to your car. The two types found in old Fords are the steering box and rack-and-pinion steering. Out of the two systems the rackand-pinion type is the superior…

Fords manufactured in the last 20 to 25 years are becoming collectable classics, so if you want to own a Fiesta ST, a Puma or a modern-looking Mondeo, you may want to learn a little about fault codes and how they can help to diagnose problems. If so, you’ve come to the right place. At the heart of fault finding, there’s the ECU (engine control unit), or what Ford called the Electronic Engine Control (EEC) in the 70s. Version five (known as EEC-V) was introduced in the mid-90s and was OBDII compatible, so it can communicate with some fault code readers. Nowadays, OBDII is the common type of on-board diagnostics connection found in all vehicles, which uses a 16-pin connector plug and socket to communicate with a fault code reader…

1. Don’t just renew It’s all too easy to let the direct debit continue and sign up for another year with your existing insurer. Before you do though, have a look at quotes from other insurers. If they come in cheaper and you don’t want to switch, call your existing insurer, quote the cheaper prices and quite often they will be able to bring your renewal quote down to a similar level. 2. Look at classic insurance They’re often tied into Agreed Value, limited-mileage polices but classic insurance specialists can offer some great-value policies. Most class a vehicle eligible for classic insurance as being over 20 or 25 years old, but some allow exceptions for modern classics, so do your research before you dismiss a classic insurance policy out of…