Ford Ka (1999) - From nothing to something

Bought a cheap car as a temporary second transport. Back to the roots without power steering, electric windows, ABS and CD player. And forget about metallic flake paint or alloys.

If you are very patient eventually it will reach 100 km/hours and top out at 150 or so. Not that you would dare to do that on those skinny tires. Thanks to its modest kurb weight and sort of dynamic behaviour on the road, it is still OK to drive though.

After 2 months the clutch died, just like my previous Fiesta. So I guess it is semi-cheap now. Maybe I should sell it as new now, because I invested 4 days of hard work to polish/feed/wax the paint and improve the plastic parts. Add the fake five-spoke hubcaps and we have a winner here. Unfortunately I could not polish the rust out, or the +10 parking dents from previous owner (still get lost counting them each time).

Enjoy.

Before and afters :

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Some randoms while I was busy to give an impression.

a labour of love. Is the clutch working again?:)

the Ford Ka

one of the best handeling super-minis ever made

the Focus Duratec 2.0 will fit into them , as will the heavier ironblock Zetec (not a good option)

but the best repower option is the alloy 1600 Focus engine - you will actually relieve a bit of weight from the front end with that motor as its lighter than the cast ironblock Kent they have standard - + with a bit of tuning nearly double the power

Or you could buy a Sportka and save yourself a lot of trouble. ;)

[quote=henk4;969785]a labour of love. Is the clutch working again?:)[/quote]

Yes it is working again, but it cost me €800. No luck as the car only has 120.000 on the clock (verified).

To Badsight : I am not planning on any mods or engine swaps, but at least I know what is possible now :cool:

1.6l ecoboost Ka?

[quote=Ferrer;969815]Or you could buy a Sportka and save yourself a lot of trouble. ;)[/quote]
SportKa is the Kent engine - i dont know why ford did it. prehaps they were worried about improving it too much & clashing with another models market segment

Like other have said it looks like a labour of love, good temporary second transport, Don't you have a renault as well.

[quote=Badsight;969820]SportKa is the Kent engine - i dont know why ford did it. prehaps they were worried about improving it too much & clashing with another models market segment[/quote]

It shares the chassis with the Puma.Certain parts are interchangeable. You might also be able to fit the 1.7 engine inside :)

[quote=thebrochureman;969843]Like other have said it looks like a labour of love, good temporary second transport, Don't you have a renault as well.[/quote]

Four days of work paint cleaning, polishing, waxing and plastic restoring (50% of the car with those bumpers).

Yes, we have a Renault Twingo as well. Murcielago's for breakfast :) My next car will at least have the same horsepower of the two cars combined.

[quote=drakkie;969860]It shares the chassis with the Puma.Certain parts are interchangeable. You might also be able to fit the 1.7 engine inside :)[/quote]
1.7 is the 1600 with a 1 or 2 mm bigger bore

the special head does make it worth it finding one - but i prefer tuning non VVT engines

the Ka shares the floor with the Festiva (not fiesta) i dont think the Puma is related to either ?

Lower it.

Another update:

The annual MOT test has ruined my relationship with this car. I was hoping to spend a maximum of €130 on the test and servicing, but higher powers decided this would not be enough.

The brake hoses have rotten away, showing the canvas. I am not sure who needs brakes with 49 hp but it seems this must be fixed to allow passing the MOT test.

In addition part of the bottom of the car got a little crusty. The right side under the door has corroded over a length of 30 cm and the steel needs to be replaced and welded.

Rust on old Ka's is an issue : there is rust around the tank lid, rust at the bottom and at the inside of the hatch I was able to strip a piece of metal which was rotten away.

Total costs for repairs and service for today : €616. In addition, I spend €800 on a new clutch on the car in January. Ironically, I got rid of my previous Fiesta to avoid the same replacement of the clutch.

Let's get rid of this purple wonder soon and now finally buy something nice! The Gods have decided so...

Anyone interested in an almost as good as new Ka? I am asking €3.000 for it :)

Wow, I know I'm a little late, but that is an excellent color!

If you sell it in parts I am highly interested! I got a little project going myself for which I can use many parts! The remaining parts you can sell, they fit most Escorts, Fiesta's, Puma's, Focii and Mazda's 121, 323 etcetera! Even some Kia's use the same parts!

[quote=drakkie;978110]Even some Kia's use the same parts![/quote]

No wonder, these also weren't the best cars late 90's/early 00's.

I will try to trade the car in BTW when I get another car. But maybe I have to pay them ca$h for it and then forced to sell it ;)

[quote=Man of Steel;978141]No wonder, these also weren't the best cars late 90's/early 00's.

I will try to trade the car in BTW when I get another car. But maybe I have to pay them ca$h for it and then forced to sell it ;)[/quote]

Yea basically the same platform was recycled by these Koreans. They used the chassis of the 3rd generation of Fiesta, which was basically the same as the Mk.4 with minor modifications. The Ka and my Puma were based on this Mk.4. I possess many technical manuals and also a Parts Catalog, it is surprising to see the cross-references to these older models. Did you know for example the 1.3L Endura engine was first used in the Ford Anglia?

Do you have any idea on what will be your next car? Get a test-drive in a Puma and I am sure you will be in love :D

You can find a recent thread about hot hatches I maybe interested in.

But being a carnut, this may change by the day. Today it will be a Clio Sport, tomorrow an Alfa Romeo GT and next week I maybe tempted of buying a practicle classic again.

Whatever it will be, it will finally be a car I like (besides being a mode of daily transport).

The only limitation is budget!

This car was traded in on the same day I picked up the Alfa, February 14th.

I got €550 back for it as it lacked power steering, otherwise I would get around €800. Not that I expected back more.

What is quite bizarre is that the car is now on sale again for €1.650! The car has gone crusty all around and its only options are a light reminder and a AM/FM radio with tape-player.

But at least I now got an Alfa, so what the heck ...

Indeed, the Ka has evolved from nothing (€550) to something (€1.650).

:D

[quote=Man of Steel;981309]This car was traded in on the same day I picked up the Alfa, February 14th.

I got €550 back for it as it lacked power steering, otherwise I would get around €800. Not that I expected back more.

What is quite bizarre is that the car is now on sale again for €1.650! The car has gone crusty all around and its only options are a light reminder and a AM/FM radio with tape-player.

But at least I now got an Alfa, so what the heck ...[/quote]

How else is the local car dealer (I mean stealership) going to get a profit? :D

The way I see it, never look back on purchases, it'll save you a lot of grief.

Just enjoy your Alfa, I'm sure the Ford wasn't that great to drive anyway.

Case in point- my dad bought a very early 50 inch plasma TV for $8,000.

Now they can be had for $1500 or so, for a larger screen.

[quote=Revo;981310]Indeed, the Ka has evolved from nothing (€550) to something (€1.650).

:D[/quote]

Ouch, that was a mean one :p

The car was sold a few months ago. Hopefully not for asking price for the lucky new owner.

In forever memory I kept the screenshots from the advertisement.

Bye bye Ka #2