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Thread: Ford EXP 1982-1985 (1st gen)

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    Ford EXP 1982-1985 (1st gen)

    The Ford EXP is a sports compact coupe that was produced and sold by Ford Motor Company in North America from the 1982 to 1988 model years. The first two-seat Ford since the 1957 Thunderbird, the EXP made its debut at the 1981 Chicago Auto Show. Sharing the dashboard, wheelbase, suspension, and powertrain with the Ford Escort, the EXP was longer, lower, and more aerodynamic than its five-seat counterpart.

    In line with the first-generation Escort, the EXP was produced in a version from 1982 to 1985, undergoing a facelift during the 1985 model year. The model was dropped after the 1988 model year. Although not intended to replace the EXP (as it was originally designed to become the 1989 Ford Mustang), the 1989 Ford Probe would become the next front-wheel drive sports coupe sold by Ford. After the EXP, the next two-seat Ford marketed in North America would be the 2002 Ford Thunderbird. Then in 1998, the Escort of the time was marketed as a ZX2, a nod to the EXP and the XR2 from the 1980s. Although EXPs were sports cars, it was common to remove the rear carpeting to put in rear seats as the floor pans are identical between the 3-door Escorts, Escort GTs, and EXPs, however the lower roof line makes rear seating uncomfortable.

    From 1982 to 1983, the EXP was sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers as the Mercury LN7. The LN7 was distinguished largely by its "bubbleback" hatch, large bumper strips across the doors, "black-out" tail lights, and more slits in the nose clip than those of an EXP. The vehicle, however, was dropped after failing to meet sales expectations.

    First generation (1982–1985)
    The EXP's uni-body rode on the Escort's 94.2inch (2393 mm) wheelbase, with front-wheel drive, and four-wheel independent suspension from 1970s European Fords. At 50 inches tall and 14 feet long, the EXP was longer, lower, and sportier than the North American Escort. The EXP's wheelbase is also close to the "foxbody" Mustang of the same era differing by less than an inch in length.

    Performance wasn't the car's strong suit, however, since the EXP weighed about 200 pounds more than a typical 1980s Escort but carried the same small 1.6 L CVH I4 engine rated at 70 hp (52 kW) and a standard 4-speed MTX-I manual transaxle. The engine was specifically developed for the North American market of fuel efficiency while the European models of these engines spun faster and made more power. Originally there were to be two available engine options; 1.3-liter CVH and a 1.6-liter CVH, however the choice was made to only use the larger version. Europe ended up with all the CVH variants while North America only saw the 1.6 and later 1.9-liter CVH engines. Also the suspension is that of European Ford Escorts from the 1980s, sharing nearly every part with 1980s North American Escorts. Nevertheless, the March 1981 issue of Car and Driver reported that their EXP with a manual transmission reached 44 MPG on the highway, a figure comparable to modern hybrid cars.

    Both the Ford EXP and the Mercury LN7 had a sharply sloped windshield, wheel arches with prominent lips, and wide body side moldings not far below the top of the wheel well. The biggest difference was the rear fascia. The EXP was a notchback with a lift-up hatch, while the LN7 used a big "bubbleback" backlite. The EXP's minimalist grille consisted merely of twin horizontal slats on the sloped front panel (the LN7 had ten). The "bubbleback" appearance was used on the larger Mustang-derived sports coupe for Mercury called the Capri. These appearances made the coefficient of drag low for both the EXP (0.37) and LN7 (0.36) and also helped fuel efficiency.

    Priced considerably higher than the Escort, the EXP carried an ample list of standard equipment. It included power brakes, full instrumentation, full carpeting, map lighting (non-sunroof), electric back window defroster, power hatchback release, a digital clock, a cargo area security shade, and rims that are noticeably wider than those of Escorts. Models with a manual transmission had a sport-tuned exhaust. Automatic models had a wide-open throttle cutout switch for the optional air conditioning compressor clutch. Other options include floor vents and power steering or air conditioning and manual steering, AM/FM radio, cruise control, roof luggage rack, rear window wiper, various seat styles and fabrics, removable sunroof, right hand mirror, TRX tires and suspension, child seat, and a very wide variety of colors inside and out with many various pinstripes and other painted decals.

    As the full 1982 model year began, Ford offered an optional (at no extra cost) 4.05:1 final drive for better performance. Later came a close-ratio transmission with 3.59:1 final drive ratio intended for the same purpose. Ford also offered an 8"(203 mm) rear brake drum set over the 7"(180 mm) rear brake drums of other EXPs and Escorts. As the years went on many different rim options became available but the color choices became more limited.

    Finally, in March 1982, an 80 hp (59 kW) version of the CVH engine became available (High Output option H.O.). It had higher (9.0:1) compression, a dual-inlet air cleaner, lower-restriction exhaust, a bifurcated four-into-two-into-one exhaust manifold, larger carburetor venturis (a 32mm primary and a 34mm secondary compared to the 32mm of both venturis in the non-HO engine), and a higher-lift (0.289 mm) camshaft.

    Then, in the last week of September 1982, in co-operation with Bosch, Ford Canada assembled the first electronic multi-port fuel-injected (EFI) 1.6 L for the EXP GT giving it the distinction of being the first model Ford offered with that option for the U.S. market. Although EFI with the EEC IV was an add on to the existing 80 hp H.O. CVH engine, it produced 88 hp (65.5 kW) and 94 lb/ft of torque in a 9.5:1 compression ratio, naturally aspirated configuration giving it an affinity for higher octane fuel.[6] But for those in regions of higher elevation the 1.6 EFI option was replaced with the 1.6 HO motor making the 1.6 EFI even more rare.

    TR Performance Package
    The biggest option for 1982 with both EXPs & LN7s was the TR package, this would be available in 1982-1985 models.

    The TR package featured special Michelin TRX tires of a special metric size of 365mm which is between 14in & 15in diameter wheels. These tires performed "well", made only by Michelin with an extremely soft rubber compound with a tread pattern like that of drive tires on garden tractors. All these factors made for sticky cornering but they turn to dust under hard braking and wear fast. Only one vendor sells the correct diameter as of today and the supply is very limited, they haven't been made since the 1990s so the ones for sale are all NOS that are now over 25 years old making them unsafe for road use even if stored correctly. As such the vendor says explicitly "NOT for road use" and "No warranty or guarantee" making them good for car shows but any speeds over 25mph almost ensure they'll explode, even perfectly stored TRX tires are typically found with severe rotting/checking. Due to the nature of the TRX wheels they can't be resized to 14in standards either making the TRX wheels near useless.

    The other TR equipment pieces were: Stiffer valving for the struts (Turbo models had red Konis) Higher rate front springs (160 lb/in vs standard 120 lb/in) Larger front swaybar (26mm vs standard 24mm, Turbo models are 27mm) Stiffer suspension bushings Higher rate progressive rear springs (320-548 lb/in vs standard 195 lb/in continuous rate).

    EXP Turbo Coupe
    By 1984, Ford was trying hard to conquer the youth market, especially the affluent young motorist with offerings such as the Mustang SVO, Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, and the new EXP Turbo Coupe also built by Ford's Special Vehicle Operations (SVO). It shared most of the parts the McLaren ASC EXP came with; turbo, Koni shocks, stiffer springs, lower ride height, improved brakes, and TRX Michelin tires.

    In the car's initial development there was a plan for adding fuel injection and a turbo charger to increase power significantly, but there wasn't enough time to get it into the first 2 production years. The turbocharged 1.6 L CVH engine, available for the Escort and EXP, featured a high-lift camshaft and EEC-IV electronic controls. With an 8:1 compression ratio and boost pressure up to 8 psi, torque was increased to 120 lb/ft and power raised to 120 hp (89.5 kW), a gain of some 35 percent over the naturally aspirated models.

    All these improvements allowed for a 0-60mph time of 9 seconds and 1/4mi time of 16.9s at 82mph which unimpressive today was good for the era. The 1983 EFI or HO 5-speed EXPs would only conquer 0-60mph in 14s and 1/4mi in 20s at 70mph (all depending on the options and model year). But not even the 86-88 EXPs with the 1.9L EFI HO motor could touch the Turbo model with a 1/4mi time of 17.5s at 77mph.

    The Turbo Coupe had a unique front air dam and rear decklid spoiler, with a taped "Turbo" badge on the rear bumper. It also had two-tone paint with a black lower section, a unique C-pillar appliqué featuring the EXP lettering, black wheel flares, and black rocker panel moldings.

    Its only optional features were AC (Air Conditioning) and removable sunroof. Its transition from 1984 into 1985 included the change from the 3-spoke (round-spoke) steering wheel to the 2-spoke (square-spoke) steering wheel, the softer 2-piece shift knob and vinyl boot to the 1-piece shift knob and square rubber boot, and the addition of the (at the time) newly federal-mandated 3rd brake light built into the spoiler (which would be seen on all EXPs from 1986 forward).

    Source: Wikipedia
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