Hello Boys & Girls,
 
Over here on a working holiday Visa and love old Fords so thought I'd join up and maybe buy something while I'm over here. Come from just north of London and I'm currently in Victoria area working at various farms.
 
Got a Mk1 Fiesta back in England (Don't think you guys got them did you?) It's on coilovers, stripped out, bucket seats, engine from an RS1800 Fiesta, bored out slightly, cammed, ported & polished, Yamaha R1 bike carbs, Megajolt, Quiafe straight cut close ratio gearbox (5 speed) with matching ATB diff. Basically bloody fun to drive! Although she's been off the road for a considerable amount of time now! :'(
 
Here's a few pics from various stages; 

Welcome to Australia Bradley. Your Fiesta looks great!
 
You are correct, we didn't get them here. After the Mk2 Escort Ford Australia moved to the Mazda 323 based Ford Laser instead of the Mk3 Escort. But the early Lasers probably more closely resemble the Fiesta than the Escort.
 
I have the first model in a three door "Sport" version. This had the twin carb Mazda E5 engine and 5 speed originally, but I am doing something similar to you at the moment and fitting a B6D (1600cc twin cam) engine from a front wheel drive Capri fitted with bike carbs. Still a bit to do, but it's getting there!
 

That is lovely! What sort of money do they go for? I could see myself with one of those! I'd love a Mk2 Escort as they seem to be a bit cheaper over here, but I know I'd fall in love with it and end up having to pay to ship it back to England!!
 
Should be good when it's done though. What made you opt for the 1600 twin cam and not a 1.8 or 2.0 zetec, out of interest?
 
The guy I'm working for at the moment has one that his son used to get around the farm, it's not quite as good condition as yours, though! I'll get a photo of it.
 
Cheers
 
 
 

Hi Bradley,
 
It's funny - these seem to be harder to find now than Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts! I guess Escorts have always had a bit of a cult following, but Lasers - particularly the early ones - never really took off. Later ones like the KE and KF/H models had 4WD turbo variants in the TX3s (essentially Mazda Familias with different body work) so more people play with those, but many of the early ones just end up as scrap.
 
As for the engine choice, I use the car mainly for hillclimbing and compete in the Under 1600cc Improved Production class. I could go bigger but U1600 is the best represented class in the Victorian Hillclimb Championship and very competitive, so I've chosen to stick with it.
 
The B6D is again basically a Mazda engine (think MX5) but was available in the FWD Ford Capri as I mentioned. From 1985 onwards Lasers moved from the E to B series of engine, so a gearbox from a KC Laser bolts straight up, but most importantly the drive shafts from my car slot straight in making it a much more straightforward conversion. 
 
Do you have any more pic of your Fiesta? I've got a heap more photos and video on my Facebook page if you're interested.  www.facebook.com/BuzzboxMotorsport

It's a shame the one at the farm is in such a sorry state! I had a quick browse of the web but it showed only a handful of cars.
 
I was gonna do some events in mine but it'd bump me up a class and I'd stand no chance! Definitely a wise choice sticking to that class!
 
I've got a few more pics here and there I'll try and get together and put them up. I've liked your page on FB - I'll check out the photos and video.
 
Cheers

Bum shot
 

 
 
Local show I got her to (just) last year
 

 
 
Old photo before the new wheels & coilovers
 

 
 
Very old photo of me and my Pal's Fiesta's (his is now COMPLETELY different!)
 

 
 
That's all I can find for now!

Another old photo from a local RS Owners Club meet