1990 Ford Escort Eclipse *Sold £4,750*

Description

• Time warp condition
• One owner from new
• 21,000 warranted miles
• Garaged all its life
• Less than 300 miles since 2008
• Fully serviced at last MOT

The Ford Escort has become a British motoring legend. The fourth version of the Ford Escort was launched in March 1986, with only a small number of changes. Although popularly regarded as a fourth-generation model/known as the ‘Mark IV’, internally within Ford it was regarded as a Mark III facelift, and consequently carried the codename ‘Erika-86’.

It was instantly recognisable as an updated version of the previous model, taking styling cues from the recently introduced Scorpio/Granada III – with a smooth-style nose and the “straked” rear lamp clusters smoothed over. Internally the car had a revised interior, with new door cards, a completely new dashboard, switchgear and instrumentation, although the check-light system for low fuel, low oil, low coolant, low screen wash, and worn-out brake pads was dropped. Optional new features included a mechanical anti‐lock braking system (standard on RS Turbo models), a fuel computer on fuel-injected models, and a heated windscreen.

A 1.3 litre version of the Valencia overhead valve engine was introduced for the Eclipse.  A new subframe for mounting the powertrain was introduced to combat earlier criticisms of drivetrain refinement of the original car, as well as more tweaking to the suspension settings to address the long-standing issues with the Escort’s damping and handling characteristics.

You do have to drive the Escort. There are no modern electronics which is brilliant and gives you the benefit of a greater feel of what this Eclipse is doing.

The ride quality, especially in this time warp example is probably the Escort Mk4s strongest feature.

Originally registered on the 1st August 1990 and owned by our vendor who somehow managed to become the current registered AND previous keeper on the V5, believed to have been a mix up by our reliable DVLA when moving address and the fact that our vendors dad used the vehicle for some time during its ownership, frustratingly the V5 now reads 1 previous keeper.  Yes, you read that correct, the previous keeper is our current vendor. You couldn’t make it up!

Supplied with the original manuals and service books and brochures, it will also come with a handful of invoices and MOTs with the current one expiring on the 27th April 2024. Do a quick MOT history check and you will see that the car has been SORN’d since 2008 with that last MOT at 21,427 so less than three hundred miles travelled since.

Our vendor explained that the car is kept in the family home garage which gets a layer of carpet every time the house is recarpeted, currently they believe there to be at least three carpets laid under the Eclipse!  A good explanation of why this Escort Eclipse presents in its wonderful time warp condition.

Exterior

For obvious reasons we share a rather short description of the exterior of this collector’s example, why obvious you ask?  Well, just look at the image gallery and you will see that the Eclipse is almost spotless from the front to the back.

Our vendor really can’t point out anything of note, hardly used when new and less than 300 miles added since 2008 this car really hasn’t had the opportunity to deteriorate.  As previously mentioned, and can be seen be the images, the garage that this Eclipse has spent its life in is part of the family townhouse, is triple carpeted and has no damp whatsoever.  This has led to a car that is clearly in wonderful condition and can arguably be presented as a car that deserves to be in a museum.

At a push you may find a few minor chips to the door edges and under scrutiny the contrasting textured bumpers have one minor scuff that can be spotted to the offside rear, one interesting fact is that these coloured bumpers were among the first that Ford chose to match to the paintwork.

All four wheel trims are in place with period cable ties making sure they stay that way; close inspection does show some very minor scuffs but no cracks.

Interior

On unlocking the Eclipse, you will hear the central locking do its stuff. Open the door and you will see that the interior is as good as the exterior. Slide into the typical 90’s cloth interior and get comfortable. You would think to yourself, if it wasn’t for that incredible low mileage staring back at you from the impeccable dash, that the seat has never been sat in.

The rear bench seat is firm and looks to have hardly been used, there is what looks like a stain in the centre of the seat that our vendor believes is just a shadow; they have no recollection of it being there or how it could have got there but will check next time they are at the family home. We will update this paragraph once we have been advised.

As expected, the dash has no signs of cracking – a common feature for Fords of this era, or wear and tear. The original keycode Radio cassette is in situ and all the buttons and switches are perfect and work as they should.

The roof lining is perfect, and the door pads are the same. The carpets are protected by the original over mats, which are just as clean, and the sunroof still opens and closes perfectly.

Just as with the exterior, this interior is in fantastic condition.

Engine Mechanicals and other

The 1300 Valencia overhead valve engine runs perfectly and has been treated to a service at the time of its last MOT. This included a thorough inspection of the whole car. Along with the usual oil, water and filters etc it had the brakes replaced where needed plus a new set of tyres. Although not worn they were the originals, so the decision was to replace the 23-year-old ones.

Again, with such minor mileage added to the car over the last fifteen years our vendor is confident that the car is in perfect running order and expects it to need for nothing for quite some time – should our winning bidder choose to use it regularly.

Whilst researching the document pack our vendor came across the original alarm invoice from the supplying dealer, dated 1-8-1990, the same date as it was registered. Believed to still be working but how do you test it, operated by locking the car, amusingly, they felt it wouldn’t be a great idea to break in to test it!

Our view

A one owner, warranted miles, special edition, early example of one of Ford’s classic models. These do not come along every day.

Nineties cars are where the interest is in the classic world at the moment. Anything in that era with the word Ford and Escort are eagerly gobbled up.

This car was clearly not to be thrashed, abused or mistreated. Just tucked away in dry storage from where it would appear, when the time was right, into the classic car world.

It really deserves to be shown, whether that be at local and national car shows or in a museum; you just don’t see cars like this too often.

If you are looking for a collector’s quality example of a Ford Escort then look no more, here it is. You really will kick yourself if you miss out this Escort Eclipse so get bidding now.