1979 Ford Fiesta L review from UK and Ireland

Radiator failed, spitting it's contents through the radiator grille.

I crashed it pretty heavily, tore off the bumper, headlight, indicator, wing bonnet and front panel.

Rear wheel bearings failed.

Seats collapsed.

Rev counter failed.

Heater only ever blew lukewarm air at best.

Front lower ball-joint failed with scary results.

It used to chew through points and plugs.

Clutch failed.

Rot took over.

Well, I was 18 when I had it and thought it was the danglies.

Performance was interesting, she was good for over 100mph, the brakes were servo-less and dire, and it revved far better than a 1200 Nova.

It handled remarkably sharply, I fitted a rear strut-brace to tighten the rear up though. The boot floor started flexing due to all the rust!

Looking back, build quality was awful, the interior trim was spartan, it was pretty rotten body-wise. But I didn't care, I loved it.

I fitted Supersport arches, took off the bumpers and it looked surprisingly menacing. Also bolted on a whopping pair of spotlights for the full rally look.

I was so upset when a Transit van tore the front off. I had it rebuilt by a friend, and then the clutch immediately failed and the floor pan rotted through. We live and learn.