1978 Ford Fiesta L review from UK and Ireland

Rust. It's everywhere, except (surprisingly) in the usual rot area for an old Ford - the tops of the front suspension struts. There are holes at the bottoms of the front wings, the edges of the wheelarches, and around the headlights. Plus surface rust on the door and tailgate bottoms.

Dark blue paint (Midnight Blue I believe is the correct Ford name for this delightful shade) has gone milky, hopefully a bit of T-Cut will sort this out. Main thing that lets the car down looks-wise are the rusty wheels, a can of silver paint and some sandpaper should sort that out.

Choke doesn't seem to operate and the car revs quite highly, which would indicate the choke cable is slack, leaving the choke fully on.

Passenger side window winder has stripped some teeth.

Sun has bleached the top of the back seat and caused the fabric to split.

Dashboard panel lights have died. And the speedometer glass has gone milky, so it's difficult to judge speed between 40-60mph.

My first Ford, my first small car, my first in a year with front wheel drive, too.

Bought from an online auction for £100, with 2 months road tax and 8 months MOT. Hence I can't really complain about the bodywork condition. It only needs to last for a couple of months, anyhow. Underneath seems OK, and the chrome bumpers are excellent. Original metal numberplates too!

Only 2 previous owners, the original one having the car for 22 years. No service history when I bought the car though, so thanks to the silly Ford 5-digit odometer I can't tell whether the mileage is really 20,500 or 120,500. The lack of wear on the seats, steering wheel and pedal rubbers would indicate the former.

You can see why everyone loves these cars - they are so easy to drive. Very precise gearchange, light clutch and steering. Performance isn't bad all things considered, but this thing has a quarter of the power of my last car, a BMW 528i. The brakes don't inspire much confidence, despite finding a servo in the engine bay.

Mind you, 20-odd years ago, basic cars really were basic - no radio, no rear fog light, no cigarette lighter, no tripmeter, no glovebox, not even a nearside door mirror. Mind you, the "L" spec at least meant reclining seats, a heated rear window and hazard lights.