1978 and 1775 pounds of Ford Fiesta were two good things for Jerry Kuszak to find in the used car market. Jerry’s been the third proud owner of this daily driven and occasionally autocrossed MK1 Fiesta for over 20 years. Fiesta, the elder was sold here in America for three short years from 1978-80. Under the hood is 1.6L of Kent engine fury, with the Ghia package representing the highest level of Fiesta luxury one could get in ’78. This particluar signal yellow hatch was shod with a set of correct offset wheels of mystery manufacture and Toyo R888 shoes for maximum driving amusement. The flexible front air dam and rear hatch spoiler are genuine factory bits that Jerry has collected and added over time. While finding ducktail spoliers is fun, driving the Fiesta for two decades is better. “It’s been a great car. It’s a solid running car. It gets great gas mileage. It’s fun to drive.”, said Jerry.
Jerry and his Fiesta were part of a 150 or so automobiles at the Mid-Week Get Together, which convenes every Wednesday from March to November from 4-8PM at El Camino Real and Scott in Santa Clara, California.
When I was a kid in the early 80s some old guy who went to my church had a Ford Fiesta that looked pretty similar to this one. It had a gigantic fiberglass hood scoop that looked like he had duct taped it on. It was probably 24″x24″x8″ and when you looked inside it only had a 6″ diameter hole cut out of the hood with what I assume was the top of the carburetor sticking up 2″. It seemed like he did a diy pinstripe job with green electrical tape too…
I can remember going to a race at the road course at Gateway International Raceway back in ’86 or ’87. Nothing sticks with me about the race (or even what class of cars were running). Nothing, except for the Ford Fiesta (I think it was orange – remember it was lowered slightly and had nice mags and tires) out in the parking lot that someone had left parked with the hood up. Inside they had swapped the original 4 cylinder for a fully prepped Formula Atlantic Cosworth engine. I always wondered how one would handle the torque steer – maybe it had an LSD in it as well. Seems like it would have been a pretty nice “sleeper” in that day. Really sweet car.
I’m pretty sure, after some research, that those wheels are Shelby/CSI. I’d never seen a set in 4×108, but a consult with a friend who used to work for American says that they’re nothing that they built.
Neat car! Seeing sticky rubber on a light car makes me very very happy.
This post brings back great memories. I had a series of Fiestas as daily drivers/autocross weapons while I was in college. They were quick, reliable, fun, comfortable and economical. Ford brilliantly replaced the Fiesta in ’81 with the U.S. spec Escort which was none of the above.
Whenever, you get tired of this car. Email me because I want to buy it…like now. My wife and I had some fun in my Ford Fiesta back in the day. This car deserves to be preserved, loved and lusted over by all middle-aged men that used to rely on it to get from point a to b. I was sad to sell mine. I got more thumbs up in that car than my ’72 Corvette convertible.
Cracking car, glad that the mk1 fiesta is still loved over there as it is in the UK.
Check out http://www.fiesta-mk1.co.uk a web site dedicated to the model. We have a
number of US members with cars on the forum.
Car looks great!
Bought one new in 79, bright yellow.
Currently have a 1980 “S”.
Where did you find the front spoiler?
Would love to get one for the 80.
EFDonato
Philadelphia PA
Looking to buy one of these? Anyone?
Thanks
Jim
olywajim@yahoo.com
Just bought a 1980 fiesta and man is it a pain in the butt to get parts. It is way underpowered and needs everything to be a rallycar. I bought it for a gas saving commuter though it is dangerously underpowered especially when trying to get on a 70mph fwy that starts ya going uphill at a steep grade. I tried British American Transfer but they dont have half the parts that their catalog boasts. Its not too small inside but the shift stick feels like it should have been placed more forward it feels like I’m reaching behind my hip to shift. I was planning on keeping it to use as a project car but I feel it would be more trouble than its worth. anyone live near kennewick, wa I’ll sell it for what I paid $600.00 runs good especially downhill hehehe. The body is surprisingly straight and rust free with a moonroof.
hey shawn i’ve been looking for one for a while. Are you still interested in selling? I had a 1979 fiesta as a first car in 1994 and fell in love with them. As a dumb 16 yr old kid I ran it into the ground and sold it for scrap. I have not seen one in years but always have my eyes open for one. I live in Tx but am very serious about buying one. I’ve never been to this site before and don’t know much about it. The car featured above is an awesome looking fiesta. Would love to be driving one like that (again)!