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When his two classic Fords started to die Jason Pillar combined them into one monster Fester - all hail the Fiesta-XR4i hybrid.
.....There's always debate in the Classic Ford office as to what should, or shouldn't, make up each issue's feature cars menu. One or two Escorts are usually top of the list, as is an example of a Cortina - and a Capri Mkl, II or III is frequently simmering gently in the pot. Most months we get to hear about older or rarer models - and these are added to the specials board. And every now and again someone will write in to tell us that they've cooked-up something so bizarre that we get reaching for the plates asap. What we have to whet the appetite this month is a hybrid Fiesta/Sierra XR4i, served up from the garage of Jason Pillar in Wimborne, Dorset.
Jason was kind enough to give us the ingredients of the story when he wrote in, so here in his own words is the story of the crazy motor in these photos...
Fiesta On Steroids
Picture the scene. It's Christmas Day, the turkey is legless and the guests are stuffed (or is it the other way around?). Anyway, we have a choice: watch the re-run of The Great Escape or think of something else to do. Then it comes to us in a flash - let's go outside and cut the roof off a Sierra!
Now I suppose at this point an explanation may be needed. The story starts with a Mk1 Fiesta acquired when I'd just got engaged, bought a house and had a lot of bills. I was sailing close to the wind as you might say, but I needed a car for work. So when somebody offered a Mk1 Fiesta to me for £50 I jumped at the chance buying it over the phone.
When I collected the car I couldn't help but think that it looked sorry for itself, and was beige. But it only needed a foglight to pass the MoT and was on the road for less than £100. The car lasted a couple of years, but then, to my horror, the engine started to smoke.
About this time I bought an XR4i that had been rear-ended. I liked it a lot, there was some MoT left so I drove it until that ran out, but it was too bad to repair properly and that was that. So this left on my drive a bent XR4i with no MoT, and no chance of getting one, and a Fiesta with a knackered engine. I really liked the Fiesta as it had given me years of loyal service when I was skint. It had run with no oil in it, started in the snow, carried all my tools to jobs and even took me to the church to get married. How could I possibly scrap such an excellent little car?.....
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