That's absolutely spot on power for an XR3I. Popular mods used to be a full janspeed exhaust with a four branch manifold and a kent cam. That would get you to about 120bhp.
i guessed right at 100 to 110 bhp ..worked on these when i was 7 years old with my dad the reg of his was FIL 3325 ..biggest killer on these cars were the starter motors get cooked by the engine manifold.... can say i am a proper ford fan from child hood ..love fords ❤
They came out with around 100bhp because ford wanted to make sure they were a tiny bit quicker than the XR2s that had the proper weber carb. They were good in the day and still awesome fun to drive, wicked little chassis and love a good thrashing. But not fast enough these days. I've had orions, mk3's carb and injection, and still got my mk4 - but that's having major surgery pointing volvo power to the back end. Bike carbs really open the cvh up, after that zetec. Rally cam, big valve head, full build and the cvh is on the limit and a bit rough and ragged compared to dropping a 2 litre mondingo lump in that will pull harder all the way through the rev range. Can fit it to look really smart too and bring them up into this century. Nice to see a standard one these days too though when it's been loved :)
The XR3 was 94/95 bhp the XR3i was 104bhp same as the later Mk4. We bought one from Thomas Motors in Blackpool 1981 on a Y. Nice car but they had stood a long time in a field after being built and it caused a few issues. Wished we'd bought the RS1600i instead as it was a better all round package and pulled around 113bhp. Made the same mistake again when buying a Mk5 Golf GTI thought the V6 and 4x4 wasn't worth the extra so went for a DSG GTI. Turns out 4x4 and extra power make B roads way more fun and take out the torque steer.
yeah xr3 was a twin choke Webber carb made by pierburg ..they use to make a metal K&N Air filter that use to bolt on top it looked sick as to the back metal air pan ..some of other fords shared the same engine ..like ford orion and ford fiesta xr2 had the same engine loved them cars as well
It has become little bit of one as not many mechanics know the correct way to sep up and now older mechanical injection tech not being learned because not used anymore.
A few mates had XR3i's 30years ago or so They were so cool then... they respond so well to basic mods like... back in the day a full janspeed exhaust and 4 branch manifold...Ken and nige panel filter in the airbox...Kent cam and new followers use to quiet them down. The boys used to run um with intake pipe pulled of the bottom of the airbox ...sounded mental. One mate had all this done and was as quick if not quicker than his mate with a series one turbo. Legendary.
Had one and it was a 104BHP which is what all XR3i's had from new. The non i XR3 was 95 BHP. For the age, that is a stonking engine Brings back so many good memories..
Had one a b reg b350 mab had full 1600i interior front spoiler 4-2-1 chunky manifold full 3inch stainless scorpion exhaust not sure if it had a cam but used pull proper well rst lsd gearbox the thing was a beast handling was amazing always stuck to my brother Sierra 4x4
105 hp with injection .Some people wont believe but with the xr2 fiesta mk3 from downhill made 220kmh on tacho .Was a kid and 4 me was warpspeed .Father tweeted the webber carburetor
Anything old school is mental money, cars in general are too expensive now. Iv had a ton of renault 5 turbos back in the early 2000's, wanted to get another even just as a project I can restore and tinker with in my spare time.....until I seen the fucking price of them now.
Had an XR2i brand new, WNE 89X was the reg. My first ever brand new car, loved it to bits. Not as pokey as a Golf GTi of the time but handled a bit better I think. Happy Days.
I used to have a B reg XR3i back in the late 80's and I remember cutting a Turbo Technics sticker out of a car mods magazine and sticky taping it to the back of my car. It genuinely looked convincing for a day or two. I always remember driving around feeling like an effing king (for 36 hours or so) with the thought that anyone driving behind me was noticing the 'badge' and being impressed or even frightened by the thing. What a sad bastard I was back then eh!..🤣🤣🤣🤣😛👍
hi i have an 81 xr3 (carb) not MFI the data i have is 96bhp for xr3 and 105bhp for xr3i but thats fords number from marketing info, my xr3 (carb) was tested at 94 bhp not bad for a 40 year old car , but you missed power steering putting on the dyno 😉 it always gets loads of comments when i take it out , the one you had is a cracker the sunburst red looks lovely 👍
They were quoting what they thought should make not factory figures. It’s natural for a car to lose power over time not always make factory figures and bit less, a well maintained should not lose more than a few bhp but it can happen. Polite ways of saying factory figures and calling not being petty - I say again they are talking estimated guesses not factory specs in that also never take manufacturers specs as gospel they often under or overquote figures, as someone else stated here XR3i Ford quoted 105 but in truth only 100hp or 103 average figures.
Fabulous car making good power. I always wanted an xr3i being just 11 when the original xr3 arrived and this is more desirable to me than modern stuff. The mk3 xr3 just looks so much better than the mk4 in my opinion....o knew it was 105 bhp without looking. I memorized all the stats for these old Fords 40 plus years ago 😂😂
I was 14 and wanted an RS2000. I would see them pass by and was so wanting one. But when I got into my 20’s they didn’t do them, but I was lucky enough to get an XR3i and I absolutely loved it. I was so chuffed, it was a great car, but of course I got married and had to sell it for a VOLVO 😂
Well I guessed 106 BHP as soon as I saw the car. They made 105 bhp. Same engine as an XR2i. The orginal XR3 (non 'i') made 90ish. That might be where the confusion is.
I was about to say it was 105ps or bhp, originally, but people beat me to it. Still not bad! I am a big fan of these as my mum worked for Ford back then, and I was the first kid ever to ride in an Orion with disguises! But….does anyone know what car Ford’s entire design brief for the Mk 3, was to match the dynamics of? You will be shocked 😂
Just so everybody knows, the job came in for a dyno health check and a little tune-up because it wasn't quite right. the factory figures are to be fair irrelevant in this case because the customer wasn't looking to improve or prove any power output as such and just to make it run rite as it was. The fact it made good numbers gives us a good idea its a health little unit. Back before we had a dyno, this would be done on the road, and nobody would know figures. I am happy to say the customer is over the moon with the results and drives like a different car. The whole point with people guessing figures is just a bit of light-hearted fun, so instead of being a Karen, maybe just lighten up a bit. Nobody likes a Karen!
I've had both mk3 and mk4 3i's and honestly the mk3's made better power than the mk4's back in the day or certainly felt a good bit quicker. My guess was 105bhp, even on an older engine so pretty close. Car is stunning, I love it.
xr3 s were 96 3i s were 105 and the later efi mk4 xr3i was 108 i had mine turned up at the ecu a 88 model and could pull nearly as hard as a standard rs turbo
I would have said 95BHP was low and would have said 100 or just over was more likely. My XR2 was 96BHP (OK, it was a couple of years newer than this XR3i) from the factory and backed by a dyno run (which was done as part of a Fast Ford mag article).
105 standard, x packed flowed head, injector pump upgrade and cam re-profile and they ran 123bhp, wasnt worthy the upgrade cost as only knocked half a second of the 0-60 time.
Used to beat these in a mk 2 cavalier 1.6 l just with a good service and k&n filter nothing else. .and the 2.0l sro 130 ,had many escort turbos . Ford of the 80 and 90s all ways down on power to other rivals
My guess was 108bhp too, I also had a very early White XR3i Y reg 1982 the registration was SET500Y, It had a two spoke steering wheel from the non injection Xr3 and the original Xr3 suspension fitted from factory as it was one of the first XR3i off the line. It made a Raspberry sound half way up the rev range on the way to the red line where it mostly live…I loved it.
On the face of it good numbers, but that dyno is abit flattering. They never made much more than 105-106hp for a good one. What was much more crucial was the shape of the graph and the torque curve- running really well and no wear to the cam, but does need the valve stem seals doing (hard with age) and possibly the cold start injector is leaking slightly or the main injectors are gummed up/ dribbling / poor spray pattern etc - the blue/black exhaust smoke and stuttery hot start being the give-aways. I expect they wouldn't have needed to touch the "fuel" screw if that was indeed the case- and they should have checked the static fuel pressure first to verify it was holding after shut down. These should hot start rock steady without throttle, but appreciate we are talking a now- 40 year old untouched Bosch K jetronic system which is a testament to how well they were designed back then ! As someone said you can improve them abit with a good 4 branch manifold & system, plus a mildish Cam- anything with much overlap over factory would give awful low speed running and a sh1t idle as the metering flap would bounce from the now variable inlet vacuum from the lumpy cam- to see 120hp you'd need some head work to clean up the ports. Lovely and valuable example of an early '3i Kjet though.
Never had an xr3, but had a mark 2 xr2 which when fitted with a K&N air filter with a slightly larger main jet absolutely flew....I swapped it for a Mark 1 MR2....and if honest I felt that the Ford pulled a bit harder
I once turned down a £500 xr3i, one of my life's regrets....😳😲😁 On a side note my current daily ride is a Fiat Panda 4x4 Twinair just 875cc 2 cylinders and that puts out 85bhp! So given the lighter weight, my Panda must have a higher power to weight ratio than an xr3i?😮
@@BigGaz130 Wrong! An xr3i weighs 925kg, my Panda weighs 740kg. My point is I have only 2 cylinders and way less cc, my power to weight ratio is much higher. Plus my little Twinair engine makes just over 97 bhp / litre. An xr3i makes just 65bhp / litre, that's a huge difference.
@@Buck3366 Correct, non injection has the laser trim, 2 spoke wheel and double nut front suspension top mounts (along with different suspension geometry front and rear). It makes me laugh how people with no knowledge embarrass themselves sometimes.
![Ford Escort XR3i - NOT Just Like A Golf [Why The XR3 Was Britain's Favourite] (1984 XR3i Mk3)](/img/n.gif)
80's cars exhaust note just hit different
The shape is still the best till now , be nice if they could come out with it again with a few modern touches
Yes I distinctly remember them being 105ps from the factory which equates to 103.53hp to be exact.
That's absolutely spot on power for an XR3I. Popular mods used to be a full janspeed exhaust with a four branch manifold and a kent cam. That would get you to about 120bhp.
Add a “MAX POWER” sticker in the window and get another 10HP….
They were the days.
Wish i still had all my xr's
We used to make them about 1990 ish in Halewood Liverpool Ford factory its now jaguar Land rover I not long left😊
i guessed right at 100 to 110 bhp ..worked on these when i was 7 years old with my dad the reg of his was FIL 3325 ..biggest killer on these cars were the starter motors get cooked by the engine manifold.... can say i am a proper ford fan from child hood ..love fords ❤
They came out with around 100bhp because ford wanted to make sure they were a tiny bit quicker than the XR2s that had the proper weber carb. They were good in the day and still awesome fun to drive, wicked little chassis and love a good thrashing. But not fast enough these days. I've had orions, mk3's carb and injection, and still got my mk4 - but that's having major surgery pointing volvo power to the back end. Bike carbs really open the cvh up, after that zetec. Rally cam, big valve head, full build and the cvh is on the limit and a bit rough and ragged compared to dropping a 2 litre mondingo lump in that will pull harder all the way through the rev range. Can fit it to look really smart too and bring them up into this century. Nice to see a standard one these days too though when it's been loved :)
The XR3 was 94/95 bhp the XR3i was 104bhp same as the later Mk4. We bought one from Thomas Motors in Blackpool 1981 on a Y. Nice car but they had stood a long time in a field after being built and it caused a few issues. Wished we'd bought the RS1600i instead as it was a better all round package and pulled around 113bhp. Made the same mistake again when buying a Mk5 Golf GTI thought the V6 and 4x4 wasn't worth the extra so went for a DSG GTI. Turns out 4x4 and extra power make B roads way more fun and take out the torque steer.
yeah xr3 was a twin choke Webber carb made by pierburg ..they use to make a metal K&N Air filter that use to bolt on top it looked sick as to the back metal air pan ..some of other fords shared the same engine ..like ford orion and ford fiesta xr2 had the same engine loved them cars as well
I thought tuning Bosch K-Jetronic was a lost art. Impressed
It has become little bit of one as not many mechanics know the correct way to sep up and now older mechanical injection tech not being learned because not used anymore.
Mark 3 escort was a delight
A few mates had XR3i's 30years ago or so
They were so cool then... they respond so well to basic mods like... back in the day a full janspeed exhaust and 4 branch manifold...Ken and nige panel filter in the airbox...Kent cam and new followers use to quiet them down.
The boys used to run um with intake pipe pulled of the bottom of the airbox ...sounded mental.
One mate had all this done and was as quick if not quicker than his mate with a series one turbo.
Legendary.
Had one and it was a 104BHP which is what all XR3i's had from new. The non i XR3 was 95 BHP. For the age, that is a stonking engine Brings back so many good memories..
Had one a b reg b350 mab had full 1600i interior front spoiler 4-2-1 chunky manifold full 3inch stainless scorpion exhaust not sure if it had a cam but used pull proper well rst lsd gearbox the thing was a beast handling was amazing always stuck to my brother Sierra 4x4
When you can smell the video through your phone speaker 😂
Stunning xr3i and nice power for a standard engine
Best shape Escort. Period.
105 hp with injection .Some people wont believe but with the xr2 fiesta mk3 from downhill made 220kmh on tacho .Was a kid and 4 me was warpspeed .Father tweeted the webber carburetor
xr3 was 96bhp.when they fuel injected it power rose to 105bhp,then up to 108bhp.
That's not bad for a 1985 car that's now 38 years old at the time of this comment - 20 Mar 2023.
Had an 83 XR3, an 85 XR3i and an 87 XR3i loved them all, just wish I could afford one these days
Anything old school is mental money, cars in general are too expensive now. Iv had a ton of renault 5 turbos back in the early 2000's, wanted to get another even just as a project I can restore and tinker with in my spare time.....until I seen the fucking price of them now.
@@FriendsOfTheRoad Only car to beat me from traffic light's back in the day .
I had a new one in 1983 CFR 110Y it was advertised as having 105 HP the RS 1600 at the time was advertised as having 115 HP
Had an XR2i brand new, WNE 89X was the reg. My first ever brand new car, loved it to bits. Not as pokey as a Golf GTi of the time but handled a bit better I think. Happy Days.
I used to have a B reg XR3i back in the late 80's and I remember cutting a Turbo Technics sticker out of a car mods magazine and sticky taping it to the back of my car. It genuinely looked convincing for a day or two. I always remember driving around feeling like an effing king (for 36 hours or so) with the thought that anyone driving behind me was noticing the 'badge' and being impressed or even frightened by the thing. What a sad bastard I was back then eh!..🤣🤣🤣🤣😛👍
We were all young once Neil 😂
These always felt so much quicker than the mk4 version.
agree i owned both
hi i have an 81 xr3 (carb) not MFI the data i have is 96bhp for xr3 and 105bhp for xr3i but thats fords number from marketing info, my xr3 (carb) was tested at 94 bhp not bad for a 40 year old car , but you missed power steering putting on the dyno 😉
it always gets loads of comments when i take it out , the one you had is a cracker the sunburst red looks lovely 👍
You've got factory specs wrong . That's a xr3i (105 bhp ) not a xr3 (95 bph ) clearly your know nowt
Well done for pointing it out. Don't need to be a knob about it though
Can't put out a video trying to educate people and don't know what your talking about . So why a knob ?
@@davidsturch7057 "clearly you know nowt". There are more helpful ways of making a point. Not too sure this is aimed at being educational either
Thank god for people like you David
They were quoting what they thought should make not factory figures. It’s natural for a car to lose power over time not always make factory figures and bit less, a well maintained should not lose more than a few bhp but it can happen.
Polite ways of saying factory figures and calling not being petty - I say again they are talking estimated guesses not factory specs in that also never take manufacturers specs as gospel they often under or overquote figures, as someone else stated here XR3i Ford quoted 105 but in truth only 100hp or 103 average figures.
Fabulous car making good power. I always wanted an xr3i being just 11 when the original xr3 arrived and this is more desirable to me than modern stuff. The mk3 xr3 just looks so much better than the mk4 in my opinion....o knew it was 105 bhp without looking. I memorized all the stats for these old Fords 40 plus years ago 😂😂
I was 14 and wanted an RS2000. I would see them pass by and was so wanting one. But when I got into my 20’s they didn’t do them, but I was lucky enough to get an XR3i and I absolutely loved it. I was so chuffed, it was a great car, but of course I got married and had to sell it for a VOLVO 😂
Well I guessed 106 BHP as soon as I saw the car. They made 105 bhp. Same engine as an XR2i. The orginal XR3 (non 'i') made 90ish.
That might be where the confusion is.
It's crazy in the day we thought these were rapid think these are really coming of age now
They would've been, compared to your average family saloon!
Low weight, skinny little tyres and basic suspension equalled fun times.
I was about to say it was 105ps or bhp, originally, but people beat me to it. Still not bad! I am a big fan of these as my mum worked for Ford back then, and I was the first kid ever to ride in an Orion with disguises! But….does anyone know what car Ford’s entire design brief for the Mk 3, was to match the dynamics of? You will be shocked 😂
105bhp standard 96ish is for the non injection model
Just so everybody knows, the job came in for a dyno health check and a little tune-up because it wasn't quite right. the factory figures are to be fair irrelevant in this case because the customer wasn't looking to improve or prove any power output as such and just to make it run rite as it was. The fact it made good numbers gives us a good idea its a health little unit. Back before we had a dyno, this would be done on the road, and nobody would know figures. I am happy to say the customer is over the moon with the results and drives like a different car. The whole point with people guessing figures is just a bit of light-hearted fun, so instead of being a Karen, maybe just lighten up a bit. Nobody likes a Karen!
I've had both mk3 and mk4 3i's and honestly the mk3's made better power than the mk4's back in the day or certainly felt a good bit quicker. My guess was 105bhp, even on an older engine so pretty close.
Car is stunning, I love it.
MK3's are the original and the original is usually the best.. Just look at the price difference between to Mk3's & 4's.
Pretty sure the gearbox is different on the MK3 to the MK4 difference ratio's making the MK3 feel that bit quicker
@@markabbott6818 Could well be mate.
@@Jim_M_75 I had a mk 3 1.3 escort back in the day my mate had a MK4 1.4i and mine was far quicker
mk3 around 100kg lighter then the mk4
The Xr3 on carb was 95hp the 3i was 105 and some later ones with efi were 115 iirc
That's impressive
Lovely car nearly bought it about 18 months ago. It was the lack of history put me off, that said lovely car
xr3 s were 96 3i s were 105 and the later efi mk4 xr3i was 108 i had mine turned up at the ecu a 88 model and could pull nearly as hard as a standard rs turbo
Standard car was 105. Bought one as a six year old standard motor and it made 112. Put a 4 branch janspeed and system made less😂😂
There were rated at 105bhp from factory. You are mixing it up with the xr3 carb model
I would have said 95BHP was low and would have said 100 or just over was more likely. My XR2 was 96BHP (OK, it was a couple of years newer than this XR3i) from the factory and backed by a dyno run (which was done as part of a Fast Ford mag article).
It sounded sweet enough for a CVH
105 standard, x packed flowed head, injector pump upgrade and cam re-profile and they ran 123bhp, wasnt worthy the upgrade cost as only knocked half a second of the 0-60 time.
Used to beat these in a mk 2 cavalier 1.6 l just with a good service and k&n filter nothing else. .and the 2.0l sro 130 ,had many escort turbos . Ford of the 80 and 90s all ways down on power to other rivals
mk3 xr3...96bhp
mk3/mk4.... xr3i 105 bhp
mk1 xr2....84 bhp
mk2 xr2....96 bhp
owned them all
Had to laugh at the Cam Cover comments, my 1994 Fiesta Si has the 1.4 PTE CVH, Mint cover!
I’ve got a xr3i mfi with 200k on its engine. I’d guess it’s got 85hp if lucky
good top end for an 8v
I was going to say 108 I had a 83 xr3i y reg one of the first of the injections I wish I still had it now LTR85Y if anyone knows it’s where about
My guess was 108bhp too, I also had a very early White XR3i Y reg 1982 the registration was SET500Y, It had a two spoke steering wheel from the non injection Xr3 and the original Xr3 suspension fitted from factory as it was one of the first XR3i off the line. It made a Raspberry sound half way up the rev range on the way to the red line where it mostly live…I loved it.
105 stock.
Xr3 and MK2 xr2 was 95.
MK1 xr2 was 84.
By law, engines are allowed to be +/- 10% from manufacturers claim.
Xr3i at the start of the vid and still an xr3i at the end . even says it on the boot lid 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I had a 1990 xr3i soft top with the efi engine. It was slower than my father's Volvo 345😂
On the face of it good numbers, but that dyno is abit flattering. They never made much more than 105-106hp for a good one.
What was much more crucial was the shape of the graph and the torque curve- running really well and no wear to the cam, but does need the valve stem seals doing (hard with age) and possibly the cold start injector is leaking slightly or the main injectors are gummed up/ dribbling / poor spray pattern etc - the blue/black exhaust smoke and stuttery hot start being the give-aways. I expect they wouldn't have needed to touch the "fuel" screw if that was indeed the case- and they should have checked the static fuel pressure first to verify it was holding after shut down.
These should hot start rock steady without throttle, but appreciate we are talking a now- 40 year old untouched Bosch K jetronic system which is a testament to how well they were designed back then !
As someone said you can improve them abit with a good 4 branch manifold & system, plus a mildish Cam- anything with much overlap over factory would give awful low speed running and a sh1t idle as the metering flap would bounce from the now variable inlet vacuum from the lumpy cam- to see 120hp you'd need some head work to clean up the ports.
Lovely and valuable example of an early '3i Kjet though.
Never had an xr3, but had a mark 2 xr2 which when fitted with a K&N air filter with a slightly larger main jet absolutely flew....I swapped it for a Mark 1 MR2....and if honest I felt that the Ford pulled a bit harder
They looked faster than they were
I once turned down a £500 xr3i, one of my life's regrets....😳😲😁
On a side note my current daily ride is a Fiat Panda 4x4 Twinair just 875cc 2 cylinders and that puts out 85bhp!
So given the lighter weight, my Panda must have a higher power to weight ratio than an xr3i?😮
A mk3 XR3i is around 125kg lighter than your Panda mate and more powerful.
@@BigGaz130 Wrong! An xr3i weighs 925kg, my Panda weighs 740kg.
My point is I have only 2 cylinders and way less cc, my power to weight ratio is much higher.
Plus my little Twinair engine makes just over 97 bhp / litre.
An xr3i makes just 65bhp / litre, that's a huge difference.
So like a t reg corsa sport
Naturally aspirated 😂
Even in the 80s they were slow
I thought these were 115 bhp standard
All Ford CVH's are Hemi head 🤨 13 AFR wide open/full load is not fat/rich whats he on about?
XR3 was 96bhp but XR3i Was 105bhp.
Impressive that it made 108hp, should have made no more than 105! which is what Ford claimed.
105..
105bhp from factory
105 BHP from factory
Cant beat an old skool ford in my opinion
Even rs turbos were slow really
100 Dyno Horsepower.....so about 75 Real horsepower. Tragic....🤭
These things wouldn’t pull you out of bed back in the day 😂😂😂 I don’t know what all the fuss was about these xr thingys 🤨
They had a 0-60 under 9 seconds, quick back then, still good now, my 2023 Peugeot 308 130BHP has 10 seconds 0-60
Seemed to take forever to get to 60mph I drove an XR2 and then the XR3 absolutely rubbish they were my little Nova 1.3 SR would leave them for dust .
No such thing as a mck 4 xr3i a series 1 or 2 etc
I'd so 86hp
103
105 hp
thats an xr3 not xr3i
Xr3i hence the fuel injection system 😂😂😂😂😂
Nonsense. XR3 has the intake running across the top of the engine, 3i doesn’t. XR3 also had a 2 spoke wheel and different seat pattern trim too.
@@Buck3366 Correct, non injection has the laser trim, 2 spoke wheel and double nut front suspension top mounts (along with different suspension geometry front and rear). It makes me laugh how people with no knowledge embarrass themselves sometimes.
3i has injection hence not having a carb and airbox sitting on top
Good power as 105bhp standard 95bhp is for the early carb xr3i this is injection
You two bummers 🤪🤪
There very slow that’s what I remember about them
Cars have come a long way a diesel golf would blow it's door s off nowadays 😎
I'd rather push an xr3i than own a golf 😂
Leaky radiator
They were 125 bhp
No chance 🤣
Crap cars, golf gti were infinitely better, rs tubo were trash as well split inner wings- our opel monza ate them for breakfast .
Thought you were saying it had 13 hp 😂😂😂
CVH don’t have big enough valves to make power…….they don’t breath properly!