Old Ford not run for over 20 years attempted to start before first wash in decades

  • A duo saved an old Ford from a garage
  • It was inside the garage for over 20 years
  • Surprisingly, the car showed signs of life after all that time

Published on Aug 26, 2024 at 4:19 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja

Last updated on Aug 27, 2024 at 3:26 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Alessandro Renesis

Barn finds often unveil extremely rare classic and sports cars, but would you be interested in a 1983 Ford Orion Ghia 1.6 — a full-fledged family sedan?

If not, what if we tell you it’s one of the rarest sedans Ford produced back then?

Well, that’s what this YouTuber found, and it was tucked inside a bolted garage for over 20 years.

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Men save old Ford after 20 years

Johnny Smith from The Late Brake Show met Neil Rapsey, whose family has had this car for well over 40 years.

The YouTuber uploaded a video about it and posted it on their channel.

It showed the duo taking the car out of hiding and attempting to start it.

While Neil never owned the Orion Ghia himself, his daughter now had it.

The Orion was Ford’s attempt at making a market-breaking family sedan in the 1980s.

It’s safe to say that it was pretty successful because the automaker sold around 100 million units of these.

The Ghia trim also saw its fair share of glory in its golden era, but finding one today is nearly impossible.

Whoever put this Ford Orion Ghia in this garage must have wanted to keep it safe, because its fuse box was wrapped in plastic casing and the garage doors were bolted from the outside.

In addition, it even retained the factory paint, and the aluminum stripes on its sides looked as good as new.

Cranking the engine and cleaning it

This Ford certainly survived the harsh effects of time, to say the least.

That makes it one of the most extraordinary barn finds, even if it’s a family sedan.

Shortly after freeing the car from its old home, Johnny wanted to start the engine.

The car seemed dead at first, but after trying a new battery and adding in some more fuel, it cranked.

After several tries, the Orion Ghia finally started, and the 1.6-liter CVH engine sent out around 100hp once more.

If anything, watching an engine that saw daylight after two decades starting effortlessly is a great sight.

The guys further gave the car a power wash, and it looked brand-new again.

It was a sight similar to this Acura NSX, which had its first wash in 22 years.

Well, apart from a few rust spots here and there.

# Tags - Barn Finds, Cars, Ford


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Siddharth Dudeja

Siddharth is a tech nerd with a secret love of all things cars. He has been writing for a few years now, and on his free time you would find him gaming when he's not procrastinating.