This Transit could be spec'd across 6 body styles, 5 engines, 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and up to 17 seating layouts — a mix-and-match menu so broad Ford called it unprecedented, and credited it as key to the Mk II's success.
Median 67 hp across 47 similar cars
Lead trim: Transit Mk II 1.6 Pinto OHC (petrol) · up to 100 hp
Ford Transit Mk II1977–1986
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- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Ford Transit Mk II yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThis Transit could be spec'd across 6 body styles, 5 engines, 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and up to 17 seating layouts — a mix-and-match menu so broad Ford called it unprecedented, and credited it as key to the Mk II's success.
In August 1977 a facelifted version of the first-generation Transit, codenamed within Ford the "Transit 1978½" and usually called the Transit Mark II, debuted with a restyled, longer nose section that could properly accommodate an in-line engine in place of the Essex and Cologne V4s, so the Pinto engine from the Cortina became the dominant power unit. The new frontal styling, with square headlamps and a black louvred grille, brought the Transit back into line with the rest of Ford of Europe's passenger car range, while the rear styling and the austere dashboard were updated; a minor facelift in 1984 added a grey plastic grille with integrated headlamp surrounds, wraparound indicators and multifunction rear lights, when the York diesel was redesigned into the 2.5-litre "DI" direct-injection unit. It was built at Genk, Southampton, Broadmeadows, Amsterdam (1975–1981), Seaview and Istanbul, in short (2,690 mm) and long (3,000 mm) wheelbase versions, in six body styles (Van, Kombi, Chassis Cab, Parcel Van, Bus and Crewbus), with 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and 12–17 seat options, and 4WD conversions (the SIRA Transit used a Sinpar transfer case with the 2-litre petrol or 2.4-litre diesel). A selection of five engines was offered: 1.6-litre OHC petrol, 1.6-litre OHV petrol (Kent), 2.0-litre OHC petrol, an economy 2.0-litre OHC petrol and the 2.4-litre diesel; many fleet owners experienced premature camshaft wear in early Pinto units in the Cortina, and for two years the Transit 75 was available with the 1.6-litre Kent crossflow engine. High-performance versions for police or ambulance service used the 3.0-litre V6 Essex, whose 100 hp (75 kW; 101 PS) version was also available in heavier-duty models like the 3.5-tonne Transit 190, and from September 1978 Australian variants could have a locally built 4.1-litre (250 cu in) inline six.
Collectors Spotted in the Ford Transit Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Ford Transit yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
8 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transit Mk II 1.6 Kent crossflow (petrol) | 1977–1986 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 1.6 Pinto OHC (petrol) | 1977–1986 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | 65 hp | 82 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 2.0 Pinto OHC (petrol) | 1977–1986 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 78 hp | 115 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 2.4 York diesel | 1977–1986 | 2.4 L Inline-4 | 62 hp | 99 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 2.5 DI diesel | 1984–1986 | 2.5 L Inline-4 | 68 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 2.8 Cologne V6 (petrol) | 1977–1986 | 2.8 L V6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 3.0 Essex V6 (100 hp) | 1977–1986 | 3.0 L V6 | 100 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| Transit Mk II 4.1 250 six (Australia) | 1978–1986 | 4.1 L Inline-6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Before a single E-Transit reached a customer, Ford had already banked more than 10,000 orders from 300 commercial fleets — buyers signing on for an electric van sight unseen.
On Top Gear, Sabine Schmitz nearly lapped the Nürburgring in under ten minutes in a stripped, weight-reduced Transit van — she missed it by just eight seconds.
In 1989 its 3.0 Essex V6 gave way to the fuel-injected Cologne 2.9, largely because the Essex design was nearly 25 years old and still used a carburettor.
This Transit could be spec'd across 6 body styles, 5 engines, 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and up to 17 seating layouts — a mix-and-match menu so broad Ford called it unprecedented, and credited it as key to the Mk II's success.
In 1972 London's Metropolitan Police reported the Transit was used in 95 percent of bank raids — fast enough for a getaway, roomy enough for 1.75 tonnes of loot.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Chevy pitched the Astro as the anti-minivan, telling buyers life was too big for one, while it rode on a rear-wheel-drive truck frame.
The IIHS rated the Astro Poor in a 1996 crash test, yet 2001–2004 Astros later had the lowest driver death rate of any US passenger vehicle.
The boxy, unglamorous Astro quietly posted one of the best real-world safety records in America: IIHS found 2001-2004 models had the fewest driver deaths per million vehicles of any passenger vehicle on US roads.
The third-generation Tourneo Connect, released in Europe in October 2021, is a rebadged fourth-generation Volkswagen Caddy, assembled by Volkswagen in Poland.
Ford beat the 25% "chicken tax" by importing the Transit Connect as a passenger van — rear windows and seats included, then stripped out and recycled once it landed in the US.
Ford spent years in federal court over the second-gen Transit Connect: in June 2019 the US won its appeal, and judges ruled the van was cargo-only — ending Ford's workaround for the 'chicken tax.'
GM sold a rebadged Nissan NV200 as the Chevy City Express for four years, then killed it in 2018, citing weak sales and the fact that its parts weren't even compatible with GM's own parts catalog.
Its name is a pun: "S-Cargo" means "Small Cargo" but sounds just like escargot — French for snail, the shape the whole van was built to resemble.