Mother and son team, Denise Kunzi and Daniel Goodall, from Middlesex, were the winners of the ClassicLine sponsored 2019 Gemini Events Pride of Ownership awards at the Knebworth Park Classic Motor Show with their 1987 Ford Fiesta XR2. After the event, we caught up with Daniel to find out more about their retro Ford.
Daniel has been into cars from a very young age. His parents would often take him and his brother to Santa Pod Raceway to watch the drag racing events, as well as many local car shows.
The 1986 Ford Fiesta XR2 has been in the family from new. Denise bought the car from a dealership in Birmingham in 1987 and has kept it all this time. Daniel’s auntie collected the car from the dealership on behalf of Denise, however the dealership registered the car in her name by mistake! This was not noticed until the mid-90’s when Daniel was routinely stopped by an officer who checked the ownership details – not good for his license at 19 years old!
From 1987 until 2000, the Fiesta nicknamed the Red Devil, was used as a daily driver. Then in 2000, the car suffered a light bump which broke the front spot lamps. From then onwards it was deemed as a weekend toy, succeeded by a newer daily driver with power steering. The Fiesta sat in the family’s back garden unused for the next 14 years.
Daniel tells us that Denise had always said one day she would love to restore her much loved Fiesta as it was the first car she ever bought herself. So, in 2014, as a surprise for his mum’s 60th birthday, Daniel, together with his brother Richard, had the car fully restored by family friend Jamie Sami at West London Car Care Centre in Harlington.