What do I need from my donor.

[Dave F]

Hi all. I am a new member but have been reading alot. I have now decided to start (slowly) so I am, in the next month, intending to buy a Donor. It is Goong to be a Sierra 1.8cvh or 2.0DOHC but I want to know what I need to strip off It. I is going to be a few days to strip and get rod of or the missis will start shouting and stop cooking. My first question is which is the best engine, 1.8cvh or 2 DOHC I am leaning towards the 1.8 as there are millions so if/when I blow it up I can easily get another.
The list I have so far for the donor is:
Engine
Box
Diff
Prop & shafts
Wiring loom
Front Hubs & calipers
Rear hubs and drums
Pedal box
Clocks
Steering column
VIN plate from cross member.
Wheels & tyres

Parts I am unsure if I need:
Petrol tank
Tank sender & pump.
Engine mounts
Radiator & fan

Any comments and opinions would be excellent.
Thanks in advance.

[JakeH]

the missis will start shouting and stop cooking.

first off this made me chuckle :)

not sure which engine to advise but i have a 1.8CVH

have taken

engine
gearbox
propshaft
diff
half shafts
rear hubs with brakes and other gubbins
all the conectors off the brake pipes
front hubs including brakes and wot not
ALL the wiring loom including fuse box
steering column
starter motor
alternator
engine mounts
wheels
vin plate from crossmember and one in floor pan (just behind drivers seat on the OUTSIDE edge of the car)
clocks
tank sender unit (i cut the bit of the tank out where the sender mounts for a template for when i make my own tank)
brake master cylinder
horn
header tank
handbrake lever ad cables
every nut and bolt i could scavenge (never know then they might come in handy :))

there may be some other bits which i have missed, sure someone will bob in and add to this

JakeH

[HandyAndy]

I too have the 1.8 CVH engine from a complete donor I had, makes for an easy swap to Zetec later on ;) ( theres a few parts from the CVH engine you,d need when installing a Zetec & it also has exhaust exit on same side, saves having holes in both side panels.

You won,t need the petrol tank ( too big ) but maybe keep the sender if you intend making your own tank, if you get a CVH engined donor the fuel pump is part of the engine.

Won,t need the fan or Rad...again too big

Most folk get a new propshaft made to measure, tho keeping the donor shaft might raise a few £,s to sell it on.

The only thing I can think of that you haven,t mentioned about keeping is the Speedo cable.

Best wishes for your build :)

cheers
andy

[Dave F]

Thanks all.
I like the Idea of all the nuts and bolts, and I forgot the Handbrake and Speedocable. I do intend once IVA's and driven for a while I may want to drop a zetec in so A CVH it is then

[Dave F]

Can I have a 4x4 as a sonar. I know I can obviously use the engine and stuff but is the gearbox and Diff the same?

[JakeH]

the gearbox is different if my memory serves me right not sure if the transfer box is moulded or bolted on?, think the diff is the same though, (its just got 2)

JakeH

[twinturbo]

Gearbox will be more or less useless. The transfer casing is part of the gearbox rear case.

Diff will be an LSD so worth having.

Front hubs have different geometry to 2WD, different strut diameter, and obviously the remains of the drive flange will be there ( not sure if that's and MOT fail or not)

Sump will need changing for a 2WD sump.

TT

[MarkB]

It has been done before if you fancied some extra hassles, Dax made a 4x4 Rush and I'm sure there is a bloke up in Scotland who made a 4x4 Locost using XR4x4 as a donor.....madasahatter to drive I would think too:D

[Dave F]

Thanks for all your replys. From what I can tell the only benfit would be the LSD but all the incompatable parts would cause hassle and more expence. I will ignore the 4x4 then.
Thanks all:)

[Enoch]

Seat runners may come in handy.
Dave

[Dave F]

Thanks All.
Just waiting for one to come up now. they are all going for aprox £400. I am on fleabay and Gumtree twice daily, at least. Just waiting now in anticipation

[MarkB]

Thanks All.
Just waiting for one to come up now. they are all going for aprox £400. I am on fleabay and Gumtree twice daily, at least. Just waiting now in anticipation

If Sierra's are fetching that much these days then I would say you would be better going down the Mazda route as there are a lot of parts you don't need that can be sold to help recover some of the costs.

[Dave F]

I was thinking about that, What sort of proce should I expect to pay for a sutable MX5?

[acra]

I too have considered the MX 5 route, especially after looking at the costs you can recoup from selling unused bits (found on the MEV forums).

Only thing is, how much modification to the book design would be needed?

[vmax1974]

Spud at saturn is working on an mx5 build that he is going to share with people I believe handyandy is about to offer the chassis kits so may be worth while I plan on going the mx5 route myself when my brother-in-law gets his rubbish out my garage but going to be ordering chassis next month getting the table ordered next week lol

[Dave F]

What sort of cost will the chassis kit be do you think. Sierra kits go for about £200-£250 so need to factor any extra cost in. I really am going for a budget build and buying parts on a month by month basis out of my wage.

[vmax1974]

They about the same price I worked out that the mx5 should be slightly cheaper cause you dont use the rear hub upright adaptors or the front top hats my build is going to be going the same way week on week