Sierras...

[jps]

My dream of starting kit car building seems to be moving in the right direction, although i'm now torn between scratch building a Haynes Roadster chassis (having pored over the book for some time) and what seems to me to practically be a pre-built Haynes chassis in kit form - i.e. GBS Zero or similar.

I'm keen on making it Sierra based, but it looks like they are getting rarer and rarer. Is it really that hard to find one nowadays?

I'm not fussy about 4 or 5 speed, but do want to go carbs rather than fuel injection -and already unleaded ready if possible. Will I really struggle to find one?

[alga]

In reality, out of the whole Sierra, you want just the following pieces:

- Gearbox
- Rear subframe (diff (be sure to get the propshaft-to-diff bolts, too), driveshafts, rear hubs with brakes)
- Steering column with stalk switches
- Front hubs with brakes
- Master cylinder.

If you can find these, it's not worth getting the donor and having it sit on the drive while you take it apart.

Speaking of the engine, the Sierra carbed ones are really outdated, why not a pre-1995 Zetec on bike carbs and Megajolt?

[jps]

Hmm... I was thinking I need 'one car' to get the engine, diff and gearbox to get an age related plate... Or have I got this wrong?

Also assumed all the wiring would need to come from the donor too..?

I want to avoid fuel injection to keep things simple wherever possible.

[brainbug007]

You could always go the MX5 route as I think these are easier to get now than sierra's?

[jps]

The MX-5 route seem counter-intuitive to me - taking apart one sportscar to make another. Whereas butchering a rep-mobile/family car to turn it into a road legal go-kart seems somehow more noble!

[rpjg1975]

It all depends on how u want to go really. My build is sierra based and I used the donor loom as well. I think there are still bargains to be had if you aren't in a hurry

[Not Anumber]

Cant agree with this. 2.0 Pinto with decent carbs and a tubular exhaust manifold gives plenty of poke in cars our weight even before changing cams and modding the head. It's a dead easy engine to maintain or upgrade, unburstable and of course works very well with the standard type 9 and diff ratios without having to mess about

Originally Posted by alga

Speaking of the engine, the Sierra carbed ones are really outdated, why not a pre-1995 Zetec on bike carbs and Megajolt?

[jps]

Just thought i'd add an update in case anyone comes along and reads this in the future! I've spent the last few weeks looking for sierras and have seen probably about a dozen come up on eBay that would have fitted the bill - although none that were quite right (fuel injection, or DOHC engine, or no MOT and a LONG way from home)...

On Tues I saw one for sale near Bedford, only 80 miles away, and snapped it up for £390. A C reg, 1.6 L. Pinto and carbs, 3 previous owners with one of those having it from 1988 - 2009 and what the current owner thinks is a genuine 98000 from new.

This'll let me stick to a 'book' build and get an age related plate - and perhaps i'll install the Zetec and MT75 gearbox i've got once the car is registered and on the road...

Not quite the £30 of the book, but I didn't mind forking out that much. Especially as it has 12 months and 2 days of MOT left, I think i'll be cruising round in it a little bit until time comes to rip it apart.. :-D

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php...type=1&theater

[Bonzo]

Well done for finding a reasonably local Sierra

I think the price you paid is about par for the course.

Even my local breaker will pay £200-£250 for a dead large saloon car, I guess this is part of the reason as to why donor cars are selling for decent money.

I remember the last Sierra I stripped.

Had a word with the breaker & explained why I would be bringing it in with no vehicle ID.
He said he would be able to take it in as general scrap, asked him about all of the interior & plastics, he said bung it all in together.

Cut the shell up, loaded the whole lot into my truck, took it to the breakers & got paid just over £100 ( Not bad for a rusty load of old crap )

That was a few years back, scrap prices have probably gone up since then.

If you have the means to get the remains of the donor to the scrapyard, there is a fair chance that you'll get a nice chunk of your money back.

That said, if the body shell is in good condition it may be worth good money for someone looking to re-shell a project car. ( Would imagine that early models are quite scarce )


Enjoy the test driving of your new donor.

[PorkChop]

Originally Posted by jps

Just thought i'd add an update in case anyone comes along and reads this in the future! I've spent the last few weeks looking for sierras and have seen probably about a dozen come up on eBay that would have fitted the bill - although none that were quite right (fuel injection, or DOHC engine, or no MOT and a LONG way from home)...

On Tues I saw one for sale near Bedford, only 80 miles away, and snapped it up for £390. A C reg, 1.6 L. Pinto and carbs, 3 previous owners with one of those having it from 1988 - 2009 and what the current owner thinks is a genuine 98000 from new.

This'll let me stick to a 'book' build and get an age related plate - and perhaps i'll install the Zetec and MT75 gearbox i've got once the car is registered and on the road...

Not quite the £30 of the book, but I didn't mind forking out that much. Especially as it has 12 months and 2 days of MOT left, I think i'll be cruising round in it a little bit until time comes to rip it apart.. :-D

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php...type=1&theater

I'll be honest, it looks clean and sounds like its in good condition and it's a mark 1. I can't help feeling that this Sierra is far too good to be breaking it for a donor, but hey, it's not my car.