Dan302

Progress is slow, but we have some progress

Calendar shot!

Calendar shot!

Calendar shot!

Calendar shot!

2 fiat fondle.

On the last look over id noted a duff wheel cylinder, the drums are original and pretty well worn now given the cars miles.  new drums, shoes and cylinders ordered in, forgot a fitting kit tho. 
Bosch are actually cheapest for these as they are the OEM manufacturer.

The back plates were very crusty so i unbolted the wheel bearing, and the back plates got taken off and hit with the knot wheel. The axle was given a quick go over with the  needle scaler and then wire brush before a splash of shultz. Im not a fan of this stuff but it has a place.

Having done the KA2 previously in this thread id already experienced the seized union on the brake pipe so just went straight to making two new pipes and cut the old ones off. Id like to have done a neater job but i was getting pushed for time today after doing the doblo and VP this morning.

Back plates bolted on and pipe installed.

Shoes and adjusters fitted. 

New drums on and a tweakof the  handbrake. All seems okay, ill paint the drums next time ive got the car on the lift. Finished around 10pm and dropped the car back. 

 

Doblo
 
Dobhigh?

One of our more recent work fleet purchases. The clutch slave snapped saturday luckily just as it was leaving the shop, I replaced that in the carpark. 
A noise had been occuring from the belt area, i ordered in 2 belts and a tensioner.  Sadly a stretch belt runs the PS pump. Old belt peeled off easily

Tensioner off and sure enough the bearing was pretty toasted. 

Having sold many at work but personally having never fitting a stretch belt i can say fook me that was tight to get on. All back together and no more squeeking. 
 
 
 

Old shite new trick. 
A quick google suggests any A series with this down to manifold flange style struggles to seal. And if it does seal after a while it will blow again as there is no flex to exhaust appart from bending it. 
With new mounts and beefed up stab bar bushes id guess we would probably be okay for longer if i could get it to seal. However the part on the exhaust came in at the wrong angle in my eyes. And was barely sealing one side. Maybe tweaked from the engine moving about alot before.  So bollocks im cutting it. Choppy choppy. 
A snip on the down pipe part and i bolted the flange up as inline as possible. I then cut the first curve off and tweaked that a bit so its pointing in a direction i was happy with. 
As far as im concerned the exhaust would benifit from being isolated from the engine like a more modern motor so having found just one seller on ebay i ordered the smallest flexi ive ever seen at 32mm ID. Also a sleeve so i can make the single piece exhaust into two, so its not a massive arse to move about when fitting. 

It would probably be fine as is but some Additional brackets and mounts will be welded on to the front part of the rear section to  support the exhaust so the flexi isnt under a downward load 
Im told the new exhausts fit well but given this so far has cost only 40 quid in parts and the new systems are very pricey, im Hopeful this will be a reliable cure to a common problem, but we will see. 
 

They’ll be fine. In all honesty they’ll be better than the Uniroyals that were probably fitted from new. Tyre technology has come on considerably, even the cheapest shittest tyres today will be leagues ahead of the best tyres fitted when it was new. 

I suspect even the most basic Chinesium rubber will improve the handling 1000% over those vintage hoops!

The Sierra is up in the air again.

This time it's getting a new set of boots.
The existing tyres are a mix of more than half worn Good Years and half worn Kwik Fit's own brand.

One of the Good Years has nasty cracking along the sidewall.

And, more worrying, a crack that extends the full circumference of the tyre, between the sidewall and the tread.

I've gone for a set of budget 165/80 R 13 tyres.
The Sierra is unlikely to exceed the national speed limit, at least during my ownership and it will not be driven in the rain, so I didn't opt to spend as much again for fancy branded tyres. Whatever I will fit must surely be better than what I've removed.
More tomorrow.

Username checks out.

The weather was looking ok, it was time to take the Sierra out for a test drive.
Even with the battery disconnected, the fuel gauge was showing that the tank was nearly full. Bearing in mind that I only put about 5 litres in when I first bought the Sierra, the gauge reading looked very wrong.

With the battery reconnected, the Pinto fired up first time and the exhaust spat out a mouthful of moisture. More on this later. 
Whilst walking out of the workshop, to move the E46 out of the way, I noticed that the brake lights were permanently on.

I quickly got changed, removed the bottom of the dashboard again to gain access to the brake pedal switch.

I removed the switch to check and clean it. It looked ok.

I refitted the switch and adjusted it to the correct position. Evidently, I must have disturbed the switch whilst fiddling with the pedal box yesterday.
All pre-flight checks done, it was time to set off. I got as far as my local Esso fuel station.

I managed to squeeze 5 litres of petrol into the tank before the filler neck was full. It looks like the gauge was showing an almost full tank because the tank was almost full. On the basis that the tank holds 60 litres and I've added about 10 litres since buying the Sierra, there must have been about 50 litres of fuel in the tank. At approx £1.50 per litre, that's a £75 gift. Thank you previous owner.
Before leaving the fuel station, I was approached by three people, who commented on how immaculate the Sierra is and who asked how old it is and how many miles it has done. How nice that the posh folk of Beaconsfield appreciate old Fords.
Approx 5 miles into my trip, I stopped off at a garden centre to check vital fluids and to give everything a once over. No problems to report. The pretty setting provided an opportunity for a couple of photos.



Back on the road, I headed for the A404. If you've ever watched Wheeler Dealers (the GB episodes), you will have seen Mike B towing or driving something along this famous* dual carriageway. 
Without any struggling, the Sierra got up to 60MPH.

I came off the A404 at the A4 junction and drove through Maidenhead, Cookham, Wooburn Green and towards home. I stopped off at Glory Park for a couple more photos.


I arrived back home almost exactly 20 miles later, as confirmed by the trip meter. This is good news, it means the trip meter and odometer are both reading just fine.

Ok, I've only driven the Sierra for 20 miles along local traffic free roads but my first thoughts are very positive.
Engine - I adjusted the idle speed at the garden centre, once the engine reached full operating temperature. Throughout the trip, the engine ran fine, quickly reached operating temperature and the needle didn't budge from the mid point. It pulled well from low revs, with no missing or spluttering. Nothing has leaked out, however there is still a whiff of paraffin / old engine oil / mucky residue from where I've been tinkering, which will need time to burn off. 
Gearbox - All gears go in and out just fine, synchros are strong. The gearbox is silent and I love the mechanical feel of the gear change.
Clutch - Biting point spot on. No dragging, no slipping, no juddering. Perfect.
Prop & Diff - Silent, no vibrations.
Steering - Noticeably heavy at parking speeds, otherwise works well and feels adequately light at speed. Steering wheel is on straight, no pulling, no issues.
Suspension - Smooth! No knocks, no bangs. Ride comfort is superb, on par with my W123. Handling is roly-poly, as expected. 
Brakes - Needed a bit of time to bed in, however once the pedal firmed up, they worked just fine. I tried a couple of emergency stops, no pulling, no issues.
Exhaust - Drill holes failed to allow any moisture to escape overnight and I could hear a significant blow from both silencers. Bollocks. Evidently, drilling holes in silencers is not a good idea. I will plug both holes with chemical metal and self-tapping screws this afternoon.
Radio - Played Greatest Hits Radio (105.8FM), including Popmaster at 10:30am. All six speakers work ok and the FM reception is better than expected, bearing in mind I live and drove the Sierra through The Chilterns.
Summary - I love it!
@N19 I am sure that I will find something to write about soon. There are a few more bodywork related issues that I want to attend to and I expect the forthcoming MoT test will reveal something wrong with the old Ford. 
 

Eight years ago today this turd landed at mine. Tomorrow I will apply for historic tax and, judging by the complete lack of progress on the Mini, proceed to use it over the next few months. 

Both the other cars in this photo since sold and scrapped, the house SSTC and and my lovely friend Emma has moved onto a better place. Then again she lived in Hemel, so a move to Strangeways would have been a positive move. 
Happy bASe day, fellow motorist. 

I wouldn't mind booking with them again and having a go in the Impreza, E Type and Mustang convertible

More of a morning, but yes it was great

Bet it was a brilliant day out!

That mini looks lovely!

That mini looks lovely!

Eccles has been over to the old airfield at Tockwith near York this morning as I had a driver experience driving these beauties, a 1970 Mini Cooper S and a 1966 Lotus Cortina 

We did a buy today . 
wcpgw

Brilliant, the Sierra looks great I've really enjoyed this thread 🙂

Let's keep going. I'm catching up now - this was about last November. I started to have a good look at the passenger outer arch.  The corrosion noted to the inner wing and arch is down to a corroded inner arch. If only someone had dealt with that at the time eh? 


Repairing the inner wing is going to be a bit of a problem as the repair panels are not available. Best try and make one myself them. I read somewhere that you could use the outer arch and then shape to suit. This is going to be a nightmare. 
Best get the sill done first. Man, that is a bit of a mess. Maybes I can get away with cutting back part of the outer sill to start the repair.

Nar - reckon that is scrap. Take the outer off then and order new :-(. The inner and intermediate are salvageable so decided to fix the intermediate/inner in a couple of stages. First bit:
Now inner inner sill and jacking point. Bit tricky this as didn't have much to compare it too.

Couple of gussets

Then a little test (wheel was off the ground honest)

Yay! That'll do. Finish the intermediate off:


Weld up and outer on. This was a bugger. I struggled to get heat into the spot welds underneath with my little welder and had to redo a load. Why does this happen in the most difficult spot?? Anyway, end result is sound.

 
 
 
 

I am always a bit suspicious of barn finds. They seem to be everywhere and usually have been left to rot outside then dragged inside for a few months before being offered for sale. Add to that that it was on Ebay and I was doubly suspicious. But curiosity got the better of me and I decided to have a look.

On arrival I was met by a 1965 122s which hadn't moved from a dry garage in 30 years. Yes, there was rust and a poor respray but this car had been loved so much that the previous owner couldn't bring himself to part with it. Unfortunately the car has outlasted him and his widow reluctantly decided to sell it.

This appealed to me and a bid was placed. And I won. Oh heck. That was back in September. 

Now that @juular has succeeded to get his 122s on the road, is there any interest in the story?