N19

Things are moving forward!

Following a few days of local trundling, I decided to test the Mondeo on the motorway. 

I figured that a gentle run at 50-60mph would be wise first, so I popped up to Stevenage, then full speed on the return. Suitable period signage deployed.

Arrangements had been made for the car transporter to pick up the Capri, so time to get things ready. The car was pulled out into daylight...

...giving space, whilst waiting for the transporter, for a good wash of the garage floor with de-greaser.  The engine, previously having been down the side, has been moved into the middle (note - moving a pinto with gearbox attached, on your own, is not recommended).

Scuse the terrible picture, but it was taken quite late in the day!

Now wait to see what the painter thinks of it. In the mean time, there are parts to order...

Also, in honour of the fact I chose to put the money and time into it, rather than any other option, I decided to splash out on a dealer sticker for the rear window. This wasn't the original supplying dealer, but they re-sold it in the early noughties, and Haywards Heath is where I bought it from @garycox four years ago, so it seemed appropriate.

For various reasons, mainly being swamped with work, I haven't updated this thread in ages.

Mondeo is back on the road. I am afraid to say I chucked most of the work to the garage in the end. Mainly through working long days for most of the last month, and having a deadline of needing the car again. The head was taken off, skimmed, then had new core plugs fitted, reassemble with new cambelt. On re starting, a misfire was found and sorted. I've had it on a few local journeys and probably done about 30 odd miles, it takes a while to build up oil pressure - I'm not sure if they chucked 10W40 in it when reassembling, but that's easily changed.  I have a trip to Scotland in a weeks time, followed by another one a month after that - I'll do a couple of longer round trips this weekend to identify any issues... including a nice long motorway run which is the acid test.

Focus has been in use for absolutely everything, but will now rest a bit!

Finally some Capri progress. It's being picked up and taken to the painter on Monday. Everything has been arranged and at long last things can move forward! I have a period over the next 6 weeks when I'm pretty busy with work and other non-work things, but hopefully it'll come back just as things calm down. And in the meantime I have a few bits to do - the garage needs a good clean and tidy, there's a number of parts to get ordered and picked up and so forth.

1 hour ago, willswitchengage said:

I think self-deletion of threads is fair game if let's say it's in the FAQ section and maybe a question has been answered and probably is no longer needed to be up - so other threads can therefore take precedent on the page etc. However this seems to be the minority of cases and thread deletion seems to be a vehicle for deleting whole conversations, which is a bit annoying.

My idea: stop _all_ deletion of all content (other than mod/admin deletions), but keep the edit function. If somebody wants to remove their content for whatever reason, they can edit it all out so you just have an empty post itself.

However, in the example of the FAQ section, the record is as useful for future people reading the forum as it is in the moment for the OP. And how often have there been useful further discussions or things added to, by somebody who's stumbled upon a question that might already have been answered, but can add some context/further advice/an amusing anecdote...

Enfield Pageant! The last few years it's been on a weekend I can't make, and that includes this year, but hopefully next year..

Old nuts and bolts are always useful and should never be thrown away. Any odd misfits here go into a shortbread tin in the garage (including if I took something out a set, didn't use it, and can't be bothered to work out where it came from)

and/or penetrating fluid (WD40, plusgas or similar) on fixings burning off?

I'm a firm believer that a car that's been laid up for a while can only be improved by going out for a decent drive and sorting out these niggles. Love this car and the thread has inspired me to push forwards on the Capri, as nothing better on a Sunday than a drive out on country roads for no specific purpose.

I know a fairly common fault on Capris is that one of the voltage regulators goes faulty on the fuel gauge, which causes the wild variations displayed, it's a dash out job. If it's that it may be quicker and easier to keep the tank topped up!

3 hours ago, Peter C said:

I’d say someone is getting ready for a road trip.

Have you got any of those fancy photostat machines that can do duplex printing? 

Looks lovely!

17 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

This must be an award winning open and shut example?

I remember it being functional until very recently. It spent a fair amount of time defunct, but has now since been revamped and lost all of its original character. 

Can see why it made business sense to remove the monstrosity though! 

The margins on fuel sales are wafer thin as it is, with very little money to be made. I can believe easily that any issue or need to upgrade would lead an independent operator to go "sod it, I'll stop doing it and concentrate on the garage" quite easily. There's the annual costs of maintenance, testing/certification etc. I think I read that a Gilbarco SK700 - two pumps, two nozzles on each - came in at £16-20k installed? So if a filling station that was plodding along with a couple of Highlines had an issue requiring them to be replaced, it would be very easy to throw the towel in.

17 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I started today by fitting the new clutch cable. It fitted perfectly, however it made no difference to the clutch pedal height or the biting point.

I opted to change the upper position of the clutch pedal by fitting a metal plate to the existing, non-adjustable, stop.

I carefully bent the stop a little so that the extended plate that will be fixed to its side will line up with the white part of the adjustment mechanism. I then drilled two small holes, the bottom one not too close to the edge of the metal.

I secured the metal plate with two nuts and bolts. The nuts and bolts do not interfere with any part of the clutch mechanism.

Here comes the science bit.

If I made the extended plate too short, the pedal height would not be lowered by the desired amount. 

If I made the extended plate too long, the pedal would be located too low, the adjustment mechanism may not have enough range to take up the clutch cable slack and, as lowering the height of the clutch pedal reduces the pedal travel, there could be the possibility that the clutch would not disengage fully with the pedal depressed, causing clutch drag. 

The new plate extends from the stop by approx 12mm. I did no measuring, it was just a guesstimate. If the extended plate was to be too long, I could remove and shorten it. If it was too short, I had more spare metal brackets to make up a new one.

With the pedal box in a vice, I could already see that the clutch pedal stopped below the stop height of the brake pedal. Looking good.

I refitted the pedal box and hooked up the clutch cable. Still looking good, the clutch pedal was situated a good three inches lower than before.

I slowly depressed the clutch pedal a few times, the quadrant clicked itself into place and it ended up here.

There is no slack in the cable and the quadrant still has a fair bit more range (I pressed on the upper part of the quadrant to find out). The latter is important as it means that the quadrant mechanism has not been forced to its maximum working position and there is room for further adjustment, if required.

I fired up the Pinto and checked the position of the clutch biting point. Perfect. The clutch bites nicely at just below half pedal travel and all gears engage smoothly with no crunching, which means the clutch is fully disengaged with the clutch pedal down. 

Win!

@sierraman was right, that the clutch biting point was normal, after all there was no method of adjusting the height of the clutch pedal and the quadrant was found to be working ok. I guess I improved on Ford's design. To celebrate, I refitted the bottom of the dashboard etc and cleaned the mud stained pedals.

Next issue.

Even with the Sierra parked in a dry garage, whenever I switched the engine on, condensation would blow out of the exhaust pipe.

When I posted on here a few months back regarding how to prevent mild steel exhaust systems from rotting out, I recall being advised that I should drill small holes in the lowest point of each silencer, which would allow moisture to escape (drip out) from the silencer.

I did just that, drilled a small hole in the bottom of each silencer.

The original wheel brace is missing and I wanted to pack a few essentials for my maiden voyage, just in case something went wrong.

I prepared this selection, which includes 5 litres of water, engine oil, brake fluid, tyre pump, 19mm socket on extension bar, basic tool kit, gaffer tape and gloves.

Apart from the large water bottle, all the bits fitted snuggly in my handy and very fashionable Borg & Beck plastic bag.

So, I've done all I had on my to-do list (and more!) and the Sierra is ready for its maiden voyage.

Whether I go anywhere tomorrow, the 1st April, depends entirely on the weather. At the moment it is looking a bit 50/50 according to my iPhone app and guaranteed rain all day if the BBC weather app is to be believed, followed by more rain each day next week. Great. 

I am very apprehensive about the first drive in the Sierra. The very first short drive from the main road to my house was too stressful, with the Sierra looking like a shed and barely making it home with the exhaust blowing out of both silencers, my mind was focused on a refund rather than on having fun. Ditto last weekend's drive to the end of my road and back, wasn't enough to get to know how the Sierra behaves.

Fact is, whenever I will get to drive it, I will end up feeling disappointed. Chances are, it is suffering from a fault that I am yet to discover, such as pulling brakes, vibrations via the drivetrain, clonks, rattles, etc. Even if it doesn't suffer any major issues, I doubt the carb fed Pinto will provide the levels of performance that I am accustomed to, bearing in mind I drive a brand new Nissan Qashqai daily and one of my toys is a perky E46. The unassisted steering will be too heavy, even compared with my W123, which has power steering but which is nowhere near as light as what I am used to. I suspect the Sierra will feel heavy to drive and difficult to stop, with no ABS.... Ok, ok, I'm not being fair, I can't expect a 37 year old base model Ford to perform like a modern car.

Let's hope the nostalgia kicks in and I forget about the rest.

 

 

Reading through this thread I've been impressed at how much you've achieved in the time, recommissioning and restoring the car. Anything that's been laid up or seldom used for a time will come with 'shakedown' issues for which the packing of basic tools is definitely sensible. Get the engine nice and warm, blow off the cobwebs, and see what happens. It's natural for there to be something that will need attention. And if something comes up during the test drive  - it'll just form the next page of this thread!

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

They are buggers for sitting in the side road just after the services.  I've almost been caught there a couple of times. 

It's a little galling, since the limit on the other side is higher IIRC, you come off a roundabout, I hadn't noticed the 40mph sign, so accelerated... and got snapped just before the derestriction.

Oh well, nothing to be done about it now - have to take it on the chin really!

Someone was out taking photos of my car a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately it was Norfolk Constabulary...

Well, after 11 years driving regularly, and 85,000 odd miles covered, getting a first NIP is annoying but plenty worse out there. It seems to fall 1mph above the threshold for a course (54mph in a 40 - on the A11 leaving Mildenhall roundabout) so I have resigned myself to SP30 and 3 points.

4 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I’m planning the following trips in the Sierra:

1. To Aldbury, a picturesque village that I regularly visit to stop for a cuppa and photo.

2. To Silverstone, also for a cuppa and photo.

3. Around the M25, which was first opened a year before my Sierra was built and was once regularly populated by eager reps thrashing their Sierras on route to appointments.

4. To Haynes of Maidstone, probably for a quick cuppa and photo, before security order me to leave the premises.

A circuit of the M25 is surprisingly cathartic, although I've only done it once and I set off around 7pm on a sunny summers evening.

I took my capri back to the supplying dealership in Keighley when I was in the area, they didn't object to me taking photos (part of me wondered/secretly hoped that they might be a bit interested or find old Bert from the workshops who remembered the car from the 90s, but no such luck)

2 minutes ago, Peter C said:

What sort of info can they provide?

I've had a confirmation of build date for the Capri, and the full certificate of conformity for the Mondeo (sent to me 23 minutes after asking!) - I'm not sure what they might hold on a sierra of your age, but it might be worth a try. Helpful, when I spoke to them.

You might be able to find some more info from the UKDAC section of Fords. Send email to ukdac@forddac.co.uk and they are very speedy in replying, in my experience.

I think one of the local motorfactors has one on the shelf. He did have a set of hatchback ones which ended up on the bASe a few years ago. I'll make enquiries.

Thanks for taking on the unsexy shite jobs that means we can discuss shite in peace.

Thanks guys.

I guess it's a confidence thing on my part - not wanting to start having it to bits and then getting stuck, or doing something stupid.

But, as you say, what have I got to lose? The car is effectively un-usable as it stands.

And, I suppose, doing it myself will save quite a bit on labour costs...

16 minutes ago, sierraman said:

What’s the top end like? Sometimes they rattle like fuck as they get old. If it’s not using oil etc it’s probably good to go again. 

No noticeable oil loss prior to the issue, and no major rattles etc. An odd wandering idle occasionally, but that's it.

I haven't the ability or time to do it myself, so I'd be asking the garage to work on it. Clearly this comes with a cost. Cambelt done 4 years ago and a clutch put on 3 years ago so it's not that it's been undisturbed forever.

I suppose I've nothing to lose.

Mondeo news is not good.

Garage vacuum filled, took it on a trip up the motorway to have a look, overheat o'clock again.

Combustion gases in the coolant and water out the back, yes, OMGHGF.

Options - engine swap, head skim, or scrappie.

It's a 23 year old Mondeo with 186000 on the clock. I've had it for 4 years / 26000 of those miles. It's not ULEZ compliant so is restricted to out-of-London journeys with a few local trips thrown in. I like the car, it's behaved well over the years, very good long distance, cosmetically tired but otherwise was always fine. Estate incredibly useful for moving stuff around and saved me quite a bit on van hire over the years. Towbar come in handy a couple of times.

Anywhere else than AS it'd be a no brainer...

So do I...

(A) chuck another Zetec in it, having (A1) bought something off Ebay, or (A2) paid £££ for a brand new unit

(B) get the garage to repair the existing engine

(C) write it off as a goner, strip anything I possibly can for spares, and scrap it, with possibilities (C1) buy something newer, bigger, and ULEZ compliant, (C2) buy something older and non-ULEZ because it takes that 'slot' in the fleet and because why not.

I'm really not sure what's for best at the moment in all honesty! Have I got any chance of finding a car in the sub-£1k category that will do what it did, in today's market... equally, would I throw £££ at it on an old car.

Decisions decisions.

Thoughts and bad encouragement welcome.

@sierraman  I almost know what you'll say, but you're the resident expert.

1295 miles completed in the last week.

Left London at 6.30am on Monday. Notice the shininess of the Focus, compared to later pictures...

Stopped at Ferrybridge where there are shiny new electric milkfloat chargers available.... powered by, err, a big diesel generator?! How does that one work?!

Anyway, pressed on to Newcastle, stopped for fuel and saw a 2CV.

A couple of days later and I found myself going up the Cairn o'Mount with beautiful* weather...

comparison - here's a picture taken with the Capri just behind where I was in the pic above - just without the fog

oh and I suppose I should complete the set with when the Bluebird (I miss that car) did the same journey years ago

The atrocious visibility was confined to just the higher bits of ground, fortunately. Some very nice roads up there. The Focus behaved impeccably, it's more capable on long journeys than I had thought, although it's definitely not as comfortable as the Mondeo with motorway cruising.

More miles covered and eventually we were back home.

... in dire need of a wash, but that can wait.

On 25/02/2024 at 18:12, N19 said:

Not a terribly exciting update, but then again, I don't promise to be terribly exciting! Driving around late last night in the Focus, I noticed a 'hot' smell, and slower acceleration than usual. Worried it might be the clutch, I did the tried and tested clutch-strength-test which it passed (stalling the car in 5th from a standstill). When I got home I had a feel around and the heat coming from the NSF wheel was something to behold.

Investigation began at lunchtime with suitable consumables to hand.

Seized caliper, it will release with a pry bar, but then when applied it's not releasing again. I took the slider pins out and greased them up to high heaven, but no dice. Sadly the only motorfactors open today near me didn't have one on the shelf, so I'll pick one up from the local place in a couple of days and fit it.

Caliper replaced with a new one, £39+vat from the factors, no exchange required. Slide pin thread screwed, which is sub-optimal, new ones on order. Nice when things feel a little less crap!

5 hours ago, sierraman said:

Before you do that, try vacuum filling it, sounds like an air lock to me. 

I'm fairly sure that's what it is - it began about a month after I changed the coolant. As the garage is at the end of my street and can look at it tomorrow and won't take the pee with costs (but will take the pee if i've overlooked something!). Hadn't looked into vacuum filling, but the cost of the kit to do so is likely more than any labour charge?

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Been there my friend!😄

It’s better to do it though than let them deteriorate further. It’d just get to the point where it becomes a complete wreck and you’d have to either get rid or spend mega money on major repairs.

Its worth it in the end!

Yeah, it just has moments of frustration when you trip over a stored exhaust manifold and go "why the hell did I do this, the car went perfectly fine beforehand, I could have been out driving it today" etc etc but, of course, you're right. It'll go together and there'll be the satisfaction of having done lots of it myself.