Top Shelf Sierra Shite

[RobT]

One more ticked off my wish list. And a 2 litre DOHC Ghia no less! After collecting this bargain Ford from Wuv a couple of weeks ago I finally had some quality time to spend with it on Monday. Spent a few hours cleaning and I reckon it’s brushed up rather well. There’s a few bits of rust on the rear arches but nothing major, and precious few parking dings too which is a bonus. The wheels in particular cleaned up a treat, very little kerbing or ingrained brake dust. Shite photos as usual but you get the idea.

 

 

 

50 shades etc...

 

 

 

After driving lazily around town in the E30 it’s good to get back into something with a bit of zip about it at low speeds. Launching off from traffic lights with a healthy dollop of throttle is good fun as the fugger flies up to 30, ease off and the auto ‘box then shifts up smoothly into ‘pootling at 30’ mode. Throttle response is similar to my automatic Montego i.e. instant, but I’d say the Sierra ‘box has better and more seamless shift up points – top gear in the Monty is at 50mph, and what with all the 40mph limits these days I find I have to rack it up to 50, and then knock it down to 40 again. A minor quibble though, rather that than piss about with manual gear changes. But after the initial amusement of the slotted gate in the Sezza I actually find it a pain in the butt, I’d much rather a straight shifter.

 

Moving on from my obsession with automatic gearboxes, steering is direct with a decent turning circle and I like the fact the steering wheel is upright rather than raked – dunno how others feel but I find a steeply raked wheel, such as those in BXs, give me neck ache after a long run. Seats are supportive and upholstered in a fetching grey patterned draylon, although the inflatable lumbar support could do with being higher up. Rides nice too, high profile 195/65 R14 tyres FTW!! Handles well in the corners, whereas the Montego is a tad wallowy in comparison. At motorway speeds I’d say the Montego has the edge in terms of acceleration (both are 2 litre lumps), probably because it’s lighter as there can’t be too much difference in bhp. I’d look it up by I can’t be arsed.

 

Issues? Hardly any, or nothing I can’t live with anyway. Will probably bung a new starter motor on it soon, recharge the aircon in time for summer, and just use the muther! I heard some sloshing from the heater the other day and tell tale mist on the windscreen, so might have a heater matrix problem but it kicks out heat fine. Will wait until I get my feet soaked by falling coolant before I do anything about it.

[Skizzer]

rather that than piss about with manual gear changes

 

You heathen.

 

Seriously though, that's scrubbed up really nicely. Between this and OldFord John's blue one, I'm starting to think about adding a Sierra to my bucket list.

[Spiny Norman]

Nice looking car in that colour.

Guy I used to work with had a 2.0 EFi auto hatch and it was a rapid tool on the motorway, we once saw 120 on the clock on the M8 going to a job.

[trigger]

Oh that does look good!, I was amazed it took Dave so long to sell it as it looked like a bargain really.

 

Those bumpers are crying out for some linseed oil treatment!

[Cavcraft]

Lovely that and what a nice colour. The dashboard takes me back to spending thousands of miles driving these things over the years.

[carlo]

That's very nice, and I like the deep metallic red. Much nicer than the horrible peeling Diablo on my 405. Share your affection for automatics, and I do fancy a top spec Sierra. What a great period 90-95 was - rust free, strong well sorted cars with a minimum of electrical nonsense.

[hhhugues]

Looks great !! I'm not usually that much into ford shite but this is right up my street. Love the high spec stereo with separate amplifier and I always prefer the look of a slotted gate. That colour does suit it too. How heavy are these on juice ? I think I might need one in my life...

[dollywobbler]

Nice. The Sierra Ghia was always a fine looking motor. I can see the appeal of an auto 'box too. Well, I can experience the appeal of an auto 'box now! A good one is a joy. A poor one can drive you insane.

[Bren]

Top buy - I miss the twin cam sierra I had - a special edition XR4i.

 

I always found that though sierras were mechanically crude they were really nice to drive - greater than the sum of their parts.

[fordperv]

Very nice looking barge that scrubs up lovely, all the sierras I have owned and I've never had an estate I think I need one in my life

[wuvvum]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the old girl. She does polish up pretty well for her age - that front number plate lets her down a bit though, I kept meaning to buy a replacement but never got around to it.

 

From memory the Sierra has 3bhp more than the Montego (118 vs 115), but as you say the Monty is a lighter car so probably does have the edge on acceleration.

[Lord Sterling]

Excellent purchase Rob, even nicer in autobox form, I'm a big fan of autos and prefer them to overrated manuals. I had a free Sierra Sapphire Ghia, lovely car, I miss it now. Not tried a Sierra auto but I'm sure it must be lovely to waft about in.

[Shep Shepherd]

Looks GR12

 

The number plate and stereo system shout "Ford management car" to me.

[ProgRocker]

Wow that looks nice indeed. Love that last photo!

 

I spotted a less pretty one at the start of the year:

Ford Sierra Ghia Estate (2) by ProgRocker77, on Flickr

[seacow]

Love it rob. Had a 1600 back in the day but love the ghia. The separate amp on the stereo and the digital car map all ace! How many miles on this one?

[RobT]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the old girl. She does polish up pretty well for her age - that front number plate lets her down a bit though, I kept meaning to buy a replacement but never got around to it.

 

From memory the Sierra has 3bhp more than the Montego (118 vs 115), but as you say the Monty is a lighter car so probably does have the edge on acceleration.

 

Cheers Dave Yeah I'll get a new plate at some point as the current one looks like it's got something akin to pant skid marks! Trig, I'll be doing the bumpers this weekend with the old Autoglym Bumper Care, will give linseed a go next time as it's no doubt cheaper.

 

Mileage is 85,000 so it's got plenty of life left in it, I hope!

 

That J reg one would probably scrub up nicely too, and I've always liked those pepperpot style Ford wheels.

[RoadworkUK]

Crikey! Top o' the range indeed! You've got the Ford System 2008 stereo (first in the Ford range to have RDS, and sounded jolly decent in a Scorpio) and air conditioning.

 

Wow. Really very wow indeed.

[Wilko220]

That really is a smart looking car.

I'm probably in the minority here but I like the look of later Sierras so much more than the early ones. Same with the later mk3 Granadas/Scorpios, just before they gave way to the frog eye one. Ford do seem to be better at minor facelifts than many others.

[oldford]

Excellent, nice to see another one in regular use. £16200 for the car, £705 for automatic and £435 for the radio and graphic in 1990 - you got a bargain.

[skattrd]

That does look rather nice Rob, ignore the nay sayers autobox ftw

[RobT]

Excellent, nice to see another one in regular use. £16200 for the car, £705 for automatic and £435 for the radio and graphic in 1990 - you got a bargain.

 

Blimey that's a lot of wedge! In 2013 the whole car cost a touch more than the 1990 radio and graphic, and that doesn't work. No problem for me though as I prefer to drive in silence.

 

The Ford badge on the front is also colour-coded maroon, I wonder if that cost extra?!

[MK5 Escort]

You have a rare beast there, Rob. A lovely late Sierra, original and in high spec. Not many left around now and even fewer in that sort of condition. A much underrated motor.

 

Top spec stereo too...(indeed RDS 2008!) A quality system in it's day. Some Escort Ghia's of this era had a similar system fitted (in lieu of the dashboard cassette slots, like the Sierra) but the chances of finding a surviving one today mustn't be much higher than finding the Holy Grail. One popped up on eBay last year and that was the first one I'd seen still in place for several years…

 

The proper colour name is simply 'Magenta' if memory serves me. It's basically an ever so slightly darker and metallic version of ‘Burgandy Red’. The official name of the interior escapes me now (embarrassingly) and my 1990 Ford Brochure is currently about ten miles away from where I'm typing this, but if you’re sad enough to want to know I'll dig it out for you and see.

 

I've never experienced an Auto in the Sierra though so I can't comment on that front.

 

How's the central locking holding up, if you don't mind me asking? The only reason I ask is because it’s not unusual for the system to play up. Even the slight dropping of one of the doors can cause it to lock/unlock/lock/unlock/lock/unlock and so on… Easily solvable but bloody annoying when it happens…!

[trigger]

The official name of the interior escapes me now (embarrassingly) and my 1990 Ford Brochure is currently about ten miles away from where I'm typing this, but if you’re sad enough to want to know I'll dig it out for you and see.

 

It's Shadow Apollo I believe, there's a guy over on Flickr who's scanned a number of old Ford brochures as well as BL ones, it's a excellent photostream actually.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61090099@N04/sets/

[RobT]

Thanks, I did wonder what the colour was called. Central locking seems to be fine at the moment, and thankfully the alarm system doesn't work as I find them more annoying than they're worth.

 

I've always been a sucker for Ghia-spec Fords

[Wilko220]

I thought the maroon Ford badge denoted that it was made in a different factory - but that could be complete cobblers. You did used to see a fair few around.

[In The Pit]

that front number plate lets her down a bit though, I kept meaning to buy a replacement but never got around to it.

Yeah I'll get a new plate at some point

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAIR-of-UK-OLD-FONT-Pre-2001-Vintage-Car-Registration-Number-Plates-16A-/230730288095?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35b898cbdf

[AnthonyG]

Lovely stuff. Just make sure no one nicks it!

[fordperv]

I thought the maroon Ford badge denoted that it was made in a different factory - but that could be complete cobblers. You did used to see a fair few around.

 

 

it was a common thing to do back in the day, remove your ford badge, sand off the blue coating from the back and paint to your desired colour

[Wilko220]

Ah, I see. I stand corrected.

Funny how these trends catch on - although I suppose it beats eyelashes on headlamps!

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

That's lovely! It's in super condition, a good colour and a very high spec. And it's auto - perfect!!