Sierra Misery

[CortinaDave]

Been spotting this Sierra around a lot lately. imagine my boner when I discovered it was the holy grail - a 2.3 D L.

 

By sheer luck I met the owner today when he parked up in front of me! old boy, has owned it 23 years... and is looking to sell later this year.

 

He said he's looking for 800 which seems a bit salty to me, but if I can get him down to five ish I'll have it. Needs a couple of wings and some general tidying but seems a solid old boat.

 

Total mid eighties misery. WANT.

 

(he asked me to blank out the reg by the way if i was posting it online)

[fordperv]

Whoa awesome, that there is sado masochist motoring

[Shep Shepherd]

In my experience, Sierra 2.3Ds are virtually unbreakable and they go surprisingly well for what they are

[twosmoke300]

I had one for a year and it was great , slower than moses's dog though. Big hills in Cornwall see.

[PhilA]

This is the shape of the Sierra I really liked. I was upset when they remodeled the lights and made it look less appealing*.

 

It needs the funny aero wheels/hubcaps to be set.

 

--Phil

[Junkman]

What's the reg?

[EssDeeWon]

Riddled with rot but at least things aren't falling off it like the French shite parked over the road.

[theorganist]

I'd love an early Sierra have thought about importing a French one as they hardly seem to come up for sale here!

 

I think the early ones certainly look the nicest!

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/644692567.htm?ca=11_s

[cort16]

Pity it's not got the grey grill but I still approve. I wonder how it survived these seemed to get weighed in earlier because of their general slow and miserableness?

[CortinaDave]

same guys had it since it was 7 years old. Its brilliantly scabby, but actually very solid. I'm tempted. He's drunk at 8 tho IMO

[cort16]

Aye it's not exactly high up there in the desirability stakes unless you're on this website.

[ProgRocker]

Will probably drive like a boat if it's anything like my Escort diesel.

[Stixy]

Thats not a bad price   could easily double that by breaking it  

 

There are some very tasty ingredients in mk1 2.3d 's 

[Jim Bergerac]

Somebody posted a greyt nosed Sierra in the FB group the other day. Genuinely thought those were extinct.

[londonm]

I think it's worth paying him what he wants to be fair, these are as rare as hens teeth and with a light restoration will only ever increase in value. Is the interior ok?

[twosmoke300]

Isn't the 2.3d diff sought after by the kit car boys ?

[dave21478]

A guy I used to work with years back had a 2.3d in metallic gold with a beige interior. He commuted a round trip of maybe 150 miles a day in it.

 

I dont know if it was broken or if They All Do That Sir, but watching him start it was always good for a laugh.

Every time, it would take literally a solid 45 seconds of spinning on the starter with it occasionally coughing on a cylinder or two before it would start spluttering enough on a couple of cylinders to turn over without the starter. He then had to tickle the throttle just enough to get it to keep chugging over, all the while the whole car would be violently shaking side to side, until finally over the course of another 30 seconds or so the other cylinders reluctantly joined the party and it would run as smoothly as it was ever likely to get. This always filled the entire retail parks carpark with a thick, stinking smog of pure cancer.

 

He ran it for two years like that and only replaced it with a Daewoo Matiz when the rot got too bad.

[purplebargeken]

Didn't these have a Pug engine or something like that?

[Ratdat]

To my eyes, those early Sierras still look reasonably modern compared to most other 30 year old cars. They don't really stand out in modern traffic that much. 

[Bren]

Can't be any more miserable than a jelly mould 2.5 diesel granada.

 

69 hp.

 

Remember the entry level 1.8 granada? Must have been like a Ferrari in comparison.

[Bren]

A guy I used to work with years back had a 2.3d in metallic gold with a beige interior. He commuted a round trip of maybe 150 miles a day in it.

 

I dont know if it was broken or if They All Do That Sir, but watching him start it was always good for a laugh.

Every time, it would take literally a solid 45 seconds of spinning on the starter with it occasionally coughing on a cylinder or two before it would start spluttering enough on a couple of cylinders to turn over without the starter. He then had to tickle the throttle just enough to get it to keep chugging over, all the while the whole car would be violently shaking side to side, until finally over the course of another 30 seconds or so the other cylinders reluctantly joined the party and it would run as smoothly as it was ever likely to get. This always filled the entire retail parks carpark with a thick, stinking smog of pure cancer.

 

He ran it for two years like that and only replaced it with a Daewoo Matiz when the rot got too bad.

It sounds just like my vectra.

[Guest bangerfan101]

3.14 diff on that thing .

[chaseracer]

3.14 diff on that thing .

 

 

 

(Sorry........) 

[AnthonyG]

I'd be having a good look at the scuttle and inner wings, these early ones didn't get wheel arch liners (not that that did the D/E reg ones any good). Guess diesels were built in Cologne or Genk, which might account for its survival. Can you run these on veg or do they have the Lucas pumps?

[e287yba]

Didn't these have a Pug engine or something like that?

Yes - from the 504 Pickup IIRC?

[Albert Ross]

It's the Indenor 2304cc unit. Highly rated for longevity, and also heads that crack between valves.

[stuboy]

my mate had a 2.3 GL changed front to later 'twin headlights' capri alloys spoiler and some nice bumpers

[oman5]

I had one for a couple of years, and I can testify as to just how miserable they are. They're laughably slow on acceleration but once you get the wind in their sails they will motor on just fine, top end is around 95 mph.

Maybe the 2.5td indenor from an LDV 400 would make things a bit more exciting.

[Noel Tidybeard]

the 2.5 td in a jelly mould nada was an epic tow car

[Richard]

my mate had a 2.3 GL changed front to later 'twin headlights' capri alloys spoiler and some nice bumpers

 

I was amazed to discover that the inner headlamps on some versions were dummies, a trick later copied by VW with the Mk4 Golf.