Project Memoirs: Bornite’s All Red Fleet

[BorniteIdentity]

Thing is - those circles in the metal plate suggest it’s a Ford item non? I worry that removing it and not replacing it is removing some semblance of strength* at the rear. 

The arms seem to line up perfectly with where those nuts are on the metal so I’m quietly confident that cracking it off will reveal me two holes to just slip into. What I don’t know is if I should try and mate that metal plate with my new bumper and try to fix up the whole lot. Or if that’s even possible. ?‍♂️ 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Stop dithering,  crack one off and see what you're left with. ?

[BorniteIdentity]

3 minutes ago, Dick Van Diesel said:

Stop dithering,  crack one off and see what you're left with. ?

A snapped bolt and a driveway covered in rust. Undoubtedly. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Just now, BorniteIdentity said:

A snapped bolt and a driveway covered in rust. Undoubtedly. 

True, although double entendre may have been missed...

[Andyrew]

19 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

reveal me two holes to just slip into

[greengartside]

That crash bar is not standard. That needs to come off to enable the bumper to be fitted. A very good job by the PO though!

[timolloyd]

Step 1: remove metal bar

Step 2: turn over and discover it has been signed by Henry Ford Junior and the original Ford design team

[BorniteIdentity]

Righto. Thanks a million. I’ll rip that bastard off tomorrow then! 

[Timewaster]

Good luck. Let's hope there isn't a sinister reason for bodging a Nissan bumper in place waiting to be discovered. 

[Christine]

Id shag that bird too

[BorniteIdentity]

She’s off!

Obviously held on by three bolts - two 14mm and one 13mm. No ideas of origin on this slam panel . 

I will need to jack up to get the remaining arms out - it’ll have to wait as I need to work and I did all this in my pyjamas! 

Might need a new fuel tank too. ? 

[sierraman]

While you can get at it you might as well. You can get those epoxy dealers that will probably do the job though. 

[egg]

Is that the tank itself or metal surrounding it - deflector?

[BorniteIdentity]

Excellent question.  I will know more when it's this evening and not wearing my pyjamas.

New tanks are £90.  Second hand are £45.  Dynax S50 is £14.95.  You can see how this all predictably ends.

 

[vulgalour]

Just put the bumper on and pretend you never saw the tank, problem solved ;)

[BorniteIdentity]

32 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Just put the bumper on and pretend you never saw the tank, problem solved

Ha.  I'm quite keen on fixing stuff as I go.  It's enormously good for the soul as well - putting things right.  

But I also like delay tactics.  That's enormously good for the wallet.

[BorniteIdentity]

Tonight’s plan was to show some TLC to the bodywork under which the new bumper will sit. 

It’s actually in really really good shape under there. Almost perfect. So rather than a wire brush and more Vactan it got degreaser and a sponge. Good as new*

Now waiting on my Anti Corrosion wax to arrive. 

[320touring]

Good work on this! 

 

I'd fire in a new tank if it is affordable. It looks a bitch of a job, so likely best to do it once

[fordperv]

Whilst replacing a Sierra fuel tank is easy, I recommend going for a new tank, they all rot out in the seam, I also suggest you have new tank fixings on standby, I usually replace with stainless nuts bolts and washers, you can still get the original type though

[spartacus]

I can sympathize with not knowing which road to take with the Sierra, I reckon you should just do what it needs, either when it needs it, or pre-emptively, when, time/funds/parts availability allows. That's just my take though. I defo wouldn't sweat changing the doors, I worked at a Ford dealer in the early-mid '90's and there were always a couple of Sierras in the body shop having their door skins replaced under warranty, at the time there were three big dealerships in Sheffield, if the other two were as busy then every Sierra in Sheffield must have had new doors!

 

 

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, spartacus said:

I can sympathize with not knowing which road to take with the Sierra, I reckon you should just do what it needs, either when it needs it, or pre-emptively, when, time/funds/parts availability allows. That's just my take though. I defo wouldn't sweat changing the doors, I worked at a Ford dealer in the early-mid '90's and there were always a couple of Sierras in the body shop having their door skins replaced under warranty, at the time there were three big dealerships in Sheffield, if the other two were as busy then every Sierra in Sheffield must have had new doors!

 

 

Which dealer was it you worked at?

[BorniteIdentity]

11 hours ago, spartacus said:

I can sympathize with not knowing which road to take with the Sierra, I reckon you should just do what it needs, either when it needs it, or pre-emptively, when, time/funds/parts availability allows. That's just my take though. I defo wouldn't sweat changing the doors, I worked at a Ford dealer in the early-mid '90's and there were always a couple of Sierras in the body shop having their door skins replaced under warranty, at the time there were three big dealerships in Sheffield, if the other two were as busy then every Sierra in Sheffield must have had new doors!

 

 

The doors are a simpler decision than many.  One or two more slams (and I'm not exaggerating) and the corner of the front door will completely fall away leaving a hole of about 2"-3".  I've already found evidence of squirrels around the engine bay so getting into the car needs to be as difficult as possible!  It'll also just become a water trap for more bloody rust.

The difficult decisions are around things that don't require immediate attention but make some sense to attack now.  Things like the the petrol tank and some paintwork on the nearside doors etc.

Ultimately, I will spend the exact amount of money i can comfortably justify and - at the point it needs more - I'll have to sit and ask myself whether it's then better to move it on.

[spartacus]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

Which dealer was it you worked at?

GK Group, they had sales on Ecclesall Road where M and S is now and body shop and rental on Parkway.

[sierraman]

2 minutes ago, spartacus said:

GK Group, they had sales on Ecclesall Road where M and S is now and body shop and rental on Parkway.

Wasn’t that Reg Vardy Renault eventually? 

[spartacus]

That's the one!

[BorniteIdentity]

Success!

Nearly!!

The plan for this afternoon was to get the old bumper irons out and assess the situation. They came out in about 2 minutes once I realised that they bolt in from the boot, not underneath. Hurrah. Props to Mrs Identity who had to hold the boot open as the gas struts are fucked and new ones are No Longer Available. Well, actually they are but they’re in the garage and I haven’t been arsed to fit them yet. It’s only been 2 years.

M8 Bolts were fine to reuse (wasted £4 there) and I found another bumper clip in the boot (£3.50 wasted there)

 

Approximate fitting up stage. Remembered to pull the wiring through before it was too late and then started winding in the bolts. 

Yes, that is a 24v RR and yes I’m fully aware how fucking big it is. 

But. No matter what I do, I can’t get the cunt (second time this year I’ve used that word) to sit straight. Took it all off again and did the bolts in a different order but it won’t play the game. 

I’m wondering whether one of the arms is bent slightly further down, or whether I could do with slightly longer bolts to wind it up. It doesn’t look to be fouling anywhere, although I did have to hammer the metal flange (fnar) on the offside rear so the end of the bumper would sit flush. 

So, we’re about an inch adrift which is perfectly in keeping with the bASe but quite annoying. As my old boy says “a blind man would be pleased to see it” but I’m not happy.

Still, fortuitously, the “good side” is fine. So let’s just end on that positive!

[Andyrew]

Looks great, top work sir. 

 

[BorniteIdentity]

We also made it onto Flickr. 

Papped. 

[Angrydicky]

Great work, big improvement. You know I thought that crash bar was original! Must have been something the previous owner fitted to take the impact from all the touch parking in Hackney. Amazing!

[barmatt]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

. Props to Mrs Identity who had to hold the boot open as the gas struts are fucked

Nice work Dan, I expect it just needs a little bending of a bracket to get it sitting straight. No rush, it looks fine to me.

 

If you haven't got the Missus around to hold the boot up, molegrips clamped onto the strut will do the job.