Craig's crud collection - MAJOR UPDATE 31-05-17

[Guest]

The XR2 has eaten another wheelbearing so I am proud to announce that I now own a car with BROWN where it says "colour" on the registration document:

 

 

As you can see it is thoroughly awful and therefore I am delighted with it, 30 seconds after getting the keys I had dumped it on my parents' drive and it has already generated a complaint from a neighbour, excellent.

 

What do you think shite fans?

 

EDIT - brown Sierra gone to new home by autumn 2010, but read on... (change of username too)

[pogweasel]

Looks lovely.

[trigger]

Looks great to me, I loved the one i had, Although it was a 1.6 GL it still went well, Even when it was 7 up one night

 

What year is it?, 1988-90ish i guess.

 

This is my old one, Cost me £100 in 2002 time with a years MOT, only problem i had with it was a knackered termostat.

 

[Richard]

I had a D plate Sapphire 1.6L. It was bought in an emergency with low expectations but it turned out to be a great car. I wish I'd kept it longer.

[UltimateJames]

The best shade of shite anyday !

[VWPowered]

respect from neighbours, awesome

[Pillock]

Nice shade. I've got a right thing going off for brown. I had a model Corrado which ended up that exact colour when I was young, I painted it with Humbrol paints all mixed together.What's the mileage likely to be then - 96k, 196k or 296k? Gotta love 5-digit odometers

[shite_meister]

You're not a true shiter unless you've owned a brown car. I need a brown Princess and thats not a euphemism!

[Guest]

What year is it?, 1988-90ish i guess.

First reg May 88, it last changed hands at 23k in 1990 and indeed thats the last time the service book was stamped

 

I've given it a long overdue wash as it was filthy, you cant really tell the difference in these photos though:

 

 

Its gonna need some fettling, theres a cooling problem which is probably down to a kippered rad but the head gasket may be needing done, the brake pedal is well soft and the battery has less life in it than Michael Jackson. (I know; tacky but I had to get in there first, sorry. )

 

Because the chap I got it from is retired, there's a whole heap of old-boy bodge mods that may need reversing (aforementioned radiator has got a load of expanding foam in one of the side tanks )

 

Oh and I've managed to bust one of the side repeaters already, comedy

[r.welfare]

Marvellous shade, that! These early Mk2 Sierras are getting very rare. Not a bad old bus to drive though, my dad had an H-reg 2.0 LX with the carb'd twink back in the mid-90s, GR8 4 WHEELSPIN IN REVERSE.Presumably this has a Pinto in it and therefore isn't so susceptible to blowing head gaskets like the I-4 is?

[Guest Tony Hayers]

Good work What you need to get now is a set of those Mk1 2X2 or 3X3 aero wheeltrims

[MrRegieRitmo]

I had a model Corrado which ended up that exact colour when I was young, I painted it with Humbrol paints all mixed together.

That must have been made by Schabak, yes? It wasn't so long ago that was the only model available of the Corrado, so if you'd looked after it you could have got enough money for it for a decent night out! Missed the boat now though as other model manufacturers have climbed aboard & given us proper collector models, e.g. Minichamps, Norev

[Guest]

Good work What you need to get now is a set of those Mk1 2X2 or 3X3 aero wheeltrims

Too right! Though I wouldn't mind a nice set of alloys - maybe the XR4x4 7-spokes, the Ghia "pepperpots", or those lovely RS dealer-fit jobs as seen on Trigger's one above.On the hunt for a towbar too so as I can engage in gentle tat-hauling activity, and I'm half tempted to fit the later smoked clusters/white indicators, but I think it'll be kept stock, save perhaps for some nice UNLICENCED MINICAB lettering on the doors :)I've got a new rad on order, so if it comes down tomorrow I'll spend some time tinkering trying to get it to run a bit sweeter, its a Pinto with the ECU-controlled Weber DFTH (I think) carb and the elderly prev owner has replaced the vacuum pull-down mech with some random bit of metal...

[Owain-328i]

Very nice Craig, quite like the colour to be fair, and it should go quite well being a 2.0. Its it generally ROT free? Id imagine a set of proper trims can be had on the BAY for not much cash.

[Volksy]

I always liked the trimz that the GLX came with.

 

[STUNO]

..buys a brown car , washes off some brown and then takes more photos to show how brown it is..a true autoshiter A least he admits it!

[Pillock]

I had a model Corrado which ended up that exact colour when I was young, I painted it with Humbrol paints all mixed together.

That must have been made by Schabak, yes? It wasn't so long ago that was the only model available of the Corrado, so if you'd looked after it you could have got enough money for it for a decent night out! Missed the boat now though as other model manufacturers have climbed aboard & given us proper collector models, e.g. Minichamps, Norev

Aaah it was actually a plastic built-it-yourself kit, not a metal model. Not sure of the make, 1:24 scale I think.After brown it went metallic purple, and gained some wheels and the engine from a 1:24 Ferarri F40 that my mum trod on. They were too wide for the Corrado though so it gained a Reiger-style bodykit (I was reading Max Power every month at the time) made from modelling clay, tripling the weight of the model.

[trigger]

Good work

 

What you need to get now is a set of those Mk1 2X2 or 3X3 aero wheeltrims

Too right! Though I wouldn't mind a nice set of alloys - maybe the XR4x4 7-spokes, the Ghia "pepperpots", or those lovely RS dealer-fit jobs as seen on Trigger's one above.

The RS alloys on that came of my Escort Si, I think they suited the Sierra much more then the Scort.

 

 

I was never sure if they was meant to fit or not, FWD Escort wheels on a RWD Sierra, Have they the same offset?, They still fitted o.k though.

You should be able to pick up a set cheaply now I would of thought.

[Guest]

Ford FWD rims do have a different offset to RWD ones, net effect is to push FWD rims inwards when fitted to RWD cars - effectively narrowing the track. Probably not much in it, but could cause tyre scuffing on the inner arches (or wheel contact with suspension/brake components) so spacers and possibly longer studs should really be used. Most of the tyres appear to have plenty life left anyway, so I'm not desperate to get hold of a different set of wheels.

 

Very nice Craig, quite like the colour to be fair, and it should go quite well being a 2.0. Its it generally ROT free? Id imagine a set of proper trims can be had on the BAY for not much cash.

Rust seems confined just to the doors and a couple of tiny bits on the driprails Owain, the rest of it seems remarkably bereft of tinworm, I think its been garaged the last 19 years. Didnt get working on it today as I have now fixed the Fiesta and took that for a run instead, but I will be giving the Sierra a good clean out tomorrow so will take a dekko underneath to see what its like, fingers crossed it'll be solid.

 

I think the original trims are this style (as seen on late mk4 Escort Ghia, mk3 Fez Pop Plus, early Couriers) and whaddaya know, theres a set on the BAY:

 

 

Bidding going quite well for them though so I'll have a word with someone I know has a lot of Fords pass through his hands for spares, see if he can supply something similar.

[andrew e]

Craig thats one sexy "Chesnut" Sierra!

[Pillock]

Poo.My local motor factor had a 'ford' thing going off, they had many more Ford parts than any other make.Included in this was a massive stash of NOS wheeltrims. Got one of each out on display and then he reckoned at least two whole sets of each tucked away. Those ^^^ were up there on the wall, as well as the white Fiesta Si ones, the two-hole Escort LX, Escort Ghia, the white XR3i.... all brand new. Most were marked up at about a tenner each, some had special offers on whole sets.Sadly he closed down without warning a few weeks ago, the shop looks totally empty now. No doubt being 50 metres away from Halfords didn't do him any good.....

[pogweasel]

Poo.

Literally. I wouldn't be hung up over placca trims, I always reckon fords of this era look just fine on their black steels and the 'Cleveland Steamer' here is no exception, just polish up the outer lips for a bit of tidyness.

[Twiggy]

I've given it a long overdue wash as it was filthy, you cant really tell the difference in these photos though:A wash ? Standards are slipping !

[Guest]

I didnt want to, but the last time I left a car so dirty that the local youth used it as a blank canvas to leave their humroous observations for all to see, it was my Mondeo and you could still see the profanities after washing Had to polish the bastard!

 

And get ready for a shock, today I lifted out the seats in order to ease hoovering out YONKS-worth of accumulated detritus, mainly dog-hair which by and large stubbornly refused to yield.

 

Craig thats one sexy "Chesnut" Sierra!

You betcha. Interior trim is, of course,

 

 

Which in our world is

 

 

Beige.

 

 

Prev owner had used double-sided tape to hold some velour corduroy over the dash-top, presumably to get rid of reflections. Might hold on to that for a while. Still had the ESRT32PS self-seek with balance control, front panel had broken off though so I've whipped it out for now, Ford sound systems are a right arse to modernise using the original speaker loom so might have to run four new cables if I go for a better stereo.

 

 

Drivers footwell was pleasingly horrible.

 

 

Mint!

 

 

Uh-oh.

 

 

AS, lol.

 

 

No nasties here, splendid. (Did find a small bit of corrosion where nsf wing meets sill - prob nowt to worry about tho)

 

 

Shite toolbox

 

 

osr door is by far the worst bit on the car, osf and nsr are both bubbly as well but not quite so bad.

 

 

Non-trad, but so what!

 

 

"You want trimz? We got trimz!"

 

Stuck the AA relay badge on to mask the crack in the front number plate, then got carried away and whacked the second badge on to mask the rust-stained screw hole on the other side, think I shouldnt have bothered but the plate digits are quite grey now anyway so will probably renew them shortly.

 

Incidentally, the same Mrs Elderly who moaned about the Sierra materialising the other evening walked down the road just after taking this photo and gave me another "you and your bloody disgusting cars" lecture, she does have a point, it is by far the oldest in the road, if you ignore the guy who's got a couple of early MR2s in bits on his drive and the old dear who has that nice Cav sportshatch under a cover outside her garage. And the chap with a mk1 Escort hidden away. Doing my bit to keep property values down in the district

[oldford]

Nice old Sierra, that is. Old, practical, fixable, useable every day and fun in a rear wheel drive sort of way - the epitome of autoshite.

 

It seems that you were lucky when taking the seats out, I had a sheared bolt and some crusty mounts on mine. These wheels suit the car:

 

 

 

As for Ford radios, something like this would fit with the existing speaker wiring.

 

[/img]

[MrRegieRitmo]

Having now seen the pics for the first time, it's not the brownest of browns is it? You have to use a bit of imagination to match it to mud / poo / chocolate etc, it struck me more as a sort of dirty light grey / pinky colour, very hard to put my finger on exactly what colour it is. It's not even a million miles from the colour of the bumpers which definitely aren't brown. Looks nice & original, a good find!

[Richard]

The bumpers on GL models were tinted to sort of match the bodywork, so they will be brown.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Looks nice & original, a good find!

Which means by the way that the later clear / smoked lights definitely wouldn't suit it...

[Guest]

Having now seen the pics for the first time, it's not the brownest of browns is it? You have to use a bit of imagination to match it to mud / poo / chocolate etc, it struck me more as a sort of dirty light grey / pinky colour, very hard to put my finger on exactly what colour it is.

Well yeah, its not mud brown, more a sort of weak hot chocolate colour, but hey who was still making mud brown cars by 1988?

 

The bumpers are indeed what Ford described as "colour-keyed", and are brown-tinged. Presumably also found on gold and beige examples

 

I do rather like that rad-cass/equaliser setup, but it looks like the lower dashboard changed shape about 1990? My car hasnt got a second DIN slot, but I know the Ghia had an amp in the hole under the stereo like so

 

 

Not that it would make much difference I suspect!

[CortinaDave]

Sierras are class... not had one for a while now mind... This was the last, bought for 200 notes.. 2.3Ghia as well! maybe 3 or 4 years ago.. sadly saw it recently on the back of a trailer looking like it was on its way to the scrappy, but DVLA say its on a SORN so maybe it is just in the process of being restored. Was bloody tidy when I had it

 

Was clad in stomils as well, which I swiftly removed.

 

 

It had brown interior too.. with a particularly hideous deep shit brown dashboard.