1987 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - (1)33,333 achieved - see page 47

[wesacosa]

12 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I’ve always wanted to attend FotU but I doubt the Sierra is tidy enough to make it past the entrance gates.

you don't have to enter it in the concourse, thats only 50 cars. the main show area is where most of the good stuff is and there is no concourse requirement there and 500 or so cars 

[Sunny Jim]

You'd have no trouble getting the Sierra into FoTU - it's exactly the sort of car the event is about. There's a few immaculate examples of cars in the concours but the majority of cars displayed in the main area are definitely well used examples.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/festival-of-the-unexceptional-10th-anniversary-tickets-694786624497

There's quite a few Shiters attending, hopefully we'll see you and the Sierra there.

[Peter C]

1 minute ago, Sunny Jim said:

You'd have no trouble getting the Sierra into FoTU - it's exactly the sort of car the event is about. There's a few immaculate examples of cars in the concours but the majority of cars displayed in the main area are definitely well used examples.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/festival-of-the-unexceptional-10th-anniversary-tickets-694786624497

There's quite a few Shiters attending, hopefully we'll see you and the Sierra there.

27th July. I will be abroad, on holiday. Bugger.

[adw1977]

8 hours ago, lisbon_road said:

I saw a Y reg grey 1.6L go past me in the traffic a couple of days ago, with a mature (ie even older than me) gent driving.  It looked absolutely immaculate, which makes me wonder how it could have survived so long.  Every one has a story I guess.  

Not this one, photographed by Louis Brisdion on Flickr?

https://flic.kr/p/2oyy4rV

One owner from new!

[lisbon_road]

2 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Not this one, photographed by Louis Brisdion on Flickr?

https://flic.kr/p/2oyy4rV

One owner from new!

Could be actually.  Can't remember the reg number.  Was in Southampton.

[Peter C]

27 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Not this one, photographed by Louis Brisdion on Flickr?

https://flic.kr/p/2oyy4rV

One owner from new!

That’s FEXY.

[stuboy]

1 hour ago, N19 said:

Send email to ukdac@forddac.co.uk

who are they and what do they do?

[DodgeRover]

2 hours ago, stuboy said:

who are they and what do they do?

Will give you the build date and any other relevant info for still hold on your vehicle, handy as my transit is now MOT exempt from October this year rather than waiting till the year after going by the registration date.

[Peter C]

@DodgeRover I contacted [email protected] this morning, they responded almost immediately, asked for proof of ownership and a photo of the VIN plate, which I promptly supplied. In response, I received confirmation that the Sierra was built in March 1987. I will be receiving a letter to confirm this. Nice, thank you.

Whilst the interior of the Sierra was already clean, I only feel comfortable in a new to me car once I have given the interior a good clean and hoover. @SiC is with me on this one.

I gave the seats and carpets a good hoover.

The driver's seat rear mount plate looked ugly and was letting the interior down.

I removed the mounting plate fixing bolt, which was tight as something very tight, lifted the seat, placed a piece of cardboard under the mount, rubbed it down, surrounded it with newspaper to prevent overspray and gave it a squirt of black.

Once dry, I will remove the cardboard and re-fix the bolt.

And yes, I squirted black on the bolt and washer too.

A piece of handbrake trim is broken.

I would like to source a replacement, however for now I have fashioned a cunning repair with a length of black insulation tape.

Speaking of replacement trim, I need one of these ashtrays. I will have a look on eBay later.

This piece of trim, which should be fixed under the dashboard, over the pedals, was in the boot when I got the Sierra.

The two front mounting holes were torn, hence it dropped down and was consequently removed.

I punched a couple of new holes in the fabric.

And re-fitted the trim. Much better.

My brief drive on Sunday revealed that the clutch pedal biting point is a bit high and the pedal squeaks. I suspect the latter is caused by the clutch cable becoming dry inside the sleeve. Looking in the footwell, it is evident that the clutch pedal is positioned a good inch and a half higher compared with the brake pedal. 

Looking up at the clutch cable mounting, I can just about see where the cable connects but I can't see any adjustment mechanism.

@lisbon_road @sierraman Any ideas whether there is any method of bringing the clutch pedal down a bit?

I noticed that the clutch pedal wasn't right when I drove the car from the main road to my house the day the Sierra was delivered and I have budgeted for a new clutch and cable, however it would be nice if I could sort out the high pedal before Monday's test drive. Any ideas?

 

[Rocket88]

Don’t these have adjustable in the pedal itself? Try a bit of vigorous, ahem, stamping…..

[Peter C]

14 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

Don’t these have adjustable in the pedal itself? Try a bit of vigorous, ahem, stamping…..

Yes, apparently the clutch mechanism is self adjusting. But something doesn't seem right and needs a bit of gentle persuasion. 

[junkyarddog]

The yellow plastic piece is the automatic adjuster,it's a ratchet type set up.

Maybe just needs some use,

[egg]

On the cable clutch Mondeo there is a measurement you can do to check it's correctly adjusted - distance between pedal down and pedal raised. Never had to look at mine though!

[sierraman]

35 minutes ago, Peter C said:

@DodgeRover I contacted [email protected] this morning, they responded almost immediately, asked for proof of ownership and a photo of the VIN plate, which I promptly supplied. In response, I received confirmation that the Sierra was built in March 1987. I will be receiving a letter to confirm this. Nice, thank you.

Whilst the interior of the Sierra was already clean, I only feel comfortable in a new to me car once I have given the interior a good clean and hoover. @SiC is with me on this one.

I gave the seats and carpets a good hoover.

The driver's seat rear mount plate looked ugly and was letting the interior down.

I removed the mounting plate fixing bolt, which was tight as something very tight, lifted the seat, placed a piece of cardboard under the mount, rubbed it down, surrounded it with newspaper to prevent overspray and gave it a squirt of black.

Once dry, I will remove the cardboard and re-fix the bolt.

And yes, I squirted black on the bolt and washer too.

A piece of handbrake trim is broken.

I would like to source a replacement, however for now I have fashioned a cunning repair with a length of black insulation tape.

Speaking of replacement trim, I need one of these ashtrays. I will have a look on eBay later.

This piece of trim, which should be fixed under the dashboard, over the pedals, was in the boot when I got the Sierra.

The two front mounting holes were torn, hence it dropped down and was consequently removed.

I punched a couple of new holes in the fabric.

And re-fitted the trim. Much better.

My brief drive on Sunday revealed that the clutch pedal biting point is a bit high and the pedal squeaks. I suspect the latter is caused by the clutch cable becoming dry inside the sleeve. Looking in the footwell, it is evident that the clutch pedal is positioned a good inch and a half higher compared with the brake pedal. 

Looking up at the clutch cable mounting, I can just about see where the cable connects but I can't see any adjustment mechanism.

@lisbon_road @sierraman Any ideas whether there is any method of bringing the clutch pedal down a bit?

I noticed that the clutch pedal wasn't right when I drove the car from the main road to my house the day the Sierra was delivered and I have budgeted for a new clutch and cable, however it would be nice if I could sort out the high pedal before Monday's test drive. Any ideas?

 

The clutch cable starts to go when the clutch is on its way out, the bite will be quite high anyway. Unless it’s juddering or slipping it’s probably ok. 

[Peter C]

12 minutes ago, sierraman said:

The clutch cable starts to go when the clutch is on its way out, the bite will be quite high anyway. Unless it’s juddering or slipping it’s probably ok. 

It’s not doing either but the biting point is high. Let’s see what happens after Monday’s road trip.

[sierraman]

7 minutes ago, Peter C said:

It’s not doing either but the biting point is high. Let’s see what happens after Monday’s road trip.

If it’s just the biting point then that’s pretty normal to be honest.

[Peter C]

Just now, sierraman said:

If it’s just the biting point then that’s pretty normal to be honest.

How hard is it to replace the clutch cable?

[Macscrooge]

Fabulous!  Amazing to think how ubiquitous these used to be. 

[lisbon_road]

43 minutes ago, Peter C said:

How hard is it to replace the clutch cable?

I could do it at the side of the road in about five minutes without getting under the car.  I remember taking my grandmother out and the cable broke, and I asked her to wait a moment while I changed it.  On Pinto Sierras, the cable is very close to the exhaust manifold and cables have a short life.  I tried making a heat shield for mine.  Cables are cheap so no real worries - I drove from Norwich to Southampton with a broken cable but worth having a spare.

The adjustment is automatic.  I know that there are different sizes of quadrant inside the pedal but I'm not sure the significance of them, perhaps @sierramanknows?

[sierraman]

22 minutes ago, lisbon_road said:

I could do it at the side of the road in about five minutes without getting under the car.  I remember taking my grandmother out and the cable broke, and I asked her to wait a moment while I changed it.  On Pinto Sierras, the cable is very close to the exhaust manifold and cables have a short life.  I tried making a heat shield for mine.  Cables are cheap so no real worries - I drove from Norwich to Southampton with a broken cable but worth having a spare.

The adjustment is automatic.  I know that there are different sizes of quadrant inside the pedal but I'm not sure the significance of them, perhaps @sierramanknows?

Self adjusting at the pedal end, not sure about the quadrants, but at this age it might be fragile so I’d err on caution and replace the cable, if it continues or it’s not smooth then at some point it’s probably the clutch starting to go. Could just be dried up from being stored. It will bite relatively high but that’s Fords for you, sometimes with old Ford’s it’s usually the crank end seal leaking that bollockses the clutch before it wearing out. 

[AndyW201]

On 25/03/2024 at 17:49, Peter C said:

There’s a red Sierra on the forecourt with a red stripe on the bumper and 13 inch wheels. I thought the red stripes were introduced when all Sierras rolled out on 14 inch wheels. Either someone updated the bumpers with red tape, as I did or I am wrong.

Looks like an early LX, they came with 13" wheels and those trims, with the red stripes.

[garbaldy]

Those quarter circle ratchet adjusters used to do my heed in on cortinas I've changed my fair share,   cheep enough mind used to be a couple of quid.  

[jonathan_dyane]

Seem too dear to me but just in case you're interested rear lights on FB Marketplace 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/852707676614287/

[Joey spud]

17 hours ago, Peter C said:

Yes, apparently the clutch mechanism is self adjusting. But something doesn't seem right and needs a bit of gentle persuasion. 

It's been twenty years plus since I last did a ford pedal ratchet and yes the pedal should be level with the brake.

On the pedal box there is a metal tag/arm that the underside of the nylon quadrant rests against and so sets the pedal height. Over time this tag bends away from the quadrant allowing the pedal to ride up.

With a bit of trial and error you can bend the tag back to it correct position but you may need to remove the pedal and ratchet first to see what's going on.

[lisbon_road]

27 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

It's been twenty years plus since I last did a ford pedal ratchet and yes the pedal should be level with the brake.

On the pedal box there is a metal tag/arm that the nylon quadrant rests against and so sets the pedal height. Over time this tag bends away from the quadrant allowing the pedal to ride up.

With a bit of trial and error you can bend the tag back to it correct position but you may need to remove the pedal and ratchet first to see what's going on.

I think I have a spare new Ford quadrant.  Er, somewhere.  

[Peter C]

2 hours ago, jonathan_dyane said:

Seem too dear to me but just in case you're interested rear lights on FB Marketplace 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/852707676614287/

They are for a Mk1 Sierra apparently, mine is a Mk2 Sapphire.

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, lisbon_road said:

I think I have a spare new Ford quadrant.  Er, somewhere.  

It’s about time for you to send me another package!

[lisbon_road]

11 minutes ago, Peter C said:

It’s about time for you to send me another package!

I'm more concerned about finding it than sending it.  I think they came in different colours or something, someone on here will know.  I'll start looking this evening.  Perhaps.  

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, lisbon_road said:

I'm more concerned about finding it than sending it.  I think they came in different colours or something, someone on here will know.  I'll start looking this evening.  Perhaps.  

I found this on the internet:

Ford used red/yellow and maybe others so signify the diameter of the base circle. The bigger the circle the longer the pull for a given pedal movement.

Mine is yellow, from what I can see, as per my photo.

[Tenmil Socket]

You’ve done a terrific job with this @Peter C, well done!