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1987 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - All sorted, back on the road - see page 31


Peter C

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Wouldn't worry too much.It's a very rudimentary vehicle.If it's working, it's working, that's as good as it gets.Sure that back in the day plenty of cars had regular maintenance and little use yet still didn't make old bones.Everything you're doing is turning it into a useable vehicle,rather than something that's come off the back of a lorry.Looking forward to seeing what you're doing with it.

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22 hours ago, sierraman said:

That’s right. For ultra rare you’d have had to have a 1.6 EMAX Ghia. 

When My Dad sold his 2.8 4x4 Ghia Estate C333 RRR the seller gave my dad cash plus a 1.6 Ghia hatch A176 FLD which 6 months later got part exchanged for a 1.8TD Sapphire J407 ENN.

i remember at the time folk commenting how rare the 1.6 Ghia was even 20 odd years ago 

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  • Peter C changed the title to 1987 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - RUST - big update on page 11 (not 56k friendly)
9 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I would be pleased if I could drive out of the MoT station in May with a fresh ticket and a sub £5k total outlay. Wish me luck.

My guess is that is eminently doable. Good luck, though I think your skillz mean you don't need much of it.

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Thinking about the paintwork,one of my customers has a neighbour who does smart repairs.He always seems to be doing quite large areas under a gazebo on his drive.This is usually with metallic paint on some quite expensive motors.If you treated the job as a collection of smart repairs,could you not do the whole car over a period of time,using those aerosols.Not sure how many you'd need,but a hundred quid would buy a dozen or more.If they're all from the same batch,no need to worry about matching or blending in.Cue comments about" rattle can resprays"! However, I've found modern aerosols to be pretty good.Sadly I'm old enough to remember when cans contained some vaguely coloured thinners that either ran or clogged.

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@Dobloseven

Late last year I had to repair and respray the tailgate of a car that I was leasing and handing back. It was a dark grey metallic. I took my time and achieved a perfect finish. The guy who came to inspect and collect the car had no idea that part of the tailgate had just been rattle canned. 

I wouldn’t fancy respraying a whole car with aerosols. It would take too long and cutting the paint afterwards to get a decent finish would take ages.

I am confident that I will achieve a satisfactory finish by doing localised repairs and cutting back the rest of the paint.

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23 hours ago, Peter C said:

I checked the VIN number, it's the same on the V5 as it is on the car. A matching numbers classic Ford, 

.....

After two hours of poking, all I have is one dust pan mostly full of dirt. Not bad for a Ford.

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You absolute winner. 

A not stolen not rotten old 4 door ford.

Good work. 

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Two pointless conversations.

First, with the seller, via Messenger, dating back to before the Sierra was delivered.

141.thumb.jpg.f3ab3ed75585e79b1c995815de651530.jpg

Safe to say there is fuck all of value in the brown file.

The second is an email exchange between me and the garage whose name I found on the door sticker.

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I'm none the wiser about the mileage but it doesn't matter now, I'm moving on.

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That car looks like it's got into your hands just in time. I think it probably was very clean and rust free and has been sweating under a cover for a couple of years growing surface rust on everything.

If you use fibreglass filler to cover the welding  up first it seals the pin holes int the welds a bit better and is generally more robust at keeping moisture out.

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3 minutes ago, Peter C said:

It's right if the Sierra clocked up 29k miles between 1987 and 2006. 

s-l1600.thumb.jpg.4fa9dc52acc6e78afe781f6780e05ebd.jpg

 

It's not impossible really.

Always reminds me of a repeat customer when my Mum worked with Arnold Clark, an old lady with a K11 Micra, who only ever used it for going to the shops (about half a mile along the road) and it went once a year 20 miles to get the MOT done.

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27 minutes ago, Peter C said:

It's right if the Sierra clocked up 29k miles between 1987 and 2006. 

s-l1600.thumb.jpg.4fa9dc52acc6e78afe781f6780e05ebd.jpg

 

I think what we’re all trying to prove is that the car didn’t clock up 129k miles between 1987 and 2006. (or 229k)

I’m not a betting man but knowing what I do about Fords of that era, some of that knowledge coming from bitter personal experience, I would put good money on the mileage currently displayed being entirely genuine. 

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2 hours ago, mk2_craig said:

I think what we’re all trying to prove is that the car didn’t clock up 129k miles between 1987 and 2006. (or 229k)

I’m not a betting man but knowing what I do about Fords of that era, some of that knowledge coming from bitter personal experience, I would put good money on the mileage currently displayed being entirely genuine. 

Possibly.

Bear in mind that clocking was rife in the 1980s and 90s and I imagine that adjusting a Sierra’s odometer is a piece of piss.

 

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8 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Just being open minded.

I’ll try and be more positive. The mint interior gives the game away, probably.

80's fords will do big mileages but they get baggy quickly - the trim was never great on mass produced stuff - having owned a sierra and mk3 granada of similar vintage there is a noticable difference in quality - the granada is much better.

From the pictures you have low mileage car.

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Theres more to verifying the mileage than a speedo head. While I'm the first to concede pictures lie (ask Rod/b), the trim is as good a guide as anything. Look at all the controls you interact with when you drive: pedals, door handles, heater controls, stalks, steering wheel. I've sold a few Sierras from back when they were the norm and while they were serviceable cars, they did show their mileage in the usual places.  

I could even show you a 5 year old me with a new-for-'84-on-the-A-plate Sierra my dad once had. Back when they were seen as exotic - compared to a Marina, they were.  

I think the last Sierra I sold was a 2.9 4x4, but I've sold estates, 2000Es, etc. One customer had the 2.3 diesel, which he removed the thermostat from when new in order to extend the life of the engine. He claimed heat killed them. He also did the oil and filter every 3k miles (he worked in a haulage company, so I guess the oil was always free).  The last time I saw him, it was over 250,000 miles on. Dog Cock red Sapphire.

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Mine had done 210,000 when I sold it. The wheel would get shiny as fuck as would the gearknob. Cars back then were almost laughably easy to clock, even as late as the Mk2 Mondeo they were no more than 30 minutes fucking about to knock 60k off the clock, they used to wear the miles a lot better, no MOT history etc so giving them a haircut was a piece of cake for anyone suitably inclined. 
 

Going on the lack of rust I’d say yours sounds genuine. What are you doing the underside with? Waxoyl or similar? 

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1 hour ago, sierraman said:

 

Going on the lack of rust I’d say yours sounds genuine. What are you doing the underside with? Waxoyl or similar? 

Most of the underside is covered with a black sealant coating. Not sure if it is original but it is in perfect condition. In very localised areas, where the coatings have lifted, I will be applying a lick of Waxoil.

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8 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Most of the underside is covered with a black sealant coating. Not sure if it is original but it is in perfect condition. In very localised areas, where the coatings have lifted, I will be applying a lick of Waxoil.

I don’t know if you’ve a compressor but it goes on eleventy million times better when it’s gunned on as opposed to those aerosols or pasting it on. Just my experience but if you can apply it on where it’s slightly dusty like yours is it seems to grip on better, that’s why I’d be inclined to not jet wash it as it will take some time for the seams to dry out. 

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