1987 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - First door stripped and moulding strip salvaged - see page 55

[EyesWeldedShut]

6 hours ago, lisbon_road said:

I do that.  Reckon the key point is 'sparingly'.  Which basically means a tiny smear, not slobbering it everywhere.  

 

6 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Probably makes me the devil to some though😆

Well you'll both have company in Hell when I get there too
£5 tub of the stuff plus a tin of Ye Olde Red Rubber Grease has been lasting me for years decades now.

[MrBig]

9 minutes ago, Peter C said:

But I am curious how you know that I could have walked to the destination.

Recognised where the Sierra was delivered to earlier in the thread (assuming you must live nearby) and then the car park in the pic above. Lived just up the road for more than 2 decades - behind the Rye. 

[Peter C]

26 minutes ago, MrBig said:

Recognised where the Sierra was delivered to earlier in the thread (assuming you must live nearby) and then the car park in the pic above. Lived just up the road for more than 2 decades - behind the Rye. 

You’re welcome to pop back to the ‘hood and check out the Sierra whenever you like.

[Brigsy]

8 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Proper brake grease is nicer to use , Copper grease is now not recommended as the theory is that it can cause issues with sensors in the hub area.

Does it actually? Probably not. 

 

Agreed, i use brake grease these days but used the oldskool thick copper grease without issues on the older shite.

Modern copper grease is that weak these days, it probably wont stay there long enough to cause any issues.

[cort1977]

Sierras were known for warping discs. Mate's dad fitted tarox discs on a year old one back in the day.

[beko1987]

21 hours ago, Brigsy said:

Agreed, i use brake grease these days but used the oldskool thick copper grease without issues on the older shite.

Modern copper grease is that weak these days, it probably wont stay there long enough to cause any issues.

I always thought it was best to use both ceratec/fancy grease for the sliding bits then coppaslip has always been fine for me on the backs of the pads and the pad sliding faces for over a decade.

Before application I spend 5 minutes with a wire brush and brake cleaner though and clean everything up well first which I guess is what alot of garages don't do, hence you get a claggy shitty mess after several years and no cleaning up but moar grease 

[Brigsy]

3 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I always thought it was best to use both ceratec/fancy grease for the sliding bits then coppaslip has always been fine for me on the backs of the pads and the pad sliding faces for over a decade.

Before application I spend 5 minutes with a wire brush and brake cleaner though and clean everything up well first which I guess is what alot of garages don't do, hence you get a claggy shitty mess after several years and no cleaning up but moar grease 

I do the same as you with brakes. Knotty wheel on a grinder on hub faces and sliding points for the pads with thorough cleandown. Once corrosion is gone, usually have the perfect clearance.

I only started using ceratec about 5 years ago when my mate give me enough tubes to last me until retirement😅 

 

[Peter C]

The weather looked nice enough this morning and there was no rain in the forecast until late evening so my wife and I decided to go for lunch / picnic at Brill Mill, Buckinghamshire, about 45 minutes from us.

On route, we saw this place, just outside Tring. It's massive!

And this happened a few minutes later.

Anyway, we got to Brill Mill. It looked nice enough at first.

But very soon clouds came out from nowhere and the wind picked up.

And it started to rain. Not torrential but enough to count as significant precipitation. 

We ended up having lunch in the Sapphire.

My wife sat in the back with a very wet dog (Daisy).

By the time we finished lunch, the windows had steamed up to the point where passers-by probably thought we were out dogging. With a wide and comfortable back seat, the Sapphire is probably well suited for this pastime. Anyone ever tried? 

I drove cautiously out of Brill and headed back towards the M40.

Luckily, the rain was only falling in vicinity of Brill and the Sierra stayed cleaned and dried off on route home.

Back home, I inspected the damage. Only a bit of mud down the sills and in the wheel arches.

Five minutes with a bucket and sponge and the Sapphire was clean again.

I think we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon at home.

[chadders]

We got one of our dogs, a Jack Russell, from there, well sort of.

She was found by a friend in mid winter with no tag, we assumed she'd run off or was dumped. Anyway the friend couldn't look after her so we adopted her.

She was a lovely dog, putting up with whatever the lads, who were young at the time, did, never snapping or anything. One day my missus took her to the vets to see why she was always tired, basically she was riddled with cancer so they put her down on the spot as she was in a lot of pain. I was in Barcelona so found out by being rung at work; not a great day.

[vaughant]

On 21/06/2024 at 16:19, Peter C said:

A nice selection of Ford dealership related photos, shamelessly stolen from a Facebook group.

@egg There's some early Mondeo content for you to perv at as well.

Apart from the MK2 Granada I've owned at least one of the other fords listed above including 3 series 1turbos.

FFS a big hanger from back in y2k now seems a great idea 😭😭😭.

 

Loving the thread by the way, I'm praying the car is still good as I'm still in 2024 at the moment, but I'm sure it will be after all your hard work @Peter C

[vaughant]

On 31/10/2025 at 09:32, danthecapriman said:

I sometimes put a light coat on the hub - disc join surface and disc - wheel join surface to stop corrosion and the parts seizing together. Probably makes me the devil to some though😆

Nowt wrong with that at all. 

I think cooper grease is ok until the brakes get hit for whatever reason and it them makes it like a paste which can get very sticky along with attached brake dust etc. I've had this happen on my old ml and then after using the WED WUBBER GWEASE (which was a tribute to a guy with a Woy Hodgson style speech defect) that came with the pads it was great. 

We used to manufacture brake discs in Ford for, well, fords 🤣🤣🤣, also Volvo/Jag etc and we used to machine a convex into the hub mounting face to avoid this very issue which worked very effectively on the later cars as most 80's fords always suffered from it. Didn't help most of them were driven very hard back then 😬😬😬😬.

My cossie has been fully polished by me and it's really easy to do, the only hard ones are the big ones on the rear arms but they can be done in a vice.

Mine are bright orange and not hugely stiff compared to some (purple from memory??). 

The front arms look just like yours so I'd guess the poly bushes would fit. 

There's two on the rear beam or in that area you're not meant to do as they have natural flex from the factory and that actually aids handling.

Nice things with these cars is pretty much every fault, issue, improvement etc has been well documented over the years through trial and error 🤣🤣.

Yours is a true credit to you @Peter Cand I'm so pleased to see it doing what it should do, and be AN CAR rather than just a show queen.

Regardless of what people think of their cars, I can assure them that ford engineers of this era were up there with the very best in the business, they really did take car manufacturing, or manufacturing in general incredibly seriously.

I would like to add I was never a ford engineer as I didn't have a degree, you needed 2:1 and above just to apply.

Even to this day I feel awkward being called an engineer as I'd have been dressed down really strictly if I'd tried that in there . However in most industries these days, particularly food ,an engineer is someone who might have walked past a spanner once and was able to use it to hit a bolt in or the like.

Very sad too see.

[Snipes]

Main problem with coppa slip was people would always put far too much on. You only need a very thin film bit people slap it on like mayo on chips.

[Peter C]

Whilst my mobility is restricted (see my MGB thread for details), all I can manage for the next six weeks or so is to open up the garage (with my left hand) and fire up the Sierra whenever an opportunity arises.

I would like to say that it starts first time every time but that wouldn't be true. If left standing for more than a week, fuel escapes from the float chamber and the Pinto needs to be cranked for 10-15 seconds before it rumbles into life and in the process it will fire and die a couple of times.

Once it gets going, the engine runs sweet.

The temperamental fuel gauge worked a treat today.

More in 2026. 

[High Jetter]

All the best for your recovery, take it easy, pal

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

Whilst my mobility is restricted (see my MGB thread for details), all I can manage for the next six weeks or so is to open up the garage (with my left hand) and fire up the Sierra whenever an opportunity arises.

I would like to say that it starts first time every time but that wouldn't be true. If left standing for more than a week, fuel escapes from the float chamber and the Pinto needs to be cranked for 10-15 seconds before it rumbles into life and in the process it will fire and die a couple of times.

Once it gets going, the engine runs sweet.

The temperamental fuel gauge worked a treat today.

More in 2026. 

Hope you have a speedy recovery👍

If it’s any consolation re: the Sierra, my Capri does that too. Much more than a week of standing unused and it needs a bit of cranking to pump the fuel back up to the carb. There’s no one way valve on mine which probably doesn’t help but modern fuel is crap too and evaporates pretty quickly. 
 

[Peter C]

I love listening to music whilst driving and the Sierra's original ICE installation wasn't doing it for me. The radio didn't have DAB (obviously), the tape player was a bit tired and the unit didn't have Bluetooth connectivity (obviously). The FM signal in the Chilterns is a bit hit and miss and apart from BBC Radio 4, there aren't many non DAB radio stations that I listen to nowadays. Oh, and the front door speakers were completely shot.

For these reasons I ripped out the original ICE and installed upgraded speakers, a fancy Pioneer head unit and an amp and sub in the boot. Most of the kit was previously installed in my E46 and it sounded great. For some reason, despite being properly connected with decent wiring, it never sounded as good in the Sierra.

I missed having a totally stock 1980s base model rep mobile and decided to reinstate the original head unit and remove the amp and sub.

This was me yesterday, work in progress. It's amazing how much trim had to be removed to enable complete removal of all cabling.

Original head unit is back but with a little trick up its sleave. 

I have fitted a Bluetooth FM transmitter and an old aerial under the dashboard (where they can't be seen), which now enable me to play my internet radio and music from my iPhone.

I have reinstated the original cables to the cigarette lighter and made new connections for the Bluetooth FM transmitter and my iPhone charger, both now linked to an ignition switched supply. All cables and gubbins are neatly concealed behind the storage shelf under the head unit.

Win.

I have kept the replacement speakers (two way 4 inch Kenwood), which are hidden behind original grilles. The system sounds just fine but more importantly, it all looks stock.

I love the 1980s style of the Sierra's dashboard.

Job done so I moved the Sierra into the garage next to the MGB.

The W123 is now in the workshop.

And I have this lot to install.

At one point, about 15 years ago, I had the same amp and sub installed in the Merc, together with a modern head unit. At the same time I replaced the knackered from dashboard speakers with a pair of two way 4 inch Alpine units. It sounded ok but now I want to take the installation further and fit a decent set of component speakers, mid range units under the dashboard grilles and well positioned tweeters, hooked up to the lilac Sony amp. 

I'm also toying with the idea of installing the Alpine amp in the MGB.

More soon.

[Peter C]

Finally a dry and sunny day!

I pulled the Sapphire out of the garage and gave it a little freshen up. The glass was particularly dirty and greasy.

Storing cars over winter in a garage doesn't guarantee they'll stay fresh and clean.

Wife wanted to go shopping and I agreed to come along on the condition that we could take the Sapphire.

Completely selfish parking in a wide bay designated for people with children purely to prevent the Sapphire from getting scuffed and marked by people that can't park or just don't give a shit.

The Sapphire drove just fine, being laid up for a couple of months has done it no harm.

 

[beko1987]

I over ruled my mum in a garden centre the other weekend when I parked in a parent and child bay. 

There were about 17 of them and only 3 taken, plus I had my children and she had hers, technically I could park sideways across 2 🤔 

[Peter C]

I missed the acquisition of the Sapphire anniversary for the second year running. For some reason I thought that I bought the Sapphire later than I did, which was on the 30th January (2024). 

No cake for two years. Bugger.

[Llessur]

I spent most of yesterday reading this thread from the very start and have enjoyed every minute of it. Well done sir - the car is a credit to you. It's exactly the same as the one my science teacher Mr Roberts drove when I was at secondary school in the mid 90s. Pretty sure that was a D reg. Didn't think much of the non-metallic blue at the time but am very much loving it now.

I had a 1.8 Sapphire LX between1998 and 2000, a few years later than yours and in silver. Was absolutely mint, had about 70,000 on the clock and was a great car all round. I sold it to a friend of a friend when I went to uni (because I needed the money for books and those tins of Tesco Value beans with the little sausages in) and was really pissed off to find he'd put a massive scrape down the side within the first week of owning it. It only lasted until 2003 according to the DVLA records.

Whilst at the time I would have absolutely preferred the later styling with metallic paint, clear indicators and tinted rear lights, nowadays I think the pre-facelift styling looks so much better. I'd have one again in a heartbeat, but there aren't many here in the colonies and I doubt the heat would have been kind to the interiors of the few private imports which might be knocking around the place somewhere or other.

My parents had a B reg 2.0i S hatch back in the early 90s, pictured below with our stunning Jubilee Globetrotter strapped to its arse. I remember the gearbox shat itself dragging that thing up a hill in Devon, but it somehow saw out the holiday and got swapped out on the driveway when we got home again. Other than that, and the increasingly frilly nature of its lower extremities with the passage of time, it was a great car too. 

Keep up the good work!

[Peter C]

I had a work appointment in St Albans today. The sun was out, the roads were dry, no contest which car to take.

Got there via the M40, M25 and whatever road leads to the centre of St Albans. Everything went ok, despite the recent lack of use the Sapphire is running well.

On route back, my Google Maps sat nav was showing the M25 was a bit too start stop for my liking so I took the back roads due west and ended up in my favourite spot in Aldbury.

I’m here now, having a cuppa.

Come and say hello if you’re nearby.

[N19]

2 hours ago, Peter C said:

I had a work appointment in St Albans today. The sun was out, the roads were dry, no contest which car to take.

Got there via the M40, M25 and whatever road leads to the centre of St Albans. Everything went ok, despite the recent lack of use the Sapphire is running well.

On route back, my Google Maps sat nav was showing the M25 was a bit too start stop for my liking so I took the back roads due west and ended up in my favourite spot in Aldbury.

I’m here now, having a cuppa.

Come and say hello if you’re nearby.

A nice little run I often do on a Sunday is up to St Albans, then across the outskirts of Hemel, Chesham, Amersham, and then in my case back down through RIcky/Watford. Lots of nice back-roads around there and much nicer than the M25 usually!

[Peter C]

@N19

My route from St Albans to Aldbury took me via this landmark.

Interesting bit of design!

[vtec-e]

13 minutes ago, Peter C said:

@N19

My route from St Albans to Aldbury took me via this landmark.

Interesting bit of design!

I worked for Kodak back in the 80's, who had their marketing and admin centre in the tall tower next to the landmark, We called it the magic roundabout 😄

High Wycombe and Swindon also have their own versions.

 

[Peter C]

Whilst the Sierra's shell is remarkably solid, three of the doors have a fair bit of filler and the replacement nearside front door doesn't fit properly - the panel gaps are too wide between the front door and front wing and between the front and back doors. I've been on the lookout for a decent set of replacement doors for a while and when @sheffcortinacentre (SCC) recently advertised his stash of spares, I made arrangements to visit him and see what he had to offer.

SCC is based in Sheffield, 170 miles north from me, a 3 hour drive via the M40, M25 and up the M1. The only car I have that is capable of lugging the doors back home is my VW ID7 tourer, however the 340 mile round trip is a little further than the 310 mile range that it's capable of this time of year. I had to factor in re-charging on route home.

We arranged to meet yesterday at noon. We met at SCC's house and moved on to his secret storage facility. SCC drives a seriously cool Ford Cortina estate, fitted with a Sierra twin cam fuel injected engine and MT75 gearbox. 

Estate car technology then and now.

After a good rummage, we found a good set of four doors and an additional nearside front door, which has a good moulding strip. 

After removing a couple of wing mirrors, we managed to squeeze five doors into the back of the ID7.

I am extremely grateful for SCC's help. He is a lovely and generous man and I hope our paths cross again. 

On route home I stopped for 20 minutes to top up the batteries.

Shit parking due to the way cars in adjoining bays were parked earlier and because there was a bollard behind the space and I needed access to the boot to get my tea flask out. 

I made it home without experiencing range anxiety.

And promptly hooked up my home charger for free electricity. 

The ID7 performed admirably and got the job done. The trip took the best part of a day but I felt remarkably fresh having spent about six hours driving up and down the country.

So what have I got?

A full set of four good, rot free doors, with associated trim, wing mirrors and electric window motors, which will be removed, tested and, if found working, sold on. The plan is to strip the doors back, save the bits I need, give them a good scrub and put them somewhere safe until I am ready to have the Sierra fully resprayed. Let's just say that I've been inspired  by @ianb Sierra although my Sierra doesn't need such drastic action as his did just yet.

The replacement nearside front door that is on the Sierra not only doesn't fit right, it also features a mangled moulding strip. I suspect that whoever removed the strip previously, they carelessly ripped it off and caused a fair bit of distortion. 

The plan is to use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and without causing damage remove the strip from the fifth door, then fit it to the Sierra's door with double-sided sticky tape.

I also propose to remove the nearside front door and test fit this door to see whether it fits any better. If the black door fits fine, then that will mean that the replacement door that's on the car is dodgy. However, if I can't get this door to fit properly, it will mean that there is something wrong with the shell. My money is on the door being lame. 

But before all that, I am taking the Sierra to Basingstoke today, to meet with @Wibble at the classic car motoring festival - because I haven't spent enough time sitting in a car this weekend!

More soon.

[grogee]

Happy travels @Peter C

I've done the door trim dance on the Maestro. You might find some isopropyl alcohol will soften the adhesive to remove the trim from the donor door. 

To stick back on, I've been really impressed with the 3M double sided tape I've been using, not sure of the exact product but it's maybe 1-2mm thick foam with very powerful / effective adhesive either side. 

Good luck, hope you get a satisfactory door/shell interface. 

[Peter C]

This is how bad the offside front door fits.

And this is the condition of the moulding strip.

But she's still sexy as hell and ready for a trip down to Basingstoke.

All set @Wibble ?

[Wibble]

Yes mate, see you soon, safe trip.

[Bren]

16 minutes ago, Peter C said:

This is how bad the offside front door fits.

And this is the condition of the moulding strip.

But she's still sexy as hell and ready for a trip down to Basingstoke.

All set @Wibble ?

Panel gaps? You need to see an SD1.

[sheffcortinacentre]

4 hours ago, Peter C said:

Whilst the Sierra's shell is remarkably solid, three of the doors have a fair bit of filler and the replacement nearside front door doesn't fit properly - the panel gaps are too wide between the front door and front wing and between the front and back doors. I've been on the lookout for a decent set of replacement doors for a while and when @sheffcortinacentre (SCC) recently advertised his stash of spares, I made arrangements to visit him and see what he had to offer.

SCC is based in Sheffield, 170 miles north from me, a 3 hour drive via the M40, M25 and up the M1. The only car I have that is capable of lugging the doors back home is my VW ID7 tourer, however the 340 mile round trip is a little further than the 310 mile range that it's capable of this time of year. I had to factor in re-charging on route home.

We arranged to meet yesterday at noon. We met at SCC's house and moved on to his secret storage facility. SCC drives a seriously cool Ford Cortina estate, fitted with a Sierra twin cam fuel injected engine and MT75 gearbox. 

Estate car technology then and now.

After a good rummage, we found a good set of four doors and an additional nearside front door, which has a good moulding strip. 

After removing a couple of wing mirrors, we managed to squeeze five doors into the back of the ID7.

I am extremely grateful for SCC's help. He is a lovely and generous man and I hope our paths cross again. 

On route home I stopped for 20 minutes to top up the batteries.

Shit parking due to the way cars in adjoining bays were parked earlier and because there was a bollard behind the space and I needed access to the boot to get my tea flask out. 

I made it home without experiencing range anxiety.

And promptly hooked up my home charger for free electricity. 

The ID7 performed admirably and got the job done. The trip took the best part of a day but I felt remarkably fresh having spent about six hours driving up and down the country.

So what have I got?

A full set of four good, rot free doors, with associated trim, wing mirrors and electric window motors, which will be removed, tested and, if found working, sold on. The plan is to strip the doors back, save the bits I need, give them a good scrub and put them somewhere safe until I am ready to have the Sierra fully resprayed. Let's just say that I've been inspired  by @ianb Sierra although my Sierra doesn't need such drastic action as his did just yet.

The replacement nearside front door that is on the Sierra not only doesn't fit right, it also features a mangled moulding strip. I suspect that whoever removed the strip previously, they carelessly ripped it off and caused a fair bit of distortion. 

The plan is to use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and without causing damage remove the strip from the fifth door, then fit it to the Sierra's door with double-sided sticky tape.

I also propose to remove the nearside front door and test fit this door to see whether it fits any better. If the black door fits fine, then that will mean that the replacement door that's on the car is dodgy. However, if I can't get this door to fit properly, it will mean that there is something wrong with the shell. My money is on the door being lame. 

But before all that, I am taking the Sierra to Basingstoke today, to meet with @Wibble at the classic car motoring festival - because I haven't spent enough time sitting in a car this weekend!

More soon.

Great to meet you ,my pleasure to help others if I can & keep older cars in use . I'm having a big sort out so  better this stuff is put to use than scrapped.