3 door sierra project.

[Ianlea73]

We have a place over in Spain & we've decided next year to semi retire & try the old 90 day on & off.

Now as much as I love it over here I can get bored a bit. I can't sit & melt in the sun & even though the idea of day drinking is fun, it gets boring quick!

So I need a project car to keep me busy.

Over the years I've looked at many an old nail that the people over here think are gold or they've been off the road for so long that the back taxes in purchase make it too much money anyway.

So long story short I got chatting to a local who knew of a sierra, no details no spec, just a sierra.

I love my 80's & 90's metal so I thought I'd take a drive by & a chance of a cheeky chat.

Anyway this is the car that I've bought.

It's a 1987 mk2 2 litre sohc efi.

Absolutely no rust in the chassis & never been welded underneath. Other than red sand the bottom is like new.

 

[BorniteIdentity]

Phwoar.  

Along with the weather, the most appealing bit of living overseas (for me) would be easy access to dry, grot free chod without the various fan tax attached.

Well in.

[Erebus]

41 minutes ago, Ianlea73 said:

We have a place over in Spain & we've decided next year to semi retire & try the old 90 day on & off.

Now as much as I love it over here I can get bored a bit. I can't sit & melt in the sun & even though the idea of day drinking is fun, it gets boring quick!

So I need a project car to keep me busy.

Over the years I've looked at many an old nail that the people over here think are gold or they've been off the road for so long that the back taxes in purchase make it too much money anyway.

So long story short I got chatting to a local who knew of a sierra, no details no spec, just a sierra.

I love my 80's & 90's metal so I thought I'd take a drive by & a chance of a cheeky chat.

Anyway this is the car that I've bought.

It's a 1987 mk2 2 litre sohc efi.

Absolutely no rust in the chassis & never been welded underneath. Other than red sand the bottom is like new.

 

That's cool.

What's the deal with back taxes?  If you buy something do you have to pay the equivalent of road tax for the years it was off the road?

[Supernaut]

That's a cracker.

Those modern Fiesta alloys actually somewhat work on it, too.

At least in my opinion anyway.

[Westbay]

{sigh} ... still a good looking design ...

[bunglebus]

Shame we didn't get the MK2 3 door over here, mind you they'd all be gone now even if we did. I remember admiring a 3 door GLS when I was there in 98, lovely.

[tooSavvy]

Bookmarked, on RR

Oooff!

🚙💨

[High Jetter]

Looks a peach. Does it need much doing?

[Ianlea73]

5 hours ago, Erebus said:

That's cool.

What's the deal with back taxes?  If you buy something do you have to pay the equivalent of road tax for the years it was off the road?

Exactly that, so most cars up to 2 litre is €100 a year & I've seen old Citroen that have been off the road for 15+ years. Problem is the Spanish don't figure that into negotiation. 

 

[Ianlea73]

5 hours ago, Supernaut said:

That's a cracker.

Those modern Fiesta alloys actually somewhat work on it, too.

At least in my opinion anyway.

It would look better lowered but even that over here needs a homologation report which costs loads.

[Ianlea73]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Looks a peach. Does it need much doing?

Basic things like a service. I won't to source a standard air box. It has a leak from crank pulley seal & sump gasket. Smokes a bit on cold but it came with Valve stem oil seals. 

Things like broken fuel line clips, gearbox mount etc 

[Ianlea73]

Few more pics of engine & interior. The spare set of wheels that will come with the car. 

 

[bunglebus]

Looks like it just needs a bit of tidying. Had a left hand wing going by the screws and lack of sealant to the slam panel.

Also those 90 spec rear lights are out of a saloon not a hatch - easy enough to rectify should you want to. I'd be fitting clear front indicators despite everyone seeming to love the orange ones

[sierraman]

Lovely car that is. How much do they go for in Spain? 

[Noel Tidybeard]

20 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Looks like it just needs a bit of tidying. Had a left hand wing going by the screws and lack of sealant to the slam panel.

Also those 90 spec rear lights are out of a saloon not a hatch - easy enough to rectify should you want to. I'd be fitting clear front indicators despite everyone seeming to love the orange ones

@Peter C here is proof up the page about loon vs hunchback lights

[Wibble]

Please don’t put the three spokes on it🙁

[Ianlea73]

On 01/07/2024 at 00:30, bunglebus said:

Looks like it just needs a bit of tidying. Had a left hand wing going by the screws and lack of sealant to the slam panel.

Also those 90 spec rear lights are out of a saloon not a hatch - easy enough to rectify should you want to. I'd be fitting clear front indicators despite everyone seeming to love the orange ones

 

On 01/07/2024 at 20:43, Noel Tidybeard said:

@Peter C here is proof up the page about loon vs hunchback lights

I've done some investigation on the rear lights & it turns out the German lhd made mk2 only came with the sapphire spec lights wether it be a 3 door, 5 door saloon or hatch.

They didn't fit the sloping edge lights in the mk2.

[Ianlea73]

Back over working on the sierra. First job was compression test & to check the condition of the plugs.

Going to start pulling the interior to give everything a clean this week.

I've brought over exhaust hangers, fuel line clips & some Valve stem oil seals as she's a bit smokey on cold start up.

 

[MrBig]

What a lovely thing that is. I also, for the first time ever, just got excited about someone else's compression test results 😁

Look forward to seeing what you do with it, but it's amazing how clean it is. 

What are those wheels off though? They are so familiar to me, but I just cannot place them to a specific Ford.

[Ianlea73]

1 hour ago, MrBig said:

What a lovely thing that is. I also, for the first time ever, just got excited about someone else's compression test results 😁

Look forward to seeing what you do with it, but it's amazing how clean it is. 

What are those wheels off though? They are so familiar to me, but I just cannot place them to a specific Ford.

Thanks mate, I was really worried about the blue smoke on cold start so the compression results are perfect. The wheels are from a kuga or fiesta st apparently. Nor my cup of tea but they did come on some saab 3 spokes so not a great option. May end up with some pepperpots, ghia or mondeo wheels. Unsure yet.

 

[sierraman]

Some diamond cut late Mk2 Ghia wheels would look factory or maybe some RS4x4 multi spokes. 

[MrBig]

1 hour ago, Ianlea73 said:

Thanks mate, I was really worried about the blue smoke on cold start so the compression results are perfect. The wheels are from a kuga or fiesta st apparently. Nor my cup of tea but they did come on some saab 3 spokes so not a great option. May end up with some pepperpots, ghia or mondeo wheels. Unsure yet.

 

Valve stem seals then? Relatively easy job on a Pinto I would think. 

As for wheels, the RS 7 spokes would be my choice: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404709913952?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wte3a-cJTA6&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Either way, best of luck with it, I'm loving it!

[mk2_craig]

Existing wheels look like these? Fiesta 7 

[greengartside]

They’re the 17” version of those, fitted to the Zetec-S/Titanium.

[bunglebus]

15 hours ago, MrBig said:

As for wheels, the RS 7 spokes would be my choice

Yes but not those - these

The 17" Mondeo ones - always fancied a set for my 3 door

[Ianlea73]

Started in the valve stem oil seals today but I'm going to do the job in situ. This is of course more difficult on the efi engine as the inlet manifold is huge.
So undid the bolts on the manifold & removed it enough to give me clearance to loosen the adjusters on the cam followers.
Rotated the crank until each cylinder rocked & removed all the followers & adjusters. Took a bit longer than expected due to the heat.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll start on removing the valve springs to actually be able to change the valve stem oil seals.

It's hot over here, too hot.
 

[bunglebus]

Looks clean in there, can still see the paint marks on the valve springs.

Worth removing that cam oil spray bar and giving it a thorough blast out with carb cleaner or something, they were notorious for clogging up

[stuboy]

31 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Worth removing that cam oil spray bar and giving it a thorough blast out with carb cleaner or something, they were notorious for clogging up

good advice this 

[Ianlea73]

So issue number one with taking parts from UK to Spain.

Valve stem oil seals I ordered are wrong. New on the left, original on the right. I managed to get part numbers off the original ones so hopefully I can rectify that soon.
Issue number 2, I can't find a parts company that can supply parts in Spain. Even on ebay.es all the parts Companies are in England. Not a problem except I'll have to pay import tax & courier fees.
So onto the next job. I removed the gearbox mount as it felt a bit vague. Found to be the og part with the original pressed studs in place.

Currently the bracket is off as I've stripped, prepped, primed & painted it.
I also straightened the sill lips as someone had decided to use the sill as a jacking point.

So curreny jobs are a bit mish mash.
Next job is to remove the interior as there is a small dent in the floor behind the drivers seat. So I'll use a block of wood & a lump hammer to straighten the floor.

 

[MAF260]

On 07/09/2024 at 19:42, bunglebus said:

Looks clean in there, can still see the paint marks on the valve springs.

Worth removing that cam oil spray bar and giving it a thorough blast out with carb cleaner or something, they were notorious for clogging up

Also worth opening up the holes a little while you're at it.