Ford Sierra GVG 510Y

[sierraman]

Probably one of the last 2.3 diesel Mk1 left. Can’t understand why you’d go through the insurance to be honest, it’s obviously going to get written off and it’s practically as good as gone once it’s in Copart. I hope I’m wrong and someone buys it. 

[LightBulbFun]

9 hours ago, wesacosa said:

I hope someone saves it but not hopeful now it's at copart 

surely, theres gotta be someone with a Co-part account on here that can save it? @Kiltox?

 

such a shame its had an accident, I always thought it would make an amusing ULEZ beater, being Diesel, but historic vehicle n all that  getting your moneys worth out the exemption so to speak! (and I imagine it could run on WVO etc?)

[Kiltox]

8 hours ago, Wibble said:

That’s a real shame. How can they claim it runs and drives in it’s current state though?

If the engine starts and it is capable of propulsion (literally a couple of feet forward and backward) then it “starts and drives”

No Copart account here. 

[Volksy]

It was being worked on and seemed looked after last year when I spotted it. 

Wonder what happened!

[adw1977]

Apart from the front bumper being snapped in half, what's actually wrong with it?

Someone has had the wheel trims, I notice!

[sierraman]

I suppose it’s for the best, what with it being bad for the environment etc. 

[wesacosa]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Probably one of the last 2.3 diesel Mk1 left. Can’t understand why you’d go through the insurance to be honest, it’s obviously going to get written off and it’s practically as good as gone once it’s in Copart. I hope I’m wrong and someone buys it. 

the guy it was sold too was a Sierra fan too who'd always wanted a mk1 diesel. It's odd he let it end up at copart but I guess not everyone knows that when it goes for "inspection/assessment" that's where its off

[captain_70s]

33 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Apart from the front bumper being snapped in half, what's actually wrong with it?

Someone has had the wheel trims, I notice!

My guess would be it has gone over a kerb at speed based on the snapped bumper and jaunty angle of the front wheel.

People not familiar with how insurance works would probably let it go off for "inspection", possibly directly from the scene of the accident, not realising it is going to be a massive costly pain in the arse to ever get the thing back.

[sierraman]

It’s pretty much gone once it goes to Copart. It’s pretty common knowledge though. 

[mcmolloy1]

6 hours ago, adw1977 said:

Apart from the front bumper being snapped in half, what's actually wrong with it?

Someone has had the wheel trims, I notice!

Additional info says 'knocking/noisy engine'... Or maybe the copart lads have never heard a 2.3 diesel sierra before 😄

Cowling around steering is also gone, stolen and wrecked maybe?

 

[mcmolloy1]

[wesacosa]

4 minutes ago, mcmolloy1 said:

Additional info says 'knocking/noisy engine'... Or maybe the copart lads have never heard a 2.3 diesel sierra before 😄

Cowling around steering is also gone, stolen and wrecked maybe?

 

if it was stolen and maybe recovered after they paid out it might explain how it ended up at copart 

 

[adw1977]

Dashboard looks pretty free of cracks, that alone will be worth something!

[Volksy]

My friend lives round the corner from where I last saw it. Which is a pretty quiet area of Harrogate. 

I'll ask if she knows what happened to it.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, mcmolloy1 said:

Additional info says 'knocking/noisy engine'... Or maybe the copart lads have never heard a 2.3 diesel sierra before 😄

Cowling around steering is also gone, stolen and wrecked maybe?

 

if it was nicked, can you imagine the reaction the thief would of had when he got it started 

"oh one of these Ford Sierra Cossie things I have heard so much about being ££££/OSF Tax" (our thief not being the being the brightest Crayon in the knife draw/not seeing the "D" on the boot badge)

*hot wires it to the most agricultural  sounding diesel engine he has probably ever heard*

"uhhhh..."

[Gaffer]

If this has been run over a kerb or something how fucked is it likely to be? I for some reason have it in my mind that Sierras fold like a cheap suit on the front end at the slightest knock? 
 

Times like this I wish the wife would follow through on her threat of taking my copart access away…

[lisbon_road]

2 minutes ago, Gaffer said:

If this has been run over a kerb or something how fucked is it likely to be? I for some reason have it in my mind that Sierras fold like a cheap suit on the front end at the slightest knock? 
 

Times like this I wish the wife would follow through on her threat of taking my copart access away…

My memory is that the reputation was for folding at a rear knock.  Memory?

That looks like a Mk2 dash to me, which was a common way of fixing them in the day as they were made of better stuff.  

[sierraman]

It’ll be the bottom arm knocked out where the void bushes sit. Doubtful it’s done lasting damage as the impact will have been below the chassis rails. How/why would any nick that? You could have caught them up on foot. 

[lisbon_road]

14 minutes ago, sierraman said:

It’ll be the bottom arm knocked out where the void bushes sit. Doubtful it’s done lasting damage as the impact will have been below the chassis rails. How/why would any nick that? You could have caught them up on foot. 

People nick anything.  I have a friend who had a 50cc Piaggio Ape, got stolen twice.  

[danthecapriman]

55 minutes ago, Gaffer said:

If this has been run over a kerb or something how fucked is it likely to be? I for some reason have it in my mind that Sierras fold like a cheap suit on the front end at the slightest knock? 
 

Times like this I wish the wife would follow through on her threat of taking my copart access away…

I doubt very much it’s done anything serious that can’t be bent back. They’re pretty simple and robust in that respect.

The body itself is not quite so robust though. The mk1 is quite flimsy at the front end, the mk2 is better but not particularly strong still. They had a bad reputation amongst banger racers in their cheap and plentiful era for not being strong enough at the front or back. The Cortina and Capri were significantly better in that respect. Someone I used to work with used to race and would avoid Sierra’s at all costs for this reason. He did use them very very occasionally but it was always a last resort! 
 

It’s a crying shame that early diesel one has ended up like it has. If had any space and (disposable cash!) I’d happily give fixing it a go at home.

[Rustybullethole]

I thought old school hot wire car theft was a lost skill these days. Maybe not. 

Keep checking in for the bAse, when's it back from paint? I am getting inpatient. 

[ianb Sierra]

On 18/03/2026 at 21:07, doug said:

Any good for spares? On Copart.

Typical!

I don't have the space for another, but would be great for spares.

The door cards are the only ones I've seem similar to the base available.

[ianb Sierra]

16 hours ago, Rustybullethole said:

I thought old school hot wire car theft was a lost skill these days. Maybe not. 

Keep checking in for the bAse, when's it back from paint? I am getting inpatient. 

The welder at the paintshop was off ill for two weeks.

He is playing catch up.

 

[Rustybullethole]

Shall practice some zen. 

[Floatylight]

9 hours ago, ianb Sierra said:

Typical!

I don't have the space for another, but would be great for spares.

The door cards are the only ones I've seem similar to the base available.

I'm sure there a few about on here who could find somewhere to stash it if it came to it.

[MantaGTE85]

How come we have managed to disappear this far into a basic Sierra thread with no reference to the 3 door version of the Sierra?  No, not the XR4i or mk1 Cossie-warts obvs. The 3 door ones that really do matter here, were only available as a 1.3 and 1.6 (or 2.3D even?) in Base and L versions for the first two years, no?

I remember back in mid-1994, noticing a well shiny freshly-repainted Sunburst Red 3 door for sale, B600 UTA, in a used car lock-up in Clifton Street, Cardiff, parked beside the C reg Ibiza that I actually purchased. I don't remember if that Sierra was a Base or a posh L. I do remember its price though, £795!

[Rightnider]

I had one some years back. It was an 87, so facelifted, and as you can see, 2-litre injected. Please don’t take my AS badge, ’CL’ was the base model in Sweden,

[ianb Sierra]

8 hours ago, MantaGTE85 said:

How come we have managed to disappear this far into a basic Sierra thread with no reference to the 3 door version of the Sierra?  No, not the XR4i or mk1 Cossie-warts obvs. The 3 door ones that really do matter here, were only available as a 1.3 and 1.6 (or 2.3D even?) in Base and L versions for the first two years, no?

I remember back in mid-1994, noticing a well shiny freshly-repainted Sunburst Red 3 door for sale, B600 UTA, in a used car lock-up in Clifton Street, Cardiff, parked beside the C reg Ibiza that I actually purchased. I don't remember if that Sierra was a Base or a posh L. I do remember its price though, £795!

Like this one, tucked away.

[danthecapriman]

I’m sure I remember seeing some of the 3 door mk1’s around with what were probably dealership special edition type bits on them. Almost like they’d jazzed them up a bit with stripes and extras to shift them. 
One I remember was white, with a dark brown stripe down the waistline and Laser in the stripe at the back end on the rear quarter panel. 
Always made me wonder why the 3 door was discontinued so early on in the UK.

[adw1977]

In the UK, the 3 door base and L went on sale in September 1983 (a year after the model was launched) and were prominent in that month's range brochure.

Sep 1983 brochure with three door L as the cover star.

This coincided with improvements for the 1984 model year, so the base now had side rubbing strips (the grey grille had already been discontinued in July 1983)

The three door models initially available were as shown below (why no 1.3 L ?) although the diesel base (in all body styles) had been dropped by March 1984.

They were discontinued only a year later.