Sierra XR4x4

[scaryoldcortina]

I have to go from Durham(ish) to somewhere just north of Manchester tomorrow (with the recovery) and having planned my trip I notice that the A1/M1/M62/M61 route is the same distance as the A66/M6/M61 route. Question is, which one do I use? I will be loaded for the return journey only.

[autofive]

i voted a66 etc

 

as its a nicer route, A1/m62 is very boring

[Cavcraft]

Can you avoid Windy Hill on one of those routes? Great laugh travelling down with a 940 estate on the back, utter pita going the other way!

[scaryoldcortina]

Looks like route 66 then!

All packed and ready to go.. is no-one even faintly curious as to why I'm spending a saturday driving to Manchester?

[gearoil]

What have you / autofive bought / sold then....?

[scaryoldcortina]

Two words.... "free sierra"

[gearoil]

Two words.... "free sierra"

 

Excellent. What flavour...?

[scaryoldcortina]

XR4x4 flavoured. But rusty, and with bits missing. Hopefully tomorrow there will be some pics and a bit of a story to tell.

[gearoil]

XR4x4 flavoured. But rusty, and with bits missing. Hopefully tomorrow there will be some pics and a bit of a story to tell.

 

Just got rid of my complete but rotten XR4x4, if you need anything I broke a rotter of a 2.9 a while ago, still have about 99.9% of it in boxes.

[scaryoldcortina]

I'm back!

 

I used the A66/M6 for the southbound leg, but returned via the M62/M1/A1 because the A68 to barnard castle was arse-nippingly icy this morning and I didn't fancy opposite lock action with a car on the back!

 

So, one free* sierra. Tomorrow I strip it because I don't have anywhere to put it. Monday it goes over the weighbridge as a bare shell full of (ferrous) rubbish. There are probably easier ways to earn a living, but at least I enjoy it....

 

 

*£80 in diesel, and 4 hours taking spares off the car so the guy can fix his other 2.9 XR4x4

[autofive]

any photos mrS?

[M'coli]

This could lead to bastardised lyrics for a Lal Waterson song...

"We came for a Ford

Over the moors

Fine, fine Saphhire

Fine fine horsepower"

[Lord Sterling]

Nice, did you trailer it back? I wouldnt mind a nice 'free' working Rover 800 right now. Stick some pics up, got a soft spot for the old Sierras since I had my Black Sapphire Ghia.

[scaryoldcortina]

Trailer? No, I don't like them. Luckily I have a shite recovery truck instead.

This was 7.30 saturday morning - bloody cold! Took about 20 minutes to get the ice off the windscreen.

And then for the rest of the day I was too busy to take photos, so I tookk some yesterday when I got back to the yard.

It is surprisingly clean for a "rotten" sierra. I've seen them much, much worse than this (I collected a B reg estate once that started to come apart on the back of the truck...). Does anyone recognise it? There were a bunch of classic show passes inside, from as recently as 2008.

Also noticed that it is pretty well specced for an XR.. Aircon and rear electric windows for a start (gr8 for selling console to cossie owners).

 

Didn't strip it at all yesterday though, I had a day off due to acheing all over. I got as far as looking at it, taking some photos and going to ASDA to find stuff for tea.

 

Spotted this in the carpark on the way out

[Volksy]

Is it an ex-ford press car? Seem to remember that most of the fleet had 'OO' registrations.

[scaryoldcortina]

^ I don't know, but I wondered the same thing. When did the XR get the 2.9 engine for the first time? I'm sure I've had a F plated 2.8 4x4.

[Minimad5]

That looks pretty good for a "rotten" sierra .... does it have any rust at all ?

[autofive]

could be sue's private reg number

[gearoil]

That looks pretty good for a "rotten" sierra .... does it have any rust at all ?

 

It does look alright from that one pic, doesn't it.

 

Hmm....

[RoadworkUK]

I love me some cologne V6 Sierra action. IIRC the 2.9 replaced the 2.8 just slightly after it did in the MK3 Granny, around '87. Can't decide whether I want an XR4x4 or a Ghia 4x4 estate the most. Or one of the rare and ridiculous 4x4 Ghia Sapphires.

 

Ford did some strange things with Sierras.

[fordperv]

I love sierras, thats why ive got 2 lol had a few over the years as well

[scaryoldcortina]

I love sierras, thats why ive got 2 lol had a few over the years as well

 

Only 2? Not trying hard enough then! This one makes 4 for me!

[Guest Tony Hayers]

Lot of Sierra love here, had a few over the years and got 2 now. I believe that the 2.9 came in late 88, but ive only had 2.8 V6. Spot that its wearing post 90 Ghia alloys. Once you've recharged your batteries it would be good to see some more snaps

 

GR8 Save, and a bargain for £80.

[trigger]

I'm also a Sierra fancier, I had a lovely E plate 1.6 GL once that only cost £100 with a years ticket... those were the days.

 

Seems sad to see a tidy Sierra that's done the show circuit get stripped down for spares.

[garycox]

GR8 Save

 

What save? I thought it was being destroyed...

[scaryoldcortina]

GR8 Save

 

What save? I thought it was being destroyed...

 

Depends on what you mean by save, really. It is already damaged beyond economic repair by the guy who gave it to me. I was prepared to drive 300 miles so that I can take everything useful off it to keep several other sierras on the road rather than it just getting depoluted and weighed in whole. You can't save them all

 

PS, the ghia alloys are off my ghia, I had to take wheels with me as the car didn't have any.

 

More pics tommorrow. It was the camera batteries needed recharging...

[fordperv]

Nice one scaryoldcortina what model and mk sierra have you got, not allowed any more cars the mrs reckons 4 is enough if it were left to me id save them all, had big love for the sierra since my dad taught me how to drive in his when i was 12 (on private land) had my first one when i was 16 that was a black mk2 5 door, then when was almost 17 got the mk1 3 door which is the love of my life and have owned for 10 years on fathers day, have owned 6 others along the way.

[Albert Ross]

My Scorpio has the "OO" Reg, I reckon that's also part of a press/staff car fleet. As for the car, it seems familiar... Dunno why though! Don't suppose you have a low rent handbrake lever sheath in black (the sort that fits the console without armrest) kicking about anywhere do you? It's the only bit of trim my Sapphire needs to complete the scrounging. I now have all the doors I need, I only need to weld it and paint it, cure the misfire caused by misfuelling, and it's CVH, GR3 for driftin' time!

[Lord Sterling]

Looks like it was a nice car once, I take its been damaged in a crash or something? You might have spotted my old one I've posted here and there. I was given the car for free some time back, looked exactly the same as this one:

 

 

I regretted scrapping it, but young, wet behind the ears me didnt know what else to do, no money, nowhere to store it and it had lots of problems including some major over-heating. I'd love another early Sapphire Ghia, preferably in Black.

 

RIP - F230TAR

[scaryoldcortina]

Yeah, this was a nice, cared for car until fairly recently, there is still polish on the paint, for starters, but it has had 3 keepers in a year and suffered somewhat. Someone drove it until a wheelbearing collapsed (NSF) destroying the hub, disk and wheelarch, the last guy bought it for parts and took the recaro interior, the cossie spec bumper and bonnet, the back spoiler, the wheels (compo 5 spokes) and the shocks and springs (bilstein lowered stuff), brake hoses (goodrich) and a few other bits. Leaves me with a pile of sierra spares and a damaged shell.

 

Albert - I'll have a look for a handbrake gaiter. I never throw anything away

 

fordperv, current sierras are this one, a '91 2.0i ghia, '89 2.0iLX and an '89 1.8LX. Previous includes XR4i, XR4x4, 2.8 ghia 4x4 estate, one of the first mk1 (y reg, 1.3 pinto, droopy mirrors), a 2.3 3 door mk1 and pretty much everything else too. I prefer cortinas though....