Hi Everyone,
I'm new round these parts so go easy on me! I have been wanting to build a locost since the first book came out but didnt have the space to build
one, which I do now!
I'm in the planning stages at the moment (and sorting my garage out and tooling up) I've been looking for a MK II Escort, but cant find any
of a suitable price. I have been thinking of using a Sierra as a donor car.
Could I use the 'book' chassis, or rather the plans for a McSorley7 with a De Dion rear end (with mods to fit it)
Will a sierra lump fit in a standard chassis, or does it need to be the +4 chassis, or am I waaaay off and its quite different?
If I can use the Sierra as a donor, with a de dion rear, what other bits am I going to need from another car, as far as
Engine/Transmission/Suspension/Steering goes? (I know I'll need some coil-overs)
Apologies if this has been all answered before, but I 've been trawling through a million posts for the last two days, and my boss will start to
wonder why I've done no work before long ;-)
Thanks for any tips in advance!
Seeya, Ad.
If I can use a sierra, which engine is the best to go for, in terms of performance/tuning potential?
Cheers, Ad.
I believe that the favourite is the 2 litre - the 1600 is OK and can easily be tuned, but is just as heavy as its big brother. The bigger one gives
you more power with no effort.
I have been told that the 1800 should be avoided if you're planning to do any serious tuning - tuning parts are not so common as those for the
1600 or 2000.
Hope this helps...
David
Thanks David :-)
Now just onto the remainder of my questions :-)
Yes I know I'm impatient, but I'd rather call it excited about starting a new project!
Ad.
The CVH or Pinto engines will fit into a standard width chassis. The Pinto is the heavier engine, but is stronger and has more tuning options. The
V6 engines would be a tight squeeze into a book chassis, and are very heavy. The 2.0L DOHC engine used on the later Sierras is not a bad engine, but
is very tall and there are barely any aftermarket tuning parts for them. On balance the Pinto is probably the better choice.
You can certainly use a de-dion rear axle with the modified book design. However, the Sierras track is around 4 inches wider than the Escorts IIRC,
so you would probably need to think about making the front track wider to match it.
The 5 speed type 9 gearbox as fitted to most Sierra's is the box to go for, the later MT75 boxes, whilst better in many respects are a little too
large to fit comfortably into a book chassis.
You can use the Sierra steering rack, though it will have to be shortened which isn't really a DIY job. The Sierra front uprights can also be
used in conjucntion with so called "mushrooms" to convert the upright for twin wishbone use. It would make things a little easier if you
could pick up a set of Cortina uprights and an Escort steering rack though.
[Edited on 14/10/04 by MikeRJ]
its generally accepted that 'the book' has a lot of errors, and you are better of with the mcsorely chassis.
Darren of GTS on this forum sells a dedion axle kit.
Id go for a 2 litre pinto for an easier build - people say the '205' block is best.
some use the later (87 - 89 approx) 2 litre dohc is also worth a go, but its a bit taller, and has less tuning options. But its 125 hp, compared to a
carb pint 105, and an efi 115.
atb
steve
Hi Ad
I've just got past the planning stage and hope to build a McSorley book chassis with GTS DeDion rear (changes to chassis available from GTS as
free PDF) and GTS bodywork.
All based on a Sierra.
Now that I know what I want to do comes the really hard part of actually doing it. My plan is to get started on the chassis this year and hopefully
complete the chassis stage by next summer.
I also hope to drop a Pan Euro bike engine in as I love the V4 and twin exhausts.
Hope this is a help.
Cheers
Mark
PS. Ned is the guy who posts on here who is actually building this arrangement and is worth a U2U for any advice.
OI! Are you trying to steal my name or something?
But seriously, welcome to the forum, good luck with your build...
Pete
quote:
Originally posted by scoobyis2cool
OI! Are you trying to steal my name or something?
But seriously, welcome to the forum, good luck with your build...
Pete
So what I now need is to find a sierra with a 2.0 pinto lump that hasnt done a million miles which doesnt cost the earth..... :-)
As I understand it too, the sierra does have a wider track than the MK II escort, but would it matter that much having a rear end 4" wider
overall than the front end?
Thanks for the tips guys!
Ad
Ah another person from kent 
Just picked up a Sierra XR4x4 for less than £300, but it does have to DOHC engine and not the pinto. But i sharn't be using it.
So you can get normal sierra's cheaper, i just liked the idea of having a LSD 
My locost is nearly complete if ya ever wanna pop down to see. Using Mk1 Escort with a spash of sierra. Finally will drop a Vauxhall 2.0 16v engine
in for good measure once its SVA'd and swap the escort axle for sierra bits.
Hi Ben,
Yay, another Kent person :-) Would be good to have a look at your car when its finished :-)
Just out of interest, where did you source your steel from? Anywhere local, or did you get it from one of the web based steel merchants?
Ad.
Ah i cheated.... I was lucky enough at the time to have a father who worked for an engineering company who used a lot of 1 inch tubing, so i made the
chassis including all the panelling for free.
Steel prices are soaring now too 
U2U sent to ya
quote:
Originally posted by Ben_CopelandJust picked up a Sierra XR4x4 for less than £300, but it does have to DOHC engine and not the pinto. But i sharn't be using it.
I'm not doing anything with the engine, and it's in Newcastle if thats any better lol
If ya want it you can come take it out 