lsteele
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| posted on 20/7/04 at 11:21 PM |
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Suitability of Sierra...
Hi,
First of all I apoligise if this is a topic that's already been covered.
I discovered the book a few weeks ago by chance and have since been totally obsessed by the idea of building my own car, and have been doing lots of
reading/investigating. As mk 1 + 2 Escorts seem to be so hard to come by I've been trying to investigate what other cars might prove suitable
donors. I've heard lots of mentions of Sierra's on various websites, but it's not clear how simple/complex an option this is. From
my point of as a relative novice when it comes to cars I'm keen to keep things simple at this stage, and so I want to use a donor that offers
greatest simplicity and also (from an economic point of view) offers the most usuable parts.
If Sierra's don't satisfy those criteria I'd be grateful for other suggestions.
I'm sure this is a topic that comes up often, but most of the information I've found on the web seems to be a little vague, or involves
exotic combinations of engines/gearboxes/suspension etc that don't seem such a great idea for a novice such as myself!
Thanks for any help/suggestions.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 20/7/04 at 11:33 PM |
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welcome
sadly this q has been asked a zillion times
a sierra is often used
look for a kit called the MK indy if you want to build from a kit
if you want to use a sierra for a scratch build, its possible, but it will add time and complexity. For example, you will need to desing your own
front wish bones cos the hubs are different, and sierra has a different incompatable with book rear suspension.
by all means go with a sierra and adapt from book as many do, but it will add time and complexity.
a kit like the indy is a faster route
or
consider getting a cortina mk5 as its a better overall donor than the escort anyways.
time spent on getting a mk5 will pay dividends on the many 10s of extra hrs getting sierra bits to fit in a cold garage come winter!
atb
steve
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 20/7/04 at 11:38 PM |
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i think the main differences are that the sierra front uprights are different requiring an adapter to all the top mount to accept a ball joint instead
of a mcpherson strut
also with respect to the rear of the car
the sierra does not have a solid rear axle so either find one from another car ie mk1 or 2 escort, cortina (not sure which mk's maybe all) or a
capri, OR have independent rear suspension OR have a de-dion tube,
there are track width considerations, sierra track is 2" bigger than escort track not sure about cortina and capri but definately bigger than
the escort.
so the questions you need to ask your self are
use sierra front uprights with adapter or obtain cortina uprights
stay with sierra rear diff and halfshafts and have IRS OR de-dion tube axle
OR
use a rear axle from capri, cortina
the best thing from whats said on this forum is to obtain a cortina as a donor its believed to be the best donor
as ever i am happy to be told i am utterly wrong
EDIT
posted b4 i'd seen steves reply
[Edited on 20/7/04 by liam.mccaffrey]
[Edited on 20/7/04 by liam.mccaffrey]
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BradW
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| posted on 21/7/04 at 03:22 PM |
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I've gone through the same questions, I've been looking at the GTS Kit, or the de dion chassis, or if you want to build your own then they
do the complete De Dion back axle set up, along with drawings to fit the book chassis.
The Sierra front uprights use a simple adapter on top, and the bottom needs reaming to a differant taper to fit the 'book' cortina or Maxi
balljoints.
With the Sierra you also get the steering, column just needs extending
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lsteele
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| posted on 21/7/04 at 10:02 PM |
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If I were to go the sierra route with the de dion rear, is it necessary for me to widen the chassis by 4" (as per the
mcsorley plan), or is that optional. And is it the same story if using the Cortina?
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 21/7/04 at 10:24 PM |
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...or just get wider arches
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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James
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| posted on 22/7/04 at 08:38 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by lsteele
If I were to go the sierra route with the de dion rear, is it necessary for me to widen the chassis by 4" (as per the
mcsorley plan), or is that optional. And is it the same story if using the Cortina?
No, it's not necessary. GTS' De Dion is designed for use with a standard size chassis and a Sierra back end.
Atb,
James
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lsteele
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| posted on 22/7/04 at 08:22 PM |
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But is it possible, say if I wanted the wider chassis just for comfort considerations (and possibly better handling)? Also presumably a wider
chassis would offer more scope for larger engines, if at some point in the future I decided to change the engine for something more powerful.
One other question: It seems to be easy to get Sierra parts. Is the same true of Cortina spares, if I go that route?
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NS Dev
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| posted on 22/7/04 at 09:22 PM |
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Cortina uprights can be tricky to get but a good look in the back of the classic ford type mags should yield some. Replacement parts are just as easy
and cheap to get as the sierra.
Big benefit of the cortina upright is it is much nicer geometry than the sierra upright, which was never designed for double wishbones like the
cortina was.
Remember that there are other uprights available if you were making your own wishbones, such as the GM ones from Opel Manta/Vauxhall Cavalier
mk1/Chevette/Viva etc etc, used widely by hot rodders and very similar geometry to the cortina ones (different dia mount holes though and different
wheel fixings etc)
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twinturbo
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| posted on 28/7/04 at 04:03 PM |
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Personaly, i think it's about time the book was re-written around a doner that can be picked up cheep.
You can't buy ANY 2DR mk1/2 escot for under £250 even a fairly basket case one.. And 4DRS although worth less for similar condition are often
only found in reasonable condition and still worth £200.
So the book's title is prety much totaly unobtaiable.
the Sierra is now plentyfull very cheap. It may have issues in terms of donoring.. But is the last of the Mass produced RWD family cars..
As i have mentioned I will be atempting to use my current road car. A 2.0 XR4x4 which only cost £130~ I will get a years use out of it befoe it spills
its guts, and half teh parts will go to my road car project.. So it will seriously reduce the build cost.
TT
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hortimech
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| posted on 28/7/04 at 06:50 PM |
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the problem is that every car that is recomended as a donor apart from the sierra is getting old, and trying to find one can be difficult and
expensive. People are now thinking of them as "classics" and buying them to rebuild, not to rip them limb from limb as donor cars. I have
tried to find an escort or cortina, nearest I got was to be outbid on a very rusty 1300cc escort mk2, I bid what I thought was a reasonable £50, the
guy who bought it paid £300
Why does everything happen to me
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