Ade500

iTrader: (1)

I don't think I would cut it mate, and the plated floor looks cool I have a rally prep book somewhere I will have a look see what's in there if you want?

909 shell

IainRS1700T

Crikey! When you see one like that, all I see is holes and vents everywhere :0
If you've got anything on the works cars shell prep that would be good to see..
Cheers
Iain

hogdog

Love this car, even better than the real thing.

Byrnes1

Cracking work, looks a beast!

IainRS1700T

Cheers fellas, thanks for your positive comments.
Today I spent a few hours doing a bit sanding and keying in anticipation of the cage and interior paint..
I'm not aiming for concours, tho so don't get your hopes up!
I've been doing a bit of homework on the fuel cell/pump/filter malarky and think I need to improve things for that installation. I reckon a swirl pot might be in order? Will keep reading up on that one...
I also took a few sections out of the exhaust to try and get an idea of how different parts of the exhaust are affecting the sound... Suffice to say, 'less is more' by the time I got to just downpipes it sounded like thunder! I've got to go twin exit side pipes now... But it'll be the last thing on my list I reckon
It goes in for caging up next weekend, so I'll do my best to keep you posted on progress.
Cheers
Iain

JamesH

iTrader: (21)

Hi Iain,

Sorry mate, I've only just seen this thread!

Looking good mate - keep up the good work! I'm picking my complete beam up on Saturday, keep an eye on my thread for pics

IainRS1700T

Hi James,
How are you doing? Thanks for your help (so far) with the Jag diff and drive shafts.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turned out, and what you think of the driving experience!
Cheers
Iain

james kiely

iTrader: (5)

what kind of money ian are you talking for the v8 ford engine like you have mate?

JamesH

iTrader: (21)

Not bad thanks, how are you doing?

No worries unfortunately, due to funds it won't be driven for a long time - but I've been in Rod's and you'd never guess it had that huge diff in there

Mr RS500

iTrader: (6)

Hi Ian

If you ever sell it ,,RING ME

Tyres mate were 235 40 17 rears and 215 40 17 fronts

I now run 18" centra locks tho mate with 235 35 18"s

Paul

baz walton

Iain, if you keep an eye out on e bay the panels for the floors do still crop up. there are a whole set of grp A panels for the sierra.
The jag diff on a sierra has been around since day one. It will take anything you throw at it.
If you want to see a full jag diff set up on a very early sierra have a quick gander at some of the pics of my old nail: https://passionford.com/forum/restor...-some-tlc.html

IainRS1700T

Hi James,
If you wanted to pick up a newly refurbed 'crate engine' in either 302" (5.0L) or 351" (5.8L) capacity then I think they would run you to around Ł3.5k give or take, and obviously heavily dependent on spec. But like with everything else, if you're prepared to do a bit of hunting around and perhaps a bit of work yourself then they're peanuts.
Recently e-bay has seen a few 302's go for for next to nothing. The great thing about the American V8's like Ford and Chevy is the rebuild parts are sooo cheap because millions were built, and over the years nearly as many have been rebuilt. The added bonus is that alot of expertise has been gained along the way. You could start with a boggo 302, bolt a load of goodies on and see north of 300bhp (more in torque) and it'll last forever!
A decent set of alloy heads for engines like this will cost in region of Ł1k, and easiliy liberate 60bhp, sometimes alot more..
My new engine hasn't been run since being rebuilt, and I'm a little unsure of the spec. There'll be no shortage of air and fuel going in, plus gas coming out though so it'll be a good place to start.. My aim is to get going with whatever this gives me, but get the rest of the car as bullet proof as possible (transmission, suspension, braking and so on), and take it from there... I might also consider rebuilding my existing engine as a bit of a project for my own curiousity and see where it takes me.
Cheers
Iain

IainRS1700T

Thanks for that Paul - this one's a keeper though!
Are you running 235's front and rear?
Cheers
Iain

IainRS1700T

Baz, you're a star! I love the pics of the beam mods to accomodate the jag diff on your car. I'm relieved to see it was done the same way I was thinking, given how well engineered your car is and the beating it must have taken in all those rallies! (It's great to see you bring it back to life by the way - I've just read the whole thing from start to finish and subscribed. Keep up the good work.)
My drive shafts are unequal length, so hopefully I won't have the alignment issues you've had..
There's some footwell panels on at the moment from wrc-motorsport. I'm still in two minds as to what to do with them at the moment. The other thought I've had recently is that if I don't plate them or block them off some way or another, I'll get fumes drifting in from the engine bay..
Thanks again,
Iain

james kiely

iTrader: (5)

cheers ian ,

time to do a bit of investigating lol

Ade500

iTrader: (1)

Sorry took a while been busy. This is the book



There is a couple you may be interested in, This one shows they beefed up the floor with a chassis rail.



then the floor area double skinned as fordoval has



and finished with nav foot and clutch rest



a couple more of mine





Wanting a v8 more than ever now

STeve

iTrader: (11)

V8 is the way to go Ade as I would never go back to a V6 in my capri after fitting a hemi

Ade500

iTrader: (1)

It may get one yet lol

Steve the Plumber

iTrader: (11)

Looking good Iain, keep at it!!

IainRS1700T

Well remembered Ade!
Thanks for that. I think I should be embarrassed to admit I didn't know about that book. I think I need to track one down by the looks of it...
Thanks again for the pics, some good stuff there.
The car goes in on Saturday. Roll cage first up... will keep you posted!
If anyone wants more V8 goodness (and you haven't already done so) check out Tim Garrington's V8 EsCos Time Attack thread (sadly now broken) or Mark V8's current 5dr build. Tim used the newer modular Ford V8, whereas Mark's engine is stroked 302 with alloy heads and should shift well!
cheers
Iain

Ade500

iTrader: (1)

You can borrow mine if look after it, they must be quite rare now. Seen Marks another awesome build and going to look at Tims this week.

katluke

You have pm

Mark V8

iTrader: (2)

Are the footwell panels available off the shelf anywhere ?

Just found some rust on mine

IainRS1700T

Try and look out these folk Mark; this is an ended listing, but it might lead you in the right direction perhaps?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2509124200...84.m1423.l2649
Cheers
Iain

Mark V8

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Iain,
might be too late now as I got grinder happy over the weekend



Scrounged some 1.2mm mild steel from my brothers work and will have a go at making a cardboard template and then cutting the steel to suit.

Didn't fancy double skinning it as welding a plate over the top would create another water/rust trap in a road car.

Ade500

iTrader: (1)

Any updates

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Whered the updates lol.

Paul_RS

iTrader: (4)

If you are still after front Bilsteins you could try Fred Crawford Engineering

http://www.apracing.com/info/distrib...HERN%20IRELAND

He is able to supply everything you need new to build a front set up. I got new bodies from him last year -

BON_300

IainRS1700T

Hi Gents.
Apologies for the lack of updates. Things have been quietly progressing in the background though.
The cage (custom cages) was ordered in Dec and MDA have got most of it tacked in place ready for welding.
The carbon roof from Carbondelight arrived just before Christmas. It was a nice early Christmas to myself and I'm very impressed with it. Inch for inch it's lighter than corrugated cardboard - I'm used to dealing with carbon products but I was shocked how light it was..
MDA wasted no time cutting the old roof out, as it helps no end with fitting the cage.
The old engine and transmission has been hoiked out and some of the hardware transferred to the new engine (manifolds etc) before that goes back in.
I went to see the car this week & needless to say being engine-less and roofless was a bit of 'gulp' moment, but it's exciting to see progress being made. I took my seat along so we could suss out seat bars etc too.
Away from the workshop I managed to get my hands on some front gp A bilsteins, (500/200) which was just what I was after. However thanks Paul RS for the tip off as I do need some parts like spring seats and bearing mounts to complete things, so that link is very handy!
If I can make it on to the lap top in the next day or so I'll post some pics of the car as it stands at the moment.
Cheers
Iain

IainRS1700T

Well I've finally got my arse in gear to update with some pics, and in the meantime rather handily MDA have sent me a few pics since as well.
When I went over the other week there was fresh air in abundance..





As I mentioned before the roof panel (and sunroof) has been cut out in prep for the carbon roof. Getting the roof out of the way early doors helps with fitting the cage. The roof is in primer (sitting in my garage) and will be painted white to match the rest of the car when it's fitted.

The engine is also out as it's being swapped for the other one. It will also facilitate the cage fitting, as tubes are coming through the bulkhead and picking up on the front turrets and triangulating to the cross tube behind the dash as well.

You can see in the pic the mounts that I made on the original cross member to help position the engine. The pic also shows the manual rack currently in place but that is being replaced by a fairly rare ZF rack which was fitted to Merkurs in the US for about a year or two. I think the Merkurs used about 3 different types of rack during production, but the ZF rack has a very quick ratio compared to the others.

Also going from that pic is the brake servo and manual F&R bias valve as I'm after a bias box that can also accomodate the hydraulic clutch for the Tremec box.

Here's the cage half way through being tacked into place to assess fitment.



And not long after I visited MDA sent me some more pics after getting busy with the welder. Nothing's been cleaned up here, it was literally just finished.





So to help things along over the next few weeks I need to sort some gaskets out for the engine as things like sump etc are swapped over from my old one to the new one, and begin sussing out a new rad and oil breather/catch tanks. I might pop down to the Autosport show this weekend for a bit of inspiration!

Cheers,
Iain

BON_300

IainRS1700T

Hi Folks,
A little update for you - been spending again...
I needed to get some diff oil for the Jag diff. Apparently they're pretty sensitive to the right oil, so it was either Castrol Hypoy LS90 or Valvoline HP LS 80w90 that seemed to be the recommended ones. I managed to pick up the castrol one which has now been superceded by this version:



Hopefully that will be ok once I'm up and running.

The front end whirly bits have been giving me cause for a lot of thought. I've realised I've got a reverse rotation water pump fitted on the new engine, so as I don't want to run a serpentine belt, I needed to change that. In addition getting the alignment right for the alternator, w/pump, crankshaft and PAS pulleys was going to be a challenge, so to cut a long story short, I've purchased an Edelbrock alloy timing cover and alloy water pump, and a matching pulley set.

This is the timing cover with the water pump laid on. I've gone for a RH inlet on the pump, to assist with belt clearance on the other side for the PAS to crankshaft belt.



The timing cover in particular is loads lighter than the original iron part. The OEM w/pump is iron as well, so I'll save more weight there to. Going with Edelbrock for both ensures some compatibility and a decent fit (Hopefully)...

Ford did quite a few variations of all of these type of ancilliaries over the years, as a/c, emissions etc resulted in all sorts of belts, tensioners etc. This makes getting everything aligned with the belts and pulleys that you want to use a bit of a headache. With that in mind I bought a matching pulley set. The crankshaft pulley has 2 grooves; one for the alternator and water pump, and the other which will be for the PAS. I might still need to get a pulley sorted for the PAS pump spindle tho..



Still to come is a new MSD ignition module, so I can ditch the old points dizzy I had on the original engine, and a MSD Blaster coil to match; along with a few other bits and pieces to assist finishing off the new engine.

Mat at MDA is trialling their own bias pedal box in the car as well, and reports an initial test fit looks promising. (That will have a hydraulic clutch as well.) Hopefully when I get over next I can report back and get some more pics up.

Cheers for now,
Iain

JamesH

iTrader: (21)

Good progress Iain!

IainRS1700T

Cheers James.. How are you getting on with yours? Is your beam and diff conv in yet? Have you given it a run?
Iain

IainRS1700T

Hi All,
Paid the car a quick visit this week.
The sump is off the new engine in order to fit my old one and matching oil pick up pipe.
It was a valuable chance to have a poke about and see how it looks inside.
The good news is that it looks great - the bores look freshly honed and it all looks like it was put together yesterday





I was able to note down lots of part no's for reference as well. Having seen a bit more inside it I'm now more confident that it will work when I turn the key!

I'm using a Ford Racing sump, which is a bit more of a rear hump that gives me clearance for the cross member and steering rack.

The cage is also progressing. The first half of the door bars have been added:



You can just make out the pedal box which is being trial fitted. Mat is confident it will work ok.

I'm going to fit an oil cooler this time 'round. I had most of the parts ready to do it after the first oil change after building it up last year, but never got that far. This time it will get plumbed in from the start, but I needed a more manly cooler. Ł36 and eBay later I found this:



19 row x 235 Mocal cooler in good shape. I'll replace the fittings for AN stuff in due course.

I thought I'd post up a picky or two of the roof. It'll be a while before it goes on, but as I had to move it the other day, I thought I'd take a pic.





As you can see I ordered it in primer ready for painting. The underside will get a lick of paint too, once fitted, when the inside/cage is completed.

As things roll on, next months jobs include looking at the PAS rack swap. It's a bit fatter at the steering shaft end with the pipes/hoses etc, so the area around the crossmember and engine mounts will need fettling to suit. And work will continue finishing off the engine, cage & pedal box.

Cheers
Iain

Mark V8

iTrader: (2)

Looking good mate

What is the spec of your new engine ?

IainRS1700T

Not as posh as yours mate, ha!
How are you doing?

In short, I don't know what spec I've got. Having had a closer look last week, I would best summarise by saying that it's blueprinted. In other words, well built by hand to decent tolerances and ARP bolts... I can see std Ford rods, oil pump, crank etc. I can't see what cam I've got, other than it's immaculate with no wear pattern on the lobes - same for the tappets. The heads are OE, but I don't know if they've been worked on or not. That would be the main thing, really. If they've been fettled that would be great, but if not then I'll soon know once I'm up and running and I guess at that point I'll start saving up for some like yours as that's what I'd really like.

Everything else is decent bolt on stuff as the thread details; Edelbrock performer RPM inlet manifold, Edelbrock Victor water pump and timing cover. Holley double pumper (I was told it was a 650, but from what I can tell it looks more like a 750 - time will tell), and S&S manifolds (headers). MSD blaster coil and ignition & elec fuel pump.

I'm really looking for a well sorted chassis, gearbox/drive train & brakes first up, as I'm new to the track day malarky, and as time and budgets allow I can look further at the engine situation further down the line.

How's your car coming along? Have you got to the paint stage yet?
Cheers for now
Iain

ital_cossie

iTrader: (2)

Where i can find this book???

thanks

Mark V8

iTrader: (2)

Going sloooowly

I've been stripping the underside to bare metal and fixing any rust I find along the way, soul destroying tedious work that goes on forever!

Keep the updates coming