I have owned my sierra xr4x4 for about 5 years, in that time it has developed from a £120 wreck to a well sorted easy to drive track car,
I have always wanted to try saloon car racing but never thought I could given the expense/family commitments, in 2009 I spannered for my m8 Jim in his RS200 rep in the northern sports and saloon car championship,being at the track with him gave me the inspiration to go for it..

as bought in 2005





during prep in 2005



finished car





the car drove well that first year if a little slow in a straight line, I then got a granada cosworth and fitted the engine from it in to the sierra



out with the old



and in with the new





the finished car on track at croft



the car also has cos 4x4 brakes and polybushed arb's all round with coilovers on the front.

track car to race car project

the car was never prepared with the idea to go racing so there is a fair amount to do before it goes near a track from cage mounting mods to fitting correct seat, harness, fire ex etc

over that last couple of of months I have been buying up anything I thought would be needed got some bargains along the way aswell
also picked up a BOB engine for £100 so I can remove the cams and fit them in my BOA, should release a few extra hp



braided brake hoses for £20 and mintex 1155 pads for £10



solid rear beam mounts a bargain at £10



electric cut off switch



clubman fire extingusher kit under £100



at the autosport show I bought an OMP race suit and helmet



I also got some seat belt mounts and bonnet pins



today I picked up a cobra suzuka gt width (I'm not skinny lol) seat with mounts and a sabelt 6 point harness dated until the end of 2013 for the grand sum of £180







last week my MSA go racing pack arrived and next month I take my ARDS race licence test at croft



I have started to remove the roll cage to mod the mounts and then I will remove the sunroof and the large support section and plate over the hole, I will update as the build goes on.
my first race in in the middle of april so need to crack on with it

steve

 

over the moon you are living the dream you have mate

 

cheers m8, I really can't wait till april, been at croft today watching the jack frost stages (and picking the seat and harness up!) and just want to get out there on track!

steve

 

Good luck with the racing fella.

 

the classroom bit at croft is boring but it was mint ragging there mini round the track.
just dont spin off lol, good luck

 

Well done mate, should have chose the Stock Hatch championship what i race in, very close racing and lots of fun. i know how it feels just starting up this time last year i was at your position cost me thousends once i got the car ready and all the gear inc taking the Ards test and getting race licence.

 

cheers guys, problem is I already have the sierra and can't afford to splash out on another different race car so it's this or nothing!
It won't be the quickest in it's class by far but I hope to be in the mix of the pack somewhere!

steve

 

good luck mate will be good to watch your car progress

 

Was at Croft yesterday with Tony NUTsRuS. Good day out.

Good luck with the build, will watch to see how you get on

 

another small update

took a punt and bought these AP5200 calipers, have a hunch they will fit with the correct brackets and bells/disks which I now need to find, don't want shiny new ones it is a track car after all!





I also today booked my ards test so roll on the 18th february

I also had these dropped on my desk at work
the towing eyes must have an internal diameter of 60mm, the original ford ones are only 45mm so our contracted engineering company at work made these for me to the correct MSA spec.
will soon grind off the originals and weld on these



steve

 

good luck mate!

calipers look wrong to me!!! but then again I am as technical as a flipflop

 

cheers m8,
the usual calipers for the cos 4x4 are cp 5200 so I'm taking a chance that these are just an older version of them, don't know what the cp stands for or if it's important!

steve

 

Which race series are you racing in mate...

 

good luck Steve with your driving test.

done well with the old sierra mate.

 

at a guess the northern sports and saloon car championship as mentioned in 1st post????

Best of luck with the racing Steve

Micky

 

cheers guys, i'm starting work on the car next week after work, so hopefully in a few weeks it will start coming together..

steve

 

Excellent ive done the last three years in that championship myself, Will see you there..

 

Nice one which car were you racing?

steve

 

Steve... The old 5200`s and the new ones are the same dimensions so you will have no problem finding bells and brackets

 

nice one cheers m8!!
Just what I was hoping to hear

steve

 

small update, crap pics as I forgot me camera,
spent the day down the unit and managed to get a few hours on the car.
removed the sunroof, had to use the grinder to get it out as it wouldn't go all the way back to get the screws out.
clive (righthooker on pf) gave us a hand and here he is with the removed sunroof



then I removed the sunroof tray from under the main roof, had to grind out the seam around the sunroof hole, messy job but got there in the end!





this is what the roof looks like now



and this is the inside of the car after all the grinding



will sort out the plate to fill the big hole this week
steve

 

Good luck ste just watch tower was abit bumpy last time out with ya lol.

 

just the exit was bumpy lol
would be boring to keep on the tarmac!!

steve

 

had the same idea me and a mates one rover roll cage extended and welded in with new cross bars couple of bucket seats harnesses everything removed perspex windows its a right laugh especially when we fit slicks and give a few people surprises

 

ste, you look even more like Adolf in that pic now lol, sorry had to be said, but my i am a handsom devil

 

great looking project

 

I know, thats what happens when you wipe your itchy nose with dirty gloves on lol

cheers m8, it's getting there!

 

spent the afternoon down the unit with me dad, who was a great help. got some more done.
got the new roof fitted,not without problems tho, broke 3 rivit guns in the process!
just needs a bit more primer and then a top coat



my dad removed the door panels and lower dashboards





whilst I made a start on the cage mounts, making them out of 3mm steel which is tough going!


steve

 

Coming along nicely Steve, glad to see you are taking it to the next level of track use

Steve

 

whens your first race? mine is 13th March at Sneterton

 

april 17th and 18th at croft
good luck!

steve

 

Top work mate.I wish you all the best when you go racing.

 

try boss fords who run with the classic touring car club cheep good racing and a good butch of lads first race 3rd april at cadwell come and have a look, have a look at this website;www.wealdenracing.co.uk and follow the links

 

Took this week off work so this week should see some big updates..
cage and seat mounts fitted,sound deadening removed, floor painted with a rattle can and today we refitted the cage(the door bars will be fitted later)



roof painted (again with a rattle can)



front and rear towing eyes removed and msa spec ones fitted





fire extinguisher mounted and pipework run to nozzles





plate fitted over heater hole



tomorrows job is to sort all these electrics out and fit the master cut out switch



steve

 

cool project. i like the thought of doing an xr4x4 24v track car myself.
24v's are cool as fook

 

Very nice!! whats the rules like regarding using a different engine?

 

Engines can be swopped as long as you stay with original manifacturer ie any ford engine will be ok in a ford, but its then classed in engine size or 70% loading on engine size for turbo or super charged engines ie 2lt turbo becomes a 3400cc class car..

 

Looking good

Where did you get your fire extinguisher from?


Brian

 

you should get calamity kell and the st johns ambulance flag on your back window

 

rallye design came in at under £100

steve