Moonstone 2wd saph - First update in years 06/12/15
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From: oxFORDshire
Well after blowing the engine on my last saph i threw in the towel, sold it and lasted a pathetic 6 months before buying another one. have to come to terms with the fact i love cossies 
T38
CP Low comp pistons (7.5:1)
Long studded 200 block
Seimens 83lb
ZF 2 way diff
Gaz Coilovers
blah blah



Collected the car and it wasnt holding charge so after a couple bump starts on the way to my missus in north london i got the RAC out the next morning and he spotted an earth lead left off the battery terminal after previous owner had trickle charged it


Got on my way and enjoyed a couple days boosting. this all came to an end as it died on full boost in 3rd. Best call the RAC again

Kitchen Devil and Rob_RS came over and after a compression test was done we found no compression on number 3. so no choice but to start the strip down

Head off and was greeted by this


Either the people who built the engine or the previous owner had skimmed the head passed the limit. causing the head to get too hot, expanding, and dropping a valve seat. luckily the piston fired the bits of valve seat straight into the head and managed not to score the bores at all.
So i need a new piston. new head. and may aswell refresh the other shells whilst im at it. here we go again
The bay had all this horrid wax stuff so ive stripped all that off and the paint underneath aint half bad still


Just need to rent an engine crane then i can get the fucker out and start rebuilding!

T38
CP Low comp pistons (7.5:1)
Long studded 200 block
Seimens 83lb
ZF 2 way diff
Gaz Coilovers
blah blah



Collected the car and it wasnt holding charge so after a couple bump starts on the way to my missus in north london i got the RAC out the next morning and he spotted an earth lead left off the battery terminal after previous owner had trickle charged it



Got on my way and enjoyed a couple days boosting. this all came to an end as it died on full boost in 3rd. Best call the RAC again


Kitchen Devil and Rob_RS came over and after a compression test was done we found no compression on number 3. so no choice but to start the strip down

Head off and was greeted by this


Either the people who built the engine or the previous owner had skimmed the head passed the limit. causing the head to get too hot, expanding, and dropping a valve seat. luckily the piston fired the bits of valve seat straight into the head and managed not to score the bores at all.
So i need a new piston. new head. and may aswell refresh the other shells whilst im at it. here we go again

The bay had all this horrid wax stuff so ive stripped all that off and the paint underneath aint half bad still


Just need to rent an engine crane then i can get the fucker out and start rebuilding!
Last edited by ram; Dec 6, 2015 at 10:21 PM.
Wondered when this would pop up lol. Shit news mate but good to see your straight on it. You stick 4 new pistons in ? Have you sourced a head yet ? Make sure it don't hold up your house purchase
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From: Darlington county durham
Gutted for you.This wouldnt of happened if the people who did the work to the head in the first place.repaired the car properly.
Fingers crossed with the build.
Fingers crossed with the build.
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From: oxFORDshire
Cheers for the comments chaps. Yeh think the moral of the story is if you want these to last you gotta build them right yourself first time.
Nah just gonna change the one piston all the others are untouched. But will re do all the shells whilst its apart. would kick myself if something else happened down the line and i could have prevented it for a few quid.
Thats the thing mate. With the monthly payments on the new merc and a mortgage starting end of may. i HAVE to have all the spending done on this by then. else its getting shoved in the garage till im old and grey
powerwise i will upgrading the cam and adding a 4x4 inlet. More just trying to add some midrange as all the powers up top.
Wheels will be getting changed as there not my cuppa. bumper getting painted. 500 splitter. few bits of carbon, bay buftied up etc etc lol. will go as far as my my strained wallet will go haha
Thats the thing mate. With the monthly payments on the new merc and a mortgage starting end of may. i HAVE to have all the spending done on this by then. else its getting shoved in the garage till im old and grey

Wheels will be getting changed as there not my cuppa. bumper getting painted. 500 splitter. few bits of carbon, bay buftied up etc etc lol. will go as far as my my strained wallet will go haha
Mate i have just seen this thread, im gutted for you cant believe that this has happened.
Just for your info i have never had the head off that car mate, so it must have been a ticking time bomb waiting to happen just unlucky for you it has all happened after buying the car.
The car never missed a beat while i owned her and as you know from the test drive car was spot on.
Also info on the wheels cant remember what make they are but was brought off a fella on here so someone must know what they are.
Just for your info i have never had the head off that car mate, so it must have been a ticking time bomb waiting to happen just unlucky for you it has all happened after buying the car.
The car never missed a beat while i owned her and as you know from the test drive car was spot on.
Also info on the wheels cant remember what make they are but was brought off a fella on here so someone must know what they are.
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From: oxFORDshire
Mate i have just seen this thread, im gutted for you cant believe that this has happened.
Just for your info i have never had the head off that car mate, so it must have been a ticking time bomb waiting to happen just unlucky for you it has all happened after buying the car.
The car never missed a beat while i owned her and as you know from the test drive car was spot on.
Also info on the wheels cant remember what make they are but was brought off a fella on here so someone must know what they are.
Just for your info i have never had the head off that car mate, so it must have been a ticking time bomb waiting to happen just unlucky for you it has all happened after buying the car.
The car never missed a beat while i owned her and as you know from the test drive car was spot on.
Also info on the wheels cant remember what make they are but was brought off a fella on here so someone must know what they are.
Yeh was fine on the test drive giving it stick so dont doubt you mate. it was obv fine with the odd bit of boost as the head wasnt getting hot but i cained it for a good 3 minutes out of town and onto the bypass and it let go on full boost in 3rd. At least it hasnt killed the block else id be screwing lol!
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From: oxFORDshire
Overdue update time..
So i bought myself an engine crane and myself and Robs_Frst got the lump out



Gave it a bufty session..

Before loading it into my missus poor golf (No way was i dirtying my merc up
) and taking it to Tony @ Turbosystems for a strip down and assessment

Quick excuse to show Tonys awesome retro setup for playing with Cosworth chips

Upon assesment i think ive got away lucky.. The Head is scrap. one piston scrap. and one bent rod. oddly not the rod from piston number 3 that had the impact?! must have been bent before lol. The rest is all re usable and straight.
I dont have the cash for a rebuild at the mo but now I know what parts i need i can source everything ready for when i can afford the rebuild.
So in the meantime ive been focusing on other bits of the car to keep me busy.
Heatshield had seen better days..

So i got to work and gave it a refurb

bought some new bits

Had this plate on retention for some time now. cant put it on till the car has an mot but in the meantime i made up some plates at work so i can see how it looks

then left the car looking like this for a couple months

The bumper had a 500 splitter bonded on that had been ripped off at some point and taken some paint with it. so i got Dom at work to use his Dupont colour match tool and get the right moonstone mixed for me.

I then got busy rubbing down


Painted and built back up with new splitter and diy black strip..




I primered the bay ages ago but finally found some time and warm weather to lay some moonstone down



Started building it back up and attempting to re-do/tidy my engine loom

I then felt the need for some new shoes so did a deal with pf user '3dr' for my Ultralites and got me some new Comp THX2's. i think they suit the saph's great and ive only seen one other saph with them
The silver look is warming on me but im feeling anthracite or white for these so they will be changing colour when i have time



The rear end wants some slammage but wont bother winding coilovers down till engine is in and cars at full weight.

Ive just moved into my new property so with developing that and the saph being at my parents house things will get slow but id still like to have this finished this side of autumn. but like with all cossie projects im prob looking at summer 2028. anyway, looking forward to another ford fair this weekend feeling depressed without a running ford! one day.
cheeRS
So i bought myself an engine crane and myself and Robs_Frst got the lump out



Gave it a bufty session..

Before loading it into my missus poor golf (No way was i dirtying my merc up
) and taking it to Tony @ Turbosystems for a strip down and assessment
Quick excuse to show Tonys awesome retro setup for playing with Cosworth chips

Upon assesment i think ive got away lucky.. The Head is scrap. one piston scrap. and one bent rod. oddly not the rod from piston number 3 that had the impact?! must have been bent before lol. The rest is all re usable and straight.
I dont have the cash for a rebuild at the mo but now I know what parts i need i can source everything ready for when i can afford the rebuild.
So in the meantime ive been focusing on other bits of the car to keep me busy.
Heatshield had seen better days..

So i got to work and gave it a refurb

bought some new bits

Had this plate on retention for some time now. cant put it on till the car has an mot but in the meantime i made up some plates at work so i can see how it looks

then left the car looking like this for a couple months


The bumper had a 500 splitter bonded on that had been ripped off at some point and taken some paint with it. so i got Dom at work to use his Dupont colour match tool and get the right moonstone mixed for me.

I then got busy rubbing down


Painted and built back up with new splitter and diy black strip..




I primered the bay ages ago but finally found some time and warm weather to lay some moonstone down



Started building it back up and attempting to re-do/tidy my engine loom


I then felt the need for some new shoes so did a deal with pf user '3dr' for my Ultralites and got me some new Comp THX2's. i think they suit the saph's great and ive only seen one other saph with them
The silver look is warming on me but im feeling anthracite or white for these so they will be changing colour when i have time


The rear end wants some slammage but wont bother winding coilovers down till engine is in and cars at full weight.

Ive just moved into my new property so with developing that and the saph being at my parents house things will get slow but id still like to have this finished this side of autumn. but like with all cossie projects im prob looking at summer 2028. anyway, looking forward to another ford fair this weekend feeling depressed without a running ford! one day.
cheeRS
Last edited by ram; Aug 7, 2012 at 04:49 PM.








you go through more toys than me pmsl......