Hi.

I've recently bought this car (maybe someone knows it from down the years?) MT53 YFF.

Plan is to replace the front bumper (replacement sourced in Germany), and do a full stage 0 rebuild, then bring to Germany, re-register it there and use for Autobahn trips. I have my Sierra for the Mountain drives but looking for another fairly rare Ford to continue my hobby.

So the car is in need of a lot of attention but its' just what I wanted; a Project Car.

It will get a full re-work including but not limited to:

Timing chains and sundries
Full polybush swap including wishbones, ARBs (F + R), subframes, track sway bars etc.,
Front bumper replacement (will repair the damaged front one and keep in storage)
Brakes (rear calipers and discs) - Front already come with the ST225 Focus set-up
Hand brake cables
Front and rear wheel bearings
Rear arch rust spots (both sides above the rear bumper)
Full interior valet
Sort out non-functioning Cruise control
Service the LPG (Filters, piping etc.,)
Alloy wheel Refurbishment (corroded)
Complete brake pipe replacement (copper piping and each corner for the flexi pipes to calipers)
Rebuild front ST225 Calipers with new seals etc., preventative maintenance
Source LHD Xenons to replace the RHD ones as I will use this car in Germany and on the Continent more so than in Ireland
Paint detailing where required and good exterior polish
Replace the radio cage due to USB connector having been fitted at some stage in the past, thereby damaging the radio/Clima surround (simple aesthetic change)
Though it has LPG i want to see if the engine cover can be modified somehow to cover the visible LPG connections
Fit side skirt jack covers (missing) with new
Window wind deflectors
Clutch kit
Dual mass flywheel as clutch slipping
Engine mounts (may as well)
Front and rear Shock Aborbers
Front and rear coil springs
15mm Direnza wheel spacers (F + R)
Check underbody and clean down, respray where necessary and stone chip to keep the underbody secure for the next few years
New tyres
Tracking etc
A/C refill
Gearbox oil replacment
Engine oil and filter
pollen and air filters
Steam clean of engine
Replace ICV (preventative maintenance)

So, aim is to have the car moved to Ireland in March, spend some vacation time rebuilding it and have fully back on the road for mid-April and drive it back to Bavaria for re-Registration there for its German Rego.

If anyone has any history from owning the car, I'm happy to hear it (good or bad). The car has fsh up to 30,000 miles with sporadic non-Ford servicing since then so it's pretty much complete with its 4 keys.

As a next project it'll be fun now I've more or less finished my Ford Sierra build - just in process of redoing the roof liner.








Sierra Sheltering during Covid-19 Lock-Down (Ireland 21-Jan-2021)

 

my advise would be to get all the parts sourced and refurbished before you start
then it's just a case of swapping things over
the hardest thing is going to be the front bearings as if they go in even a tiny bit wrong they are scrap
drop the entire front subframe to do all the engine and clutch and suspension work in one go, if you have all the parts and a workshop it should take less than a week to fit

 

cheers Dojj
yeah I’ve spent the last 3 weeks sourcing all the parts I need so have plenty of time to sort the niggles and worn parts out fairly quickly.
I’ve also sourced LHD xenons now online so will fit those once I get the car to Germany.

Thanks!

 

you also need to make sure you get the correct gaskets for the engine, there are 2 versions for the sump and then you have the drive side to deal with
remember to change the rear main seal behind the flywheel too while it's apart
there are so many other things to look at that you may have overlooked it's worth making a full list of everything you can do while the engine and gearbox is out, the exhaust might be an issue too as the flexies can be difficult to split apart and i don't think you can get replacements now

 

Did you sort this, any pics of your lpg setup? As have the same issue, looking at trying to get the original cover to refit!

 

Hi Fil - The car is still at my mates house in the UK (I'm in Germany so can't travel to collect the car myself so need to organize for it to be transported back to Ireland) - unfortunately it would be around July before i get to see the car to start preparing it for bringing to Germany.

Will post pictures of the BRC set-up when i have more photos (asked my mate for some more photos of the engine bay).

BR

 

Mine came without the cover, so looks a right old mess. Bought the correct final facelift cover, went to fit it and then see the metal brackets it clips onto are missing off the engine, so need to get some of them. The cover sits ok at the front, but about 20mm high where the lpg bits are, so will need to adjust or put some spacers in hopefully.

 

I found this YouTube video from some lad in Poland with the BRC system fitted (same which is in my Mondeo) and he has the engine cover on - so fitment is possible.

 

Finally collected the car on the 4th August, brought it over to Ireland from Holyhead and then began the clearance (VRT process) to register as an Irish Rego.

Removed the LPG system as found out that it was approaching 10 years in 2022 and would require a lot of money to get it recertified, and my insurance company was reluctant to insure an LPG alternative fuel car.
So out came the LPG, necessitating a SQI Engineering report and Letter from my local Ford Dealer to state the car was now back to original specifications and running on petrol only.

Turns out the clutch kit is fine. Trackrod ends, wishbones etc were all past their expiration date so that was the cause of the feeling of a slipping clutch as described by the previous owner. Replacing of all those parts resulted in a nice smooth drive and despite having bought all the parts, at least they can be used at a later point in time.

Spent 4 weeks rebuilding the car, getting a rusty boot (where the LPG tank had been attached to the bottom of the spare wheel well) sorted, replacing the broken front bumper, replacing the broken LHS headlight washer motor, alternator, alternator to starter to battery positive cable, swapping out the SONY radio for the complete DENSO SAT NAV system and 6-disc mounted boot cd-player, removing the wooden base from the boot that had been previously used i beleive to mount a subwoofer, amp etc., removing seats to thoroughly clean the car in order to wash the carpets, removed the cabling from whatever non-stock radio that had been installed, replacing the front door cards with other non-cut ones (original had holes cut out for tweeter speakers of the aforementioned music system).

Got any surface rust from under the car scoured off and new paint plus stone chip applied, replaced all 4 wheel bearings, rebuilt the rear brake calipers, replaced the handbrake cables and a lot of other smaller niggly things like filters (air, oil, pollen), oil (engine, gearbox, brake fluid, power steering etc), spark plugs, air intake gaskets, repair of the injector looms following removal of the LPG set-up, new battery (alternator overcharging melted the positive terminal plastic so the battery was too dangerous to reinstall), new rear disc brakes, brake pads as well as new front ST225 brake discs and pads as the original ST225 discs were slightly warped.

Had four wheel alignment sorted prior to its inaugural NCT (more stringent than the MOT) so car passed its first test trouble free.

Only real pain point is the Euro 1494.00 price tag for annual road tax but really don't mind as the car owes me nothing now it's running well.

Awaiting a new starter (just to have as back up and bought a second alternator as well due to the increased difficulty in getting parts for the ST220 now.

Have a replacement sunroof motor on route, as well as spare cog teeth for the current broken toothed motor. After this, the only thing that needs replacing is the air con compressor motor which is leaking out oil (green) so looking out for a replacement one now.

Have to say, the V6 is a lovely quiet engine low down so really prefer the refinement of this engine.
No plans for exhaust upgrade to get more tone / volume increase as keeping the car totally stock.

Photos to follow and have the rebuild thread on instagram (@sonic_blue_st220) if anyone is interested in following.

 

Glad to know that it runs good now. Are you planning to upgrade the suspension?

 

Cheers

No, I have left it stock height as have no interest messing with what is already imo a perfect suspension and really comfortable on less than ideal roads.

Plus I prefer my cars remaining unmodified nowadays opposed to what I used to do with former cars.



On Irish rego



1991 Sierra beside 2003 Mondeo

Changing of the plates

Boot repairs post removal of LPG set up





At VRT station undergoing reregistration clearance


Replacement front bumper fitted