tonysierra4x4

picking up shell from work this morning and sorting out powder coating some of the running gear. has anyone got any pics of their / someone elses underside that has been restored in both black / silver and other colours. i have seen some very good ones on here in blue, red and yellow etc but can't seem to find these threads. basically we need ideas on how we are going to do ours. thanks for reading and as always any help will be appreciated.

SMILER258

Any pics of the new shell?

tonysierra4x4

i will try and get a bit done tomorrow and post a few. tbh i'm just glad it is now over there with the other shell so can do a bit with them.

SMILER258

Yeah. What you doing with the bent shell?

tonysierra4x4

plan is to get them on spits ready for bead blasting so will have a better idea of damage to inner wing once filler taken away. i think it is only on the front part so shouldn't be too bad, hopefully. will have to deal with whatever shows up aswell. i am not expecting too much but having said that they're both 25yrs+ and fords so nothing will come as a big surprise. i am still considering going down the same route as chris.

SMILER258

Ah right, sounds like a plan. And what route, the rally one I think that would be a good choice

tonysierra4x4

that's the one nathan. the more i look at the pics he has the more i can see the reason why he chose it. wouldn't go exactly the same but i am drawn to the colin mccrae version.

SMILER258

Go for it! That sounds like a plan! I reckon it would look mint

tonysierra4x4

just means looking for more parts. spent long enough getting complete interior etc for standard 3dr. if i go that route it will mean looking for cage, seats, harnesses etc. i have till the shells are resprayed to decide as either way they will both be white (frozen) except mirrors, vents and bodykit etc on mine would have to be in blue. we shall see.

tonysierra4x4

well i always thought things weren't as easy as originally planned with this resto. removed headlight bezel to take a better look at damage and it is alot worse than previously thought. seems i need to change a lot more than i had thought. once the headlight surround had been removed i noticed some paint bubbling so inspected a little closer. a lot of rust found on wing, inner wing, slam panel and bumper fixing bracket. easiest way is to replace the lot with new panels so looks like my grinder is about to work a little overtime.
couple of pics of damage, but nothing unusual for a ford of this age.
note the dents and ripples on inner wing on pics 3 and 4. this shell has a shunt at some point in its life. the wing has been replaced at some point. can't say i noticed before but then never realy looked at this shell till it came into w/shop.
seems strange both shells we are doing have had a shunt in the same place.











i think the hunt for parts had better begin.
the drivers side is very good so i suppose it could have been worse.

SMILER258

I would strip the xr shell you have outside for the inner wing and bits and do what is done on this thread.

http://noskooljustcool.proboards.com...ead=567&page=5

tjRS500

Mines was way worse behind the headlight, not that bad

tonysierra4x4

looked through that thread. very interesting and excellent resto.

tonysierra4x4

i've seen a lot worse myself. hoping for better as time to spend on it, or the lack of it. is an issue for me.

Kezmo

Nice project!

Where do you guys find the body plastic?
I am wondering as im trying to build a replica 3 door.

SMILER258

I imagine motomobil will sell them. Or ebay.

tonysierra4x4

finally managed to finish welding and painting spits. had to try them out. now i can call the blaster in and get these shells back to bare metal and respray them. moonstone shell is better than i thought underneath but still depends what blasting shows up. still got to fab up another spit and dolly's but should be able to move on with one of the shells.









arranged someone to powdercoat parts from donor car about 2 miles from workshop so should make that easier aswell. finally feel like project moving although time, or the lack of it, is the main issue for both me and chris.

chriscosworth

Does any one have any idea how much at the least i could go cossie running gear in this. Would it be cheaper to buy parts seperately or try finding a complete car with rotten shell. Anyone know what other engine, Ford or otherwise, would give decent power and reliability. Don't fancy putting wrong choice of engine in just to do it all over again.
Thanks for all your comments recently, I don't come on here too often.

gjh

My guess would maybe get an accident damaged car and swap everything over, have a look with RS clasics or Paul of Morth Yorkshire RS spares, as for your engine question, how much do you weant to spend? And whats the cars use? Depends on those 2 really, I'd try and stick with a YB though.

rs clint

where you getting decals from m8

tonysierra4x4

ebay seller

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3502538607...84.m1438.l2649

5th pic. reasonable price and i have spoke to a few that have had them from here and they are all very happy with them.

tonysierra4x4

the cosworth tax makes everything expensive. with 2 to get done it is stupid money. when looking at other similar spec engines the price is around 50%. not sure wether to put both as road legal track cars.

SMILER258

Have you ever thought of finding aa 205 cosworth head/heads and mating them to pinto bottom ends if it's possible? they can be picked up cheap on ebay? Just cant be tuned silly like 200 blocks

tonysierra4x4

i have a few different ideas, just hate the thought of paying out good money on what i consider overpriced parts. realy need to make a decision before too long as time is moving on quickly.

PAUL S

iTrader: (8)

If you want to go the cosworth route then find yourself a rotten 2 litre 4x4 sierra as that will supply all the running gear cheaply, you just need to change the clutch release arm and pin to suit a YB then the only cosworth tax will be engine etc and front hubs.

tonysierra4x4

thanks, good idea. need to put some serious thought into how i am going about it.

tonysierra4x4

well me and chris have been discussing the cars and have decided that one will be fitted with a volvo t5 converted to run rwd. i know that will upset some ford fans but the cost is a lot less and i have never hidden the fact the 2.3 t5 is my favourite engine, (by far).
with the 3dr cossie being my favourite looking car and the t5 my favourite engine i think combining the 2, or atleast giving it my best shot, should produce the car i always wanted.
on another note, i have finally found a retired paint sprayer/body technician, who ran his own business for many years, and he has agreed to restore the bodywork on both shells including prep, any welding and of course the final respray. luckily he is also quite happy to do this in my workshop so no transporting shells anywhere.

gjh

Sounds very interesting. Should make one hell of a car.

tonysierra4x4

hopefully will be. well that's one reply agreeing. i am expecting a lot of posts disagreeing with decision so could this be the calm before the storm?

SMILER258

Nah. People are putting better engines in all the time. Cant see why they would whine when they probably see your logic. I do anyway

cossietim

loving the progress and the dollies< top man

tonysierra4x4

cheers nathan, just means more messing about and more mods needed but i will give it a good go.
having someone who can deal with the bodywork will be a great help and once the shells are resprayed i can get on with the mechanics.

tonysierra4x4

still need to use sierra rear beam and suspension, brakes, axle etc plus front cross member, brakes and suspension. i have some koni shocks for standard sierra plus 2 x 2.0 dohc sierra's complete. should i use the parts off these or am i better off using cossie 2 or 4wd parts. any thoughts on this?
would standard diffs (2.0) take the power. expecting around 320 / 340 bhp.

SMILER258

The estate rear end does not fit the normal sierra btw.

botters

iTrader: (2)

my 4x4 3 door had no half moon cut outs and its original tunnel it only needed carefull re shaping around the transfer box and was fine it even used a 4x4 gearbox mount that had the left and right sides of it cut off and swopped

IainRS1700T

Looking forward to seeing how the volvo motor slots in. Will make a nice conversion.
What gearbox will that use?
Good luck with the project.
Iain

tonysierra4x4

the info i have got so far is engine is basically pre '98 2.3 t5 with later model inlet and exhaust manifolds and also the engine loom and ecu as the distributor will foul bulkhead so coil packs needed. a volvo 960 gearbox will bolt straight on and utilise a t5r single mass flywheel. the sump and oil pick up pipe will be off a 960 6 cylinder engine with basically one cylinder cut out and welded to fit. the 960 is 6 cylinder and t5 is obviously 5. fuel rails and throttle bodies will also be modified to suit. a 19t turbo fitted and de-cat exhaust, coupled with remap should produce upto 340bhp and the torque should also be very good. i have bought a complete 960 already as they are the parts that seem hard to find. i will ofcourse have to make engine and gearbox mounts to suit and convert the 2 props as it will still be cosworth rear end.

tonysierra4x4

cheers nathan,
will bear that in mind.

IainRS1700T

Sounds good.
How does a manual 960 box perform? I can't imagine it to be a slick cog swapper somehow!
Is it cable clutch or hydraulic?
Cheers
Iain

tonysierra4x4

the box isn't the greatest i have tried but will give it a go. it has pretty good ratio's and clutch is cable not hydraulic. there is the option of using a cossie t5 gearbox as there is a firm who make the sandwich plate to fit them to a volvo t5 engine. less work modifying the mounts and prop and speedo would read correctly are on the plus side. i will make that decision closer to the time.