Section III Preparation of Donor parts

So you have a garage full of old and dirty heavy bits from a Sierra, where do you start ! Due to the popularity of the 2B your kit delivery may be some months away so you have ample time to get going on restoration of the major items. When the kit finally arrives you can get on with the build ASAP.

How much time and effort you put into the restoration is entirely up to you. For some a good external clean is sufficient but for most builders, only the full works will do. The following methods are to some extent a counsel of excellence and you must pick your own level, it is after all your car to do as you wish. The section is broken down into sub sections dealing with each major part. When it comes to mechanical stripping and rebuilds use the HAYNES manual. It is all in there in great detail.

As a start fully strip down to the basic units and have them all shot blasted. This really is worth the £40.00 or so cost. Check all items for cracks, rust and damage. Repair or replace. Give all parts at least a coat of Hammerite Red Oxide. Shot blasted steel parts will start to rust overnight. The Sierra Pedal Box is prone to cracking, check this out and either discard or have the crack welded. For safety I would go for the former and get a new one.

Notes:-

Do not paint precision mating surfaces.

Run a tap through holes as required to remove paint or rust etc.

During re assembly use new Ford bolts particularly on highly stressed areas. Refer to Haynes eg. Flywheel etc.

Tighten to the Haynes recommended torque.

Use Nylock nuts and Loctite Nutlock or Screwlock. NB Keep it off the Nylon inserts.

Stage Labels:-

During the course of your build there will be occasions when work cannot be completed. Tie on a large numbered Luggage Label with a note as to the work required. Usually fully tighten a nut, etc. Enter the number into your PC and as the work is fully completed remove the label and delete from the PC.

1) Engine

Cover up all holes, de grease and powerwash.

Remove all ancillary items, Distributor, Alternator, Starter, Carbs and Manifolds etc.

Place these aside as units c/w the brackets, nuts, pipes etc.

If you have a camera, good high quality close up photographs are worth taking.

Split the Gearbox from the Engine.

Remove the Clutch and Flywheel assembly

Remove the Belt cover and strip off all the front end Toothed Pulleys etc.

Mount the engine on the Engine Stand (if you have one)

Drain the oil and remove the sump. (It will need to be reduced in depth)

Remove the Cylinder Head and place to one side, cover to prevent ingress of dirt etc.

You should now have a virtually bare bottom end.

Check the core plugs for leaks and replace as required.

If you do remove any plugs it is a good idea to wash out the waterways, either use a chemical cleaner or a power washer.

At this stage you will need to inspect the bores and crank for wear and from your limited road use decide if you

are going to re fit the engine as is or do a full bottom end rebuild. See Links Page.

Complete the cleaning, dress up the casting as required and give a coat of Engine Lacquer.

Fully wrap up to prevent ingress of dust etc. and place aside.

You can now turn your attention to the Cylinder Head and all the Ancillary items.

These can be cleaned up and either replaced with an exchange item or full overhauled.

This applies mainly to the Starter Motor, Alternator, Distributor and the Fuel Pump.

Other items such as Engine Mounts, Pulleys, Brackets and Manifolds can be degreased,

wire brushed and fettled up to the required standards of excellence.

Consider the fitting of a reduced height sump and fit as this soon as possible to keep dirt out of the sump area.

During rebuild replace all bottom end oil seals.

When fitting a new Clutch Assy a Pressure Plate Alignment Tool is essential. This tool is THE ONLY WAY to ensure that the splines on the plate line up 100% with the needle roller bearing in the back end of the Crankshaft.

Since the plate is very firmly clamped in position it will not move during assembly so it must be correctly aligned for the

gearbox input shaft to pass through and into the needle bearing. All that is needed is a slight rotation of the output shaft, with the box in gear. See Haynes manual.

2) Cylinder Head

This is the power house of any motor and a full rebuild and tune to whatever level is advised. Again follow the Haynes manual and other books such as " How to Power Tune FORD SOHC Pinto and Sierra Cosworth DOHC Engines " by Des Hammill Speed Pro series etc. In depth information on Gas Flowing etc. is in this book. A must is new valve stem oil seals unless the engine is in VGC.

3) Gearbox

Any attempt to overhaul a gearbox is probably a waste of time and money. If you have a faulty box replace it from another car.

All that is required is to fully clean and paint if required. Alloy parts are best left in the as cast state.

A 90 degs 1:1 exit gearbox for the Speedo cable should be considered circa £50.00 !!

When fitting the Gearbox to the Engine see notes above re Alignment Tool.

The standard Sierra Gear Lever does need to be shortened. Some notes on various methods are on the RHOC&R site.

I wanted to keep the vibration damper so the following method was adopted:-

This operation should ONLY be carried out by a Skilled Lathe Operator who knows what he is doing. Be warned.

Remove the Gear knob and grip the last 2" of the threaded end of the lever in a lathe. Turn down the end of lever to 10mm dia x 1" long and Screwcut M10 x 7/8" long. Chamfer the thread and part off, thus reducing the o/a length of the lever by 2 1/2". This is potentially a very dangerous operation as the Gear Lever assembly sticks well out of the chuck, is very off centre, off balance and cannot use a tailstock centre. RUN THE LATHE AT A VERY SLOW SPEED and keep hands and clothing well clear at all times. Before cutting make sure the assembly will rotate freely and the cutters can be got to the work piece. When Parting Off use an angled tool to leave no pip on the lever end and take care as it falls off. !! (Keep Clear)

Note :- Where possible all Fasteners (Nuts, Bolts & Washers) have been replaced by Stainless Steel Grade A2 these were obtained from GTC Direct. This does not apply to Flywheel Bolts, Cylinder Head Bolts or any application requiring high strength. Use 8.8 ton tensile. Usually stamped on the bolt head. Stainless Steel is not recommended for any Suspension or Safety Critical Parts or bolts specific to the Sierra etc.

Excel Spreadsheet of fasteners required for an Engine Rebuild (Sierra Pinto only) (Zipped File requires WinZip to open)

Printable List of fasteners required for an Engine Rebuild (Sierra Pinto only)

4) Front Hubs and Disc Assembly.

Strip off the McPherson struts and discard (Coil Over Version) Remove the Discs and Brake Gear.

Sand blast the Hub Assy u/coat and gloss as required. See also the Electrolytic Rust Removal Method by Ted Kinsey (Boys in Hoods Pg. 34 Spring 2006)

Do not attempt to overhaul the Brake Cylinders. Replace with new Disc Pads and Cylinders.

Check the Discs for run out, cracks etc. as per Haynes. Do not shot blast the Disc faces. File down the outer edges to general disc thickness.

Check the wheel bearings and replace if there is any sign of roughness etc. Some builders may wish to fully overhaul these, refer to Haynes.

Unless there is a problem they are best left alone. In any case the Hub nuts are easier to remove with the hubs on the car.

5) Rear Axle and Differential Assembly

Depending on which method was used in the strip down you will either have a fully complete Sierra rear end or a pile of bits.

Strip down to the following level:- Note any shims on the Differential mountings. These MAY be to correct any errors in the original Sierra body.

Rear Tubular Sub Frame, Differential, Swinging Arms (2), Half Shafts (2), Drums (2), and Brake Back Plates (2)

Fully strip the brake back plates and discard most items i.e. Springs, Shoes, Cylinders, Inspection Covers etc. Keep the Handbrake mechanism levers.

All the above items, with the exception of the Differential should be sand blasted and painted. Do not sand blast the Differential due to the danger of sand getting in.

The Differential will clean up well with a wire brush and elbow grease. It can be painted or left in the original Alloy as cast finish. It is sound policy to replace the Diff oil seals, see Haynes. Remove the Oil filler and fully drain off. It cannot be done once the diff is back in the car as there is no drain plug. The filler plug is Magnetic and a close inspection will reveal the condition of the gears to some degree. If large bits of teeth are stuck to the magnet, discard the diff. A small deposit of a smooth light grey paste is normal. Fit a new filler plug but do NOT fill with Oil yet.

Inspect the Half Shafts for damage to the rubber gaiters, a crack is an MOT failure. Either replace the entire unit or attempt a repair as per Haynes.

These parts can all be placed to one side prior to re-assembly. See note in the Section XXIII Wheels, Tyres and Mudguards section regarding Back Axle Ratio's.

For those with deep pockets and perhaps a lack of time there are a number of companies prepared to supply fully overhauled units. Try Ellistons Kitparts and Kitfit. they usually have a stand at the bigger Kit Car shows.

This completes the overhaul of the major items, other items can be cleaned up and painted as the build proceeds. Some items may need replacement. There is little point in producing a superb Alternator to find out it is a dud !!

Go to Section IV

Back to Home Page

© Colin Usher 2007