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Escort Cabriolet Club

iansoutham

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Posts posted by iansoutham

  1. I would double check this one if I were you guys. Steve over on Passionford has been in contact with Future Publishing, etc.... and after long, heated discussions, they are only relaxing the pre 1990 rules for the Sierra models as they finished in 1992 and all pretty much all Sierra models are now classed as classics. Originally, they were going to be very strict on the 1990 cutoff. So, technically, any MK5 onwards Escorts will be turned away. All according to the info he has been given about a week ago as the Passionford Event organiser.

  2. Aye, will definitely be as I did not attend ANY shows last year. The cabby only moved 3 miles in a year, the 2000e less than 200 and my 4x4 Saff only did about 1k.

     

    Am booking various hotel rooms now as I type for some of the shows I know I will be attending.

  3. There is a pre and post 1989 spec. The horizontal bracket is placed slightly different on the late ones.

     

    The backing reinforcement plate is identical though.

     

    You can still buy the pre 1989-spec ones from Ford IIRC, but the later ones are NLA.

  4. You are aware that the vacuum pipe should ACTUALLY be loose when the engine is off and should almost fall out. IT is the vacuum of the engine that holds it in place.

     

    By using the silicon sealant, you have effectively stopped this process and most likely added the air leak, most likely due to the silicone not being completely airtight

  5. how many coils should i cut

     

    Jeez, just buy a PROPER set of springs and shocks.

     

    IF you cut a standard spring down to a 60mm drop you will be running on the shock absorber stops, have no usable suspension and in the event of an accident you WILL NOT be insured if they deem it related. Trust me, I work in the car insurance repair business and deal with engineers on things like this almost every week.

     

    Also, if VOSA think the car is too low, they CAN and WILL stop you at the side of the road on a spot-check and WILL have the police PG9 your car, plus the fine, plus the 6 points for non-disclosure on insurance, etc....

     

    A set of -60mm springs can be found cheap enough, and a set of shocks are not much more.

     

    Yes, you would get away with 1 coil chopped off a standard non-pigtail spring as they can drop that much when a spring breaks and people do not notice, but that would about it (and no, I am not condoning it).

     

    Also, if cutting the springs, are you using a hot or cold cut? If cold cut, are you using liquid heat dissipation? How are you adjusting the cut end of the coil back to original specification and shape? Programmes like OverHaulin' (which I am sure someone will mention), show a 1960s road spring being cut, but do not show you what THEY do afterwards to make it safe again.

  6. i wont be cutting springs on customers cars only mine

     

    Lead by example, not "Do as I say, not as I do" as your way sounds.

     

    I would (and do) only ever fit things to peoples cars that I would be happy to fit to my own, and to the same standard.

     

    The last time I saw a car with springs chopped, I jacked the car up for the owner and took the front spring out from the shock absorber in situ (just wound it out from the shock inner) and handed it to them. The person who did the job initially had tried to cable-tie the springs to the shock seat but they had snapped off due to the spring being too low. The shocks had bottomed out and put a dent in the bottom of the shock body on the nsf one as well, plus they were knackered due to the oil having leaked out a long time before.

     

    If you need to guide a spring into the shock seat, then it IS an MOT failure and is dangerous as if the wheel should leave the ground (big speedbump for example) then the spring could potentially dislodge and cause an accident.

     

    If you want to lower less than 30mm then put a proper set of springs on, if you want to go lower, get a matched set of shocks and springs.

  7. If the car is a pre 88 model the fuel gauge is on the right, if it is a post 88 model the temp gauge is on the right and the fuel gauge will stay in place with the ignition off.

     

    Some people think that the post 88 ones are EFI ones, but they were around before the EFI models.

     

    You can swap the 2 types, but you need the appropriate sender to go with it.

  8. i have a mk3 and you cant adjust the windows at all on these.

     

    Yes you can. You take the doorcards off and there are 2 10mm bolts in concentric washers which you move to adjust the glassat the front and back edges. If you do it with the glass all the way up, they will not move. You need to lower the glass slightly and then adjust, move the window and check. It is a bit of trial and error, but that is how you do it.

  9. Either way you know 14's wont fit so get some 15's. Those look like series 2 rs turbo calipers and disks which are 260mm. rs turbos came with 15 inch alloy as standard if i remember right.

     

    14" wheels fit over RS Turbo brakes as Sierra and Granada DOHC and V6 models had 260mm calipers and discs as well whilst running 14" alloys.

     

    I have checked a spare pair of 4x4 Cosworth calipers I have and they look identical. Would definitely check the disc diameter and I bet they are 283mm.

  10. As above, the load rating is fine for the car, along with the tyre size. However, the same load rating should be on all tyres per axle. By that I mean, the fronts can be one rating and the rears another, but you cannot have different ratings on the same end of the car. So, all you actually need to do is change one of the rear tyres to match the other and you should be fine.

     

    Also, from my experience with these tyre sizes, an "extra load" tyre will be beneficial to you in that it will reinforce the sidewall, making the steering slightly more responsive and should also help to absorb some of the impact from bumps in the road from damaging your alloys to a degree.

  11. Look around the wiper linkage area. Normally, the speedo cable grommet perishes or falls through, causing the noise to travel through,

     

    Diesel versions should also have a black sound-deadening material on the engine-side bulkhead to prevent this exact issue.

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