iansoutham

The Ghia model on a MK4 came with 13" steel wheels and XR2-style wheel trims, grey velour Ghia-spec fabric, black bumpers, black mirrors, manual everything except the front windows which were electric. Any info you want, let me know as I have one of these sitting in the garage. It is slightly modified (GTi alloys, bigger brakes and painted bumpers) but everything done to it is something which can be put back to factory if needed.

If it is on a classic policy then the chances are that you have an agreed value in place as well. If so, you can get it repaired up to that value, minus any excess (not applicable in this case). You also need to remember that some insurance companies will not cover a vehicle which has been previously written off, plus the vehicle will only be worth trade money from that point as well, unless agreed with an insurance underwriter upon policy inception.

Not local to me then, I'm in Kent/SE London. I will sort out the details of a friend who lives near Bolton who may be able to post a set of calipers up to you. He breaks Sierra, Granada and other later Fords.

Also, just re-read one of my posts above and realised I put a typo on the wheel cylinder size. I put 19mm, which is the standard size for 1986 onwards models, what I meant to put was that you need 17.8mm diameter wheel cylinders as they were the ones on the 1983-1985 models with smaller rear drums, which work well with the front brake mod.

Just ask for a set off of a post 1990 Sierra, either with discs front and rear, V6 or ABS models. This includes Granada 1985-1994 models as well. As said though, make sure you get the carrier bracket that the pads go in as well as the 240mm one is too small. Whereabouts are you as I may be able to help you out with a set or locate some for you.

Yes, as long as the calipers and brackets (the bit the pads sit in) are for 260mm discs, then it is a simple bolt-together job. I have exactly the same parts on my cab ATM. Going for 283mm discs, you have to go for 15" wheels and sometimes the clearance can be a little close. On one of my other cars, I run 283mm discs and I have to be careful where I put any balancing weights as they are so close to the caliper, they can touch slightly. That is obviously a bad thing. The other thing with the 283mm conversion is that, if you run the Hi-Spec adapter kit (around £50 from Hi-Spec in Dartford, Kent), you still use the 260mm calipers and pads, but 283mm discs, but you need to shave a small section of the caliper carrier bracket back to allow clearance for the discs as they will expand slightly when they get hot (about 2-3mm in my experience), and you will need to tap out the lower hub mounting hole to take an M12 bolt. If using 4wd Cosworth and Scorpio 24V calipers, you bolt it together as per the 260mm caliper, but you need a 1mm washer on each bolt for spacing to centralise, you need the more expensive Cosworth pads as they are slightly larger in diameter and there are early and later calipers, M10 bolt fixing and M12 bolt fixing. They changed in 1992 and are not compatible with each other. In my experience, the 283mm conversion is better in the dry to a degree, but can be a nightmare in the wet as you can simply lock the front wheels up with ease if you are not careful, and that is with decent quality tyres.

Okay, my 2 pence on this one. Your car, as you correctly says, runs on a vacuum pump on the end of the engine cylinder head. The pump is operated by a cam with a pushrod. This pushrod does wear down over time, causing a lack of vacuum pressure within the pump. So, firstly, I would check the pump vacuum level to make sure it is getting pressure. Second, if the pump is working to full effect, then I would look at upgrading the front discs and pads to 260mm and calipers. On this engine, this spec on the front will be more than enough. The calipers can be found on most Sierra models with ABS, including V6, and all Granada models from 1985 onwards utilising either ABS or V6 engines. Discs can be sourced from either a 1986 onwards RS Turbo Escort or Sierra 2WD with ABS. These will fit behind the standard 14" wheels as well. On the rear, fit the larger rear drums if not already done (small ones have a built-in hub and drum, larger ones have a screw separating both pieces). Fit a MK3 rear wheel cylinder with an internal bore of 19mm. If you really want to add some pressure to the brakes, also fit the 24mm master cylinder assembly. I used to run an 1800 diesel Orion with 7" by 15" Cosworth alloys and Pirelli Drago tyres and I could lock the front wheels up with not a lot of bother if I stood on the brakes hard enough, all with the above setup.

I'm with Peter D James for our one. 2 people, aged 32, no no-claims bonus used, unlimited mileage, valued @ £4,500 by the insurance company and we pay £142 for the year with all modification delclared on like-for-like replacement and salvage retention in the event of a total-loss. Any repairs to be done @ a garage of my choice and with only genuine parts fitted unless I agree otherwise.

I suspect you have put the tiebars on the wrong way round. They should bow to the inside, and I think you have put them the other way so that they bow outwards.

What is happening with your light is correct for the vehicle. In 1986, EU legislation determined that, when the engine is running, vehicles should not be driven with only side lights on. For this purpose, the headlights will come on dim (they basically wire in series through each other). When the lights are put on "dip" mode, they work as normal. IF the ignition is off, the sidelights only will illuminate. IF you want to remove this feature, at the back right hand corner of the fusebox in the engine bay is a set of 3 small 10A relays. Remove the small blue one (if I remember correctly) and the lights should work as normal.

The ECU is behind the centre console on the bulkhead under the heater unit and is hidden by a piece of felt-backed plastic covering. I would check the CO potentiometer (in engine bay next to suspension turret). These have a habit of breaking down over the years and can put the mixture excessively out, causing the engine to run lean or rich. To test, remove the potentiometer and, using a multimeter set to ohms, connect the middle and one outer pin and check the reading given. Now, using a small flat-head screwdriver, slowly and gently turn the potentiometer screw one way and see if the value smoothly changes. If it does, check the middle and the other outer pins and do the same. If it does not (which I suspect), then you need a new CO potentiometer (about £25 from Ford) and, once fitted, you will need to get the CO reset using a gas analyser (MOT station should do this for a drink).

These carbs are quite hard to get hold of, but were also used on XR2 models. Have you checked the CO on idle using a proper gas analyser? I have one of these with the Webber carb fitted and I run the CO around 1.8-2.0%. As said, the baseplate gasket can perish with age. Spray the area with WD40 or a water sprayer when the engine is running and see if the revs change automatically. If they do, then you have an air leak. If not, you need to check elsewhere. Has the car sat for a long period of time? If so, are all the jets in the carb clean and not gummed up with waxed fuel remains? You should have a water-based choke system on your carb. Mark the outer choke casing so that it can be put back in the same place and remove the unit. Gently heat the choke unit externally and see if the bi-metallic strip inside moves. If it does not, or if it does not move the lever enough in comparison to the strip, then you may need a replacement choke unit. These can be found and are not as hard to get as you may think. If it does move and moves freely, then replace the choke unit and move it a few mm to one way of the mark and try it the next day. See if it starts better or worse. If it is better, move it a little more and try again. Do this until you either get a good starting point, or the quality gets worse. If it is worse straight away, move it the same amount to the other side of the mark and repeat the above. Try this again once warm, and at other times, for example, night time, wet evening, etc... to cover most eventualities. You may find that once the weather changes, you need to slightly alter the adjustment to compensate.

Some more new parts..... Some radiator hoses, flywheel ring gear and the parts for an uprated oil pump Nice thick hose should last for a couple of years And just to make sure And some parts back from refurbishing

44k on the clock. The true test of the water pump will be when it has to work, and it had better work or else. No more updates @ the minute due to other things going on but am hoping to get some more done posibly next week once I order a modified oil pump kit and a couple of other little odds and sods.

You mean like this?

Well the cylinder head is in the motor ready to go for blasting and machining tomorrow, so I should get that back in due course. The engine block itself should be getting "faced" this coming week and then, once the bores have been honed, that will be getting painted up. Some odd bits will need to be ordered in the meantime, but they will be mainly external pieces so will not hold up the main assembly too much. All the gaskets have been sorted out and the inlet ports are going to be expanded out to the size of the 100e manifold gasket to allow better airflow and tapered accordingly.

Clutch is as new Valves are all in very good condition, a bit of carbon build-up but nothing else Valve springs are like new. Not even any carbon marks from being in oil Pistons are as new. They even have the bedding-in marks on them still. What is even better is that they are 4-ring ones, not the 3-ring ones. Conrods look the same Inside the almost bare block Only bit I am having trouble removing at this stage is the locating peg which holds the oil pump drive to the camshaft. This needs removing to remove the cam. It appears to be stuck in place. Most likely will be a bit of light oxy-acetalene to assist removal Bear in mind that all the bits above have been photographed EXACTLY as they have come out the engine, no cleanup at all. IT is staggering how good the condition is. Next is to face the block, hone the bores, remove 1mm (60 thou) from the cylinder head and start to reassemble once the block and head are painted.

Update time, it looks like my luck is even better than I thought............. Water pump that was originally seized is now moving again, and able to pump water Timing chain appears to be as new, certainly with no disclocation or distortion The starter motor bendix has had it though. It is almost ready to disintegrate. Either a replacement will be required, or it may be possible to silver-solder it back to a usable condition Lucky the engine was not able to be started, just check the amount of gunk in the sump Crank is underground by 20 thou according to the shells Flywheel is good, but unfortunately the ring gear needs to be changed as it has an incorrect number of teeth for the starter motor bendix. It is close, but then lined up, there is a small discrepancy, hence the damage to the bendix

As per title, another season has come and gone, although to be honest, I felt like mine had finished before Ford Fair with the lack of enthusiasm I have had this year. Still. the weather finally changed for the better so the car went for its MOT yesterday and passed with flying colours so today it got its final treat for the year and has now been put to bed until April.

Even found an original, unopened gallon of 20w50 engine oil that was used in the car when it was on the road

Okay, scary time. It isn't seized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It would also appear that the original conclusion from 1979 that the engine was seized was incorrect. I can only assume that the starter motor must have been seized onto the flywheel slightly as the engine turned over absolutely effortlessly, by pure hand power on the clutch. So, I decided this evening to take the top off and see what the condition really is and I must say, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. There is a little bit of surface corrosion on the bores, but definitely nothing that a simple light hone cannot remove. I sprayed a little bit of WD40 into the bores to help lubricate and hopefully make sure the piston rings are okay. The engine already has +0.20 oversize pistons in it from the factory, so that is covered for the rings, should I need them. Headgasket is still in one condition, but will be replaced as a matter of course Other than 2 studs, all the others came out with no problems, simply removal of the nuts is required. They will be cleaned up and reused

Little bit of an update. As the summer is moving on quickly and the cold, dark nights are well on their way, I figured it was now or never to get the engine out ready for some overhaul. I'll let the pics do most of the talking... Engine out Starter motor Modified oil filler tube to prevent fumes into the cabin Clutch release bearing and gearbox, looking immaculate Clutch looks like new Old dynamo, will be getting changed for an alternator and probably go to an electric fan Exhaust, looking a little bit rusty. Will be getting changed @ some point for a newer, slightly bigger bore to help with what the engine will be getting Old wheels ready to have the tyres removed and get painted up like the others First new wheel fitted to the car How it looks now I could not believe the overall condition of this as I took it apart. EVERY single nut and bolt came undone as if it was a new car, some, even easier. When I disconnected the fuel connections from the fuel pump, fuel came out. Every hose clip came undone, the system still had a lot of water in it. Unbelievable. The only real casualty in this is the water pump. It has seized solid internally, so will need to be removed and see what the condition is and whether or not it can be repaired. I think I may have found the reason for the engine itself being completely seized. The headgasket, from looking through the plugholes appears to have failed whilst standing and has quite possibly caused the piston rings to stick on the bores. Once apart, the true condition can be confirmed. Wish me luck.......

No point tbh. The MK4 diesel alternator fits the other way (same as the XR2 MK2) in that the 2 bolt holes are @ the top, the single one underneath and the adjustment is made by a toothed adjusting arm. If you wanted to go this route and use the MK2 Fiesta/Escort Diesel alternator mounting bracket, you can use the Sierra/Granada DOHC alternator from models with heated windscreens which had a 90A output, but you will need to use a slightly shorter belt and trim a small amount from the anti-roll bar mounting as it will touch when the engine comes off-load. Been there, done that with my old Orion 1.8 Diesel. IMO, your best bet would be to use a 70A alternator from an Escort with heated windscreen (bolt-on terminals), the correct loom for it (which is a simple swap) and make sure that your earth connections are good. I always run an extra 4-gauge connection from the body to the battery and from the the engine to the body/battery as most earth connections are getting old now and can reduce the power. In addition, check your voltage both @ the battery, and @ the alternator output connection itself. Any more than 0.5V drop between the 2 readings means a bad connection somewhere, normally an earth, but try cleaning the + connections as well. I would make sure that the battery is in good condition, i.e. holding a charge, water level on all cells is good with no gassing. My old Orion used to run 2 Rockford amps (50a2, and a 500a4 powering 2 DVC subs), heated windscreen, heated seats, electric windows, plus 2 130w spotlamps, 2 100w headlamps, 2 130w front fog lamps and much more and the only time I had a problem was when I started to get a resistance from the fuselink wire which was by the battery, which was corroding with age. At night in the garage with the bonnet up, it actually used to glow enough to see the outline of the engine itself. All that was on a 70A alternator. The only reason I changed to a 90A from the Sierra is because I had an almost new one sitting in the garage, so seemed a shame to buy another 70A one. As for a battery, I would run an 097 battery. Same size as the Transit diesels, and is perfect for the battery tray size. Another thing to think of is the Granada and Sierra positive terminal adapter. This is a metal plate which bolts to the positive terminal and all the wires connect to that directly, thereby giving the best possible connection, rather than running through lots of ring terminals, all of which can cause resistance.

Hoarding, you ain't seen nothing yet I was going through the workshop about 2 years ago sorting out some old boxes with my old man and we came across a box that, among other things, had a loose key in it with "Storeroom" on the tag. Turns out it was the key to the other access door for the Parts Dept of the Ford Dealership he used to run which was shut down in 1985 to make way for a dual-carriageway. When I asked him about where the latch was that the key fitted, apparently that went with the building, but he kept the key as it may fit something else one day . It went straight in the bin. Now that is hoarding.....