Just Bought! (with Pics)

[Guest lewis]

hi all i have finally found a donor car! its a sierra 1990 1.6 classic ONE OWNER since new! 44k miles and garaged all its life and i managed to get it for £100! quite happy to say the least.

 

 

 

 

 

 

a few questions where the hell do i start!!

if i keep it on the age related plate would it be tax exempt after 25 years old?

also i was set on the idea of using another engine zetec 1.8/2.0l ect but with this engine only covering 44k it seems a shame to throw it away but would i be dissapointed with it? can you tune them? is it worth it? ect what do you guys think any thoughts ideas ect would be great also the rear brakes are drums,do i need to change the complete lower swing arm to convert to disc brakes? many thanks,lewis. oh im hoping to build a zero it would prob help if i told you that ;-)

Edited March 5, 2009 by lewis

[Guest Techmage]

Must be pre 1973 to have Historic tax. As for change to rear disc's, the drums are more than enough for the rear of the Sierra infact most have a compensator to stop the rear end being over braked, so they will be more than enough for the rear of a car weighing loads less. If change is for looks ( and I agree discs do look better) aswell as the disks and calipers you will need drive shafts.

 

You will need to use the engine you have if you want to keep the registration number, unless you can convince the DVLA that the Sierra has had an engine replacement/conversion, in other words 'convert' the Sierra first so it's V5 says it has the engine you want to use in the kit.

[ozz]

Hi Lewis,

 

I did a bit of research a while back on the tax exempt status and discovered that this relies upon date of build and for our purposed the date of build will be deemed to be the date of SVA so the short answer is no you will not get tax exempt status.

 

As far as the engine is concerned I suppose it depends on what type of engine it is if is a 1.6 pinto then look at burton power web site they have some guides to tuning most ford engines. If its a CVH then the exhaust will be on the right side for a later zetec swap.

 

If you go for a zero you won't need the swing arms at all as it comes with double wish bones you will keep the diff, drive shafts and brake drums. These can be removed without dismantling the sierra suspension. If you decide on a 2b I think you need to keep the sierra suspension (but I don't know someone else will tell you)

 

The rear uprights that come with the kit do both drums (in a different orientation from the sierra) and so a disc conversion should be a case of sourcing the rear callipers and discs.

 

As for where to start - you have started in the right place with this site but I suggest getting 2 books - the haynes manual for the sierra which will give details of how to strip it and How to build a sports car on a budget by Chris Gibbs (its not about a Robin Hood but has some excellent tips and is a constant reference for me at the moment).

 

Keep as much sierra as you can, Clean and paint everything that comes off NOW there's nothing worse I've found than having to put off building while paint dries or you scrape 20 years of cr*p off a part.

 

If that shell is rust free I bet one of the cosworth boys will pay better than scrap value for it.

 

Andrew

[Guest shaggy]

I'd keep the car on the road and use it as a daily runaround for about 4 years - THEN strip it down for your kit. I suspect also that you will be happy with the 1.6 for about 2 weeks after build then be wishing you'd got a 2.0 litre for the donor.

 

Si

[Guest lewis]

I'd keep the car on the road and use it as a daily runaround for about 4 years - THEN strip it down for your kit. I suspect also that you will be happy with the 1.6 for about 2 weeks after build then be wishing you'd got a 2.0 litre for the donor.

 

Si

 

thats what i was thinking its going to be a long term project so i have plenty of time to think about it

[Guest lewis]

thanks guys i also bought a copy of the haynes manual from flea-bay to make life eaiser and will look out for that other book you mentioned ozz,so whats the score with replacing the engine after the sva?? can you put whatever you want in after the car has passed the test and your on the road still keeping the donor plate?

 

if i did want to do a engine swap is it just a case of filling in the logbook telling the dvla new engine number and engine size if different or do you have to show physical evidence that you had it in the donor car.

 

whats the big deal with keeping a age related plate if there is no tax exempt benefits?it seems like alot of f&*$%ng around just to keep it, why not just put whatever you want in and go on a q plate just a little confused why.

 

thanks for the replys by the way im learning so much about my soon to be new hobbie!!

[Guest john]

If you're not going to use the engine, or the rear end, it sure seems a shame to break up a nice runaround. And you will get a Q plate if you don't have 3 major items from one donor.

[Guest lewis]

the cars mot has run out and is not worth throwing any money at it the guy had it for sale then the mot was current and had no interest in it so i think he was quite glad i took it off his hands .

 

what do the dvla class as 3 major items apart from engine/gearbox?

[Guest bakerstreet]

whats the big deal with keeping a age related plate if there is no tax exempt benefits?it seems like alot of f&*$%ng around just to keep it, why not just put whatever you want in and go on a q plate just a little confused why.

 

thanks for the replys by the way im learning so much about my soon to be new hobbie!!

 

Apparently, the Q plate affects the value of the car when you come to sell it.

 

Best of luck with your project. Ive got to sell my bike, then I will be sierra hunting

 

Hello everybody

[agent_zed]

i also believe that you can't change a Q plate for a private plate. So you are stuck with it, not too much of a problem i guess.

[Guest salty_monk]

You need to "change" the engine in the Sierra before cutting it up for the kit. Does seem a shame to cut up a good one.. you'd be better off with a 2l to start, you'll want one soon enough & more!!

 

The Change can be paperwork only but you should at least dump it in the engine bay & take a few pictures making it look like it was connected in case they ask....

[Mat-Moo]

I don't think I'd want to break that up, it looks too good!

[Guest lewis]

I don't think I'd want to break that up, it looks too good!

 

open to offers! lol at least the parts im pulling off should be sound

[Bob Tucker]

Just to clarify....you wont get the donors registration no....unless you keep it as a cherished number & pay DVLA for the priveledge.

they will grant you an unissued number from the same year or a Q plate depending on how much you use

....or claim to have used....gearbox, brakes, rear axle, steering components, suspension parts do not have any identification numbers.

Bob

[ibrooks]

Tax exemption is based on the date of manufacture and not the date of registration (they can be very different and in your car's case they are). There are specific rules written into the registering of kit cars and kit conversions to prevent them attracting tax exempt status whether they've used a pre'73 donor or not. Tax exemption used to roll and when a car hit 25 it became exempt but that was stopped some years ago (1998 hence pre '73 cars are still exempt - they were already exempt and the government didn't dare try to make them pay tax again). The decision was made to stop the exemption after August so the first few L-reg cars had started becoming exempt but they didn't want to wait until the following August to end the exemption so the line is drawn at new-year (means there are L-reg cars that are exempt and L-reg cars that aren't). Some kits have been registered with old donors and managed to get exemption but it's unlikeley any more will manage it.

 

Your Sierra is older than 1990 it's an older spec - it's been kicking round in a dealers somewhere un-registered until 1990. No real use to you but extra info.

 

Q-plates are to be avoided if possible. They confuse the hell out of the men from the ministry because they can't easily tell the age of the car from it - they are bad enough when it's all nice and obvious but give them an excuse and everything will just go wrong even faster. As others have said - once it gets a Q it can never have anything else (some like them but some hate them). My GTM has a Q and I wish I could get rid of it for an age related plate either of the donor parts or of the manufacture of the kit. If you use a mish-mash of parts you might end up with a manufacture date of the date of the test - problem with that is that you'll have to meet the emissions standards in place on that date (including the requirement for a catalytic convertor). If you use all the parts from the Sierra then you'll get a G-plate on your kit and "only" have to meet 1990 emissions standards.

 

Changing an engine is only a paperwork exercise until it comes to SVA/IVA. Normally you just have to send the docs off with the new engine number and capacity (and inform your insurers and comply with the construction and use regulations). However part of the kit car registration process involves proving where all the parts came from - testers aren't stupid (despite all their attempts at proving the opposite) and if they see an engine that wasn't fitted to cars until 2000 in a car that you are claiming was built from parts of a 1990 car they are bound to start asking more questions. Even worse when they see an engine with Vauxhall or Rover written on it in a car "built from a Ford Sierra donor". If the engine has been in the donor car and running then they will often let this slide and allow it to be counted as a part from the donor car.

 

My advice would be to build it with the bits you have and change the engine later if you want more power. It's easy at that point (just the paperwork) and the car still only has to comply with the emissions standards that go with it's registration date. Discs are OTT on the rear of a Seven so using your donor's rear axle complete shouldn't be a problem but again it's easy to swap them about afterwards. Either way using the parts from that Sierra keeps the costs down and doesn't set anything in stone.

 

Iain