kevin the chicken

Are these the correct bushes for the sierra control arm to anti roll bar. If they are then which way round do they go? top two or bottom two They are nothing like the old ones to look at and nothing like the ones shown in the haynes manual. The new ones have a metal bush that goes through both pieces whereas the old ones had two metal bushes and although they look similar to the ones in the manual I suspect that they may have been in the wrong way round. Surprise surprise I have measured the bushes and although they will fit in either way round a fair bit of rubber will protude out of the ends whichever way they are fitted presumably if they are correct the metal cups would squash them quite tight in the arm. Regards Kevin

Having just visited the dentist again for more replacent fillings due to an oversprung front end I have decided to investigate the fitting of some softer front springs. My first question is how do I identify the springs that are currently fitted? Are they marked in some way or identified by size? Secondly if that is indeed the problem, where is the best place to get the correct replacements from?

My series 7 XE has no plate over the flywheel either and I've never worried about it. Mine was in tatty condition when I bought it not having run for several years and needed a lot of time to get it running properly but I had that it was the money that was in short supply! I had budgeted for either a replacement engine or box but needed neither but did get Dan E to rewire it as the loom was a mess. I paid 2300 for mine but it is fairly basic compared to the one you are looking at but I am very very pleased with it now as it is a good setup with a torquey engine. It sounds like yours has been done properly so you just have to check the logbook and then you can join the series 7 XE club! There are several people with these setups in the club so any questions you have will easily be answered. I am going to run mine this summer and then get the tie bar conversion done on the front suspension and possibly some engine upgrades as at the moment mine was rolling roaded at 153bhp which is plenty but you can never have too much!

If you have a swarm of bees nesting in your chimney dont be tempted to try to smoke them out by lighting a fire (despite what you have read on the internet). The nests are full of wax and paper and are highly flammable. The end result will be loads of firefighters trampling through your house, a pump appliance in your front garden, a turntable ladder in the road next to your house and the whole village wandering or driving past to see what idiots done what. AND ME MISSING MY SUNDAY DINNER AND HAVING NO TIME TO PLAY WITH MY KIT CAR. Just in case anyone was considering it.

Sounds like my old friend the air lock. Probably just getting that bit too hot without the mechanical fan and boiling up in one spot when you turn off. Cured mine by fitting a header tank. No more emptying out on the garage floor or surging out of the top of the radiator and spilling out of the overflow bottle. Just fill up, put the cap on and drive. The mechanical fan will be uneeded most of the time as the electrical fans only cut in when the water temperature in system exceeds a certain level. The mechanical fan does absorb some valuable horsepower too, probably most noticeble in engine pickup. Most people seem to favour a sucker rather than a blower, biggest you can fit on the rad for maximum efficiency when needed. Sort the localised boiling/airlock before looking at changing fans though as that is your primary problem

Mick, you have already sent me a copy of the plans. I am going to leave it until the winter but I just need to put a bush (or pair) in the car to get it back home from father in laws.

It was pointed out to me today by my father-in-law that my front anti roll bar to lower arm mounting bush had collapsed and half had fallen out! Does anybody know what type I need or how to measure up to get the right one. Its a Sierra donor but obviously I know nothing more than that. There are plenty on ebay but I need to order the correct one for once!

Have a google on recommended rim widths for your size of tyre, thats what I did. Sorry I cant remember where the information came from probably the manufacturer. I would expect that your tyres will fit on that size rim as my 195 federals fitted on a 6j rim but you would be best to check for your make of tyres. The ET is not much different to yours but as already posted they may make your fronts interfere with the wings. Thats what I have been up to today, getting my front wings adjusted so that my new wheels fit on. If you need it explaining to you Stuart (the duck) is the man he explained it to me. Basically if you can cope with 3mm different offset one way or another then they will fit. I think mine were 6mm different and I worked out that the front would not fit but the back would. My Father in law has kindly welded in a 5mm circle of tube in to the supports to give me clearance.

Decent and lager. There's two words you don't often see together

A lot less complex than a modern daily driver

Stereo? Quite happy with the mono set up attached to the passenger side of my car thank you.

Just trying to make head or tail out of the instructions (appears I may have been sent the wrong ones!) and I found the original manufacturers website. There may be an answer to catching your petrol thief Gargoil. Also available is a daughter board which just clips in the box which dampens the signal so that fuel sloshing around does not give a false reading. It also has a facility for a low level warning light. There are several tuition videos on the set up too. I would put a link to the website if I knew how but you can find it easily enough if you are interested the company name is Spiyda.

I used one from kitspares, the same as they provide for their zero kits. The outlets were in the right place for my Redtop and it even fitted in the same mounting holes as the old one.

At my mot station q stands for no emissions test. Well no visible smoke anyway. One less thing to worry about.

I have just got hold of one of those little gadgets to balance out the difference between mismatched fuel gauge and senders to hopefully give some sort of approximation of how much fuel is left in the tank. Having looked at the instructions it seems simple enough (famous last words) but it needs a live feed when the ignition is on. My question is can I use the live feed from the fuel pump as that is the only thing suitable at the back of the car and it would save running loads of wire elsewhere. Thanks Kevin

Black. Makes it look mean and moody.

I made one up with a beaded joiner and some silicone hoses. The flexi ones are ok but you dont have much say in where they go for neatness. If you make your own up you can make it follow whatever route you wish perhaps avoiding belts or steering racks. I always use silicone hose now as it is much easier to work with both to cut and to get on tight fittings.

Just dont expect this sort of service at Halfrauds

Car builder solutions. They have a very good website and catalogue. Know their stuff too. I may end up getting on of those gadgets to sort my gauge out

I put an inertia switch on my circuit, must be easy if I could do it. I used a mondeo one which was about a fiver so not a major investment for something that could prevent a bump turning in to a disaster. Interestingly I wired it all in and checked that it all worked ( I used the third terminal to light a warning light on the dash should it be triggered by a pothole!) but when I fixed it all in place it wouldn't activate. After a while I realised that the only thing I had done differently was to mount the switch under the bracket for ease of fixing. Changed it back again and yes they do only work one way up! And Happy Birthday Mick, easy to remember mine tomorrow!

Thought it looked familiar, like an old friend. You would have thought that the constant listing and removal would put people off bidding.

Ferrari f40 and Lamborghini countach with optional spoiler in red please

Got a mondeo one from ebay. As already said its just a switch with the outside terminals being the ones completing the circuit until impact. The middle teminal then becomes live and is for a warning light to indicate that the switch has been tripped I presume.

I have always liked the look of these, I think they were the best looking british car of the era. Hope you have fun with it. At least theres no complicated electrics on these, although perhaps given past experiences you should fit some sort of anti-theft device. I'm going to work on my car electrics later on but I think I'll see if my six year old son can help (not like that daddy, that won't work!)

You are not kidding! one thing that does niggle me though is how accurate are the temperature gauges? As I said earlier my car never boiled over even though the gauge said that it was really hot.