peter_m7uk

Hi, My Lightweight pedals come with a 10mm hole drilled in the top of one, 6mm hole in the other and the accel pedal has a slot cut into the top of the rod. It looks like there was some plan in mind for attaching, but the DVDs say nothing about how to do this. Looking at the Zero, it seems that the system is pretty similar, so can anyone help, please?? I bought a Granada clutch cable which has a long enough outer to miss the exhaust manifold, so now I just need to cut the cable to length and attach it to the pedal somehow, presumably using the 10mm hole. I thought I could just drill a hole in a 10mm bolt, pass the cable through, stick the bolt through the pedal hole and clamp it up, but doesn't sound good enough for IVA to me. Any ideas, please? I expect that I can put a clevis and pin arrangement on the brake master cylinder rod and attach through the 6mm pedal hole, so that should be straightforward? The accel pedal is too short at the top. I would need huge movement of the pedal to get the cable to move enough to open the throttle butterfly, so I intend to extend the top rod by sleeving a tube over the end. I've got a Sierra throttle cable, but again it's too long and would need to be adjusted, so I'm looking for inspiration on how to attach Cheers, Pete

Hiya David (or snotfart, if you prefer! ), Thanks for pointing that out I hadn't actually reached the stage of shortening the column yet, so no harm done. Sorry to hear about your trouble, though I suppose I'll just take a hacksaw to it, then drill out a new hole to locate the UJ. Cheers, Pete

Thanks for the tips, chaps. Hoodies to the rescue! That table is great, Nigel. I think the VECO one should pretty much do it Cheers, Pete

Thanks Graham. I was thinking of going into my local motor factors and getting them to root through all their cables, but probably best to have some idea! Pete

Hi, I tried out my original Sierra clutch cable in the Lightweight, but to get it safely past the exhaust manifold, I really need one with a slightly longer plastic sheath. In the pic below, the distance between the 2 red lines is 882mm - The 2 lines mark the stops which locate the cable in the Type 9 box and in the pedal box. Ideally, I'd like this distance to be about 50mm longer (932mm). The Type 9 must have gone in a LOT of Ford models over the years, so is there anyone out there with an amazing knowledge of clutch cables, who could recommend one which is a bit longer than the Sierra one, please?! Cheers, Pete PS The actual cable is 1202mm long, if that helps.

Hi All, Thanks for the replies No, I'm not going to drive the car in my winter boots!! They're just for keeping warm in the unheated garage at this time of year I was thinking of something like climbing boots, as they hug your feet, but they're pretty stiff, so I suppose racing boots or socks (!) will have to do it. Regarding adjustment, I think I can move the whole lot over to the left a little more and it's a good tip to make the accel pedal narrower and maybe washer/bend the brake and accel pedals across a bit. I'll see what can be done with a bit more fettling On the pedal box, they're not cheap, are they?! And I'm reasonably tall, so I wonder if I'd have it to set it back and lose legroom. Also, the steering wheel would have to protrude more from the dash and wouldn't look quite as neat. That's my fallback option if I can't persuade the existing pedals to the right place! Cheers, Pete PS For those whose pedals are a bit borderline, what did the SVA examiner say?! Does he come to the test with skinny shoes on??

Hi, I'm looking at mounting the pedals on my LW at the moment. I smacked seven shades out of the accel pedal to get it bent over to a good offset from the other two pedals, then made the hole in the battery tray larger on the left, so that I could move all of the pedals over to the left a bit. As you can see in the attached pic, they look well spaced and sit nicely in the footwell. BUT, if you look at the other pic where my feet are in there, there ain't a lot of room To be honest, I've never actually driven a 7 style car, so I don't know what the driving position and pedal location is normally like, but seems pretty cramped in the LW! I am wearing big boots for the winter, but my normal trainers aren't much narrower. My right foot is hard against the body side and my left foot is hard against the tunnel side, so it seems like there isn't quite enough room to operate all three pedals. The only saving grace I can think of is that the footwell is tapered, so if the pedals were back a bit, the space is wider. So any Lightweighters with finished cars or mounted pedals, how does yours look?? There are no cables attached in my car, so once the tension is on the cables, do the pedals swing back enough to sit in a wide enough part of the footwell? I notice in my daily car (a Polo), that the accel pedal sits further forward than brake and clutch, so you have to lift your foot up noticeably from the accel pedal to operate the brake. Are all cars like this?! It's one of those things that I never really thought about before, but it sounds right Cheers, Pete

Sad to see, but Shane's got it up for sale on eBay

Hi Martyn, Do you mean FR33 Fast Road, or FR34 Sports Injection, as there seems to be a mix-up?? I have an FR34 in my 2.0EFi Pinto set to standard spark timing figures, but am yet to finish and drive the car, so I don't know how it will perform. Although, I'm pretty sure that the FR34 has the same valve timing figures as a standard cam, the only difference is that there's more lift... I may be wrong, but if the valve timing figures are standard, I think the ignition timing will stay standard, which is 8degrees for a 2.0EFi. Would be interested to hear otherwise.... Pete

Thanks, Graham I'm currently looking at positioning the steering and pedals, but taking it carefully, as it's the sort of thing you want to get right first time! I got a good idea from Al Milton on mounting the steering column - Robin Hood suggest using a bent bracket with a bush set captured in the centre, to hold the column as it passes through the footwell bulkhead. But I'm going to try Al's idea, where you use a captive bearing of the right diameter (see pic from his car). I think it's neater, stronger and you'll be able to place the bush much more accurately - And only costs a tenner Anything I should be aware of on the LW steering and pedals, do you reckon? Did you shorten your column a bit by knocking the collapsible part in slightly? I think it's necessary to get the right steering wheel placement. Also, how did you adjust your accel and clutch cables to get the pedals to sit where you wanted? Cheers, Pete

Thanks, Daz Had the odd leak since, which I've gradually sorted out. I thought one oil leak was the head gasket , but realised it was the camcover gasket leaking directly above an exhaust port and oil was flowing around and streaming from below the flange The other classic was when it started misfiring and I had terrible visions of a major problem I was actually about to run the tank dry, daft bu6ger!!

Thanks for the tip, John. Do you know if it's the sort of thing someone could easily make on their own to a good enough standard? Anyone got a picture of such a pad? I've heard of people using duck tape and foam in the past, but I think they clamped down on that a bit now, as it doesn't look permanent? I'm still some way from finishing, so not up to speed on the whole IVA side of things I suppose the gist of my post was: Can I go ahead with permanently fixing the steering column for the Mountney wheel, based on the assumption that it's straightforward to get it through the test?? Anyone had SVA/IVA hassle with this? Cheers, Pete

Hi, I have a Mountney steering wheel and Sierra boss adaptor, as supplied by Robin Hood (see pic below). I'm just wondering if this will fail IVA on sharp edges?? It's nicely padded around the rim and for part of the spokes, but the centre is metal and hard plastic... I need to know if it will pass, as I'm currently deciding on the final position of the steering column on my Lightweight, so it would have to be set to match the wheel. I did think it could be possible to put a different wheel on for the IVA and change back to the Mountney one later, but I'm not sure what to use. I still have the old Sierra one, but it's enormous and I don't know if I could actually get into the car with that fitted!! I suppose I could raise the steering column, but then it would be far too high for the Mountney wheel, and there's no easy way to adjust the height once everything is set up on the complete car. I don't want to get a removable steering wheel either, if I can help it, so if my current wheel will fail, could anyone suggest A) how to pass the test with the Mountney wheel or B ) a small wheel to put on in its place for the IVA test?? Cheers, Pete

Thanks for that. I would probably have to push the rod up the tube 2 or 3 inches, but I'd still have a few inches protruding , so I guess that would be ok for collapsing the column in an accident. I wonder if there's anything in the IVA manual about a minimum length of the collapsible section... Cheers, Pete

Simon, Graham

RH demo, Warwick

Hi All, I've been looking at mounting the steering on my Lightweight, but when I tried a test fit, it seemed that the steering wheel would protrude too far into the cockpit! In the first attached pic, you can see that my steering shaft (the universal jointed bit) ends an inch or so before the footwell begins. This seems to be about right compared to pics I've seen of other Lighweights. In the second attached pic, you can see the steering column part attached to the shaft and lying in the driver's footwell. When I put the scuttle on, and lift the column up, it seems too far away from the dashboard to me. In the remaining attached pics, you can see the steering for the RH demo car and for Warwick's, Simon's and Graham's cars. It looks to me like the RH demo car sticks out too far as well, similar to mine. But for Warwick, Simon and Graham, things look a bit neater.... So I'm wondering if anyone cut their column down a bit? Or pushed the collapsible part inside further? Or did they have a different column?? Mine is a non-adjustable one from a 1988 Sierra Ghia, but the one in the build DVDs is adjustable and the design looks quite different. I have plastic cowls for both types, but only the adjustable cowl would bridge the gap at the moment, although I'd have to cut it up a bit to make it fit the non-adjustable column. Any advice appreciated Cheers, Pete

Hi Al, Just saw your post, but I did happen to look at the Haynes manual last night and there was a diagram in there! Why didn't I think of that earlier? Thanks for your tip on the captive bearing. I would be interested to know where I can get one from... Cheers, Pete

My thinking is that the castellated bits go toward the spring. There is a chamfered edge on the clip which I think probably locates into the bearing on the steering unit. I suppose that when you tighten up the steering wheel, this chamfered edge sits tight into the rotating ring on the bearing, allowing you to turn the wheel freely. I just wanted a second opinion, or someone who can see how the clip locates on their car. Cheers, Pete

Hi, Thanks for the info, Andy. Where did you find it? Presumably my Draper reader is just a box with an LED, a switch and a couple of wires inside? I tried it again yesterday with the engine running and, this time, it did appear to be working. It flashed a 11 code after I blipped the throttle, which is supposed to indicate that everything is fine. Then it flashed a bit more, but yet to work out what it meant!! Not the easiest thing to use When I tried again with ignition on and engine off, I still had the solid LED on... So, I'm wondering if it's supposed to do that?! The fact that it worked with engine running must mean the Draper box is ok, after all you can only switch the switch to 2 positions. So, if the box is ok and I'm following the instructions correctly, what does the unchanging LED mean?! Perhaps I should try the trick with an LED and bit of wire, to see if it gives me the same.... Pete

Thanks for all the replies, guys Looks like my engine is nicely in the expected range, so no worries Pete

Hi All, Just a daft little question. See the pics below of the steering shaft from the Sierra. There is a little castellated clip which goes on there in some way, but I forgot how and really can't decide! I think it slides onto the shaft after the spring, but do the castellated bits go toward the spring, or towards the steering unit with all the column switches (2 options shown in pics)?? I think this would affect how the the little bearing runs that allows the steering to swivel, so wanted to get it right... Thanks, Pete

Hiya, I ran my rebuilt Pinto for the first time recently and, now that I have an oil pressure gauge, I just wanted to check if the readings sounded healthy... Bear in mind that the engine has been quite thoroughly refurbed, with new bearings, seals and gaskets everywhere. New pistons, rings and camshaft. The crank wasn't reground, but I measured it and it was within the tolerance for barely worn condition and no ovality to speak of. I also fitted a Burton high pressure/flow pump, as I'd heard the stories about Pinto cam spray bars being a bit crap, so thought it might help to deliver a bit extra. I also read recently that those pumps can suck the sump dry if you run at high revs for a sustained period!! But it will only be a road car, so shouldn't be an issue. Anyway, when the engine is cold, the gauge hits the top (90psi) at idle, before dropping to around 35psi at idle when fully warmed up. Does that sound ok for a tight, like new engine??? Cheers, Pete

I tried again the other night, but no change. I thought perhaps the ECU had an input to say whether the handbrake was on, but no, so that is clearly just a safety precaution rather than being necessary to read codes. It does say engine at full working temperature in that link, so perhaps that's what I need, although don't know why if I'm reading codes with engine off and only ignition on! Pete

I would agree with this. It wouldn't be difficult or expensive for Ford to stick a diode at a supply terminal to prevent reverse current for this kind of accident. I work in the automotive electronics industry and, although I don't know for definite, I think you may be OK. Pete