Andy Cook

Hi all, Thought I’d finished my front suspension but after looking at the dummy Macpherson struts and cycle wing brackets I have begun to wonder if something is amiss. I fitted them as per the videos so that when the car is on the floor the top ball joint pins are at right angles to the top wishbone. This however means that the cycle wing brackets have to go under the top wishbone. This is a problem as it fouls the flexi hose to the caliper. On all other super-specs I’ve seen the bracket is on the outside of the wishbone towards the wheel. Is it possible they have been welded the wrong way round, or am I looking at it wrong? I would post some pics but my cameras not working. Andy

It’s a ½ inch BSP taper tap you need, and then a tapered plug to go in with tread tape on. That’s how I did mine anyway. Andy

I know a lot of reliable sources stating that the sierra 2.3 diesel plate will fit, however as my donor car was one of these I thought I’d offer up the original one form that first. To cut a long story short it didn’t fit (there’s a large boss on the engine side that fouls on the flywheel bolts). So I bought one from Westfield which is different and fits fine. About £65 I think. Andy

Try eBay for a full second hand setup (carbs, manifold, air filters, 8v dizzy, and coil pack). That way the carbs should be set up some ware near, and if you ever decide to upgrade to fuel injection you can sell the lot and shouldn’t lose much. This is what I did cost around £500 and came with a rolling road printout showing it had been setup properly. Get your bellhousing new, second hand ones fetch the same money.

Cheers guys, Sounds like you’ve had mixed experiences. Going to send it of tomorrow. (with fingers crossed). An AA inspection may be a little awkward. Andy

I’ve been looking into changing the engine number on my V5 to the number on my Vauxhall redtop to try and avoid the dreaded Q plate. Has anyone had any success at this? An added problem for me is that my sierra is a 2300cc diesel so that means capacity and fuel change as well. I know it has to be worth a try but I thought I would ask people in the know first. Any tips for dealing with the DVLA. Thanks, Andy

Thanks Nigel, I think I’ll cut of the male union, fit a female one and flare the pipe to suit. Yet more modifying of RH parts. Thanks again, Andy

Hi all Doing my brake pipes and just realised I seem to be missing something. On the front ones where the copper pipe joins to the rubber flexis both fittings are the same (male), so obviously they cant join together. Is there supposed to be a union that goes in between? Thanks, Andy

I am also with admiral. Cheapest I could find for me with a 1.2 corsa, 18 yrs old, and no n/c, £900. Andy

I certainly hope its wrong. A year is pushing it at the rate I am going. Bl**dy EU

This is how I did mine. They are out of 1/8 plate (3.5 mm) and sit on a rubber mount which you can get from SBD, Westfield, etc… Just make sure the exhaust side one doesn’t foul your exhaust manifold. This depends on which system you use. Andy

That’s all I got with my kit, which I bought new so I would assume they are all there. They do seem to play out in order just miss a few bits. So I doubt if there are any tapes missing. Andy

Thanks for that, I’ll have a look for a bearing like the one on the link. Have no idea how the supplied one is supposed to fit. Cheers, Andy

Been trying to fit my steering shaft, but can’t see how the column bush fits in. Can’t find any mention of it in the build videos. I thought it would fit where the shaft goes into the foot well but the shaft is round and the bush I was supplied with is triangular. If anyone could enlighten me as to how it fits together that would be great and any pictures would be even better. Many thanks, Andy

I am using a diesel sierra as a donor for mine. It was a 2.3 which I believe is a Peugeot engine this means you will need a different bellhousing to match the ford zetec engine. Also the diesel gearbox has a longer input shaft which means if you use a pinto belhousing you will need a spacing plate between the bellhousing and the gearbox. In addition to these problems the diesel box has longer ratio gears than a box from petrol. This means low first and second gears but a high fifth (I think third and forth are the same). That said the diff should also be higher ratio which should cancel out the low first and second but give you a supper high fifth. I did the maths and with my Redtop engine redlining at 7750rpm in fifth Id be doing 200mph! (Obviously impossible). I bought a v6 petrol gearbox and was going to change it over till I spun it with a drill and found it was growling a lot. So I am sticking with my diesel one for now as I know it is in perfect order but I will probably change it once I am on the road. So if you fancy a motorway curser then buy it. Otherwise go for a pinto powered version. However at 20 euros I would get it anyway as the high ratio diffs alone sell for £100-£150 over here. Andy

Thanks for that Jim, Might fit an oil temp gauge to keep an eye on it. Andy

Thanks for that guys, I’ll leave it off and see how it goes. Cheers, Andy

A question for anyone running a redtop xe engine. The Astra I took my engine out of was fitted with an oil cooler so I thought I would fit a new one as well as some new pipes. I bought a oil cooler and took it, along with the sandwich plate, to my local hydraulic hose and fittings supplier. They messed about for ages trying on different fittings, and eventually said “No good can’t find anything to match either end” This was quite surprising as I have hoses from them before and they can usually make up anything. I understand that not all redtops were fitted with oil coolers so my question is, are they necessary? I may be able to make up some fittings myself but it will be a right chew on. If it is recommended that an oil cooler is fitted how else might I do it? Any help or ideas welcome. Thanks, Andy

The 87 is the age of the donor seirra that was used not the s7. Andy

Right I’ll get it pressure tested and see how it goes. Many thanks, Andy

Hi guys, I’ve been looking at my RH supplied radiator today and decided to get rid of it and look for a replacement. (It doesn’t fit very well and the pipe connections are a mile out). I’ve got a MK2 escort rad that my granddad had reconditioned 25 years ago but only kept it as a spare. Its twin core and I believe from a 1300cc. It does seem small but the pipe connections are perfect and it easy fits vertically inside the chassis. The question is, is it any use? Also would the RH supplied fan be up to the job with this rad? Many thanks, Andy

Do you mean a bare chassis or a complete car? My S-Spec chassis just fit in my dad’s 12ft trailer. I would think you could get away with a smaller one if you leave the tail gate of or lift the chassis up onto the head board. The chassis width is 4ft. Hope this helps, Andy

Thanks Mitch, will differently look into a bellhousing from A Frame. It looks as though I have a 7" diff so will try and find out what size the one I am looking at is. I might keep the 3.38 in for know and see how it goes. All help has been greatly appreciated. Many thanks, Andy

Hi again, Thanks for the links. I have made contact with a guy breaking an xr4i v6 sierra, he still has the gearbox and diff. Does anyone know if it will be a 3.62 ratio as he is not sure? Also will it be a straight swap for my 3.38? Both have the push in drive shafts but I am unsure about size of diffs. I have read on hear about the two sizes (7 an 7.5 inch) but don’t know where these sizes are taken from. Many thanks, Andy

Thanks Grim, I think I will stick with the same diff for now, keep my eye open for a v6 box and order a bellhousing to suit. Many thanks for your help, Andy