niduncan

Cheaper version: click here

This is the awning rail fitted to the front of a Series 3 screen.

Pipercross.

How about making your own? Polycarbonate sidescreens (£42), ripstop nylon (£10) for the hood, awning rail (£6) plus a few durable dot poppers. Does help though if the wife can use a sewing machine!

Being able to easily recalibrate is a real bonus. I have tried 3 different ratio diffs and different combinations of wheels and tyres which all required the speedo to be recalibrated. Having a mechanical speedo would have made this impossible.

I have an electronic VDO speedo in my Series 3 and use a sensor that is triggered by the 4 bolt heads on the propshaft to diff flange. This works perfectly. It is easy to hang a bracket off the monocoque to mount the sensor on. Nice and easy to calibrate, either drive a measured mile or use a Satnav. If you need any pictures then let me know.

Soggy Normandy!

I use Intatrim Odyssey's - link. No removable headrests though!

I had the same problem in my Series 3. I am 6'3" and ended up raising the windscreen and fitting a panel to cover the gap. I use Intatrim seats with runners.

Not that skilled I'm afraid! There is an engineering department at work, they machined the pulley in a lathe and cut a matching hole in the trigger wheel. Once I had decided where the sensor was to be mounted then I knew where the missing tooth had to be positioned, the engineers then welded the trigger wheel to the pulley. A bit of paint and job done. The position of the sensor was fine tuned by running the engine on the EDIS module with the Megajolt disconnected. The timing is set to 10 btdc using a timing light, if the timing light has an advance adjustment do not use it, leave it set to zero as the waisted spark confuses it and causes the timing marks to jump about.

This is a clearer picture prior to painting. I have not seen Laserman's version but I suspect it is a copy of this, I had a lot of interest when I first posted this. A shoulder is machined on the back of the pulley. The trigger wheel is welded on.

I mounted the trigger wheel on the inside of the crank pulley, this means that you do not have to remove the sensor to put the fan belt on or off and also makes the sensor bracket easier to design and manufacture.

The Snap Off needs a matching boss to fit to the Sierra column as the Snap Off is designed for an "M" type steering wheel. The standard Mountney wheel is a traditional fit which means either ditching it and getting an "M" fit wheel or manufacturing an adapter ring as I did. I bought my Snap Off at Stonleigh a few years ago.

Yes I have the instructions for the speedo and have tried several ways of wiring up. There are 3 different sensors (inductive, hall effect and reed) that can be used which seem to produce a digital output ready for the speedo, the VR sensor does not do any processing and produces a rough sine wave which is why the speedo is not accurate - I think! I use the diff to propshaft flange bolt heads to trigger the sensor and have also made a test rig using an electric drill. I can attach the car wiring to the test rig and see the results on the speedo so the next step is to try a hall effect sensor.

Does anybody have a hall effect crankshaft sensor that they would be willing to part with. I am running a VDO electronic speedo at the moment with a VR Sensor but I have discovered that this is the wrong type of sensor to use. The speedo needle fluctuates and does not like going above 70mph, in fact the reading goes down the faster you go! I need a hall effect type sensor to try, some Vauxhhall and Ford crankshaft sensor are this type - they can be identified by having 3 connections in their plugs. Many thanks.

I use a VR Sensor with my VDO speedo. It is triggered by the propshaft to diff flange bolt heads and gives about 12,000 pulses per mile. No magnets to try and stck on!

I got some fibreglass mesh from M&M Classic Components who usually have a stall at the kit car shows. After some experimentation I found that a double layer was needed to have a worthwhile effect. The back draught was reduced by about 50% which makes a big difference around the shoulders and have not suffered from any whistle effects yet.

3 core mains cable worked for me.

Long Clutch Cable (Length 183cm): Sierra 2.0i Cosworth (Exc 4x4) (1985-93) Quinton Hazel QCC1585

Used these on mine:

I use 3 lengths of 12mm studding with strengthening plates inside and out as I have a luggage rack that hangs off the spare wheel.

I used the original Sierra heater/fan and created a shroud that seals to the bonnet. The fan sucks air in through one of the bonnet louvered vents.

I replaced the ford type bearing with the one shown above on my Series 3 yesterday. What a nightmare job, you need a left arm like a gorilla's to reach down into the footwell. The pedals are in the way and the access in the engine bay is almost nill as the bearing is under the pedal box and servo. The original hole in the firewall was to small for the new bearing so a new bracket was needed. Got there in the end though.

No, just a couple of scratches!

I have a couple of electrical anti theft devices but have wanted a more physical and visible deterant. I liked the idea of somehow locking the handbrake lever after it has been applied. After a bit of head scratching I tried drilling a hole through the handbrake lever so that a padlock can be fitted, this will stop the handbrake lever release button from being pushed in. Once the handbrake is applied the padlock is inserted and hey presto the handbrake is locked on and the padlock is nice and visable. Seems to work well.