Shaft

To set my cable length i built up one side of the brakes complete including handbrake cable, passed the cable through the handbrake half moon and then through the other brake back plate. I set the screw adjuster to mid range (ish) and then pulled the inner cable taught on the unbuilt side. Taking a measurement of the inner cable from the outer cable on the assembled side, i cut the inner cable off to this measurement plus 1". I drilled out the inner cable from the removed nipple and inserted the cut cable into this with approx 1/4" excess sticking through. I then untwisted the individual steel strands and folded them out 90 deg to form a 'star' shape. Welded up the end with a good high amps spot weld with my mig. ( see my pics for a close up of the finished article). Assemble as per normal. Et wallah, one as new cable. HTH, Nick.

Hi all, Mr opinion here again....... PMSL. Please bear with me on this post and i'll see if i can put into words my train of thought regarding my comment that i think GBS are wrong. Please remember this is only my opinion, although, as i'll attempt to explain, i'm sure i'm right. Also, this isn't meant to try and annoy anybody or insult anybodies own opinions. Right then:- Fact:- On the Sierra, the Drum brake is fitted with the wheel cylinder at approx 11o'clock position. Reason:- To enable one end of the cylinder to be higher than the other to facilitate bleeding. (other positions would work, yes, Ford just chose the top) Fact:- On the Sierra, the handbrake enters the drum from the front at the bottom. Reason:- Easy routing down the suspension trailing arm. Fact:- On the Sierra, the leading shoe is between 12 & 6 o'clock, the trailing shoe is symmetrically opposite. Reason:- The leading shoe feeds in first due to the wasted lining area working in conjunction with the rotational direction of the drum. Fact:- The Zero Hub carriers are handed and can only fit one way up. Reason:- The Sierra hubs have assymetric holes, so the GBS hub carriers need to match the Sierra hub hole pattern. So, to quote an earlier post about the info from GBS:- "Spoke to Ricahrd at GBS today and he said the cylinder goes at the back of the car with the handbrake cable coming up from below." (not singling you out Spencer, just using the quote. ) OK then, picture the above facts and you have to rotate the assembly anti clockwise by 90 degrees to put the cylinder at the rear. (Agree??). Right then, as i said earlier, the handbrake cable comes in from the bottom front (lets call this 5 0'clock) so this will go to 1 o'clock when you rotate the assembly anti clockwise to put the cylinder at the rear (Or 9 o'clock). Therefore the handbrake cable is now pointing upwards. (Agree??). GBS state the handbrake comes up from below.?? Impossible (Agree yet??). So.......... the only way to achieve there fit is to to swap the O/S to the N/S and in doing this you make the leading and trailing shoes the wrong way round. Phew....... hope that helps or i give in, surrender. LOL Oh, while i'm on it.......... to agree with others, the cylinder position IS irrelevant other than bleeding issues (i only really used it originally as a reference point to visually guage the backplate position) and that the leading and trailing shoe positioning is the only important factor. Hope this hasn't put you to sleep............. With the best of intentions at heart, Nick.

Ask on NW forum. I'm sure someone on there does them Nick

Hi, sorry to be blunt, but he's wrong in my opinion. With the hole pattern in the carriers drilled how mine are, they can't possibly be at the rear. Oh well, each too their own i suppose. Nick.

Hi STEVE, I could draft an article on my zero build so far if you like. When would you require it by? feel free to re produce some of my pics if needed or i could use them within the article, which would be best? and what format would you need it in? regards, Nick.

Hi Yanto, ( and also anyone who can make use of it ) Please find attached a dimensional drg of the rear hub carrier sandwich plate or spacer that i made for my Zero. Hope it will be of use to peeps and save you having to use those waste of time flame cut (badly!!) steel, err....... things! LOL. If anyone wants it, i also have a 3d Cad model (IGES file) of the same part if there's any CNC machinists out there. Cheers all, Nick

Sweet.. everything fit ok then? just need some more ponies now. ;-) Nick.

Can't you have it nicked???

Use that silver vectra in your signature pic as an engine stand!! Sure they won't mind. lol.

Looks really good. Well finished and really tidy. A credit too you. Nick.

Hi all, Firstly, Daz, sorry to impinge on your post mate, but does anyone know where to get a FULL Megajolt kit for a Pinto from?? I've seen the trigger wheels web site, they want £289........ ouch!! Nick.

No mate, i made it parallel. With my suspension at full droop i'm already measuring in at 2.5 deg negative camber. I guesstimate it to be around 1.5 deg when loaded. I've got a digital inclinometer i use to measure up. Nick.

PMSL, yep, the ones supplied where, err......... err......... utter bo##ox to say the least. I threw them in the bin as i unpacked my kit, never seen such crap!! Sorry, ranting now!! I've got a Cad model of mine on my PC at work, so i'll do a dimensional drawing for you mate. If i load it on here, it should benefit all if they want to make some. HTH, Nick.

Hi J, I made a one piece spacer, 13mm thick, and the bolts i used where M10 x 35 long. Used Nylok nuts also. HTH, Nick.

Hi J, You want a M10 x 1.0 threaded pressure switch. 1.5 pitch was a typo on my part in the previous post. Sorry, i get used to stating threads at work when doing drawings and 1.5 pitch is the standard for M10. 1mm pitch is Metric fine. Regarding build, thanks for the positive comments, they make me smile to myself. I've built 5 or 6 competition Landrovers in the past, so i'm not new to building motors to be honest. Luckily, i have a triple garage, which helps a lot when building and refurbing parts. Heated also, so i don't mind being down there in an evening. Nick.

I was in the Cubs & then the scouts, moved away before Venture age. Brilliant days, camping at Walesby, bridge building, even enjoyed the remembrance parade's. Gave a sense of pride that's sadly missing these days. A work friend has 2 lads in scouts and he says health and safety over kill as ruined it?? Nick.

No, No, No..... It's a doddle to do, it just requires patience and attention to detail. Pick a job to do and do it, don't sidetrack on to something shiny or rush so you can see a big difference for your toils of the day. Remember, your welcome to pop over and see mine in the flesh, kettle's always on. Bring a notebook and your camera if you wish. Diff spacing can be done with washers if you want......... GBS do it that way. Panels don't need trimming much if you just want a fit, but they do if you want a good clean fit (me being finicky!) You'll breeze it mate. Nick.

Hi badboy67, Hope this helps with posting links mate. Regards, Nick.

you after rear bearings then mate??? i paid ?? £15 ?? the pair (i'll check) Nick

PMSL!! Thay made me LOL.

Sorry to be a pooper mate.............. The bearing kits come with a new nylok nut........ handed threads!! Sorry, lol. Nick.

Hi all, I've got an Escort rack with my kit, fair enough, but does anybody know what the threaded ends are from?? Do GBS cut the escort ends of and weld in the extension piece, or perhaps they cut the escort rack and weld on Sierra ends?? I've measured the thread and i reckon it's M14 x 2.0, but struggling to find any info on what thread's the Escort or Sierra ends are?? Thanks in advance, Nick.

Hi, Sierra 83-93 model year. Info is in the specification list at the begining of the engine section. Nick.

Hi Gray, It's more enjoyable than i imagined!! Seriously though, i'm finding it a simple process so far (ask me again when i get to the electrics my weak area!) The basic design and principles behind the kit are spot on in my opinion but i've found that the finess applied to the fit of parts and accuracy used during GBS's manufacturing process are a bit, err.......... slap dash to be polite. I've spent a lot of time dry fitting and trimming panels to fit nice, re-made a couple from scratch and re-designed the fit of others. I don't think i had too, just wanted too. I'm very finicky!! Suspension allignment was abismal, as was the diff, so again, a lot of time spent trueing and spacing it all. That said though, i love it and look forward to working on it. Just finished fitting front suspension & brakes tonight, next job................ pass. lol. How are you finding it?? Regards, Nick.

Hi Pete, According to Haynes manual for the Pinto, it states:- Minimum oil pressure at 750rpm..... 14.5 lbf/in2 2000rpm.... 36.25 lbf/in2 Both reading's with engine warm. Haynes take their info from the manufacturers, so i assume thats for a new engine also?? HTH, Nick.