ibrooks

Rears I don't have. Fronts - what size? I have a set of 240mm vented calipers that you can have. They would need a re-build or just send them back as the exchange ones for a reconditioned set. Would save you more than the petrol money for coming to get them as you're not too far away. 260mm - might possibly have something useable but they likely don't have the carriers so if you are replacing an existing set then they would be OK but if you are starting from scratch you would need additional bits. Better shape than the 240's so £20 if you want them. Still less than he exchange value if you just chop them in for a re-con pair. Iain

T7 design? I've heard good things about them and am planning to use something similar in the GTM. Iain

For anything ford V6 related I can highly recommed these guys. http://www.essexengines.com/ I have the luxury of being able to walk in and see them but most of their business is mail order so they are no strangers to posting big heavy lumps of iron. Iain

What he said. Or change the ride height. There is no adjustment built in. The design of the semi-trailing arm means that the wheel is vertical at the Sierra's standard ride height but as the height drops the negative camber increases. This is fine on a Sierra since it means that when you stick it into a corner with some gusto the wheel remains vertical and the tyre tread flat on the road. When using the system at a lower ride height though, you get permanent negative camber. The solution is to add shimming between the top of the hub and the arm to bring the wheel back to the vertical. Some people make wedge shaped spacers to fit - often referred to as camber wedges. Iain

Nope - and you won't get a definite answer from the people in power. The best bet seems to be to ask them what they want and then do that. Get it in writing from them because they can and will change their answer and if you end up speaking to a different person their answers will be different from the other guy's answers. In your position - I would make up a chassis number that sounds legitmate. As suggested maybe an invoice number and significant dates plus your initials etc. I'd then speak to them and make out that it was supplied with the kit and is it OK to use it pretty please. If they are happy then use it and if not then they can issue one. Get it in writing. Iain

Like I said it's quite possible to use an engine that's not standard for your donor as long as it was fitted to the donor before you took it apart. You will need to prove this though. If you have a Sierra based kit and want to use a Vauxhall XE engine then you will need to be able to prove to the tester that the engine was fitted to the Sierra and have sent off the Sierra's V5 to get the engine number and capacity changed before you then use the Sierra as your donor. Exactly what constitutes proof is a grey area. They used to simply accept the fact that the engine number was on the Sierra's documents but people had got wise to the fact that changing the engine details on a V5 does not require an inspection so they simply sent off the donor V5 with the new capacity and engine number and then registered the kit as a single donor vehicle. In reality the non standard engine might never have been within 10 feet of the donor car. This is what they are clamping down on. Iain

Tell me about it. I was told categorically that they would issue it and I wasn't allowed to make one up. To get on issued I had to take the car to them for the built up vehicle inspection. So on to a trailer it went and to the VRO in Preston where parking is a nightmare in a car never mind a car with a transporter trailer on the back. Man comes out and looks at the car (never even took the cover off the cockpit) and disappears back into office. Re-appears a couple of minutes later saying he's forgotten to check the chassis number. I tell him it hasn't got one and I was told it had to come for this inspection to be issued one. He creases his brow and says "Oh you should just have made one up" I consoled myself by not telling him that he had left his Maglite on the trailer. The VIN numbers of both my GTM's are 3 characters long. Iain

You need all the donor parts to have either come from the same donor or be replaced with new parts. Any mix and match of parts where some have come from a different vehicle will push you towards Q territory. That said..... some parts bear "points" under the older system and it's mainly those that they will be looking for. Body - obviously you're replacing this bit. Axles - front and rear. Depending on the model of Robin Hood you're likely to be using the rear complete and for the front we assume they mean the stub axles so again quite likely yes they have been used. This demonstrates though just how open to interpretation the whole thing is. Transmission - diff and gearbox. Again chances are you're using them both. Engine - As above. Brakes - Again depending on the model but chances are you're using them with maybe some new replacement parts. Steering - As above. In lots of cases only some of the original parts are used and replacement parts come with the kit so hopefully they will accept this as being the original donor part with maybe new replacement components. It's also dificult for the testers/inspectors to tell if a Sierra rear axle cam from one particular car (wink wink). Obviously taking the wee wee and having an engine with Vauxhall or Rover on the rocker cover will make them look harder. Bear in mind though that the non-stadard parts could quite legitimately have been fitted to the donor vehicle before it was pulled apart to become your kit and in this case they are part of the orignal donor vehicle. You will need to prove that the parts were fitted though so just sending off the logbook with the replacement engine number and capacity will not satisfy them that a Rover V8 came from a Sierra for example. Iain

Sounds like the steering idler on the front chassis rail of a Series Land-Rover (not sure if the coil-srung ones used the same system). It's not a big thing but my goodness there is some energy stored up in the spring under there. Iain

Some do one each way so that the wipers park in the middle and wipe to each side leaving the un-cleared part behing the rear-view mirror. I've also seen a setup with three small wipers across the width of the screen. Iain

You might run into problems with modifying a sump on a 2.3 Pinto - it will have been stroked to get to that figure so clearances inside might be a bit tight. You should be able to do it as per Jim's guide on the NW site but be careful. Iain

You could also look at Motordrive. I know Alan through the Mini club so I've seen a few of his seats (more usually in serious rally cars). Big Jim also has a pair of Motordrive seats in a MkIII I think. Iain

I've been told those copies are very different to the genuine Cobra ones. That said I paid £100 for my mis-matched pair of genuine Cobra Roadsters (both black with black piping and harness slots but one has COBRA embroidered in the headrest area). They are new and came from Huddersfield Mini Spares as they had a load of odd ones that they were clearing so I chose a pair that were somewhere like a match. Iain

I take it we're talking about a Cosworth V6. Try fordpower.org.uk or the Ford Sierra owners club as the diagrams have been posted on there a few times. Iain

How are you getting a current plate with a donor package from GBS? My understanding is that to get a current plate all the bits need to be NEW (OK you're alowed one major component to be reconditioned to as new condition). The only way I can see it is if the VOSA monkeys don't look beyond your having a receipt and assume that the receipt means it's new. Regarding the XR4x4 donor. If it's a V6 then the egine is a bit of a boat anchor but it makes a relatively easy upgrade to a Cosworth V6 at a later date (still a boat anchor but a powerful one). No-one seems to have mentioned the boggest kicker though - the gearbox is different so you would need to source a 2wd gearbox which isn't the easiest thing in the world as 2.8 Capri boxes are starting to get thin on the ground (and won't handle Cosworth power for long) and 2wd MT75's are snapped up by people wanting to run Sierras in RWD form with one of the aforementioned Cosworth V6 lumps. The front hubs are different on the 4x4 Sierras too (the struts are thicker) so they might not be any good and the sump is different as it has a driveshaft going through it and a second diff bolted to the side of it. A 4-pot XR4x4 is not as difficult as you could get a gearbox and sump from a 2wd Sierra with te DOHC engine relatively easily. In general 4x4 Sierras are a bad choice because of the differences but they do all have a limited slip diff which is good. Sierra estates have different trailing arms which can be a pain if the kit you are looking at uses the normal shock mounts on the trailing arm. Apart from that then look for one with the engine you want, ideally low mileage. Toys like electric windows are just surplus to requirements on a 7 style car but so long as you aren't trying to use the donor wiring loom then they make little difference but ABS is ideally one to avoid as it means you would have to find a conventional servo and master cylinder to replace is as it can't be carried across (it's brain is designed to work with the Sierra's mass and weight distribution which is very different to a Hood). Iain

Think he posts on Fordpower - that was a test to confirm that he had managed to bypass the PATS system on the BOB management as it's apparently a bit of a pain (good nes for those hoping that pond life can't pinch their Granada Cosworth but not so good for those wanting to use the engines elsewhere when the Granada has rusted away). Iain

No probs dude - like I said I don't have anything with a type-9 any more so it was surplus to my requirements. Think it cost £1.75 - not certain as I found the receipt in the pocket of a pair of trousers on the way out of the washing machine the other day. Iain

Can't yo uget a re-con from somewhere like GT or Big Redd? I wouldn't use a scrap yard caliper personally unless it was one that I simply couldn't get a replacement for. Iain

The MR2 is mid engined so the engine sits transersely with the gearbox which is no good for the Zero. The 4AGE has been used in a 2B on a different gearbox (as mentioned) but not to my knowlege in a Zero which is smaller so you might get an idea from pictures about whether it will fit and maybe even some specifics but it won't be a simple drop in conversion. You mentioned that people use Zetecs/Duratecs - why not stick with that route? These are fairly common in Zero's by the standards of any other engines and there is going to be far more specific knowlege to help you. The Japanese engines are pretty exotic in this type of car over here (getting less so though) so you are almost certainly going to be one of the first to do it and won't get much help from here (not because we don't want to help but because we simply don't know). You are also a bit too far away for the usual Hoody trick of turning up on the doorstep and drinking all your coffee, eating all your biscuits and making suggestions. Iain

Where was it from and how much did it cost? Iain

Whereabouts in Manchester? it covers a fairly large area and like all large towns people have a habit of just saying Manchester when they really mean one of the smaller surrounding towns. Iain

Like most of the people have said it's just not second nature to be taking photos whilst I'm in the garage. Oily/grimy hands are not always the best thing for a camera and my mind is on other things than photos of what I'm doing. I do often take quick snaps of assemblies as an aide-memoir for when I come to put it back together though which is a habit I'm trying to get myself into. Also bearing in mind that I had a Cortina based S7 and then a 2B that went through SVA in 2004 I didn't always have access to a digital camera whilst I was building them - never mind a cheap one I would be prepared to have in the garage whilst I was working. It's easy to think of a cheap digital camera or your phone that takes a picture and wonder why someone else didn't use theirs without realising just how recent some of these things are and that it's not so very long ago when they simply weren't an option. I spent most of last year re-building a Mini as a surprise for my cousin (he thought he had sold it). The intention from day one was to put together a photographic record of what I did to it so that he could see what happened after all the pretty bits were bolted on and it was painted but it still wasn't easy photographing every single step and there are gaps in the record as I got wrapped up in actually doing it rather than taking pictures. Especially towards the end of the project when time was getting short - the reveal was his wedding day when the car arrived to take him to the church. I'm going to have to be careful whilst building the SPD because that will need to be photographed for IVA purposes as I've bought it as a part built (not that you would know). I also want to take lots of pictures of my current rebuild of the GTM so maybe I'll get into the habit. None of these are likely to be much help to you guys as they aren't Hoods. Hopefully matters will be made a little easier as I won a digital camera in the Charity Challenge team's Christmas raffle (again) so the old one can become the "garage" camera whilst the new one is kept for holidays/shows and the like. Iain

I treated myself over Christmas to a 3-in-1 TIG/Plasma Cutter/Arc Welder. It's a cheapo Chinese one that seem to attract lots of comments from people who don't actually have them saying they are rubbish/won't last/can't be repaired whilst the people who do have them think they are fine (if maybe not up to being used day-in-day-out in an industrial setting). I've actually found TIG welding to be really easy so-far and I've got far less knobs to twiddle than all the ones on there. I've only been sticking lumps of scrap together so far but on sticking them in the vice and beating them with a hammer the welds seem plenty strong (dead technical way of testing I know). Mine is only DC so no ally welding for me. I haven't tried it as a plasma cutter yet and the arc attachment can stay in the box forever as far as I'm concerned. If it goes pop then it'll go back to the company I bought it from who are fortunately only 5 minutes down the road from me (the main reason I was willing to take a punt). Iain

Don't you just wish you could do things like you see in films where you tap something in on the keyboard at your end and their machine explodes in their face. Working in IT support I often wish I could do that - I'd either get sacked or arrested within a day but I'd still have the smile on my face as I got thrown off the site. Iain

That sounds rather like the older Ford "rear wheel drive" offset. The Sierra despite actually being rear wheel drive got what was known as the front wheel drive wheel fitments (likely because that's what all their other cars were getting at the time it was made). I suspect you'll find that Capri or MkI/II Escort wheels would fit nicely. Iain