ibrooks

The front does look vaguely like a wishbone 2B but from there on it's not like any Hood I'm familiar with. The 2B's have a structural tube along the top edge of the dashboard and verticals running down from it that the gearbox hangs from - OK they were modified on the later ones but I can't see them at all on that car. The rear panel looks way too close to vertical which may well just be a perception thing but..... I bet it'll be interesting getting those arches fitted as it looks like when they are centred over the wheel they might be sticking out past the rear panel at the rear - again it might just be the angles of the pictures..... The rear shocks seem to be in an odd place - they are reminiscent of where the top suspension munt is on a 2B but their angle suggests that they are heading in a very different direction. Maybe they are attached to a top wishbone rather than a trailing arm? Bit of an odd setup if they are. Some of the tubes around the rear look much smaller than those of the 2B (roll-bar stays). The tubes in behind the side panels are all wrong or a 2B. Now the SubK was similar to the 2B but with a few differences and certainly had some of the lighter tubework around the rear but I didn't think it was that different. I think some of the 2B04's and onwards kept some of these differences around the rear so it might be related to one of those but I think I'd be making a bit more certain of the origins and having a proper look in person before I started throwing money in that direction as there are obviously some differences from the tried and tested in there and I'd want to be sure that it was going to work before parting with my hard-earned. Of course if it's cheap enough when the auction ends you could cope with having to undo some badly thought out changes - and you never know, there might be some wonderful innovations in there that everyone else ends up trying to copy. Iain

On one of our sites the guys use a device where there's a fixed and powered unit attached to a computer which "sprays" the entre area with a laser beam. The operator then uses a mirror mounted on a sphere to touch reference points of the component he's making (it's actually 3 mirrors set at right angles to each other so that as the operator points it towards the base unit a beam is reflected back). The brains of the operation then uses the measurements obtained to construct a 3d map of the reference points. The units are pretty bulky and bolted to the floor but they are fairly old and I believe there's a much more portable version available. Thing is that the jigs that our guys build stuff on rotates and has stops every 90 degrees so that after they've mapped one face they can spin the fixture and map a second face. To map a room with items in it you would have to move the base unit and give the brains of the outfit pretty accurate co-ordinates of where it was sat each time (and I'd assume it's orientation). Iain

You did at least set the static timing didn't you? EFI or not it won't work if the dizzy has just been plonked in any-old-how. Iain

Can you clarify which engine you are talking about? The Pinto is a SOHC engine. The same block casting was used for some of the Cosworth YB engines and this is the only form that could possibly be considered a DOHC Pinto but very few parts are common. There is a cylinder head conversion about which does make a twin-cam Pinto but you are looking at close to £5K for the head and they are made to order so I doubt this is what we are talking about. Which leaves the DOHC engine that was fitted to the Sierra and Granadas in the '90s. That's a VERY different animal to a Pinto. It's designation is I4 and it's more commonly seen in transverse form. Originally in the MkV Escort RS2000 and more recently in the Galaxy where it's gained 16 valves and comes as a 2.0 or 2.3. It's also fitted to Scorpio Ultimas in both 2.0 and 2.3 versions and yes they are still longditudinally mounted but it's the same lump. I could be interested in a YB engine or parts of one or possibly in a 2.3 I4 short engine for the 200 but it's going to be down to the prices. Would we all need to be buying the same thing to get decent prices as a bulk purchase? Iain

The Scorpio Jim was driving was definitely a Turbo-Technics conversion on a BOA Cosworth lump. Given the nature of their business though it could well be a one-off where the owner (or a previous one) had simply driven it into their workshop and waved a cheque-book over it. I'm told the BOB engines will run just fine on BOA management and that it's quite a common way to get around the PATS problems. Apparently the BOA also responds well to having the BOB cams fitted. I was offered a Scorpio Cos that had been rear-ended by a bus last week for £300 - so tempted to grab it but I think it would be a bit too heavy for the 200. I'm fairly set on a YB as I'd like somehwere over 300 gee gee's. I am looking at the I4 conversions that are going on though as people are seeing good results from hybrids of the 2.3 bottom end with the head from a 2.0 16v (both from Scorpio's or Galaxy's) running on MkV Escort RS2000 cams and management. I'm hearing about similar sort of torque figures to the V6's with only a little less power and they are a good deal lighter and smaller. Iain

I've had two long service awards so far - we get them every 5 years. I'm also in the minority in the company in having received one. Pretty sad indication of the state of the I.T. industry if you ask me. Iain

You know the main part - you need a coil suitable for points (or contact breaker) ginition systems. After that you also need to know what voltages it's for. Car systems generally come in two flavours - ballasted and un-ballasted. Ballasted ignition has a resistor or piece of resistance wire in the power connection to the coil so that it only runs at 6v in normal running despite the car's 12v supply. When the engine is cranking the resistor will be by-passed to run the coil at the full 12v meaning bigger sparks when the engine is cold and needs the extra help to start. Un-ballasted ignition just runs the coil at 12v all the time. Which one your loom is going to run is down to whoever made it but you can tell with a voltmeter on the coil supply leads and watch what the voltage is when the ignition is on and when the engine is cranking (or at least the key is in the start position). That should be enough for any half decent retailer to offer you a couple that will be suitable and then it's a matter of whether you want the normal ones or the Soopa-Doopa ones with the silly price-tag. Generally the fancy "high power" ones are only necessary if your engine has been tuned to quite a high degree or you are running forced induction, if the engine is in reasonable condition and the connections to the coil are good (they should be with a new loom) the standard ones should do the job nicely. Iain

Zed - you'll be talking about a GTM then The Mini has everything but the shocks on the front subframe so the GTM just transfers the whole lot to the rear of the car and uses two locking arms to keep the rear whels pointing where you want them (later ones did likewise with Metro subframes). Problem is that A-Series lump isn't exactly a ball of fire. You can get around this a couple of ways. Several companies do conversion kits to fit different engines to Minis and in general these kits can be used in the GTM. The exceptions are where the rear bulkhead of the GTM is closer to the engine than the front panel on a Mini but if you're looking to make your own spaceframe then you can just build around the engine and this isn't an issue. V-Tec is a common one and several have found their way into GTM Coupe's - Vauxhall engines go into Minis with relative ease on their FWD boxes and indeed several XE's have been fitted. My current plan is an in-between route. The BMW K100/K1100/K1200 cylinder head is a very easy fit on an A-Series engine. This gets rid of all the siamese port rubbish that ultimately limits their power production and completely transforms them. The limit then becomes how much power you can get out of a 3-bearing crank and through a Mini gearbox. You are well into "smile every time you prod the accelerator" territory so not a big worry there. The big advantage is that the block and gearbox are the same and so engine mounts, gear linkages, driveshafts and whatnot don't have to be touched. Joel - Scorpio Cosworths aren't exactly rare http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-FORD-GRANADA-SC...%3A1%7C294%3A50 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-P-FORD-SCORPIO-...%3A1%7C294%3A50 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1995-FORD-SCORPIO-UL...%3A1%7C294%3A50 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-FORD-SCORPIO-UL...%3A1%7C294%3A50 How many do you want? Iain

If they are for an electronic ignition setup then you'll need to change them or you'll melt the points in fairly short order. Coils for a points dizzy have a much higher resistance in the primary windings to limit the amount of current that the points are required to handle (and to stop the coil from getting mighty hot if the engine is stopped with the points closed and the ignition left on - dead short through the coil). Electronic setups have much less resistance which is good for bigger sparks and faster recovery times but you need transistorised switches to control them properly - truly momentary contacts and impossible to have them in a condition where they are shorted for any length of time. Iain

You can "adjust" the Ford LSD but it's done by changing the fluid in the viscous coupling for one with different shear characteristics. There are any number of people who will tell you that you can put shims into one end of the plate pack to "tighten it up". These are usually the same clowns who try to drift their cars around the local supermarket car-parks and who'll quite happily weld a diff up solid and still use the car on the road. I'd regards them in the same way as a business with a name like Bodgit and Scarper. All you tend to find happening is that the thing overheats and the plates distort. Second hand LSD's are a complete unknown - if you get a high miler that's quite worn then you'll probably not notice any difference but if you get one that was properly re-built six months ago it'll transform the car. Most of the ones on ebay fall into the first category. Nigel's sounds about right but I know others who have found it makes their Hood twitchy on the road in the wet. I've a suspicion that a "good" LSD for a Sierra is a bit harsh for a lighter car like a Hood and that Nigel's is a worn example (the pinion oils seal possibly speaks towards this) and this has taken the edge off to the point where it's about right. This is going to be another question a bit like "how long is a piece of string?" there are so many variables that the final result you see might be nothing like any of our predictions. Iain

This is where the difference between a Hood and a Westfield really shows up. With the Westfield you get a manual that you follow page by page and when you turn the last page you've got a car ready for the road (or it's test at any rate). Step-by-step it tells you what to do next and which bolt to put where. With a Hood you need to work out what order to do things in or rather you try but more often than not you get it wrong so the bit you did last week needs to come off again to fit the bit you're doing tonight. There are also a lot of gaps in the manual/video/DVD where there is no set way of doing certain jobs and you need to work it out for yourself - often trying a couple of variations before you find one you're happy with. All this adds time to the build. To answer the original question I'd say that if the person doing it hasn't built a Hood before then not a chance (of course there are always the exceptions). If they have LOTS of automotive experience (and not the sort the so-called mechanics in garages these days tend to have - experience of actually repairing cars rather than just replacing lumps is what I'm talking about) then they might be able to do it in that sort of timescale with the assistance availabe here and similar resources. Mainly because the questions when they hit a snag will be more informative to those of us trying to provide answers (we won't have to ask more questions to find out what they are actually trying to do) and when we do answer we wouldn't have to explain every last detail to someone who had a good idea of what they were doing to start with (we'll be able to point them in the right direction and they'll be able to run with it from there rather then having to come back and ask more questions). If the person has built a Hood before (preferably the same model) then yes I'd be a lot more inclined to believe a build time of 300 hours. I'd like to think I could do it in that second time around and I'd also like to think the end result would be better as I've had experience of what works and what doesn't. Iain

To tell the diff ratio lift one rear wheel, chock the other and count how many turns of the prop-shaft it takes to turn the free wheel twice. If it's difficult to tell between 3.6 and 3.9 turns then multiply by a fixed factor and count again i.e. go for 20 turns of the roadwheel and you're now looking for the difference between 36 and 39 turns of the propshaft (just multiplying by 5 would be better as it should make the difference big enough to easily spot without you wasting your whole weekend under the car). Iain

B&Q sell the blades/discs according to their website. For some reason you need to be 21 to buy the 185mm one but you can have a 255mm one at 18 And the saw is £150-odd on Tesco' website. Iain

Hi Tobias, I'm in Darwen. Mbate, You have PM (or will have in a few minutes). Iain

Suspect he meant cheapest BY £30 I'm going to go and have a look though just in case..... Iain

The Scorpio Cosworth lump is an evolution of the Cologne so the same gearboxes will fit there are V6 versions of type-9 and MT75 in both two and four wheel drive flavours. In fact as already mentioned most of the Cossie V6 engines came connected to auto's as standard so when converting to manual you usually need the flywheel and clutch assembly from a Cologne to replaced the torque convertor. A mate of mine builds/prepares rally cars for a living and told me recently that they used a Scorpio Cosworth as a chase car on a rally in which they were running a Group N Sierra Cosworth. Apparently the Scorpio had a Turbo-Technics conversion and he reckons they could probably have pushed the Sierra through the stage faster than it could make it on it's own. If only I could afford such a lump for the 200. Iain

What's up with the box? On most Hoods the engine will need to come out to get to it so unless it's giving problems leave it where it is. Iain

Your big problem with a 7 style car is that it has the aerodynamic properties of a brick. You'll need massive amounts of power to get it much beyond 100mph. Iain

If searching on here try looking for doughnut as that's what they are commonly called. Iain

Yep - SORN is part of the continuous licensing (tax disc) scheme. There is no requirement for a vehicle to be insured so long as it's not on the public road in any shape or form. The ombudsman isn't a quick solution but the threat of involving them sometimes is - it was when Flux tried to shaft me for the second time anyway. Anyone spot a recurring theme with Adrian Flux here? Iain

Has anyone in the north-west got a dead engine I can take away for them? I want it to bolt to my MT75 box and trial fit to the SPD so that I can check clearances so all I need is the block and the mounting arms - for the rest well it's not important. Ideally if it's a DOHC and complete-ish then I can also check clearances in the engine bay but a Pinto or CVH should hold the gearbox in the right place which is the main thing I'm looking for. Iain

If it's an older Hood it might not actually have a front UJ. They used a modified Sierra prop and just the rubber coupling at the front. In the sierra this drives dead straight to a bearing which is also bolted to the body and is only for vibration/shock damping. Used instead of a UJ in the Hood they don't drive dead straight and so tend to fail in pretty short order. If you have this type of prop then get a new one made with a proper UJ at both ends. Iain

Know any dairy farmers? a local brewery gets things like that from a rep that sells such things to the food trade. The rep sells nice shiny new stuff to the farmers and they sell their old kit to breweries with a small consideration for the rep in between. Could also be worth speaking to other breweries to see if they've got a smaller plant that they've upgraded/outgrown that they might be willing to part with. Stuff for food preparation normally has nice rounded corners so that it's easy to clean out whereas stuff headed for more "industrial" uses often has sharper corners that could be difficult to get into. Iain

If it's a type-9 box then yes it just pulls out. If it's an MT75 then it's not that simple and I'm not sure if your new prop will fit. Is reverse over to the left and forwards or to the right and backwards? the first is a type-9, the second is an MT75. Iain

If I'm not too late I'm up for this one and camping. Let me know if I've managed to make it and who I need to get the money to. Iain