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Rev most alternators fast enough and they will self excite. This relies on residual magnetism in the rotating exciting iron pole pieces. Typicaly engine needs to get to 1500 - 2000 RPM with 2.5 to 1 pully diameter running the alternator at 3750 to 5000 RPM. Once started alternators will self excite down to very low RPM. New alternators might not self excite first time run and need the light for the first run only. Forgot to add bulb is a usefull indicator of snapped drive belt.

Oil and handbrake/brake fluid lights need to be wired to live. the switches connect to earth.

It depends on how accurate / repeatable you want the guages to be. If you are happy with a vague indication then no regulator required they will move about 5 to 10% depending on engine speed and other loads on the electrical circuit. Otherwise a voltage regulator will make them stable.

I had problems with overheating in traffic untill I mounted the electric fan directly to the radiator. I was using the ford engine mounted fan. I have the radiator mounted between the suspension butress and the engine and not in the nosecone. Biggest cooling problem has been the system eating thermostats untill I filled with old style glycol antifreeze.

Oh dear, more drag, hood not fitting, side screens flapping. Get the old ones shot blasted and powder coated.

I like your ingenuity and a good result. As a point of interest these are side screens and not doors. Why? Doors have to have burst proof locks and impact protection, screens to keep the rain out do not require this.

Thanks for the effort, I need a new sweatshirt as the old ones are getting a bit thin. Only problem is that the prices come up in dollars and it is now 11 years since I lived in Seattle USA. How long does the web trace us? BigBrother still lives.

I dont think that there are any NOS (New Old Stock) left since production stopped over 20 years ago. Hence the high price for second hand ones of dubious quality. I think that the easiest option is to use landrover engine mounts and a flat adaptor plate.

love the only do one thing wrong at a time idea.

Upgrade to basic electronic ignititon and fit a 3.0ohm coil, no need for a ballast then. https://www.aldonauto.co.uk/ignition/ignitor-i

So a points based system then.

I fit NGKAPR6FS which are I understand standard ford fitment to Sierra pintos. These are resistor plugs. The resistor acts to supress electrical noise messing up the radio.

Are not most spark plugs resistor type anyway? I think that these went out of use a long time ago.

My reaction is to replace the yellow quadrant with the black one as this is a larger diameter thus pulling a bit more cable and getting more release on the clutch. I had a similar problem and this has been the long term cure.

The spindles have a black plastic sleeve that stays still with the spindle rotating within the sleeve. This was original ford. I will accept crude but a lot of robin hood design was crude. It has stood the test of time since 1997 and nearly 70,000 miles, only off the road a due to a couple of 6 month working abroad spells.

This is the sierra wipers as seen from outside. The arms are cutdown sierra arms. the 2 stainless bolts hold the wiper mechanism to the scuttle and sikaflex fills in the slots. Others have shown pics of BMC /Landrover wipers which use a rack and are a very different kettle of fish. pics from under the scuttle did not come out I will try again.

Pity that you do not have the adjustable colum from the later sierras.

I managed to fit the modified sierra wipers back in 1997. I sealed round the spindles with sikaflex which has stood the test of time. I did not modify the holes in the scuttle but had the spindles more upright than you appear to have yours, I cut down the sierra arms and had to strech the spring to make them work. I think that the wipe speed is just below the SVA requirement when the screen is dry but is OK when wet. I have since replaced the arms and blades as the blades died after 20 years. I will try to get pics tomorrow

I always thought that it was a pair of wool socks and a pair of highly polished brogues that are worn under a kilt. A dirk in the sock is optional and only to be used on an englishman who calls it a skirt.

I have a 1983 reg car, 2 years off tax free, Of course many years ago I had a 1973 car due under the old system to be tax free (then 25 years I recall) when historic cars got frozen at before 1971, westminster can and will change the rules to suit rasing revenue where they can, so I might not get it this time. With the advent of tax free electric cars expect the car tax rules to have a big shake up soon as more nissan leafs and teslas join the car fleet.

It was over 10 years ago and I appear to have lost the paperwork but I know that my springs are a bit softer at 160 lb. I also had to drill out to 1/2" this is because the smaller rubber inserts were overloaded.

They look like the robin hood own brand zimmerides. (did I spell that right?) I had them but replaced with Gaz. They were modified shocks from the original minis ( not the new bmw mini). RH turned a thread on steel tube with a lathe fitted with a 4 jaw chuck. The adjustable nuts are fitted the wrong way round, the thinner nut should be on top.

Your car is lighter than the doner cortina probably around half the weight. Top speed is a bit less as our cars are not very good aerodynamically, that windscreen is flat and fairly upright. The donor brakes were designed by ford to stop the heavier car whilst fully loaded with 5 adults and their luggage whilst pulling a trailer. In other words even driving like you stole it the standard brakes will have plenty of margin. EDIT to say they will be good if not worn out.

I think that the off center is not a problem. The Exmo and series 3 ( and probably more RH cars) had the engine offset a couple of degrees from straight to give more foot room in the drivers foot tunnel giving more room round the pedals. the front of the engine is nearly central but the gearbox mount and transmission tunnel is displaced left so the engine/gearbox is not strait. This does not cause vibration problems. A lot of production cars did not have a straight power line and did not have problems with vibration. I have had problems in the past with out of round tyres, easy to check, jack the wheel up and spin it whilst observing the tread of the tyre for even rotation.

If you want a bit more information. https://www.littelfuse.com/~/media/automotive/catalogs/littelfuse_fuseology.pdf