agent_zed

ah ok sorry thought you were looking at one to buy, If i can find it i have the brochure somewhere which i think details the 'Plus' option, although it will be at my parents house so wont be able to look til tomorrow at the earliest.

I may well be wrong but i didn't think the superspec is any wider than the 2b. It's pretty much the same chassis and both use the same sierra subframe with the same pick up points. The superspec does have a dropped floorpan to fit the seats lower with the runner fitted from memory. My understanding of the difference between the 2b and 2b plus is that the 2b plus has the double wishbone front suspension as standard. I think it also came with a bunch of parts like seats and service parts which the standard 2b didn't. Can't remember if the plus was always stainless and if it came with the arrays alloys. Oh the plus might also have rear coil over suspension (blue springs i think). The trouble is some options were also available to the standard 2b. Mine is a standard 2b but i chose the double front wishbone suspension option when i bought it. Mine is only mild steel chassis and panels. But you could choose stainless chassis and/or stainless panels as options So things to look for... Is the chassis stainless? Are the panels stainless? Does it have double wishbone suspension or 2 fixed arms with the hubs sliding between (sliding pillar system)? Does it have 5 spoke array alloys Does it have 'recaro' sports seats which have a weird pattern fabric Most of these things aren't that important it's more important how well someone built the car. The only thing i would be keen to make sure it has is the double wishbone suspension as this is much better than the sliding pillar and quite a bit of work to retrofit. If it's a stainless chassis look around the engine mounts and the front cross member where the steering rack is as it has been known to crack. hth

do you have a timing light? having a spark is one thing, having it at the correct point in the cycle is another. From the top of my head i think it is 12 degrees before tdc with the vacuum advance removed. (unless of course you haven't touched the timing since changing the manifold). Do the float bowls have fuel in them?

I've had the week off so started on monday and removed the old asbestos garage roof and all the rotten woodwormed beams and with help from my dad we just put up a brand spanking new tiled roof. Not quite finished the tiling as it's raining hard again and i have to put the other skylight in (putting 2 skylights in). Garage roof is now quite bit higher inside so going to put a 4ft x 12ft platform above the door for storage and the other part of the roof i'll hang bikes and canoes and all the other junk that gets in the way of my car being in the garage. put 15 high tensile wall anchors in to hold the wall plate, which is probably a bit better than the 5 six inch nails hammered into some wood jammed in slits in the wall!!! tarting it up a bit as i've left quite an overhang at the front and side and putting downlights in up the eaves. at some point will replace the floor (currently crazy paving) with a nice concrete floor painted grey. Can't decide whether to dig a pit in while i'm at it

ah ok sorry didn't realise you were adding more power into the mix. I am certainly far from a braking expert so just my thinking... I wonder if the problem you might get is brake fade if you are on the brakes more. I think even if you do change to bigger calipers you may also need to be looking at different pads and the type of disc - do you have vented at the moment? It's a relatively light car so hopefully won't need quite the same stopping power as a mondeo for example as you will be a fair few hundred kgs lighter, which won't generate as much heat in the brakes. A lot quicker and easier to stick some mintex pads on and see if they change your current brakes, unless of course you already have! Others i'm sure will know more and have actual experience over my ponderings

Had to move the car today as rebuilding the garage roof this week coming. So had to do something about the clutch cable and seeing as i haven't bought another quadrant as yet i figured i'd try modding the one i have. So looking at the one i currently have i figured i just need something that will fit down the gap that will follow the curve and not damage the cable. So i experimented with some old bits of cable. I tried some twin 1.5mm electrical cable first. I had to trim the edge to get it thin enough to fit down the gap but was easy enough with a stanley knife. This worked ok in that it held in place and provided more pull but still not enough for my liking. At this point the cable end is in the correct cable holder part. So take 2 ... this time i used 3 core and earth which is about 1cm wide. Again had to trim the edges to fit. Instead of the cable end going in the correct location i've now left it on the upper part above. The cable runs nicely onto the electrical cable and is supported all around the curve and there is still a groove to hold the cable in place. Put a cable tie over the nipple and around the quadrant so it can't slip up and off. Haven't tested in anger yet but so far on the drive it feels good. My only concern is if the cable collapse over time but it is pretty strong and has the 4 pieces of copper cable still inside to give it strength. It's pretty tight in there so can't splay sideways. Guess will just have to see how reliable it is.

If your brakes feel fine i'd leave them as they are! The brakes you currently have are for a car well over a ton and now being used on a car well under a ton so are more than capable with loads to spare. I assume this would only be an upgrade on the front axle. You don't want them to be too powerful that the rears don't get a look in. Unless you have a balance bar etc I still have the servo on my setup but using standard sierra vented fronts and drums rear but can lock the brakes without a problem.

Hey, thanks all. Yep it is the 2wd cosworth version. I did have a normal one on there but that was too short with the new 4-1 manifold and i was worried it was either going to get too hot or the twist that it needed was going to put undue stress on the cable. I have had a cable break before although that was with the normal manifold setup so i think that was just one of those things. The short cable worked ok with just enough pull although reverse was always a bit grindy especially when things heated up as i can only assume the cable stretched a fraction. With the new cable there is so much more stretch as it's a much longer cable. I tried packing it out a bit but all that does is move the point at which the toothed part bites which helped a tiny bit but not enough. I did consider making a cresent shape to fit in the groove to hold the cable up and get more pull. But not sure if it's just easier to get a bigger one. The 55mm one just looked a lot different as it is only a quarter and i wasn't sure if the toothed section would be in the correct position. Florin - whilst i can see your point about the angles there is so much slack/movement where the plastic end fits into the metal part of the seirra pedal box i don't think it will be much of an issue as it will move to where it needs to. hmm maybe i'll try filling the groove first and seeing how reliable that is. thanks

Just fitted a longer clutch cable and clutch will no longer disengage as there just isn't enough pull with current yellow (half circle) quadrant. I could probably modify the quadrant to get more pull but i just want it to work like it should so looking to change to one of the bigger diameter quadrants. The granada does a 50mm version but i think i need more than that to account for slack and loosening in the future. So i am looking at a 55mm version but this only seems to be a quarter of a circle so i am not sure if this fits the sierra pedal box and works with the longer cosworth cable anyone know? thanks

is it these? https://www.gumtree.com/p/car-replacement-parts/kit-car-head-lights-fog-warning-lights-and-reversing-lights/1289920567nothing to do with me just found whilst doing a image search for you. Dunno if still available as it was 7 days ago. hth

yep mine too 1991 sierra lazer.

not a huge amount, most of a stainless small reel and a bit off the mild steel 5k and a small reel of flux cored. Might strip the liner out and see if there are any kinks. I'll check the roller too while i'm at it. thanks

thanks will add that to the list of things to try before i hurl it out the garage door

it's stainless wire so no probs there. It's a steel liner so 'should' be ok and isnt' all that old/used. I did have a problem with the spool being wound with it somehow crossing over itself so had to unwind a fair bit and rewind again. It's annoying as sometimes it goes well and other time not and i haven't changed anything. I am wondering if it's my gas setting though so going to try upping it a bit. Perhaps it's blowing away with the increased distance, annoying as it's expensive buying the small argon bottles. I have seen a piece of metal that you screw to the wire guide to help strengthen it so might try that at somepoint. SIP made me angry when i bought my welder thinking it would take the big 5kg spools only to find you had to buy a plastic part to convert spindle size for £20!!! I thought sod that and cut the centre out of an old small spool so if fits into the big spool. Does the job and costs nothing. Why they think £20 for a small plastic wheel is a fair price god only knows. https://www.welduk.com/product/5-kg-reel-adaptors-sip-10128-10129-s-z?gclid=CjwKCAjws6jVBRBZEiwAkIfZ2tl0HRNUT1XiUxBQleBGrj4bX6VUP0do3GPaBHpKjYcudETNqAwHKRoCAPgQAvD_BwE (The stainless is on a small spool so that's not the problem in this case)

what's the difference in BHP? was it a 1.7 xflow? Prob not a great difference in weight between the xflow and st but the pinto to zetec is about a 30-40kg reduction if i remember the stats correctly. If i get round to changing it just the weight loss would be an instant performance boost. I'm interested to see the modest gain i might get when i fit the bike carbs. At the moment it just doesn't want to rev so i think it is getting lean when the second choke comes in. Guess i'll find out soon (hopefully) Got my new mig tip holder and some spare tips, so i can continue to finish the manifold. Just have to work out why i keep burning back. I've tried increasing distance and playing with the wirespeed and power but only seem to hit the correct setting every so often. I think the wire is a bit jumpy for some reason. Don't buy a sip welder!

a mild cutting compound like t-cut should do the job. Although depending on how deep the fading is you might need a rubbing compound that's a bit harsher to start with. I found the carplan one works well and is cheap eg http://www.andysemporium.co.uk/carplan-rubbing-compound---150g-100927-p.asp?gclid=CjwKCAjws6jVBRBZEiwAkIfZ2qLJqsDU9vJKC99Z1WWvm73KMPFiQjAZaxjYTVeRYKldf1w7GdYfHBoCeYEQAvD_BwE I've only used this on cellulose paintwork though so test carefully on grp before covering it in compound. I've used t-cut in the past on grp so i think that should be fine. hth

xflow to st170 that must be quite a change in power? At some point i should change my old 1.6 pinto but i'm strangely attached to it as it is my original donor engine, and it probably keeps me out of trouble

thanks guys. well i got her refilled with coolant and tried to start her. Didn't seem to want to turn over properly was going fast and then almost stopping until it got past a point. I assume it was the coil pulling too much juice at that point. After a while i could smell the cables getting hot so i stopped. once the cables had cooled i removed the main live to the starter, gave it a wire brush and a bit of copper grease then all back together. Tried again and started within a second or two no probs perhaps i'll get to take it out for a run if the weather is any good. here's hoping

I also used M6 bolts but instead of going from the inside outwards i drilled and tapped the alloy frame to accept the bolts. So i have 3 button head hex bolts instead of the tiny self tappers. I still have the diagonal screw holding the frame together though. Whilst it seems a bit rubbish i was watching a car show the other night and they were building the cobra and they used screws in the same way to hold their windscreen frame together (although might have been 2 screws as i think the frame is wider). Ideally it would be beneficial to weld a strip of steel down the windscreen pillar to prevent the windscreen being pushed back in an accident. I would have done this but i welded threaded lugs on to accept bolts for my door hinges which i guess do similar. I drive through the forest where deer live so my main concern is the windscreen stopping a deer coming up the bonnet at me. I have considered creating a steel rollbar just behind the windscreen bolted to the chassis for this reason. hth

Havin neglected my 2b for the past couple of years i've started to get back into the swing of things and getting some jobs sorted. So recent completed jobs included having to swap out a valve i managed to bend by dropping a nut when i removed the head last year. After that i had to use the car as the daily driver for quite a while after my bmw failed mot. The 2b then decided to blow a hose (admittedly an ancient one) so decided to swap out all the hoses for new. So just finished changing to lovely blue silicone hoses, which clearly adds 50bhp at least just because they are blue Halfway through welding the manifold for my bike carbs. Managed to ruin my mig tip holder so waiting for a new one to arrive. So hopefully can fit the carbs soon. Got to sand down and respray the bonnet, nose cone and arches Noticed the powdercoating has come off on part of the underchassis so have some rust removing and painting to do. Diff needs sealing as leakin oil from front flange New wing mirrors to fit (have them just need to fit) repaint the steering shaft Paint the headlights black as the chrome is gone. Paint the steering boss as it's gone grey. Adjust the ploughbar as i want more clearance. Few more lift the dot fasteners on the boot cover (if i can find the imperial tap i bought to fit the male part to the chassis rail. doh) Lots of tidying bits up, polishing the good paintwork and the windscreen surround If i get time before stoneleigh i want to build grp rear arches and redo the dash but that might not happen Sure the list just got longer now i write it down

The peugeot in the video has Michelin Cross Climates. I do plan on putting a set of all seasons on when my current tyres run out. I ran a set on my bmw 316 but sadly they aren't the right size for the new car. I drove that to the alps a couple of times but somehow missed the snow. I did drive up a driveway that was steep and curved covered in ice with no problems even did a hill start. A fiat panda didn't make it. I had maxxis which were 3 peak and M+S all season which still have ~5mm tread after 25k miles so pretty pleased with them, so would prob look to buy similar. They were also C rated for both wet braking and efficiency which is better than i've seen a fair few normal tyres. It was more tinker-itis that got me wondering if it was an easy bit of tinkering to have AGC, but still unsure if it's just a plug and play module for my current ecu or some trick diff.

Recently bought a peugeot 3008 and got to wondering after all this snow malarky about the AGC (advanced grip control) system on some of them, which sadly mine doesn't have. Still think its a really nice car though I did a quick google but didn't find many answers but does anyone know whether it is possible to retrofit it? Is it just an ecu controlled thing or are there actually mechanical differences? Not sure how well my car would go with just all seasons but with the agc it seems to be pretty good at driving up a 1in3 ski slope

Florin - thts the tab i was refering to above. RH laser cut a tab into the floorpan of my 2b (2002).it was for access to the front grease nipple.

good point but on my car there is a tab cut into the floor pan to enable greasing of the front prop joint. I would think if you can get a second pair of hands you could get them to manipulate the front of the prop through the hole. Perhaps?!

I was under the impression the side panels of the tunnel form part of the strength of the tub for the floor. Mine is bolted to the floor plan at the bottom and screwed into the top tunnel rail to create a pretty strong box through the centre to hold the floor. Be careul if you make one of the sides removable that you don't weaken the floor structure. Should be ok if you bolt it all back in i wouldn't make it 'too' removable if you get what i mean. hth