PARTS AND MATERIALS

Finding y beststarti ng a d o n o rc a ri s p ro babl the point,although you probably won't needany partsfrom it for a while.lf you'repushed for (asmostof us are)you'llfind it difficult space to storea chassis as well asthe donorcarwhich, when stripped, will take up the space of around th re ec a rs . N o ta n i d e a d l o mesti si c tuati on. believe me. T h i sb o o kd e s c ri b e s e bui l di ng th of a car based on partsfrom a FordSierra, but th ro u g h o ult' l l g i v eh i n tsa ndti psfor usi ng otherdonors with a similar set-up. Whichever caryou pickfor the running gear,it should be rear-wheel-drive with independent re a rs u s p e n s i o n . So u rc i na g d o n o rc a r n eednot be di ffi cul t, as long as you keepyoureyes open.Because of the downturnin the priceof scrap, most d e a l e rs w i l l c h a rg e a ro u n d f30 for col l ecti ng old cars, and your kindofferto takethe car off the owner'shands for nothinq will seem p o s i ti v e g l ye n e ro u s ! A good course of actionwould be to scan the 'breaking and salvage' section of your localfree advertisement paper, or to place an advertin the wantedsection. Manylocal councils havea carcollection service. A number of peopleI know havefoundtheirdonors this way,although one or two havehadto take theirspanners down to the yardand remove everything themselves on site!Whentaking this routeit's bestto emphasise the 'recycling' aspect. Most of the energy that is usedby a car in it's lifetime is in it's manufacture, and by reusingcar partsyou are recycling and saving the planet. you a warm glow doesn't Gives itl You maybe ableto place an ad in your local

shopor garage. Also,try gettingto know your localMoTtester who mightbe prepared to tip you off if a suitable car becomes available. lt you know has,or knows couldbe that someone of, a suitable car.Ask around - you never know. Anotheralternative isto source a complete car, parts, or the necessary from a scrapyard. lf you usethismethodit will be moreexpensive as the yardneeds to makea profit.lf moneyis no object, then you can buy a complete donor package - checkout the kit car press. Because this is a budgetbuild,try to buy a runni ng caron w hi chyou cantestthe dr ive trai n.Makesure gearb ox, that the engi ne, f r ont uprights and rearaxle/final driveassembly are (The servi ceabl e. braki ng andsteeri ng must be overhauled.) lf you'reunsure, takealonga friendwho knowsaboutcars.Don'tforgetto haggle if necessary, and remember that MoT failures aren'treally worth anything to the general publ l c. A fri end of mi nefounda donorby chance. Seeing a carwith a flat tyre and grass growing aroundit in someone's front garden, he enqui red andfoundthat i t w asan MoTf ailur e because of weldingto the rearsub-frame mountsand front innerwings.This, of course, was not a problem for hispurposes, but he kept i t i n mi ndasa bargal ni ng poi ntw hen i t cam e to agreei ng a pri ce. A s i t happened, thoug h, when he asked the pricethe ladythrew him the keys andsai d," l ' l l be gl adto seethe backof it ! " The nextday he arrived with a trailer and winch and put the keysin the ignition to release the steering lock.lust out of curiosity he gavethe keya twist. lt started!He drovethe car up onto the trailer and whisked awavhisbaroain.

26

B UI LD Y O UR O W N SP O R TC SA R

STR IP P I NGT HE DO N OR C AR Proper organisation of yourworkspace is vital. Trynot to put heavy components wherethey couldfall or be trippedoverand,wherepossible, d ra i n a l lf luids and dis po s o e f th e m re s p o n s i b l y . - most Yo u rl o c al c ounc il dum ow i l l a d v i s e haveoil tanksfor usedoil. Usea barrier cream g lov es a n d /o r when han d l i n g used o i l ,a s i t c a n be carcinogenic. A powerwasher is useful for i n rti acl l e aning of non- el e c tri c ca ol m p o n e n ts . I useda large fencepost preserver bucket and paraffin for the cleaning. Usea wire brushto clean off roaddirt and oil.The paraffin leaves a sl i g h tly oilyf inis h whic hp ro te c ts th e p a rts , but mustbe cleaned off if you intendto use p a i n ta sa f inis h on t he p a rts . H o m eb l a s ti n g cabinets areavailable and makea greatjob of gr im e, re mo ving r us tand o l d p a i n t, butyoumust makesurethat anyoilways, bearing surfaces or electncal components are protected from damage. Besureto storethe partsin a way that will not cause deterioration and won't be a hazard as you work. Metalracking is probably best- it's sturdy and easy to keepclean. Th ea ppr opr iatHay e n em s a n u aw l o u l db e a g o o dp ur c has e, not onl yfo r th e d i s ma n tl i n g a n d re b uild, but als of or a n vre c o n d i ti o n i n q you wishto do. Be methodical asyou stripthe donor.Where possible, put nuts,boltsand screws backonto y ou hav ere m o v e d th e co m ponent . ga n d l a b e l Ba

- you mightknow exactly smallcomponents what theyareand wherethey go today,but will you in two years' time?lf necessary, marklarger components with a paintmarker or correction fl u i d .H avi ng removed the l oomandel ectri cal e q u i pment, re-attach the components to the w i ri n gw hereyou can,and l abel the w i resusi ng pen.Makethe ma s k i ng tapeand a marker writingclearand large, as it tendsto deteriorate i n th e garage envi ronment. Thi sbel tand braces approach ensures that you know whichwire goeswherewhen it comes to reassembly. lf you havethe facilities, takephotographs of the parts in-situ as a furtheraid. Keepa writtenlog of yourexpenses particularly and keepreceipts, if you intendto get a new or donorage-related registration number. THE PARTS REQUIRED FROM T H E D ON OR C A R I E n gi ne - starter lncluding all ancillaries motor,alternator, manifolds, distributor, carburettor. lf yourSierra you canusei t, but the pl enum h a sfu el i nj ecti on, c h a mber w i l l sti ckup through the bonnet, unl ess mo d i fi ed. l t mi ghtbe easi er to fi nd an i nl et manifold and carburettor from a non-injection Si e rr a. Modi fi cati ons w i l l be requi red to the fuel system and a new petroltank will needto be made(seeChapter 7).

V F i g .3 . 1 C h o o s e t he bestdonor car you can afford and, if possible, take a test drive beforeyou buy.

m
PARTS AND MATERIALS2'

Y Fig .3.2A Fo rdSie r r a rear axleassembly. Y ours will pro ba blylo ok liketh is,to o, bu t you can work wonderswith a wire bru shan d a lit t le elbo w g rea se !

I G e a rb o x partsshoul dn'be S ome t re-used, pa r t icular ly In c l u d i nc gl u tc h a s s e m b land y mounti ng brackets. braki ng andsteeri ng parts. w eari ng E ver yt hing Early Sierras arefitted with a four-speed box, elseyou removed shouldbe inspected very lateroneswith a five-speed. Thefour-speed carefully to ensure that it is serviceable. lf you're transmission tendsto givebetteracceleration, the not certai n that the partsareusabl e, get t hem five-speed betterfuel economy and lowernoise checked by a professional mechanic or electrician sr ei nterchangeabl o u tp u t.B o thg e a rb o x e a e,ng usi th e a p p ro p ri a te c l u tc h c o mponents andfl vw heel R E C ON D ITION IN G spigot b e a ri n g . f B raki ngsystem I B ra k ema s te rc y l i n d e r Check that the front discs are not warpedor I Wi n d s c re e n w a s h e rsystem, cracked andthat the cal l i pers have ful l m ovem ent i f re o u i re d andaren' tl eaki ng. A l socheck the drum s on t he p i p e a n d s i l encer I Exhaust rearbrakes for wearand the wheelcylinders I Wh e e l s ,i n c l u d i n gty res and nuts for leakage and free movement. Youwill need I R e a rb ra k e p ro p o rti o ni ngval ve to repl ace partsof the braking anysuspect I C l u tc h ,h a n d b ra k e , s p eedometer system. Scored reardrumscan be re-faced by an a n d a c c e l e ra toc r ables engi neeri ng shop, but onl yi f suffi ci en t at er ial m I H a n d b ra k e lever remains. lf they've beenre-faced before, the I In s tru me n tc l u s te r surface maybe too thi n to havei t doneagain. As I Ste e ri n g w h e e l a n d col umnassembl y, a matterof course, brakepadsand shoes should c o m p l e tew i th i g n i ti on l ock and be repl aced, unl ess obvrousl y and unwor n, new s w i tc hg e a r andyouw i l l be fi tti ngnew fl exi bl e and r igid I Ba tte ry(i f i n g o o d c ondi ti on) pi pes. brake I W i ri n g l o o m a n d s w i t ches I l g n i ti o n c o i l I Starter motor I H o rn C heck the pi ni on i sfreeto moveandth att he I F u s eb o x a n d a l l n e c essary rel ays and teetharei n goodcondi ti on, and l ubri c at e fl a s h e ru n i t w i th l i ghtoi l .Makesurethatthe el ectr ical I F u e lp i p e connecti ons aresecure, andcheck that t he I S e a tb e l ts (i f i n g o o d condi ti onand motoroperates by connecting it to a y o u ' re n o t fitti ng harnesses) a s s u mi n g good battery.

\x

w
.;,i.#i,*i

i-

l q'*'st-s

'

i,r1:,i.ii;t
":;,, tt,''"!,
,.1 r,":

28

B UI LD Y O UR OW NS POR TC SAR

I Exh aus t My fi rs tex hauswas t bu i l tu s i n g s u i ta b l y . is mo d i fied donorpar t s Th w i l l d o th e l o b b u t p e rh aps is n' tc os m et ica l ye a l E il d . xhaus cte n tre s can be a good source parts. of alternative C h e ck theirs c r ap bins , b u t a s kfi rs t!S p e c i a l i s t su p p l i er y o u n e e di f cs ans elly ou al lth e p a rts you want to builda new system for yourself, a n dcom plet e r eady - m a d se y s te ms a rea v a i l a b l e fro m M K E ngineer ing . I Wi ring loom Th eSi er r a loom ,depen d i no gn th e m o d e l c , an b e ve r yc om plic at ed. Y o uw o n ' t h a v e e l e c tri c w i n d o wsair , c on,int er i olri g h ts o r a h e a te d re a r w indow, s o m uc ho f th e l o o mc a nb e removed. At a basic levelit's easier to remove a l lth e loombindings an dtra c e th e w i re s to th e co mp o nent ts hat y ou ne e d .Pl a c e th e e l e c tri c a l items approximately wheretheywill be in the fj n i sh ed c arand r em ov e a l lth e w i re s th a t y o u d o n 'tneed. W ir ingloom s fo r o u r ty p eo f c a r -g ca nb e bought f r om M K E n g i n e e ri n th i si s n ' t a ch e a p opt ionbut it wi l l b e q u i c k e r. PAR TS F RO M O T HER SOU R C ES I Ste e r ing r ac k Usea FordEscort Mk ll steering rack,new or se co n d- hand. Y ourloc a l mo to rfa c to rs willbe a b l eto get y ou a s t and a rd o n e a n d ,b e c a u s e p o p u l a ri ty o f th e E s c or t 'c sont jnu e d i n ra l l y i n g

you canget racks circles, in various ratios from (l useda th e speci al i ral st l y suppl y compani es. 2.9 turnslock-to-lock rackand thisseems to be i d e a l .) Obtai n the rackmounti ng rubbers and clamps too. I 2 x S teeri ng rackextensi ons T h e se canbe bought from MK E ngi neeri ng o r m adeby anycompetent machi ne shop fro m the di agram i n C hapter 5. l2x N ew S i erra track-rodends

I 2 x N ew FordTransi tdrag-l i nkends (L o c kheed part number TA 298or equi val ent) E n sure thatyou get tw o components of the s a m epartnumber, the ri ght-hand threaded l t w oul dbe usual o n e s. to buyone of each handfor useon the Transit. These form the to p b al l -j oi nts on the frontsuspensi on. I2 x A usti n Maxi l ow er bal l j oi nts (U n i part part number GS J 188or equi val ent) I4 x C oi l -over dampers F ro nt and reardampers are 13i nopenand 9 i n c l osed. S uggested spri ng rates 35Ol b p e r i nchfront,2001b per i nchrear. Other sizes of damper can be accommodated positions by altering the bracket on the c h a ssi s. S ui tabldampers e avai l ablfrom e MK E ngi neeri ng.
{ Fig.3.3 A Ford Escort Mk ll steering r a c ka n d aftermarket a l u m in i u m r a c kc l a m p s .

/ _'t

,,;

PARTS AND MATERIALS29

I 16xpol yurethane bushes

Spo f h:ntc r \ {nr dot:i l c

I S V Acompl i antl i ghti ng l f you have you canuset he the S V Amanual posi ti oni ng di agrams. A ny l i ghti ng need s t o be E -marked andsecurelfi ytted R equi re m ent se ar (w hi ch tw o front headl i ghts shoul d i nclude side l i ghts), red rearl i ghts, brake l i ghts, refl ect or s, i ndi carors f rontand backw i th si derepe at er s. A hi ghi ntensi ty rearfog l ampshoul d be f it t ed on the centrel i ne or offsi de of the car. I S eats or adaptabl ebackseat Manysmal hatchbacks l have sui tabl se e at s, or you canadapta rearseaIas show ni n C hap t er '1 . '1 I R adi ator TheS i erra radi ator i s too w i deto fi t i n th e nosecone. An alternative needs to be sourced from a modern smal hatchback. l These ar em or e effi ci ent, si ze for si ze, andareeasi l y abl et o cope w i th a 2 0-l i tre engi ne. TheN i ssan Mi cr a, Renault C l i oandV ol ksw agen P ol oradi ators aresuit able I E l ectri c fan W hereappl i cabl you e, mustremembetr o r em ove the bel t-dri ven cool i ng fan fromthe eng ine ast her e probably won't be roomfor it You needa fan that you canusei n the ori gi nal ori entat ion t o t he caryou takei t from Onethat si tsi n fro ntof t he radi ator and bl ow sai rthrough i s probably best . A veryni cecastal umi ni um one i sfi ttedto t he C i troen B X range. l f fi tti nga w i ndscreen youw i l l al soneeda w i ndscreen w i permotor, cabl e, w heelboxes andw i pers from a R over Mi ni .Thel ate r onesar e preferred astheyare l w o-speed. E nsure t hatt hey meetthe S V Arequi rements per m inut e of 45 cycl es andthat theysel fparkout of the dri ve r 's view. In addi ti on, a smal heater l canbe fi tted. Those from a R over Mi nianda V ol ksw agen P o lo ar e sui tabl e, buI you needto deci oe at an ear ly sLage goi ngto fi t a heater, i f you' re as modi ficat ions to the bul khead w i l l be necessary OTH E R MA TE R IA LS R E QU IR E D R efer to A ppendi x 1 for di mensi ons and patterns of manufactured steelcomponents I R ectangul ar hol l ow steelsecti ons: ' l 6sw g 25 x 25mmsquare 19x 19mmsquare 16sw g 51 x 25mm 16sw g

3 ()

B UI LD Y O UR O W N SP O R TC SA R

OTHER MATERIAL SOURCES Vanand truckbreakers can be a good source of a l u mi ni um sheet. Luton-type vansusual l have y l arge a l u mi ni um sheeted si des. I' d advi se somesortof powered metalshear or cutteras it's a hardjob by (take h a n d, but not i mpossi bl e somefri ends al ong - m a ny(sore) hands makel i ghtw orkl ) A greatsource for otherpartsis the autojumble. Thinkof a car boot salewith nothingbut car partsand you'vegot it. To me, muchof the fun j umbl es i n b ui l di ng the carw as moochi ng around looking for that elusive bargain. We usedto make a familyeventof it, although the wlfe and kids got a faraway sometimes look in theireyes! Things likeshockabsorbers, parts lightsand glassfibre areoftento be found at theseevents, as well as new brakepartsand pipeand fittings. Parts for re c ondi ti oni ng andservi ci ng areusual l cheap y too. Lookout for events in magazines and newspapers. Scrapyards aren'tthe treasure trovethey used to be. Untila few years ago theywere literally yards full of scrap cars, and you wandered in In a d dit ion, if y ou' r e f it ti n ga fu l lw i n d s c re e n with yourtool kit, took what you wantedto the yo u 'l ln eeds om ealum in i u m U -s h a p ee dx tru s i ofo n r owner(whilst avoiding hismassive, oilydog)got a the frameand glass cut to yourpattern, priceand walkedawaywith it. Not any more.The carrying an approved BSkite markapplied by the glass traditional scrappy hasbeenforcedout of business manufacturer. Notethat thiscannotbe applied by by EEC directives on fluid disposal, etc.,and has the glass supplielevenif the glass ltselfcomplies. beenreplaced by the 'dismantler'. These concerns stillhavea yardbut they don't let you in. Instead, FINDING T HE S T E E L you go intotheirofficeand tellthem what you As I saidin my introduction, I was luckyto get want and theyfetchit from the warehouse. Thisis a l lth e steel I r equir ed greatfor mostpeople, f or f 1 0 .Yo um i g h tb e but not for the scavenger luckytoo. Manyfabrication companies havepiles who needs to 'find a part to do the job' not a of off-cutsteel part from a particular that they haveto paysomeone car.My own car hasparts to takeaway, so it'sworth asking suchfirmsif from Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Rover, Fiat, Citrodn, you can havea rummage. Theymightnot let Porsche, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and,of course, you get the steelyourself because of healthand you can get overthe threshold Ford. Sometimes (thisalsoapplies safety concerns to the exhaust of the yard,but they're so afraidof the healthand centres), but if you givethem a listof materials, safety aspects that it's not likely. You canfind out they mightoblige. lf yoursteelisfrom different what otherbuilders haveusedviathe clubor on places, ensure that it's all the samethickness, or th e i n ternet forums, andthenvi si t the di smantl er usesimilar-sized tubesin the samelocations on and buy.Prices haveincreased because of the

R o u nds t eelt ube: 1 9 mmdiam et er 16s w g 2 5 mmdiam et er 16s w g 33.1diameter x 2.6mm Se a m less st eelt ubet 2 5 mmdiam et er 1 9 mm diam et er Round steel bar stock: 2 0 mm ,26m m ,3O m m Steelsheet: 1 6 sw g 3mm steelplateoffcuts Steelstrip: 4 1 x 3m m ,25 x 3m m , 1 3x 3 mm Ste e lor alum iniumt u b e , p e tro l re s i s ta n t ru b b e r hos eand c lip sfo r fu e l ta n k fi l l e r I Al u m iniums heet : - 1 .2 m m halfhar d I2 5 mm alum iniumc a p p i n gs tri p I Ru b bers t r ip 30 x 2m m I Ne w r igid br ak e pipe a n d fi tti n g s I Fl e xible f r ont and r e a r b ra k e p i p e sfo r th e d o nor c ar I N e w br ak e padsand s h o e s I H a rdboar d or t hin pl y , s p o n g ea n d v i n y l fo r i n t er ior panels ,if re q u i re d I Se a l a nt I Pa i n tm at er ials as r eq u i re d I Gl a ss f ibr e m at er ials i,f ma k i n g y o u r o w n o a n e ls I Asso r t edf ix ings ,inc l u d i n gri v e ts(3 x 1 0 mm) ,nut s ( loc k inga n d p l a i n ),b o l ts a n d setscrews, clipsand self-tappingscrews I l I I I I

eachsideof yourframeto ensure the chassis flexes in the sameway on both sides. Thinklaterally aboutthe sources of materials. Who might usethat material and consequently havesomeleft over? For example, I was unable to find seamless steeltube in the localengineering shops or eventhe steel stockholders. Askingaround, I discovered that one of the biggest users of seamless tube are hydraulics manufacturers. A few quickphonecalls got the you can buy new steel tube sorted. Of course, from a stockholder if all elsefails.

{ Fig.3.4 Coil-over shockabsorbers suitable for the Roadste; from Protech(left) and (right). Dampertech \ Fig.3.5 You'll need a r a d i a t o rl i k et h i s o n e from a RenaultClio o r s i m i l a rA . l s ov isi b l e in this pictureare the electric fan and the expansion bottle for the coolingsystem.

PARTS AND MATERIALS 31

) Fig.3.6 A typical scrapyard scene - min d the d og !

policy legislation, but the upside is that the returns hasimproved. Theold policyinvolved that dog I was talkingabout. Othersources include wantedadsfor partsin (asyou mayhavedonefor your the localpapers donorcar)and,of course, word of mouth.Ask yourfriends around and relatives. I discovered that my cousin useda firm that cutsglass for plant(forklifts, diggers, etc.)- result, one freewindscreen. It's moredifficult to source thingslikeseparate roundinstruments thesedays. and the book shows you how to usethe donorcar'sinstrument paner, suitably modified. Somecarsthat arestillaround in the scrapyards haveroundinstruments - the Skoda saloons and Porsche 924scometo mind. New roundindividual instruments areavailable. and sometimes thesecomeup second-hand. Althoughthey'regenerally robust, checkcarefully anysecond-hand instruments. Again,autojumbles area good source. ALTERNATIVES. EN G IN ES A N D G E AR B OX E S Because the engine space in the Roadster is quitelargethere's potential for choosing from a powerunits. wide rangeof different The main stumbling block,though,is the needfor a rear(RWD) gearbox wheel-drive but, as we'll see,this problem. neednot be an insurmountable Fordhasmadethingseasier for us in one important way.All Fordengines, from the 1960s up to today's Zetecbased Duratec engines, share the samegearbox/engine bolt pattern. But,on the verylatest Mazda-developed Duratecs it's been c h a n g e dS . hame!

car,it will eitherhavea four-speed TypeE or a fivespeed Type9 RWDgearbox. Thefive-speed box can be fittedto any Pintoby changing the flywheel spigotbearing and clutchcomponents to the five-speed type.Thisengine was manufactured i n 1.3,1.6,1.8and2.0- lit r e versions, and therewas an American 2.3-litre engi ne w hi chw asnever sol di n the U K. A hostof tuningpartsareavailable. Some petrol Pintoengines aresuitable for unleaded al lthose w i th cyl i nder heads ori gi nal ly e quipped with fuel injection are,and so arethosemarked M, MM, N , N N (1.6l i tre), S ,S S(1.8l i tre) and P,PP R, RR(2.0litre). The marks will be found adjacent to No.4 sparkplugon the head. The Cosworth 16-valve turbocharged engine was a development you won't seemanySierra of thisengine, although Cosworth donors! I Ford CVH Thi sengi ne w asfi ttedto some1.6and I . 8 Sier r as with the five-speed Type9 gearbox. Relatively few tuningmodifications arearound, but all these engi nes aresui tabl for e unl eaded fuel . I Ford DOHC8v Thisisthe second of the alternative engines fitted to the Sierra from 1989.lt's a tall and heavy engine not popular with the tuners, although a l6-valve version was fittedto the Escort RS2000. This engine will be matedto the laterMT75gearbox, which is larger than the Type9 and mayrequire somemodification to the transmission tunnelto fir.

I Ford Kent crossflowOHV Originally fittedto the Angliaand Mk I and Mk l l E scorts, thi sengi ne i s hi ghl y tuneable, but it 's I Ford Pinto SOHC now veryold technology. Theywouldoriginally Thisis the engine we haveusedfor the car gearbox, havebeenfittedwith a four-speed but described in this book.Usuallv freewith the donor the five-speed Type9 boxfits verynicely, although

32

B UI LD Y O UR O W NSP O R TC SAR

someclutchpartsneedto be mixedand matched. As standard, theseengines are unsuitable for u n l e a d efd uel,but y ou c a ne i th e r u s ea n a d d i ti v e to the fuel,or havestainless steelexhaust valves fitted.

RWDgearbox from a Corolla or Celica can be fitted,but theseare becoming increasingly rare. Ag a i n , bespoke bel l housi ngs pl ates andadapter save the day.

I M o torcycl e engi nes I RoverK-series popul althese In c reasi ngl y engi nes combi ne l i ght Sma la l n d light , t hes e eng i n e a s reu s e db y m a n y weightand remarkable powerfor therrcapacity. specialist car manufacturers aswell as Rover. T h e yarel i teral lat y the cutti ng edgeof engi ne Ava i l a b lie n 1. 1 c a p a c i ti e s in , 1. 4,1. 6an d 1 .8 -l i tre technology. A six-speed gearbox sequential is part both8-valve and 16-valve versions. As standard it package of the complete you would get from a comes with a transverse gearbox, but bellhousings donorbike.Thiscan be linked by rodsor cables plates andadapter areavailable to fit a FordType to a gearlever or Formula Onestylesteering . ll engines 9 g e a rb o x A ar ed e s i g n eto d ru n o n w h e e lpaddl e system. A l l thi sl eads to opti mal unleaded fuel.Theyhavea reputation for head performance on track,but the powerplant has gasket problems, but this is mostly down to poor downsides for roaduse.Thefirst is the lack ma i n te n anc e s er v ic in g . and of a reverse gear.You mightthinkthat you can manage without,but it becomes seriously I RoverV8 i rri ta ti ng w henparki ng and manoeuvri ng. Thi s Ori g i n a lly a B uic k des ign, t h i sh a sb e e nth e e n g i n e can be overcome by the fittingof a reverse box of choice for specialist manufacturers (u s u al liy requiring n the transmi ssi on tunnel w ) hi chi s a l i g h ta n d power f ul V 8 en g i n eA . g o o dd o n o r operated by a lever or switch, but ail thisadds wouldbe the SD1Rover whichcomes with a weightand leads to a certain amountof power RWDgearbox. Unfortunately, theseare usually loss, not to mention the extracost. automatics, but manuals can be found.Latemodel Anotherfactorto consider is the amount original Range Rovers mayhaveengine capacities o f g e a rchangi ng i nvol ved w hendri vi ng a up to 4 .5 lit r esP . os t1980e n q i n e a s res u i ta b l fo e r b i k e -e ngi ned caron the road,andl he' buzzy' un l e a d ed f uel. nature of the exhaust, whichcan be seriously w e a ring on a l ongj ourney. H avi ng sai dal lthat, I Fi a ttw in- c am th e th r i l lof a bi ke-engi ned car i n the ri ght - im m e n s e tu A j e we lo f an engine ly neable and e n v i ronment i s seri ousl y cti ve. addi S ee the - pr od u c e d wi th a b i g f ollowing in '1 .3 to 2 .0 alternatives section in Chapter 6 for motorcycle litrecapacities and usedin Alfa Romeo models engine f i tti ngsuggesti ons. aswell.It was lastusedin RWDform in the Fiat plates 13'lMirafiori. Adapter areavailable to fit ALTERNATIVES - REAR AXLE the FordType9 gearbox. You'llhaveto usean Thetype of finaldrivewe needis secured additive, or convert it to hardened valve seats, to to the bodyshell of the donorcarand the r u n o n u n leaded f uel. d ri v e shafts and hubsareattached usi ng trai l i ng or semi-trariing arms. The methodof differential I Va u xh all XE attachment varies from vehicle to vehicle. The A verypopular16-valve engine usedin Astras, Sierra, for example, hasthrough-bolts which Cavaliers and Calibras. A tuner's favourite in locate into the underbody, but the MX-5 has 2.0-litre form.A five-speed gearbox from an Opel a largerubber-mounted subframe. Some Mantaor Vauxhall Carlton/Senator with RWD differentials arefixedthroughthe top and others will fit and,as usual, adapters for the five-speed th ro u g h the si des of the casi ng. Fordgearbox areavailable. These engines were To usean alternative rearaxle,it's necessary de si g n efor d unleaded f uel . to fix the differential on the centreline of the car and level with the outputend of the gearbox I Toyota 4AGE p l ates using si mi l ar to the S i erra-based versi on. A sma la l nd lightengine, r i th k i t v e ryp o p u l aw Placing the differential in position in the chassis, ca rb u i l d er s T.hec om bina ti oo nf l i g h tw e i g h ta n d measure carefully to the structure and make good poweroutput makeit an idealchoice. Most plates to supportit. lt's vitalthat the plates are applications of thisengine aretransverse, i.e.FWD, strongenoughas the forces involved are high. or mid-engined RWDas in the Toyota MR2.A T50 SeeChapter 5 for rearuprightmodifications.

PARTS AND MATERIALS33