Stripping the donor car (part 2)
Took a week off work to get stuck in to the build. I decided to finish stripping the sierra first so I could get rid of the shell and improve the view. First up was retrieving the diff from under the car - this went well until I got to the final bolt! I got the nut undone and started using a socket extension bar to knock the bolt out and ended up with the bolt and the socket extension bar stuck fast. I the end I managed to get the whole sub-frame off and then get the bolt and socket bar out, then get the diff off.
All thats left now is to drag out the engine and gearbox. I used my biggest hacksaw to cut the front of the car open and remove the bonnet to improve access. With the use of a good engine crane and able assistant Alan it was an easy job to lift it and drag it into the workshop. Ford's thoughtfulness in designing a large flat bottomed sump means that the engine and g/box sits upright quite happily - which was nice!
A quick look under the rocker cover confirmed my suspicions that the cam lobes were pretty worn, which is a well known weak spot on this engine. Further investigation of the engines internals will have to wait until I have steam cleaned it. The Sierra is now totally stripped and ready for the crusher!
Painting the Chassis
Made a start on painting the the chassis and quickly decided that the powder coating option would have been a lot easier. Never-mind at least I get to inspect the top quality welding close up!
I gave the whole chassis 2 coats of Johnstones red oxide primer followed by a top coat of Jenolite gloss black chassis enamel.
Fitting the Floor
With the chassis painted the next task is to fit the Aluminium floor. This is supplied as part of the kit and is already cut to shape of the chassis apart from the gearbox cutout in the transmission tunnel. I think this is to allow for motorbike engined cars where the gearbox doesn't extend into the tunnel.
The floor is attached to the chassis using polyurethane sealant/adhesive and rivets. With the chassis upside down I clamped the floor panel to to the lower chassis rails, marked out and drilled the rivet positions. I then marked out the gearbox cutout profile using the chassis as a guide and removed the necessary section using left and right hand tinsnips.
I managed to forget the camera when I did this so these pictures show the finished job - easy eh!
