The end is nigh

Again I apoloogise for the lack of posts....I did go away on holiday for a week!

Well I have good progress to report.

Engine is back in on fully welded mounts - made from 6mm steel. I orginally used tube to connect the engine plate to the base plate, but this caused problems with getting the nut onto the mount. I got a local fabrication company to weld these up for me.

The coolant pipes are now complete. I used the swaged ends off a spare metal pipe from the Mondeo to make a blank for the heater pipe and the spur which goes into the water pump pipe and acts as a bypass for before the thermostat opens.

The GBS manifold had to be modified on the final bend as it did not exit at the correct angle to allow the silencer to fit. It is all now fitted with the silencer mounted on a modified Pinto exhaust bracket (call it recycling!)

Whilst on holiday I purchased another set of carbs - this time from a Kwaka ZRX1100. These sit more vertical than the ZX6 carbs and I have made a manifold to fit - the second version infact as the first was slightly too long and the carbs touched the brake master cylinder.

I removed all the rear panels and I have made a bracket to mount the fuel pump under the boot floor. Just needs wiring up.

Once I got all the main bits back in tonight I decided just to see if the engine would at least turnover - and it did! All I need now is an ignition system!

Getting there

I know there has been a lack of posts recently, but I am at last getting somewhere.

I had the propshaft extended by propshaft services in Bradford. Highly recommended. www.propshaft.co.uk

Trimmed and neatened up the rear of the floor before putting the propshaft back in. Would not quite go through the hole I had created, so had to lower the front of the gearbox, thus raising the back, to enable it to go in.

To make new engine mounts I fabricated a jig using some chipboard. I bolted in the existing Sierra mount with the adaptor plates, then measured out to move the engine forward 62mm, and also to relocate the mounting hole to the original one in the chassis. I used 6mm plate to make a base plate, and some 42mm, 3mm wall tubing to connect it to the original adaptor plates to the base plates. I also raised the engine on the mounts to try and solve the clashing exhaust/side rail issue.

I bolted up the original thermostat housing to the engine, casting aside the DIY water rail I had spent so much time on..... Dropping the engine back in the new mounts were spot on, with a few mm's clearance for the thermstat housing. The engine now looks rather high at the front....a quick bit of measuring shows the flange in the centre of the bonnet will need trimming, and the bonnet stay system I have will need to be removed.


Worked my way round the ancilleries. The CVH Sierra starter motor has arrived and fits the hole/trimmed sump nicely, and as an added advantage the wiring connections are the same as the Pinto. The coil pack bolted to a modified original bracket at the back of the engine.


The new engine position also means the original oil filter will not fit, as it would clash with the sterring column. A quick bit of internet searching found the Unipart GFE210 filter is the one to go for.... (Alternatives are Crossland 659 or Fram PH 2874). Picked one up today and it is the size of a tine of tuna, rather than the Red Bull can sixe item that was there before. The new one is just 65mm deep.

Wiring wise I have been stripping out the connecters from the Mondeo loom for the various sensors, and the Edis4 unit is now mounted on the bulkhead, so next step is to wire up the various sensors to it. I have also sorted the majority of the coolant hoses. I used the original flexi hose at the top of the pinto engine to connect the water pump to the original radiator bottom hose with a short length of 32mm steel tube (will replace with alloy). The original top hose from the Mondeo thermostat has been cut and shut to get the outlet of it to aim fowards. Just need a 32mm 90 degree bend to put on the radiator top connection, and a length of 32mm steel tube will connect the tube.


That ends the good progress.....

The induction side is still a headache. The ZX6 carbs are downdraft type. This means fo rhte floats, etc to work correctly they need to be at around a 45 degree angle. The next issue is they are not as widely spaced as the Mondeo inlet ports. And finally the brake master cylinder is still in the way of them being too far away from the engine. In summary, they won't fit with the brakes where they are now. The angle they have to be at along with stetching the spacing from carb to engine makes the flow want to go thru a 90 degree angle, which is not good.

I had looked at a floor mounted brake pedal kit from OBP. This would be two master cylinders, with brake bias adjustment, etc. But by the time I had purchased reserviors, etc the total cost was going to be the thick end of £200.

Today I speaking to Richard at Robin Hood. He was very helpful, and have come to a resolution on the exhaust pipe. We went on to discuss the general engine swap over issues, and when talking about the brakes he said they had developed a clutch/brake pedal kit which turned the master cylinder round to face the other way, therefore getting it out of the way of the induction side of the engine. I am waiting for him to email me a price but this may well be the solution to some of my problems.

Well that's done it.....

Well after moping around over the weekend, I drew up my project plan and have decided to go for it.

I have found a company in Bradford (Propshaft services) which will extend the propshaft for £55 + vat. Sounded very helpful, and as I am travelling to Harrogate this week I can drop it off on the way, and pick up on the way back.

Anyway, got the zetec back out (again) and hoisted the back of the car up via the roll bar with the engine hoist.....and the car seemed to have a magnetic attraction to the wall....it was a bit sweaty and sweary for a few minutes.... Held the front of the gearbox up with rope to a cross bar whilst I released the back of the box, then moved the whole box forward.

Getting the prop out was a bit of a battle.....had to cut the floor at the rear of the car to allow the prop to come out....the rear flange is too bigger diameter to go down the tunnel, to had to make a clearance gap at the rear.... When I built the car you put the propshaft in before you put the panels on so not a problem at that stage.

So according to my plan I am nicely on schedule.....for now.

Dark times in the workshop

Not gone well this weekend. Got the engine in with clutch fitted, etc. That was the high point. Offered up the Great British Sportscars exhaust and one tube of the manifold doesn't pass the chassis - hoisting the engine up it needs to be moved up nearly an inch to clear the chassis, but then the engine would be hitting the bonnet.... I experimented with spacers under the engine mounts to tilt the engine but it meant it was close to the bulkhead near to the brakes. I will be speaking to them tomorrow and will post the outcome.

So moved onto the inlet manifold. It was still very tight to the master cylinder, but thought I could get away with it. But once I had welded on the first tube it quickly became clear it wasn't going to happen.

I am quickly coming to the conclusion a lot of problems will be solved if I move the engine forward by about 60mm. This will mean a space at the back of the head for the original thermostat, and the inlet manifold will be able to have a straight run. This will of course have an impact on the drivetrain - longer propshaft, gearlever extension, etc....

Problem is Stoneleigh is only 5 weeks away.....and I really want to take the car....

I have started drawing up a proper project plan.....if I could stick to it would be completed just after Easter.

Beyond the point of no return.

Not much visual progress this weekend as it was various odd bits and pieces I was up to.

I picked up the brake pushrod from Tigers last week. Jim Dudley was very helpful giving advice on it. I disconnected the brake pipes ffrom the master cylinder and then drained out the brake fluid from it. Off with the master cylinder and then the servo, then back on with the master cylinder with the new pushrod to activate it. All seems to fit OK, and the two brake pipes for the front brake needed only a little bending to fit the master cylinder in its new position. The brake line to the rear brakes was a different story.... I needed to get it away from the back of the engine, and also as far away from the carb area as possible, and this took a lot of origami style bending. As its now been knocked around a bit I will see if I can replace it before I complete the engine swap.

I have also tidied up the wiring on the bulkhead, moving it up and away from the engine. Finally I have been removing all the wiring I don't need and also re routing the alternator wiring as it is on the opposite side to where it was on the pinto. Luckily the wiring for it goes down the nearside, across behind the radiator to the alternator, so to get it to the nearside was just a case of unravelling it from the various clips.

Next task is to join the dot between the Mondeo loom and the Sierra one..... oh 'eck!

Getting to the clutch of the matter.....

Another Saturday and another few jobs out the way.

Ground back the rest of the sump to allow clearance for the starter motor. Unfortunately I noticed that the Pinto starter motor will not fit easily..... the ring gear on the Zetec is closer to the engine than on the Pinto, meaning the motor gear will be in constant mesh with the ring gear...not good. Two options....a 14mm spacer puts the motor far enough out to work properly, or a starter from a CVH Sierra.... a Lucas LRS707 apparantly. The spacer sounds like a temporary fix whilst I am on the look out for a CVH starter.


I moved on to finishing the engine mounts properly. To make them easier to fit I welded nuts on to the back where the original mounts bolt on....means I can leave the adaptor plates in place and just add the mounts. Also cut the off side one down to a sensible size.

As the alternator bracket was made from a scrap of 6mm plate, I decided to weld the part the alternator mounts on to a new piece of steel. All was going well until I welded it on back to front...doh! A quick mod of the mount got over the problem, but for some reason the alternator now does not appear to be perfectly in line. The belt takes up the difference, but still annoying.

Alternator bracket from below....

I then moved on to finishing off the water rail....made a bracket with for the top bolt to go through, and also did a static water test on it and found a couple of leaks.

Finally, I put on the clutch. First I had to insert the small bearing which takes up the difference between the input shaft of the gearbox and the centre of the flywheel.

It was a bit reluctant to go in, and I may need to put it in further than it is, but will test fit it to the box first. After that I put on the clutch - Pinto friction plate with Zetec pressure plate.

Belts & braces.

Had quite a productive weekend overall. Made a bracket to hold the idler gear which makes the waterpump run the correct way. Used a collection of pulley parts off the Mondeo, and it worked out well.

Top idler pulley & bracket....

Uses old power steering bracket to mount off.

I used the original belt to measure the length of belt I required - the last four digits of the belt number tell how long it is in mm. I needed one between 1150 and 1205mm which was the full range of the alternator adjustment. A visit to the local autofactors today came up with a 1150mm belt which fitted rather well.

Other job I got on with last night was cutting the ally sump away to allow the starter motor to fit. There was alloy dust everywhere....as it doesn't spark I decided to do it in the garage to keep the neighbourhood noise level down. I have probably cut away 85% of what I need to, and I am able to offer up the starter motor in almost its correct position to see what to trim away.

The missing Edis unit arrived from Trigger Wheels today, and I have also landed a set of ZX6R carbs for £35, pump and connectors for £32, clutch release bearing £12. Last big bill will hopefully be the exhaust (£220 ish).

Pictures soon......