1983 Ford Sierra BASE (Poverty/UN Spec)
Discussion
dickieboy28 said:
Loving this. My grandad had a Sierra 1.6 Laser of a similar vintage. I still don’t know where the Laser fell in the model hierarchy though? I’m assuming it was basically an L with a few added trinkets. I distinctly remember it not having rear seat belts - always felt naughty riding in the back of the Sierra versus being strapped down in my Dads Audi 100 Avant.
The Laser was an "L" with metalic paint, tinted glass, sunroof & 5 speed gearbox.It also had wheel trims from an Orion Ghia.
Why do I know this ?
Because it was tattooed into my 11 year old brain when I was chin height to a door mirror
Back in 1984.
That and I used to memorise all the specs in the brochures.
Sad but true.
Edited by 3795mpower on Sunday 28th January 19:48
Excellent work by the OP - to my shame I will admit that I bought a similar (but c-reg) spec SIerra 6 years ago, which was probably in even better condition but am in the long and steady process of stripping it to build a kit car. About 3 years after I started doing so I realised I should have kept it in one piece as it really was too good to break, but they are rather challenging to find nowadays...
OP - if you find you need any bits, especially doors or bodyshell parts, drop me a line. I expect mine will still be on my drive for the next couple of years! It has already given up some bits for an Xr4i project, but there is plenty left.
OP - if you find you need any bits, especially doors or bodyshell parts, drop me a line. I expect mine will still be on my drive for the next couple of years! It has already given up some bits for an Xr4i project, but there is plenty left.
Brilliant thread - well done OP for saving that car. My Uncle used to have a base model company provided White Sierra 1.6 Estate with the same unpainted grill. Just the fact it was a new car and a modern shape made it seem very flash at the time to an 80s kid - everyone else seemed to be driving Morris Marinas, Austin Maxis and Allegros and the like which seemed so ancient in comparison.
I also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
I also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
It's Emma!
A mate told me earlier to check this thread out as it's an old base sierra, as soon as I saw the plate I knew what it was! We've known about this on the Autos
te forum for a while now, it came to stefest 2016 too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjQmnQ2ND5c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMqkQVsTx5g
It's a lovely thing up close! When I saw it it was freshly bought, some arch welding had happened but the rear quarter the other side was still rotten. It had the best smell inside! Neglect, plastic and the 1980's!
When the whole 'do I do work on it or not' choice came up I said do the work then get it professionally detailed. Yes it's a bit of a wky thing to do, but you'll get a summer of it looking utterly tip top, then it can all evenly fade down and last another 10 years with sealed, non pourous paintwork!
A mate told me earlier to check this thread out as it's an old base sierra, as soon as I saw the plate I knew what it was! We've known about this on the Autos
te forum for a while now, it came to stefest 2016 too!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjQmnQ2ND5c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMqkQVsTx5g
It's a lovely thing up close! When I saw it it was freshly bought, some arch welding had happened but the rear quarter the other side was still rotten. It had the best smell inside! Neglect, plastic and the 1980's!
When the whole 'do I do work on it or not' choice came up I said do the work then get it professionally detailed. Yes it's a bit of a w
ky thing to do, but you'll get a summer of it looking utterly tip top, then it can all evenly fade down and last another 10 years with sealed, non pourous paintwork!
edwheels said:
I also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
Don’t be such a pessimist!https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Granada-DL-Mk-2/2828...
BorniteIdentity said:
edwheels said:
I also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
Don’t be such a pessimist!https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Granada-DL-Mk-2/2828...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Granada-Mk2-2-1-Di...
So it's a 2.1 Diesel, no wheeltrims, no headrests and I'd imagine vinyl seats....
Anyway - bit of divergence from your delightful Sierra !
Edited by edwheels on Monday 29th January 17:31
Edited by edwheels on Monday 29th January 17:32
edwheels said:
Nice find, but it looks a bit posh compared to the one I remembered from the brochures.... Still once on ebay - here's a sales brochure with one of the factory taxi spec ones:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Granada-Mk2-2-1-Di...
So it's a 2.1 Diesel, no wheeltrims, no headrests and I'd imagine vinyl seats....
Anyway - bit of divergence from your delightful Sierra !
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Granada-Mk2-2-1-Di...
So it's a 2.1 Diesel, no wheeltrims, no headrests and I'd imagine vinyl seats....
Anyway - bit of divergence from your delightful Sierra !
Edited by edwheels on Monday 29th January 17:31
Edited by edwheels on Monday 29th January 17:32
vinyl seats, wiring for taxi sign/radio, additional interior lighting.edwheels said:
Brilliant thread - well done OP for saving that car. My Uncle used to have a base model company provided White Sierra 1.6 Estate with the same unpainted grill. Just the fact it was a new car and a modern shape made it seem very flash at the time to an 80s kid - everyone else seemed to be driving Morris Marinas, Austin Maxis and Allegros and the like which seemed so ancient in comparison.
I also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
There was a Mk3 taxi spec Granada as well, one featured in Car Mechanics Magazine a few years agoI also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
edwheels said:
BorniteIdentity said:
edwheels said:
I also remember in the 1980s (as read and re-read Ford Brochures obsessively when I should have been doing my homework) that the MK2 Granada was available in a Taxi Spec. I think this had a 2.5L Diesel engine, no wheel trims or anything much else ... I doubt any of those have survived...
Don’t be such a pessimist!https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Granada-DL-Mk-2/2828...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Granada-Mk2-2-1-Di...
So it's a 2.1 Diesel, no wheeltrims, no headrests and I'd imagine vinyl seats....
Anyway - bit of divergence from your delightful Sierra !
Edited by edwheels on Monday 29th January 17:31
Edited by edwheels on Monday 29th January 17:32
For anyone above complaining the 1.3 Kent Capri was slow, then they'd never experienced one of those 2.1D Granadas!
Only big exec motor that seemed as slow were those Merc W123s of the same era with the 3litre diesel - I think a 1.3 Capri would have roasted either of those pair off the lights.
My dad owned a 2.8i Granada manual from new, reg ALO 54S, as a company car and the loaner when it was in for a service was one of those 2.1 diesels - I can remember him saying what a slug it was!
What a great thread!..I've just spent an hour reading all 9 pages.
For men of a certain age this car will evoke a certain amount of nostalgia.
Funnily enough there was a time when you wouldn't give this a second glance but what is amazing is how it's survived it's 36 years, not by being mollycoddled but just by being used. Like some infantryman surviving WW1 when all others around him were injured or killed it does seem only luck has spared this car, no doubt helped by the fact one owner seemed so skint he couldn't afford to replace it..probably a blessing in disguise which has meant it finally got recognition as a classic.
I'm glad it's not just me that has an encyclopaedic knowledge of late 70s / early 80s Fords gleaned from hours of studying the dealer brochures kept by my grandfather so I could distinguish the L from the GL or Ghia.
In the pre internet age some real effort went in to those, I loved the carefully crafted pics ( always parked at a harbour, in a stubble field of corn or next to a light aircraft) designed to evoke the joy of owning some Dagenham metal.
I remember when this came out in '82..two teachers at my school bought them..one a silver 2.3 ghia and one a 2.0 crystal green ghia.
My dad's very first company car was one..a 2.0 GLSi sapphire in a metallic red / burgundy. Unfortunately it seems that E370 LEH is no longer with us but it was a great car to drive and as it was a company car I was insured to drive it when I passed my test..great when you are 18!!
For men of a certain age this car will evoke a certain amount of nostalgia.
Funnily enough there was a time when you wouldn't give this a second glance but what is amazing is how it's survived it's 36 years, not by being mollycoddled but just by being used. Like some infantryman surviving WW1 when all others around him were injured or killed it does seem only luck has spared this car, no doubt helped by the fact one owner seemed so skint he couldn't afford to replace it..probably a blessing in disguise which has meant it finally got recognition as a classic.
I'm glad it's not just me that has an encyclopaedic knowledge of late 70s / early 80s Fords gleaned from hours of studying the dealer brochures kept by my grandfather so I could distinguish the L from the GL or Ghia.
In the pre internet age some real effort went in to those, I loved the carefully crafted pics ( always parked at a harbour, in a stubble field of corn or next to a light aircraft) designed to evoke the joy of owning some Dagenham metal.
I remember when this came out in '82..two teachers at my school bought them..one a silver 2.3 ghia and one a 2.0 crystal green ghia.
My dad's very first company car was one..a 2.0 GLSi sapphire in a metallic red / burgundy. Unfortunately it seems that E370 LEH is no longer with us but it was a great car to drive and as it was a company car I was insured to drive it when I passed my test..great when you are 18!!
The longer this thread goes on the more sad I become that in July 2007 I had to scrap my 1.6GL MK1 Sierra which I'd owned since August 1992, just before I passed my test, it was my first car! Unfortunately it had sat in my mother's garage for years and as she was moving it had to go
I've still got the original number plate, rear badges, one hub cap & the paperwork - sad but true!
I've still got the original number plate, rear badges, one hub cap & the paperwork - sad but true!
What a great thread. I remember how excited I was at age 13 when my dad got a new Sierra 1.6 GL in metallic blue (Caspian blue?) as his company car , after a long line of Ford Cortinas.
They were quite controversial at the time, due to the styling and the fact that they are still rwd when the well received Cavalier had gone fwd.
I remember my uncle saying we should have got the cavalier but we were very much a Ford family!
It’s hard to imagine now but I remember making a detour , on my bike on the way to school to the local ford dealer to see the newly introduced Sierra for the first time when it was launched.
That company Sierra later got bought by our family and was my mum’s car then my brother’s.
When I passed my driving test I used to regularly borrow the Sierra and we’ll remember experiencing lift off oversteer for the first time on a tight downhill bend and ending up backwards to oncoming traffic!
Fortunately I was unscathed though the Sierra suffered a buckled wheel and bent rear suspension .
My dream car as a kid was an XR4i. It looked like something from the future though the bits underneath were fairly prosaic and by all accounts the Capri 2.8 i was a better driver’s cars.
In the past few days I’ve bought my gf a minute 1 Focus. I wonder if they will become so revered in the future???
They were quite controversial at the time, due to the styling and the fact that they are still rwd when the well received Cavalier had gone fwd.
I remember my uncle saying we should have got the cavalier but we were very much a Ford family!
It’s hard to imagine now but I remember making a detour , on my bike on the way to school to the local ford dealer to see the newly introduced Sierra for the first time when it was launched.
That company Sierra later got bought by our family and was my mum’s car then my brother’s.
When I passed my driving test I used to regularly borrow the Sierra and we’ll remember experiencing lift off oversteer for the first time on a tight downhill bend and ending up backwards to oncoming traffic!
Fortunately I was unscathed though the Sierra suffered a buckled wheel and bent rear suspension .
My dream car as a kid was an XR4i. It looked like something from the future though the bits underneath were fairly prosaic and by all accounts the Capri 2.8 i was a better driver’s cars.
In the past few days I’ve bought my gf a minute 1 Focus. I wonder if they will become so revered in the future???
Loving this thread, a great read too!
I remember my dad picking me up from school in a different car, (got board quick I think!) this time it was a 89 ish Sierra 2.0 ghia (EFI too I think!) remember looking at the dash with all the lights, doors open etc....thinking it was a space ship!
I remember my dad picking me up from school in a different car, (got board quick I think!) this time it was a 89 ish Sierra 2.0 ghia (EFI too I think!) remember looking at the dash with all the lights, doors open etc....thinking it was a space ship!
Zonergem said:
The problem with that is all the non standard bitsCosworth-esque grill ( a common mod at the time) and recaro seats with chav wheels
It would look way better as standard but guess tracking fown the parts wouldn't be easy
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