1983 Ford Sierra BASE (Poverty/UN Spec)
Discussion
BorniteIdentity said:
politeperson said:
When I was doing my City and Guilds, my mechanical tutor at the Colchester Institure in 1990 (Keith Essam) used to work for Ford in the 70s and 80s (or Fords as everyone used to say).
He told me the story of a couple of hundred brand new early Sierras parked on the key side at the docks (Harwich?) for 6 years until they rotted away.
Their was some problem with water ingress and rust proofing on the very early cars from the factory leading to seam corrosion and rejection of large numbers of vehicles which were supposed to be scrapped.
In fact in the mid nineties I remember attending closed Ford Auctions at BCA (Measham) where hundreds of 2/3 year old Fords that had been bought back by the company under warranty were sold back into the trade with "water seam ingress". They hadn't learnt their lesson!
It is amazing this beauty has survived.
I can well believe it, although my experience has been the opposite.He told me the story of a couple of hundred brand new early Sierras parked on the key side at the docks (Harwich?) for 6 years until they rotted away.
Their was some problem with water ingress and rust proofing on the very early cars from the factory leading to seam corrosion and rejection of large numbers of vehicles which were supposed to be scrapped.
In fact in the mid nineties I remember attending closed Ford Auctions at BCA (Measham) where hundreds of 2/3 year old Fords that had been bought back by the company under warranty were sold back into the trade with "water seam ingress". They hadn't learnt their lesson!
It is amazing this beauty has survived.
In 2016, three weeks after I bought this car, I also had another Sierra. That is still on the road and believed to be the oldest one still in existence in the UK (Oct 1982 reg). That was absolutely rock solid underneath too. So much so we checked both the VINS and, amazingly, they were Dagenham built.
They were terrible for rotting within a couple of years but they sorted that in the end.
I had a B-reg and it was a solid old thing ....well at least lasted till the late 90s without welding. Did waxoyl it thoroughly when I got it at about 10 years old though ( like all my cars back then )
Last night, fuelled by an inability to fall asleep, I went digging - and I found evidence at least one other Sierra Base existed at some point in time.
CUE 383Y featured in an episode of Casualty but has been long dead. It also appears to have had some fog lights fitted, making it less Base and maybe a little less cool.
CUE 383Y featured in an episode of Casualty but has been long dead. It also appears to have had some fog lights fitted, making it less Base and maybe a little less cool.
Levin said:
Last night, fuelled by an inability to fall asleep, I went digging - and I found evidence at least one other Sierra Base existed at some point in time.
CUE 383Y featured in an episode of Casualty but has been long dead. It also appears to have had some fog lights fitted, making it less Base and maybe a little less cool.
Good spot CUE 383Y featured in an episode of Casualty but has been long dead. It also appears to have had some fog lights fitted, making it less Base and maybe a little less cool.
That’s a really early one in Coral
Small update. After an aborted attempt in late February, a small amount of titivating and prep saw me taking it for an MOT test on Thursday just gone; the fifth anniversary of me collecting it.
Good news all round! Three advisories, one which I knew about (the petrol tank being a bit rusty) and two I think may have been a bit overzealous (brake pipe and exhaust blowing). Notwithstanding, I now have a short list of jobs for 2021.
Here’s to another year of lowering the tone and ruining any view at any given moment.
Good news all round! Three advisories, one which I knew about (the petrol tank being a bit rusty) and two I think may have been a bit overzealous (brake pipe and exhaust blowing). Notwithstanding, I now have a short list of jobs for 2021.
Here’s to another year of lowering the tone and ruining any view at any given moment.
s m said:
Yes love the updates
As for the 2 litre n/a ones, the one I really like was the 2.0iS
They went well
Of course the 2-litre turbo ones were another level altogether
My uncle bought a red 2.0iS new in 1986. Lovely car and felt like a rocket ship compared with the stuff I was used to.As for the 2 litre n/a ones, the one I really like was the 2.0iS
They went well
Of course the 2-litre turbo ones were another level altogether
Striking thing about those specs is the kerb weight. 971kg! Comfortably over half a tonne lighter than any modern equivalent.
Another big fan of the early Sierras here and your BASE is truly lovely.
If I saw that parked on one side of the road and the latest Ferrari Whatever parked on the other, I’d be peering through the windows of your Sierra.
My Dad owned from new a very early 1982 Sierra 1.3L 3 door in Polar White. My Grandad owned an early 2.0 Ghia in brown, and my Uncle owned a 1986 XR4i in Moonstone Grey.
Yours is a minter. I hope it stays that way.
If I saw that parked on one side of the road and the latest Ferrari Whatever parked on the other, I’d be peering through the windows of your Sierra.
My Dad owned from new a very early 1982 Sierra 1.3L 3 door in Polar White. My Grandad owned an early 2.0 Ghia in brown, and my Uncle owned a 1986 XR4i in Moonstone Grey.
Yours is a minter. I hope it stays that way.
[quote=105.4
Yours is a minter. I hope it stays that way.
[/quote]
Hmmph. I constantly correct people on this one. It's really not, and that's why I love it. The drivers door has been kicked in, and a mouse could easily get through the now missing part of the door bottom. Same offside rear. There's a hole into the boot behind the reg plate and the nearside rear quarterlight isn't water tight either. The dash is cracked to buggery, there's mould on the grab handles and the parcel shelf literally decomposed.
I like it because it wears its age with pride.
Yours is a minter. I hope it stays that way.
[/quote]
Hmmph. I constantly correct people on this one. It's really not, and that's why I love it. The drivers door has been kicked in, and a mouse could easily get through the now missing part of the door bottom. Same offside rear. There's a hole into the boot behind the reg plate and the nearside rear quarterlight isn't water tight either. The dash is cracked to buggery, there's mould on the grab handles and the parcel shelf literally decomposed.
I like it because it wears its age with pride.
Limpet said:
s m said:
Yes love the updates
As for the 2 litre n/a ones, the one I really like was the 2.0iS
They went well
Of course the 2-litre turbo ones were another level altogether
My uncle bought a red 2.0iS new in 1986. Lovely car and felt like a rocket ship compared with the stuff I was used to.As for the 2 litre n/a ones, the one I really like was the 2.0iS
They went well
Of course the 2-litre turbo ones were another level altogether
Striking thing about those specs is the kerb weight. 971kg! Comfortably over half a tonne lighter than any modern equivalent.
Love it
One of my best mates is obsessed with Sierras and has had 18 in total
He rallied a 2.0 with a turbo technics conversion, and then built a cossie to rally
Road cars he's had everything from the 1.3 (glacial) to a sapphire cossie. XR4i, XR 4x4, and pretty much everything in between
He currently has a Y reg 2.0 Ghia and an F reg sapphire cosworth sat in his garage (both runners). He reckons he has another 3 in parts in there somewhere (he's a proper hoarder - still has his original Raleigh Burner in there as well)
One of my best mates is obsessed with Sierras and has had 18 in total
He rallied a 2.0 with a turbo technics conversion, and then built a cossie to rally
Road cars he's had everything from the 1.3 (glacial) to a sapphire cossie. XR4i, XR 4x4, and pretty much everything in between
He currently has a Y reg 2.0 Ghia and an F reg sapphire cosworth sat in his garage (both runners). He reckons he has another 3 in parts in there somewhere (he's a proper hoarder - still has his original Raleigh Burner in there as well)
Limpet said:
My uncle bought a red 2.0iS new in 1986. Lovely car and felt like a rocket ship compared with the stuff I was used to.
Striking thing about those specs is the kerb weight. 971kg! Comfortably over half a tonne lighter than any modern equivalent.
My "modern equivalent" (ish) 2.0 diesel Mondeo is 1707kg!Striking thing about those specs is the kerb weight. 971kg! Comfortably over half a tonne lighter than any modern equivalent.
Pieman68 said:
Love it
One of my best mates is obsessed with Sierras and has had 18 in total
I always find it quite amusing when they do these group tests/comparisons of the best M3 through the years.......and 95% of the time they decide the best M3 of all times was the ..................E30 M3.One of my best mates is obsessed with Sierras and has had 18 in total
And then you remember on road and track it had to invariably take second place..........to a Ford Sierra!
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