"project Cosworth" - Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4

some more questions...

is there a reason you didn't build a full chassis for it from the start? if you're plannin on going to custom suspension all round, you're going to end up doing more fabrication than what would be needed to build a simple ladderframe chassis. heres an example of one in a mini (although rwd only, but would look pretty much the same): http://www.rodsnsods...read.php?t=8290

is a professional engineer doing the fabrication for you or is this a 'homebuilt' car?

for the bonnet-motor clearance, can't you just measure the overall height of the motor and then measure the space under the bonnet of your mini? if there are height issues with the motor, have you considered modifying the sump to be shallower, rather than adding a bonnet bulge? another option is dry sump, but a bit more expensive of course!

feel free to completely ignore this, but i strongly urge you (before anything else) to take to your sierra with an angle grinder and cut out the whole front structure infront of the motor, then remove the guards, and then cut the sheetmetal where the guards are attached at the top. keep grinding till you can fit your fibreglass front over the motor and suspension (you'll need to remove the wheels too). sit the car at a height which gives the sump or crossmember enough ground clearance and then see what it looks like. it has to be done eventually anyway, so i dont see why you havent done it already? if you do this, you'll also be able to sit your radiator and intercooler in there and see how much room you have (or dont have... lol) for those.

by the way, how big is your intercooler? usually 350hp cars ive seen will run 600x300x76 intercoolers, which will be a nightmare to fit infront of a radiator and fan and the motor. an air/water unit would be smaller and could be mounted behind the motor where you have lots of space, but it adds a bit of complexity to it all.

look forward to updates

Cant wait to see the finished car, it will be a beast.................... good luck with the build

Rather than go to double wishbone suspension and the enormous job that would be, could you not use shorter springs on the macpherson struts and instead of lowering the car use the shorter strut to move the top mount down 2 or 3 inches. That would be very easy to do just a couple of hours work and would make the build much easier and cheaper

Cheers
David

Rather than go to double wishbone suspension and the enormous job that would be, could you not use shorter springs on the macpherson struts and instead of lowering the car use the shorter strut to move the top mount down 2 or 3 inches. That would be very easy to do just a couple of hours work and would make the build much easier and cheaper

Cheers
David

i agree. and a coilover kit at the same time. they're cheap as chips in the uk.

With still some final decisions to make and holidays, progress has slowed down however heres a couple of pictures to show the state of the mini sitting roughly over the floorpan and running gear.



As you can see, with standard running gear and my wheels, the track sticks out quite abit - about 9" (as expected)

As for the back some residual metal needs to be trimmed ..



Its slowly coming together, also bought for the project is a new ecu chip that should see around 400bhp, aquamist water injection with Dash Display, Alternator drop bracket ready to make additional space for a tubular manifold, tonnes of aeroquip fittings for the fuel system, oh and a new t35 turbo should I need that little bit extra power.

any more news !!

There should be an update this Friday when I go see it again, so check back then for some more pictures and details of another trick part that I'm going to order!

Looking good, nice wheels even if they stick out a bit, although it cant do much for handling.

Any news on this update?

Sorry about the lack of updates as promised. The car now sits better on the chassis but doesn't really look much different from above. Hopefully the shell will start coming together soon and the cage will start aswell.
Things should be progressing quicker in the next few weeks and will post some pictures as and when big things happen.

looking good mate ended up selling mine couldnt affoard to keep bertie but got a nice lil fiesta to keep me motoring and its the best one ive had yet

Been to take a couple of snaps.......



All looks good, with the body now tacked to the sierra floor, although it might be abit tight with the breather on the back of the cam cover. However this was sacrificed for the space in front of the engine to fit the intercooler and rad.
Oh and the engine protrudes from the bonnet, not good for the sleeper looks, but if needs must...



Also the strut tops have been chopped to be shortened or replaced for custom suspension





but it is quite tight in there

Picture showing the tacking along the passenger side..





Drivers side:



and yes i did notice the big hole along the width of the car! Its on the jobs to do list along with everything else.

A picture of how it looks from the passenger door, with all the sound deadening removed from the transmission tunnel. Who needs all that sound deadening anyway, all it does it weigh you down. All passengers will have the option of ear defenders if required or are a girl.



The back has been trimmed nicely (so that it fits) and houses the rear diff.



Although looking at the picture makes me realise that theres quite abit of surface rust on the sierras rear suspension. Lucky that its getting overhauled and upgraded at the same time otherwise I would have had to find the wire brush again....

This shows the standard rear suspension setup and how it fits in 'quite nicely,' shame its going to change.



Thoughts turn to space with regard to the fuel tank so the rear bench might come out completely...





im just thinking the gearstick might be abit too far back, but it looks with the size of the tunnel that i will be sitting near the back seat anyway..

overview:



and is now my new desktop image.... (how many of you were looking at the ultima in the background, rather than the mini???)

Oh and my wheels and tyres mounted as one.... i just cant wait to put them to good use...


225/45*13 R888's on 9x13 superlight style wheels, hopefully that will keep the wheels from spinning...

Thats it for now, until next time, when hopefully we will be looking at the suspension in more detail and making the multipoint cage. Let us know what you think....

Edited by kmol468, 12 March 2010 - 08:06 PM.

Looking great. When I first read this thread I was a little cynical, thought it was a little over ambitious, the kinda thing that people just talk about, not actually DO. With the shifter there, it looks like you'll be driving from the back seat!

im impressed

one shot i would have liked though is to show how much space there is infront of the engine to the front of the FG front
i take it the fg front is an extended one...is it the same length the people who do engine conversions use? couple of inches longer is it?

is the shell going to get stripped and blasted too, would be nice super squeeky clean

keep up with the piccys (and nope, didnt even notice the ultima, i was trying to see the engine spacing lol)

Thanks for the words of encouragement people.
Ive been thinking about this project seriously for about 3-4 years, with only 6 months ago finally deciding to start it. Even then when I had both vehicles I had second thoughts before cutting both cars!! But I am itching to get on with it, despite there still being tonnes of work to do. Ive started so I have to finish it, the only thing that may happen is it takes longer to do.

As for the gear stick, if it is too far back, then a shifter linkage will be fabricated or the gearstick bent/rewelded if it can take it. But we will see how it turns out..

Mini93: Yes it is the extended fibreglass front end used for vtec conversions and is 6" longer than normal. While I was uploading the pictures, I did notice that I hadnt taken a picture of the front end clearance. I will try to sort it out and provide one over the weekend. As for the media blasting, once everything is how I want it, I will get it stripped again and media blasted, then painted so its all nice and squeeky clean. (until I drive it!)