EpochNZ

FIN

Beaut day in the 03....so time to get to it! After visiting Andy @ mBike to swap my 19mm carb for a 22mm one, it was off to @h4nd's with the frame and motor in the back of the capacious teutonic hatch. Much hilarity with a grinder and dremel ensued. First job waas to cut back the upper mount by about 8mm. Finished off with the dremel...(Hands by @h4nd) And with much fettling....progress! Although the angle was all wrong and there was no room for the carb under there. So it was back home with some purloined tools to carry on the fight. Initially I was just going to slob around in the sun and forget about it, but curiosity got the better of me......and in the best trditions of CAD I made a start. Bloody Hell!!!!! It looks like it will need a bracket to allow the back mounting hole to be used (at the moment its just out in the breeze). Ive been conversing with Jeremy @ Kaos Kustom works who is plannng on doing an A50 swap so might see what he can do. I've taken lots of photos of what I've done so far for his reference. And then......silly season ensued and all manner of parts made an appearance. Please note I was just making it up as I went along so the fitment and placement probably wont be final. So thats where we sit. The owner has already been gushing over it and has pronounced it "Good".

Always been on the radar, especially since EV4U in Cali did a Kharmann Ghia. Their conversion packs for anything VW start at 18K USD (unsure if that includes the battery but I'm picking no.)

Cheers, I was wondering if it was a "case reduction" plan or a "bend the frame" plan.

Thanks to Andy @ mBike (who was wearing one of your hats @MopedNZ) we now have a power plant. Also grabbed an exhaust to try for size as well as creaming over his collection of Dax/Chaly/Monkeys. Man, that yellow EFI Dax he has is soooo sweet. Next job will be the fettling required to fit it onto the frame while the trickle of chinese parts make their way into the country. Was slightly surprised to find the top engine mount is about 6.5mm wider than the frame so some thinking is needed there first.

My impression is that most of the population now know nothing about the workings of the car they drive and turn up to a wof expecting to be told whats wrong so they can get it fixed then signed off at the second visit.

Cripes! Will be interesting to see where that ends up.

And...look what turned up in my driveway while I was away for the weekend. Has the ole "Gearbox on the doorstep" somehow got more vincdictive, "A Ford on your Driveway"?? /Thanks to @avengertiger for the hard yards in teeing this up.

Sunny day in the 03, time to start work. Luckily, her mother saw it for the first time this afternoon (artfully hidden up until then) and didnt spaz out over it. Even sat on it for size.

Is it too late to buy back my introduction to you?

Why have I only seen this now? Great to see another like minded soul.....

Yeah, i think you're right. I would like something "Not Stock" with a wee bit of pep for the street and what you suggest has been winning the arguments the voices in my head keep having. Gearbox will be the only hassle with that as they are a bit like unicorn poo, but it might mean getting a bit inventive. Also, seeing as the Mk2 is running well there isnt any real urgent rush to get this done so time can be taken to get it right. Cheers everyone.

Tempting, but I'd have to sell off some children to be able to finance that.

At this rate I'm going to need some more Sierras....

A quick google shows a lot of MX-5 love for them....

Anyone want to put forward any ideas/opinions on the "exotic engine swap " idea? Looking for some guidance here....

So whats even better than owning a Sierra? OWNING TWO!!!!!!!! (Badoom-tish!) I've always been open about my preference for the Mk1 Sierra's over the Mk2's and have been idly keeping my eyes open in case one became available. Karl (as always) has had his ear close to the ground and knew of a few in the area that might/might not be available. Then Dave up in Nelson ( @avengertiger ) answered a query saying he had a rolling chassis lying around the paddock at work.... He even did the honest decent thing and pulled it out of the weeds for a look at the undergubbins (while @- i5oogt - was in attendance) To be honest, it actually looks in better nick than mine........so due diIligence was performed (namely txting Karl and asking lots of stupid questions) and the call was made to grab it.....so now we wait for this crap lockdown shit to end so things can happen. Original plan was to hit any rust on this shell so she can sit in storage for a while until the time comes that the Mk2 can no longer survive a warrant, then a quick Engine/Box swap and we are back into it. But.......now I'm wondering about something a bit more ....exotic. @Carsnz123 (while answering an EOI for some Saaaaab work) has suggested either a Turbo Carbed Pinto (Weber 32/36, Regrind the cam, T25, 8psi) or even a 3SGTE (of which there is one currently on the book of faces.....) Decisions.....

Her choice!!

@chasinthemirage She’s just having a go at a warmup kit to get the basics right before attacking the Falcon. (It’s an original tooling Airfix Super Etendard in 1:72 that had been in my stash for years for those following along at home)

Dug this out for my 15yr old sci-fi mad daughter to have a go at.

Buggritt, took the plunge....do Acorn Models deliver over lockdown?

Does anyone have any comments on MiniArt? I've got a weird idea for a 1:35th scale shelf layout using their trams while filling the lineside scenery with their trucks and tractors.

Always been intrigued by these pressed steel frame 2 strokes, and with the forum filled with small bike shinanigans decided I might try it for a laugh. Inspiration was always this S90 posted somewhere else here: @Yowzer's huge fire sale made me think of taking the plunge. Although the thought of getting a bike to the 03 from the Tron seemed near on impossible, he did point me at @ThePog who was holding a couple of bits bikes for him. So a deal was done and the Sierra was duly dispatched to drag the carcasses home.....to where it met with an appreciative audience who no doubt will end up being the owner. So here we are......I'm putting together an initial shopping list to at least get it going, namely both levers, throttle, starter and gear pedals, chain, rear sprocket, brake pads, engine cover, headlight etc.....all available and doable if Ali and EBay are to be believed. Probably wont have it ready for the Molesworth but one can dream. Oh, and this would be nice....

Thanks to James out in Amberly (not sure of his business name, I'll let @- i5oogt - fill in that blank), the naughty rust patch found by that nasty warrant man was cut out and patched. A Quick visit to Kaiapoi Alignment and Tyres for some new rear rubbers, a fresh bulb and a hell of a lot of hope......turned into this. And not a moment too soon as there was pressing work to be done at the islands northern extremities. Grabbed an eye wateringly expensive roof rack (could have shopped around via mail order, but in a hurry) and set off. 3 days and 1400k's later we are back home. It wasnt all plain sailing, steep hills are quite clearly her nemesis and she has an auto choke issue (we think) that means the mornings can be a bit embarrassing (like on the Blenheim BP forecourt). No one really needs to see an older car being pushed away from the pumps so it can have a few moments in the corner having a damn good think about what its done. 15 minutes later, liberal applications of throttle and excessive cranking and shes away again while laying down a blue smokescreen. Weird, cos then its fine for the rest of the day. And starts first time fine, its just the second start after a short run. The run home in the dark was interesting especially when you realise the car behind you is illuminating more of the road in front of you than your own puny headlights. Oh, and the WoF note that the front shocks may need replacing soon was pretty much on the money as steering at speed could be a tad sketchy at times. And with all good wagons, if the back wasnt full on the way home then it was a wasted trip... Great to meet Dylan ( @ThePog ) and a big thanks to the Marahau Mafia ( @yoeddynz, Hannah and Kevin) for their awesome hospitality and discussions on repowering options. Cos as we know, Alex will tell you straight....like a Pear CIder.... (He nearly got gifted a Saaaaab for Xmas but the other 50% owner of the engineering workshop was having nothing of it).

When the days are a bit longer I'll get onto that.