Modification uk

Many People Love finding excuses as to why they have built Setups based around MythTV, many of them due to its free open source license, wanting to experiment with building there own video play - a number of the reasons I have read about are as follows:

• Want to use old PC Hardware as a Tivo
• Want to have more hard disk space than a commercially available PVR
• Family Love the MythTV Interface

Well my excuse is as follows - Its because I want to! The machine will have the following use:

• Used to run mythtv backend
• Used to run mythtv frontend
• Local domain controller for home domain
• web server for home network - including mythweb

The primary function of this machine is Mythtv/file storage, and it will be located underneath my television, so must be quiet, compact and in fitting with our existing Home entertainment equipment.

From here you will see the steps of the work I undertake to build this system. From taking the base case, stripping its contents and building up as a Via Epia Based PC.

The Suicidal Sapphire is most probably - one of the best/worst looked after sierra’s around. For one it has me to care for it/break it. Since purchasing it in 2004 almost every mechanical part has been replace/uprated. This car has to have one off the most often swapped engines within the fsoc, with the count currently at is at 2xCVH, 4xDOHC. Amongst this time i have replaced/uprated almost every component, with the only original mechanical components on there being the steering wheel, pedals, handbrake handle, and the steering shaft.

http://image.nh-hosting.co.uk/cars/sierra/GLX/J131PNB/pic00001.jpg

well its died and been replaced again - i will get around to putting some pictures up on here soon.

Diagnosis of the problem - car drove well - felt really good at above national speed limits, parked up idling fine, started it 4 days later (i know use a crap fiesta diesel to get to and from work) and it sounded like a bag of spanners being thrashed about a tin toolbox!

well it had snapped a conrod - as i found out it had lunched a con rod

So after the list of 4, and ford fair rapidly approaching i chose to shove the spare 8v twink in there i was going to use for something else (Coming Soon to a blog right here) so i took stock of what i needed

• New Clutch Kit - This one had a release bearing that was sqeaking and basically just needed replacing - and i thought i may as well get a full kit for when i do the 2.3 anyway
• Inlet Manifold Gasket - I store engines without any manifolds to make them take less space up in the shed
• Exhaust Manifold Gasket
• sump gasket
• Standard service items - Oil Filter (have loads of oil spare - remember the leaking one from below ) Spark plugs - coolant etc

Well surprisingly the company i went to did a brilliant job and got all of this in for me at 1 hours notice! - now all i needed was the sump off the old engine as the replacement was from a 4×4 i stripped - and the sumps are different. if i get the sump we would be up and running in 10 hours (ha!). so i stripped the engine bay down - lifted the engine out and o…k theres a 50p sized hole in the cylinder block - so No.3 conrod has snapped - nice effort - starts inspecting the rest of the engine - and find a fist sized hole in the other side of the block - on the joint with the sump, There goes my trip to ford fair

knowing i want this car on the road as quickly as possible i sort out another sump - from stoke - about a 30 mile detour from my journey home to hyde in the evening and so i dont particularly mind this, plus i get to have a car chat with phil again

Ok so i gets home - and cleans ups the rather filthy sump and fits it to the spare engine - and it goes in on the saturday - now all its waiting on is me replacing one metal plate between the gearbox and the engine (got to drop the gearbox ) and hook up the starter motor and the car will run again

Watch this space - i now have the spare cylinder head i needed of the old engine - am just looking for a spare 2.3 bottom end

Suicidal Sapphire - Where do we go from here once again there appears to be a slight gremlin inside the engine on the SS, on a cold startup every morning we are getting a shedload of smoke when I give it some gas, so now im no longer a student, have some(read small) money what are my options for a straight bolt in engine conversion without too much chassis modification? Car: Ford Sierra Sapphire 1992 Engine: currently 1998cc So what exactly are my options - I have decided i want more traction and am going to make one small tunnel modification to allow me to fit the 4×4 system to the car - but what exacty are my engine options, and lets keep this as we like it - cheap and ford!

• Option 1 - Fit another 8v
  to put it simply - no - had 3 in there, good solid engine till they die for no apparent reason
• Option 2 - Fit a YB (Cosworth) 16v Turbo
  As much as i would love to do this - i would not want to ruin it with the 4×4 system, what a amazing engine, oh and costs are a rather large issue. Whilst this would give me a fun 200 bhp - for a minimum of a grand with that amazing kick of a turbo - i think im gonna have to drop this due to costs - and my preference to not ruining one of these great engines with a 4×4 system (sorry cossie 4b fans)
• Option 3 - Fit a 2.9 V6 BOA (Cosworth)
  This has to be one of the cheapest ways to 200bhp - get a BOA in a old granada - rip the car to pieces for hte engine, exhaust and other bits - sell what you have left and end up paying around the 200 quid mark for 200 bhp This is the way I will most likely go down - as it is a nice considerable hike in horses, theres lots of resources out there (and soon to have another - watch this space).
• Option 4 - fit a hybrid 2.3 8v in there
  Another great idea - take a scorpio 2.3 bottom end, mate it with the ever so easy to find in my workshop 2.0 8v cylinder head, hey presto a 2.3 8v hybrid. Pro’s can use most of what i have got Cons’s Expensive way to get the horses
• Option 5 - Fit a Zetec
  No Thanks

So I will be going with option 3 - watch this space for further updates coming soon as i source all of the parts on the shopping list, including the actual shopping list Nate

As part of the constantly evolving life of Nathan Hall - I am in the process of creating a number of websites for different purposes, but dont worry i havent forgotten about this blog, there will soon be a topic on converting a sierra to rear discs, as well as adding in the Anti-lock Brake System onto the car.

Ok - Here are some of the other sites i am currently working on: Click Discount - Provider of Coupon and discount codes - This is a website which I have designed as a bit of a dabble into helping others out, whilst earning a small (read miniscule) amount of money. It works by me providing companies with a link to there online shops, when a visitor clicks on one of my link a cookie is stored on there computer and i get paid a percentage of any sale during a set period . In return i get access to discount codes, coupons and money off codes for the website and provide them to my visitors.

Now I dont normally like making personal reccomendations, as if someone else has a bad experience they normally blame me, however recently my TV Brok (awww bless), so I had to order a new one. now we are all busy, and the convenience of buying online is always a plus for me, so I started searching through listings when I got a project dumped on my desk at work. Cheap Telly sent me the tv I wanted - at a very reasonable price (some could say unresistable) and It is now set up in my room looking good - I would definately recomend them, service A+, product A+

What more can I say other than go and buy one!

and heres a nice easy banner to click on for you as well

Well, After a discussion on the FSOC, I realised there is a lot of interest in the amount of parts required to keep a future classic car on the road. In the 2 years I have owned my J reg Ford Sierra, I have replaced many parts, many modified parts sourced within the uk.

Engines
Engine 1 - 1769cc CVH
This engine was in the car for 10,000 Miles and 12 months of my ownership, was replaced due to failure of the gearbox, and due to my inexperience. This was by far the best and most reliable engine i have had in this car; I should have kept this one, however the cylinder head of this engine went onto another CVH in france and is still going strong as far as I know

• 2 Oil Changes
• 1 Cambelt Change
• 1 Set of Bosch Spark Plugs
• 1 Air Filter change
• Exhaust Midsection
• Valve Stem Seals
• Coolant Change

Engine 2 - 1769 CVH
This engine was the first time I ever changed an engine, this engine died after a 4000 miles of service and struggles to keep it going, it replacend engine 1 (above) in July 2005 and was extremely unreliable, with it stalling whenever cold and I removed the foor off the gas. this was due to the modification to the exhaust manifold, and not having the hot air recirc going to the intake. It died due to what is suspected to be piston ring failure, and seized into a solid lump. It followed the CVH nickname of Constantly Venting Hydrocarbons as it burnt oil from day one of running. After one weeks running i replaced the Valve stem seals with new, and this only dampened its appetite for oil.

• 5 gallons of Oil
• 1 oil filter
• 1 air filter
• 1 set of valve stem seals
• 1 cambelt
• 1 set of spark plugs (NGK this time)
• Janspeed 4-2-1 Manifold
• Coolant

Engine 3 - 1998cc 8v DOHC
This is the first real big modification to the car, as it was a case of a complete rebuild of most of the car, from basic 1.8 Carburetor to 2.0 EFI, this modification includes changing the engine, gearbox, propshaft, fuel lines, fuel tank, Engine Loom, Radiator, Full Exhaust system, full intake system, all hoses, tank etc. And at the same time i took the opportunity to fit Power Assisted Steering, this engine has to be one of the worst engines that i have ever purchased, and the donor wasnt in good condition, First got it running after 3 1/2 weeks of working on the 6th January 2006 and was in the car for 8000 miles, and was removed due to excessive coolant usage. Anyways - back to parts this engine has had:

• Oil Filter
• Oil ~9 gallons, it had a few leaks
• 2x Air Filter
• 12x spark plugs (3 sets, eat a set every 3 months
• new set of plug leads
• new distributor and cap
• new temperature sender
• new fan switch
• replacement map sensor
• replacement ISCV (Idle Speed Control Valve)
• Head Gasket
• New Head bolts
• Timing Chain
• Timing chain sprocket
• Timing chain tensioner
• Oil pump chain
• upper and lower guides
• lower timing cover seal
• Upper timing cover seal
• cam cover seal
• cam cover for a non leaking one
• crankshaft seal
• clutch
• coolant x 6-8 gallons
• inlet manifold gasket
• exhaust gasket
• exhaust downpipe

Engine 4 - Automatic 1998cc 8v DOHC

This engine has just gone into the car and started for the first time from the starter (long story regarding starter motors, will post it up another night) on the 16th October 2006. To date this engine has had most parts from the previous engine, However I will list all i needed to do to modify this engine from auto to manual and get it running in this car.

• Flywheel and clutch from the manual engine (engine No 3)
• Brand new spigot bearing from ford
• New Flywheel bolts from ford
• rocker cover (engine No 3)
• upper timing chain cover (engine No 3)
• Manual Sump (engine No 3) - auto sump does not fit due to no impression in the exhaust side for a starter motor
• distributor, cap and plug leads (engine No 3)
• new fan switch
• coolant temp sensor (engine No 3)
• Inlet manifold gasket - new from ford
• Inlet manifold (engine No 3)
• Cleaned up throttle body
• new sump gasket

Today i drove the car for the first time with the new automatic engine in and the Modifications as detailed below

Engine #4
Automatic Inline 4 8V DOHC, modified from automatic to manual via reusing sump and flywheel from engine #3. Flywheel bolts were replaced as was the sumpgasket. All parts were throroughly cleaned to ensure a good seal (a twinky that does not leak!)
4-2-1 Exhaust Manifold, I am currently trying to source a performance midsection and backbox for the car as cheap as possibled, as more modification are on the way which will render this exhaust useless.
Another modification I plan on for this engine, is exhaust wrap the headers and downpipes. This improves the gas flow due to less friction with temperature: as well as lower the intake temperatures as there is less heat under the bonnet, this moodification works especially well with cars using a induction kit.

Not-So Running Report
‘J’ Plated Sierra Sapphire 1.8 GLX – Aka Suicidal Sapphire

In July 2004 there was a sunny morning that I will never forget: It was the day I met the Suicidal Saph, then a quite innocent looking car parked outside a local (ab)used car dealership. I was on the way to a training course with work, I had a quick look over the car and found it was solid. Every day of that week I checked the car out – praying it wouldn’t sell as pay day was Friday. And so on Friday the 30^th July 2004 I handed over the plastic to pay the 295 for my first car, with a full 12 Months MOT, but unfortunately no tax and i still dint have a license

Over the next month until the next pay day – I regularly started the car, discharged the battery and washed her, and on the next pay day I Paid a deposit on the obscene amount of money i had to pay for insurance with a provisional license, and put some tax on her

Then over the next 3 months – I sat 3 driving tests in her – with the final one going my way (altho she broke down on the way to the Final test – with the Valve Stem Seals failing and the Centre section losing a chunk – Totally Chavtastic noise! - got replaced 15 minutes after i passed the test – with 10 of those me telling the examiner he was having a laugh passing me!)

Well, For the 4th time since owning my 1992 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8 GLX another engine has gone into her. Starting out as a humble 1769cc Ford inline 4 CVH, the second engine was an identical engine , but with a Janspeed 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, which made the engine a little livelier. The modification really began when the second CVH decided it was going to use 4 litres of oil in about 5 miles; and so the third engine was put into place, when the car went from a carburettor to Fuel Injection. The engine of choice was a 2.0 8v Ford I4 DOHC putting out 125 BHP. This is when more problems occurred over the past 8 months, including the dreaded head gasket failure, most sensors were shot, and finally the head cracked, yesterday the 4th engine went into the car, a straight replacement 2.0 DOHC but this time I may well fit a 4-2-1 manifold i have aquired