SIERRA ESTATE

Sometimes you find yourself falling into a project without even meaning to. But it’s often those kinds of builds that turn out best. With no tune to follow, the natural process of fate will find a way of helping.

And that’s exactly how Kurt Tann turned this cheap-and-cheerful Sierra into an awesome homebuilt street sleeper. Thanks to a turbocharged home-brew special under the bonnet and an unsuspecting look inside and out, Kurt has built a truly unique fast Ford.

As he likes an 1980s’ Fords, Kurt has owned a few over the years, and was in the process of rebuilding a Mk2 Orion and Mk3 Granada when he first heard this Sierra was up for sale.

Kurt recalls, “A friend was eyeing the car up and decided against it. He had sent me the details, and after a chat I decided if he wasn’t going to have it, I had to have a look. I had no interest in Mk2 Sierras at all, but at £250 I couldn’t knock it for a rear-wheel-drive Ford.”

Sure enough, the car appeared to be a bargain, as not only was it a tidy example, the engine bay and interior were spotless. Aside from a couple of small bits, the bodywork was decent too. Plus it had every service stamp, past MOTs and a whole load of history.

But although it was great buy, Kurt didn’t have much need for the car other than to use it for a summer.

“It sounds odd, but I purchased it because at the time I thought the rear end was that ugly it looked cool,” he explains. “I had no idea what to do with the car, as all I actually planned was to run it through summer 2015 to go to the Classic Ford Show and then sell it to crack on with my other cars.” That soon changed, as fate began to play into his hands. The car became a rolling project after a small bump while driving on ice, which was followed by discovering the trusty Pinto needed attention.

Kurt says, “As I straightened out the damage, I found the stem seals in the original engine had gone hard, so I figured I’d drop a Zetec on bike carbs into it, which I had sat waiting on a pallet.”

Along with a few other upgrades and additions, the Sierra soon began to pick up pace, especially when a bet with a mate in the pub led to a budget-build Zetec turbo conversion. That saw a few revisions when it came to plumbing and manifold configurations, but ended up making a healthy 275bhp and led to bigger things.

SPECIAL BREW

Built at home and with 400bhp on tap, this soberlooking Sierra wagon is a true homebuilt hero

Words SIMON HOLMES / Photos ANDY SAUNDERS

WILD CARD

For the road, the Sierra’s interior remains fully trimmed

Sierra sits so low on Citroen 16s and super-skinny rubber Mazda sixspeed cog swapper

Digital display and extra gauges keep tabs on the vitals Roll cage and GLX trim? Well, why not?

TECH SPEC

SIERRA ESTATE

ENGINE 1988cc ST170 Zetec engine, homemade sump, ARP bottom end studs with custom adapters to run windage tray, standard crank, PEC steel H-beam rods, ARP rod bolts, Focus RS-spec forged pistons with custom valve pockets, decked ST170 block, MLS 0.6mm head gasket, ARP head studs, ST170 head with exhaust ports flowed and polished, Peugeot 106 GTi Newman Cams 160lb valve springs and retainers, Toyota Yaris coil-on-plug setup, homemade external oil pump setup, home-made water rail, Garrett Gen 1 GTX3076R turbo, homemade exhaust manifold (Nissan SR20-based), home-made plenum (4G63 Mitsubishi-based), modified runner and throttle body flange to suit ST170 lower inlet, 80mm throttle body, Siemens Deka 875cc injectors, 280 litres-per-hour fuel pump, Facet lift pump, home-made swirl pot, 8mm copper fuel lines, Zetec-to-Cosworth lightened flywheel, home-made 3in exhaust, custom US-spec/ST170 rocker cover, modified Sierra Cosworth radiator, modified RS500-style intercooler, home-made 2.5in boost pipes, Range Rover cooling fans, Ecumaster EMU Classic engine management TRANSMISSION Mazda RX-8 gearbox, custom Zetec-to-Mazda RX-8 adapter plate, hydraulic clutch conversion, CG Motorsport Stage 3 Cosworth clutch kit, home-made propshaft, Titan Motorsport plated limited-slip diff with adapted stub shafts SUSPENSION Front: Gaz coilovers, Mk3 Granada anti-roll bar; rear: Gaz coilovers, XR4x4 beam; polyurethane bushes throughout BRAKES Front: Sierra Cosworth four-pot callipers and discs, rear: Sierra XR4x4 discs and callipers; braided lines all round WHEELS & TYRES 7x16in Citroen steel wheels with 165/45R16 tyres INTERIOR Sierra GLX estate trim, LD Performance dash display, Safety Devices sixpoint roll cage EXTERIOR 1990 Sierra LX estate, strengthened rear turrets, boot floor/rear wheel well removed, Ford optional front splitter; paint: Maritime Blue with red bonnet THANKS “Massive thanks to anyone that’s had any involvement with it over the years in different ways, whether motivation, advice or midnight help, and especially, Phil, Tub, Ben, Shakey, Josh and Ads, my parents and Yas”

WILD CARD

Load bay houses the swirl pot for the fuel system ST170-based home-brewed engine makes 415 bhp

“The ST170 turbo idea came about after chatting about specs with a couple of mates”

“When that motor died after a drag racing day out in 2019, I decided if I was going to do it again, I would take the time and do it properly. So, the ST170 turbo idea soon came about from chatting about specs with a couple of mates,” remembers Kurt.

The current build is the best yet and revolves around a heavily reworked ST170 engine, complete with forged pistons, steel rods and a tickled cylinder head. To go with it is a large GTX3076 turbo that, much like the rest of the build, has been fitted using Kurt’s home-brewed skills. For instance, the exhaust manifold is a Nissan 200SX item that has been heavily adapted to fit, and the same goes for the inlet plenum, which started life on a Mitsubishi Evo and has been modified to fit the ST170 lower manifold.

Kurt explains, “Pretty much the majority of the work was done by me, bar a couple bits of alloy TIG welding and the odd piece of help here and there where I’ve not been able to access kit. The majority was done between sheds at home by juggling space.”

Other custom parts with Kurt’s input include the sump, plumbing and external oil pump setup, although he tells us the

Drilled bumper supplies extra air to an RS500-style intercooler

Turned-down tip looks like a dirty diesel’s Wagon’s wheels

WILD CARD

trickiest job was something that looks much simpler: “The hardest part was actually getting the US-spec rocker cover to fit. It involved coupling an ST170 and US-spec Zetec cover into one.”

ESSENTIAL UPGRADES

To continue the mixed-and-matched theme, the engine is attached to a Mazda RX-8 gearbox with an uprated clutch, and powers the wheels via a proper plated-type LSD. The combination is incredibly effective and Kurt says the car performs very well, so far running a best of 415bhp and 335lb.ft of torque. Having previously managed a best of 13.5 seconds in the quarter-mile with just 275bhp, the new setup is yet to be properly tested but should be plenty quicker.

While the running gear has been heavily reworked and the exterior finely detailed, the inside remains relatively standard, which was always the plan.

“Anyone that’s owned a Sierra knows how comfy they are, so I didn’t want to lose that and bought a scrapper GLX estate for just £40 with a mint interior,” Kurt laughs. Sure enough, the combination of comfort and performance make the car a joy to use, and Kurt tells us it’s at home on the road as much as it is on the strip.

“It actually drives pretty well day-to-day,” he explains. “It’s definitely still useable on the road, albeit Cornish roads aren’t the most forgiving for a lowered car, but a majority of the time it’s just used for going for a drive and enjoying at the occasional drag day.”

MORE AND MORE

As with any home build, there’s still more to do, as Kurt has plans to tune the car further and make some improvements.

He explains, “I want to dial the VVT in and drop the exhaust housing size a bit to move the boost range a bit lower. There’s also a Supra diff to go in the back end, along with a spare rear beam that’s destined for the chop saw to make it fully adjustable. Plus, I’d like to beef up the fuel system, add some more boost and sort out a few project niggles.”

With no end in sight but more ideas in the pipeline, we expect to see Kurt fermenting the special-brew Sierra a whole lot more...

RED RIDING HOOD

Although the car has a great, understated style, Kurt tells us it happened by accident. He reveals, “There wasn’t really a plan for the exterior, as such. But partially down to the little mishap I had, I’ve always had a soft spot for the American moonshine runner/bootlegger cars; rough enough, simple and set up with a bit of poke underneath.” With that in mind, the replacement red bonnet has purposely been kept its contrasting colour. Coupled with the steel wheels and sleeper style, the car always gets a good reaction. “Mostly people laugh and it’s generally good,” says Kurt. “I think it’s down to the fact that most people can relate to wanting something similar themselves — although the bonnet can split opinion.”

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A lesson in RUST

A GUIDE TO

Rob Hawkins provides a guide to rustproofing; covering everything from a chemistry lesson in iron hydroxide to applying various rustprevention products.

Rustproofing USEFUL CONTACTS

Rust, tinworm, corrosion; whatever you like to call it, the dreaded brown crumbly stuff has shortened the life of many a vehicle. And it’s not just steel panels that can corrode. Copper brake pipes turn green with copper oxide, while aluminium develops a white flaky exterior finish. However, the worst is steel, which turns into the crumbly iron oxide that we dread to discover bubbling up underneath the paintwork of an exterior panel or spreading through sills and wheelarches.

There are numerous methods for helping to prevent the spread of corrosion through a vehicle, so we’ve outlined the popular ones over the following pages and the best methods we’ve found for keeping rust under control. There’s no easy method and once rust has taken hold, it’s hard to keep away, especially if you use a vehicle every day.

Whilst it’s important to know how to protect a vehicle from corrosion, it’s perhaps just as important to understand how rust forms. For corrosion to occur, especially in steel, it’s worthwhile knowing what steel is and how this alloy is made.

To make steel, iron ore is extracted from the ground, smelted in a blast furnace where impurities are removed, but a small quantity of carbon (usually less than 1%) is added to make the iron less brittle so that it can be bent and shaped.

Knowing what needs to be present for corrosion to occur is the next stage towards understanding the rusting process. Water and oxygen are the two ingredients. However, for the steel to turn into rust (iron oxide), the iron in the steel needs another element to help with the reaction. This could be the carbon that is contained in the steel, or another metal such as aluminium.

Let’s assume there’s an aluminium panel next to a steel panel on a vehicle. With water and oxygen present, which could simply be moisture in the air, the iron in the steel panel and the aforementioned aluminium panel form what is known

RUST PROBLEMS

 The most obvious problem

that rust creates is holes in sills, door bottoms, chassis legs and other panels. However, there are a number of other areas on a vehicle that can become a similar headache. The suspension leaf springs and coil springs can corrode and fracture, or their mounts can similarly rust away and break. Brake components can seize, discs can become pitted and less effective. Even parts ranging from the wheel nuts to the bumpers can turn brown and unsightly. The following pages deal with many of these dilemmas and how to either avoid them, or in some cases if they have already started to corrode, fix them.

as a galvanic cell. The impurities in the water help with the process that involves the transfer of electrons, turning the iron into iron hydroxide, which is also known as hydrated iron (III) oxide. Iron hydroxide is insoluble, so it precipitates out and forms a solid, which looks pretty much like the rust we see. However, if the water around it dries off, it becomes iron oxide, but you can easily have a mixture of the two, despite what you see is what is commonly called rust.

Whilst that explains how rust can occur when another metal is next to steel, such as a panel or a fitting (eg. a bolt), what happens if there are no panels other than steel? Or why does a stripped bodyshell rust? Well, the small quantity of carbon in the steel is the problem. This works just as well as the aluminium to help with electrolysis that leads to rust.

You may now be feeling despondent by the fact that it’s very difficult to prevent the rusting process. The key to keeping rust away is to seal off the metal or isolate it using non-conductive paints, rustproofing products and similar coatings. Seam sealant, paint (primer, undercoat and topcoat), underseal and wax- and oil-based products all help to keep the rust away.

Using stainless steel or zinc-coated fixings will reduce the risk of them aiding corrosion in a steel panel. Stainless steel components do corrode, but that corrosion consists of a thin film that’s difficult to see, which luckily blocks any further corrosion. This thin film of corrosion also stops the component being involved in the electrolytic process of corroding a steel panel. Unfortunately, this appears to be less effective in aluminium panels, whereby stainless steel fittings seem to last longer, but the aluminium becomes weakened.

A lesson in RUST

RUSTY NUTS & BOLTS

 Wheel nuts, bolts and similar fastenings can look particularly unsightly if they start to corrode. Some can be replaced with chrome-plated or stainless steel fittings that should last longer, but often they can be revived by removing as much of the surface corrosion as possible, then applying several thin coats of protective paint. There are several different approaches to this method, including using a variety of cleaning methods such as a wire wheel on a bench grinder, a blasting cabinet and an ultrasonic tumbler. The following steps show a reusable chemical method. There are also a number of ways to paint and protect fittings. For wheel nuts that are going to be undone and tightened, there’s a risk that any exterior paint will be damaged and chipped, so applying primers and durable metal paint may help. Applying a thin mattfinish paint may also help to reduce the risk of the paint finish being chipped.

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Product Test GLASS CLEANERS Product Test Steve Hole puts products through their paces

GLASS CLEANERS

The latest car care product group to fall under CM’s spotlight are glass cleaners – and with over 300 standalone products on the market in the UK even we couldn’t test them all – BUT we have 27 of the very best for you to consider here.

This time we turn our attention to automotive glass cleaners and if you thought the margins were fine when we chose the winners for our recent leather cleaners and conditioners test (CM, Dec 2021) then this one is incredibly tight. It was like trying to choose between Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, or Jaffa Cakes and Custard Creams.

Just like with the previous test the contenders here are all products we have used with success and/or have been highly recommended to us. Of the 27 contenders here it’s possibly fair to say that 25 of them could easily have won!

We have looked at household name products, those that are popular on the detailing scene and even some from tiny boutique brands. Although you may think that 27 products amounts to too many, consider there are more than likely close to 300 automotive glass cleaning products available in the UK.

We have only looked at glass cleaners. Glass polishes, coatings and rain away products are beyond the scope of this feature although some of our cleaners tested do have elements of some or all of those included in their make-up. Therefore, you’ll find no dedicated glass coatings, polishes or rain repellents.

We also used a variety of cloths from good quality Costco Microfibres, a dedicated crosshatch glass cloth and one of those miracle cloths off the internet! On balance, the dedicated glass cloths performed better but we didn’t get as much use from these before they needed changing. A microfibre has a thicker pile and absorbs moisture better.

Care is needed when using some of these products as I noticed on the labels that some can damage eyes and/or your insides if used incorrectly so as always, we’d recommend nitrile gloves, and some eye protection is used.

The test procedure

Product Test GLASS CLEANERS

What was quite apparent is that different brands take different approaches to ingredients used on their glass cleaning products including menthol, ammonia, soap and alcohol aka IPA (no, not beer, rather a panel wipe product officially known as Isopropyl alcohol), and some of them go to great lengths to introduce heady aromas, while others don’t bother with smell.

It's also worth bearing in mind that nice perfumes and scents are pleasing on the nose, though some of the contestants contain solvents and fragrances that can cause streaks and smearing.

Although lots of folk still swear by malt vinegar and old newspaper to get the best finish on their glass, which if it works for you crack on, but really to get the best results with these new type products you need a specific waffle-weave glass cloth or microfibre cloth with a decent pile.

Each one of the products tested here is available in the UK. You can either buy them direct from the manufacturers or a recommended outlet. We tested all these products twice – but as we carried out testing in the winter period, it pushed these products to their limits. I worked on the basis that if they work well in cold conditions, they’ll find the warmer temperatures a breeze.

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