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Sierra Cossie - Now a Bmw E30 Mission


mykez69

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I been looking at Sierra Sapphire Cossies, the low price ones are absoloutly mangled.

 

The price of parts seem quite high if the parts are avaiable.

 

I'm all about cosmetics over performance anyday of the year so i dont care about having the power to that degree.

 

Is it possible to make a full cossie rep cosmetically on a normal sapphire then? Bumpers fit etc?

 

If i do get a Sapphire what posibilites of engines do i get maybe once the cosemetics are done? simple fit jobs though lol

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the old saph parts are a straight swap, the same as the escorts and every other ford, its just a case of finding the bits cheap enough

 

regards to the engine, im sure it can be done, but bear in mind the saph is a group 19-20 so if you where to swap the engine, be prepared to be raped on insurance :)

 

the best engine in the saph imo is either the 1.8 or the 2ltr

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All the body work and interior just bolts in, so that's easy, but some parts can be expensive. Good interiors fetch decent money, and a lot of second hand body kits are tacky. As for the running gear, to fit the front brakes you need the Cosworth hubs and things I believe, which is an extra expense, though 2WD stuff is generally cheaper than 4x4 parts.

 

On the subject of engines, I'd avoid most of them to be honest with you. The 1.6 is slow and thirsty, and so is the 1.8 to be honest. The 2.0 pinto isn't too bad, but its hardly the most modern of engines, and decent 2.0 pinto Saphs aren't the most common thing in the world. I would say the best standard engine by far is the 2.0 8v twin cam. That's what I was told to buy by all the people in the Ford Sierra Owners Club, as it's the best all rounder of the bunch, and offers semi-decent economy with not too bad performance either. But with 125-odd bhp it's not going to set the world alight by any means.

 

Modifying wise, the pinto is ok for messing with, and is pretty easily turbocharged, or run on carbs and things. The twin cam is pretty tweakable, but not really in standard guise. It's possible to fit the 16v head from a Scorpio and use the Scorpio inlet and things with some messing about, and you can get up to around 150bhp. You can fit the 2.3 bottom end like the RS2000 boys do, and have the choice of the 8v or 16v heads. They seem to be able to knock out 170-odd bhp quite easily, which is obviously a lot better. You can turbocharge the twin cam (Turbo Technics and Andy Rouse both did kits). The TT one was about 160bhp and can with some work see 200bhp, but you'll have to find one, they're not nearly as common as the TT kits for the 2.8/2.9 engines. Forget the Rouse one, I've never seen one, only in pictures. You can go further using 200SX bits on a 16v, with pistons and rods and things and then have loads of power, but it won't be cheap.

 

Outside that, you could fit an 8v 2.8/2.9 engine from an XR, but they're not that great, or fit the 24v 2.9 from a Granada Cosworth, which is 195-bhp in BOA form, or 208bhp in BOB form. The BOB requires more work to fit though. The 24v option is good, but finding good engines seems to be quite tricky it seems, I've known an awful lot of people have failures with those through the FSOC. And it does require a bit of messing with gearboxes in 2WD applications.

 

I think what you need to remember is the Sierra is a big old lump of a car. To get it moving, it's going to need a half decent level of power, and if it's wearing Cosworth bits, people will assume you've got the minerals, and driving a rep which hasn't got the oomph would definately annoy me. Your biggest problem will undoubtedly be finding a good car though. Poverty spec 1.6s aren't too hard to get hold of, but if you want a 2.0 (and you do want a 2.0, trust me) then you'll have a much harder job. It took me a long time to find one that wasn't an absolute mess, and a lot of the good ones are disappearing now. Demand for them seems high in Ireland, as they make a good, cheap drift car. I paid £500 for my J-plate twin cam Saph in decent condition, and sold it for £800 to a guy in Northern Ireland. Sadly, most are rusty and knackered, and decent ones are going up in value. Oh, and try and get one with PAS, they're bloody awful without it :roll:

 

Sorry, I meant tatty, not tacky. And 12v 2.8/2.9, not 8v. But I'm not allowed to edit :rolleyes:

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Great replys thank you.

 

I want to have some form of drift car as well, so the sierra would be good to start with maybe with the 2.0 litre engine but all i can keep finding is rubbish ones like you say :(

 

There are tons of Bmws about, e30/e36 so if fails I have one of those on my list as well.

 

I got cash waiting for the right car but I want so many its unreal :(

 

I also want something half decent so it will keep its value somewhat.

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With all cosworths you will never get a really good/mint one paying peanuts, a really gd saphire cosworth will cost 3.5k plus, the cheap ones will be rotten, ragged and need work, if ur gonna use a saph cossie to drift then y wud you want a really good one, if you find a cheap one then get it, work on it then go drifting, chances are you will drift it and kill it anyway.

 

As with base saphire models all body panels can be changed, if i memba rightly all saphs are rwd drive so you could drop a cossie engine in if you like, also could drop the cossie 24v lump in it

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i agree with sid rick, for drifting you want to use a e30,e36,

 

for a starter id start off with the e30 1.8

when you get into it e30 2.5 lots more fun

then move over to the jap side. Then you have loads to choose from, the nissan s14, supras, skylines, etc

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With all cosworths you will never get a really good/mint one paying peanuts, a really gd saphire cosworth will cost 3.5k plus, the cheap ones will be rotten, ragged and need work, if ur gonna use a saph cossie to drift then y wud you want a really good one, if you find a cheap one then get it, work on it then go drifting, chances are you will drift it and kill it anyway.

 

As with base saphire models all body panels can be changed, if i memba rightly all saphs are rwd drive so you could drop a cossie engine in if you like, also could drop the cossie 24v lump in it

 

I enquiered about one for 3k which was shabby but was a complete bag of nails in the end.

 

I would pay up to 4.5/5k for a nice one but then there are so much better cars for that kind of price as well.

 

For drifting i would just use a normal sapphire to mash up and break etc lol no way would i do that with a cossie lol

 

Sid, the first one! is exactly what i would buy! it is lovely!

 

I love the older shapes so much. Any prefer older cars for some reason, I don't really know why.

 

i agree with sid rick, for drifting you want to use a e30,e36,

 

for a starter id start off with the e30 1.8

when you get into it e30 2.5 lots more fun

then move over to the jap side. Then you have loads to choose from, the nissan s14, supras, skylines, etc

 

hehe drifting is just something I have just always wanted to learn to do, i don't think it will lead into supras and skylines to be honest lol

 

1.8 e30 is all I would go for as a drift car.

 

A lot of my mates have Bmw's all tracked and drift prepped etc it's just got me wanting one.

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Aye, I'm the same with regards to certain old cars. The old 6'er makes me hard.

 

The 6 maybe isn't for you, as it's 1.5-2k plus for an okay example. A lot of them rot and parts are a nightmare to get hold of. It's not something I'd fling round a track, or even the road too often.

 

However, http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=27193 (Rat E36 - you'll have to sign up), might be more up your street.

I can't recommend the E36 enough as a car that looks good as standard, handles great in 4-pot form (and well in 6-pot) and is very easy to work on yourself. Parts are also cheap and readily available.

 

At the end of the day, if you're looking at £4.5k cars then you're into E36 M3 money. Shafted ones start at £3k. As much as I love the Saph cossies..... in standard guise there's no real comparison.

 

 

 

I love the E30 as well, but it always felt a bit small for me.

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