1982 Mk1 XR2 Fiesta

[Con2K]

Ahh, a useful update finally. After my girlfriends E30 had a mishap with a tree on her first drift day I have spent most of my time sorting that out or working on the house. I have now (with lots of help) had the BMW repaired and also made my driveway bigger by digging up a rockery creating 2 extra parking spaces!

From this:




To this:





To this:



Still some to do but she can handle it herself. Plus both of us can now weld! Poorly, but practice makes perfect.



So on with the fiesta:

A Mk1 fiesta was advertised locally for sale. A bare shell (with parts to rebuild) on a farm. Had some welding done but had been in primer in a drafty barn for atleast 5 years. I went over to view it and it wasn't as good as the picture made out to be. Just the sides and engine bay were primered. But they all needed work doing. The whole car had new rust bubbles on it. It was repairable, but if I'm honest, I didnt want another project. I wanted parts. Mainly a roof skin. Anything else would be a bonus at the moment as I havegenuine new parts ready to go on the rest of it.

Very misleading image I got:


I was all prepared to drive to london/manchester and buy a roof skin I heard was advertised and drive it to hereford where my shell is. But this has worked out roughly the same cost and a lot more local. The bonus of this car is some spare parts and the rest of the shell. The situation now is to get it home (tonight) and then in a week or so (when I get a tow car for a day), bring it up to Hereford and it can be used to pick from for my shell. So any sections that mine needs, should be available on this car.

It's an X reg 1.1 shell, last on the road in 2003. With 2 doors, bootlid, spotlamps, 3 headlights and a variety of tail lights. has a dashboard, complete loom, hubs, driveshafts and front suspension. None of the drivetrain is really useful to me as I have a 1600+ crossflow engine that uses different everything but it would be useful to sell on to people who need it.

The guy also has a G reg RX-7 laid up and a '73 beetle that's eben there 10 years. Anyone interested?

Parts wise:

I sent the engine off to Hamlins in Bridgwater, Somerset. Mark the manager showed me around and was very supportive about what I wanted/didnt want from them. I still want to be hands on with the engine, but I dont want to miss an upgrade oppourtunity or damage something so guidance and advice from popular, well liked professionals is ace.

The stuff I sent off to a friend of a friend to have powdercoated hasnt come back. Partly because I wasnt about last time he was in the area. So end of this month we have a date set. I have no idea what to expect but we'll see.

I have also bought some replacement parts, new bearings, recon'd hubs, Mk2 XR2 driveshafts (rebuilt), a few repair panels and an S2 RST escort gearbox with LSD.

The S1 gearbox is popular as the LSD can be fitted to a 4 speed BC XR2 gearbox directly giving some closer ratio's and grip. The S2 LSD cant be swapped into 4 speed box, but can be changed for Quaife LSDs more easily. I used to have a ATB LSD from Quaife in a Mk5 1.7 fiesta and it was fantastic. Would deffo upgrade to one again. I am happy to stick with the 5 speed RST LSD gearbox as it is a direct bolt on unit to the crossflow. It has been rebuilt but I will open it up for inspection. The 4 speed would be good but in reality, 5 speed is going to be fine day to day. If i'm honest I would like to have 1.7 Puma (or racing puma) internals fitted. I can also use a IB5 puma gearbox and fit the S2 LSD into this box if I wish. So a few options for the future.

This weekend is Japfest and Fiesta In The Park. I'll have a look if I can get any useful parts while i'm at the latter.

The car itself is progressing. Shotblasting is due next weekend and I hope to have the spares shell dropped up before then anyway just for a quick look a progress. I am not expecting much but maybe the front panel and wings would be on, or atleast the old ones removed by then.

Once the donor shell has been picked from, it'll be brought back home and cut up for spares for other owners (there is alot that people need that cant be bought as new repair sections). On my return from the bodyshop I will also have my rear beam and the last bits of the car I removed that I cudnt bring down last time. This stuff I can continue to clean up while I wait for the shell itself back.

Will ring Hamlins about my engine on Friday and have a word with them about its future.



I would still like to make it to Ford Fair in the Fiesta at the end of the show season. This would mean a lot to me.

[Con2K]

Shell has now been collected and is at home:











Lovely sight for the neighbours this morning. Until I goto Hereford with it. Had hoped for monday but dont have access to a tow car so will have to wait a week or two. Still need to remove the last little bits like bootlid, dash and hubs then it's bare. Will do that tonight before I wash the nissan for JapFest tomoz.

Anybody want any Mk1 Fiesta spares?

[Chriscooke]

I'll be honest. I don't think the winch around the rear wiper would do much good

[Con2K]

It was holding the bootlid in place. the latch wasnt present so was bouncing open lol

[Chriscooke]

I guess it worked quite well in that case

[MR SXY]

Its comming along quite well

[Con2K]

cheers mate. I hope to continue with progress in some form or another throughout summer. Always seem to have lots on.

ENGINE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM


Someone wanted to borrow the trailer and the donor shell was on it. This was a kick up the arse to clear the garage out and put it in there. Not only did I sort out the heap of crap that was in there, but I also sorted things back into their proper places again. The BMW parts that had been lying around were fitted to the BMW so now it looks like a more complete car aswell as not taking up garage space. Just needs some wiring soldered back up, lower engine mount, rad fitting and some small details. Thats it.

2 of us were able to lift the back end of the Donor Mk1 while the front rolled off the trailer. Then onto some dollies and into the garage.



I am really impressed with the space around it. The nissan was tight and with the work bench stuck out the door too much, but the Mk1 is tiny by comparison. I always planned for my XR2 to live in here so wasnt too disappointed that the nissan didnt fit. I know that when I get my shell back, and with closures/bumpers etc on it, it will take up more room. I am still pleased to see how much room. Also the shelves are only temporary while I build things back up so there will be just as much room.

Right, the engine, I rang up Hamlins in Bridgwater who have taken it on to inspect. I am not fully clued up with crossflows so my descriptions may be a little off target but here goes:

So, my engine. I rang hamlins yesterday about it. They said good news and bad news. The guy from swpc answered the phone. Handy. Overall it aint bad, but does need work. When u have ur lunch, give this a good read through. Need to come to a decision so wouldn’t mind a 2nd opinion.



Uprated Bosch Oil Pump – No details apart from its knackered. I will ask when I go there.

Cam followers – Pitted, not badly but may aswell replace.

Large Valve seals – scored – need replacing

Kent 244 Cam – Unchecked at time of conversation.

Lightened Crank – Unchecked at time of conversation.

Lightened Flywheel – Unchecked at time of conversation.

1300 bowled/big winged cast Pistons/lightened rods – Unchecked at time of conversation.



Head:

Good porting done back in 1998. Allowing huge amounts of airflow. Been told the work was good. Some surface rust present. The valve necks go up and down in guides. Modern cars have a sleeve that you replace when they wear out. This type of engine doesn’t. It’s machined from the cast head itself. It means the valve guides have worn the actual head rather than a replaceable sleeve. Not a major problem but sorting it is a must. I can have it machined wider and have a sleeve fitted like a modern car, or find a standard head and start again. Tbh even a standard head will be worn a tad(unless I find a brand new 1980’s head) and then I’d have to pay for port and polish again, larger valve recess for the overall diameter of the valve head to sit in again. Best to have new guides fitted to my old head then I think.


Bottom end:

Confirmed (Finally) 1640cc block. Has now been honed to clean it up. Has taken off the worst of the damage done over the years from previous owners running it without filters. There is a wear level of 1.5 thousandth of an inch on the cylinders still tho after a polish. This is minimal, wont come out, but, not perfect. I have a few options here:

-Rebore from +40 to +60 thou. Meaning new pistons. I would have to source big winged, bowled 1300 cast pistons if I wanted like for like. Or this would be a time to upgrade to forged pistons. You’re talking approx £500 for them. Big power, big revs and very strong engine then. The cast options is just £200 approx for a set. This might be the more affordable option. Do I really need to start considering upgrades for full race spec? Unlikely I think.

-Rebore to +90 thou. This is the max u can rebore a 771M FWD Fiesta xflow to safely. If it gets damaged, it’s game over and new block time. The extra 30cc’s over 1660 is always good for more power. This also means new cast or forged pistons. Same story as above trying to find them cheap enough.

-Find a standard 1600 xflow block. Have it rebored to 1640 and reuse my own pistons. I do have this thing in my head saying I should keep my original block. It’s the original from the car so want to stick with it if I can.

-Or, just have all the work done on the rest of the engine and leave my block as a honed 1640 and just run it with the small wear on it. It wont cause new damage, it’s not bad, but it’s not perfect. The fairly limited future mileage of the car also means it wouldn’t get much worse in the usage I have for it. This method would save me a large lump of cash right now. I could still get the engine rebuilt AND the car painted rather than one or the other if I went for a rebore. It means that the engine would be in tip top spec and condition everywhere apart from the bore quality. I could have the car rebuilt, run it for as long as I want and then when the time comes that I have spare cash, I can strip it down for a rebore in the future with any wear being rectified at this time. I understand it would be another set of head bolts, gaskets, rings etc but I am still thinking this is the way to go. It may cost more long term, but this way I get my car together, running and then decide if forged 1690 or similar is the direction I want to take.

There is still the element of uncertainty. I havent really driven the car much in my ownership. Maybe 40 odd miles. I cant remember now as it was over 4 years ago. I dont want to pay out £500+ on engine parts to find out I want a 2.0 zetec or dont actually like the finished car I have put together. Unlikely, but there is a chance.


Within a week I hope to have the Donor shell in Hereford so I can get an update on bodywork (probs not a lot) but also get the last of my spare parts back from my shell to start cleaning up.


Thanks for reading.

[Con2K]

Not much change on the shell situation. Not a lot been done. Will do some chasing up as I now have an engine back with me to rebuild and I dnt want it hanging around on a stand/the floor for v.long.

After sending the engine off to be machined and checked over. I finally got it back today. I say finally. It was me holding things up tbh. I have ordered replacement parts too.



Work carried out by Thomas Hamlyns Engineering of Bridgwater: special thanks to Mark, Paul, Joe and the rest of the team for their advice, support, time and work.

Strip Head and check. Recut seats. Regrind valves. Clean and fit up head.
Hone Bores
Inspect and polish crank.
Clean up pistons (light polish to remove scoring). Fit new rings. Confirmed KS 1300 HC pistons with deepened pockets to accommodate high lift cam.
Supply new main bearings. (Uprated variants)
Supply rings, head set, bearings, thrust washers, timing chain (single), tensioner, core plugs, full gasket (recondition) set.

Supplied by Andy of AC Services, North Newton nr Bridgwater:
Kent KC244, Followers. Reusing valve springs. New stem seals.
New Uprated high capacity and high pressure oil pump.

Been told by both that reusing my head bolts and pushrods will be ok. All measured and in good condition. This seems odd to me.

I am sure there is more I need to put it back together but I can't think right now.

Next task is to rebuild it all! I was asked if I wanted them to rebuild it but I want to do this. Will have trained help from a friend who works for ford as a mechanic. Seen him do this stuff with his eyes closed so glad to have his help. :thumbs

Was told to buy some gizer/guyser??? I can't think how to spell it but I know eBay sell it. Quite a daunting thought. Buy a load of nylon brushes and work lightly on it all? Rinse off? Wipe off?? Leave to dry??? It's all new to me. Engine builders said I can use their workshop to clean it up if u want but if I can do it at home in the garage, all the better. Have loads of HUGE hard plastic bags to put everything in to keep it clean, or shud I clean then immediately build up?

Also, I numbered the pistons but now after being cleaned, they aren't numbered. Seeing as they have been re-ringed, polished and the block honed, it won't matter which one goes where will it?

I really feel like i have progress now at last. Visiting Ford Fair was a kick up the arse to crack on. Any advice/tip/opinions welcomed. Detailed photo's to come.

[Robbie]

Was told to buy some gizer/guyser???

Jizer. Same type of stuff as Gunk.

Looking forward to seeing this being built up.

[Con2K]

Robbie, thankyou. Ordered it already! lol

I hope to see it come together too, quite soon.

[Con2K]

A handful of photo's of the engine work.

Block honed.

Some marks left behind, thought to possibly be water damage but unsure. Could have the rebored but forth spec of the engine, also it's cost, I didn't want to enter into a new direction of 1660/1690cc engine, new pistons, what type etc. For the moment I am happy to see how it performs as it is spec wise and reconditioned before deciding if I want/need to spend more money on it.

Valve seats recut to seal it properly. Head checked and a skim not required.



New valve stem seals (keeping old springs but already uprated for stiffer units)



Crank polished


Pistons polished. Not too much taken off. You can clearly see the 1.3 HC stamp and also the previous machining to allow for the high lift Kent 244 that was fitted last time the engine was specced up. Not sure what the 0.04 refers to (bottom left). Reusing the ARP big end bolts.



New uprated rings



Current plans are:
Await the arrival of my Jizer and brushes
Collect the bracket for my engine stand (left it at engine builders).
Clean it and then the daunting task of rebuilding.

I still need to collect my chain and tensioner, core plugs, cam, followers and oil pump. But I should be able to make a start. Headbolts aren't stretchbolts and are all the same length anyway after measuring with a digital caliper. Bottom end Crank bearing bolts(?) - the ones holding the crank in place, 2 have come back approx 0.2mm longer than the rest. For piece of mind I may change these.

Questions:

-How am I set using Jizer, apply, rinse off internals? Use sparingly and dry off with soft clothes?
-Not sure the best method to remove the red paint from the head. An awful lot of oil galleries and gaps etc to try and tape up if I want to go ape with a wire brush on it. Get the feeling all sorts may up up inside the ports, in the springs etc.

Thanks.

[Con2K]

My jizer, 'cleanmycar' squigy bottles and brushes arrived. Will make a start on cleaning up the engine next week.

In the meantime, I had an oppoutunity to have an alternative look at my components:




Limited images due to time but zooming in, along with viewing other parts like the block. The x-ray showed all was well.

[Con2K]

Engine cleaned up quite well. Enough for me to build it up and apply paint without it coming off.
Before:


After:


I didn't use any drills or wire brush related attachments as I didn't want to introduce a greater risk of particle contamination from such abrasive work. It's clean enough to paint so that will do.

Have all my parts now (man that was expensive!!), so started to build the engine up but hit on a problem. There was a burr on No.4 after honing that wasnt rectified! I didnt find out until putting the piston in and turning it over by hand and it had some resistance.



It caused this:


That stopped everything and it all came apart again for inspection. Just glad it doesnt use stretch bolts when torquing up! Pretty gutted tbh. Thankfully the engine workshop who honed it sorted it free of charge. The guy who did the work said it would have been checked at the time but I did bring the engine back to them to have the cam bearings changed so could have happened when the old ones were tapped out. Can't confirm how, when or who did it (including me) but atleast it was sorted the next day for free and back together again.

So the engine is back to the stage it was at the weekend. Also had some more material taken off the crank to give a better match to the new big end bearing shells as the previous polish on them just wasn't enough. Now turns a lot more freely.









Not sure why the rods aren't centred on the gudgeon pins. No fouling though.


Some play on the big ends. Minimal but it's used rods, pins and pistons so it won't be perfect. It's perfectly serviceable though.





Next plans:
-Head clean and fitting (already built up). Fit and time chain. Remember the cam is block mounted so these two stages are pretty much seperate apart from the pushrods conecting them. Should have had head dipped before being rebuilt but it was done ao quick I didn't get a chance to mention it. Will have to be done by hand now. But also avoid the ports being contaminated.

-Shell is back at home. The bodyshop havent really done anything and I wanted it indoors before the weather turned. At this rate I'll be doing most prep myself but want the engine and carbs complete before I make a start on the shell.

-Carbs are also back in my hands. (They were with the shell) I plan to build them up myself as quotes for rebuilds are as much as a 2nd hand set! It's such a time consuming job, I have blown out diagrams but havent found a 'How To' for rebuilding/servicing them or anything. Could be intersting. That will be starts once the engine is finished but I'm really not confident as I dont know what i'm doing with them!


Doing track time at Castle Combe on sat so i'll probs not do much to it over the week or weekend as I need to sort out the other cars.