SIERRA VAN !!!!

greendragon3

well lads it has finally arrived , after months of speculation and head scratching and with a huge thank you to declan rafter ( black magic ) i am now the proud owner of what is believed to be the only sierra van in exsistance , now i know the sceptics among you will say " ah sure thats just a feckin estate with panels instead of glass " !!!!! but you'r wrong , from what we can gather from the first owners they wanted a mid size van from ford and something " a bit different " ,the local ford dealers here tried to sell them an escort van and a small transit but it wasnt what they were after so after a lot of searching they came up with this solution ,three of these vans were produced in-house by ford as an experimental demo vehicle to see if they would take off ,as you will see in the pictures it has a proper bulk head divider and a full flat floor , they were shipped to ford in cork and this one was delivered to sligo in january of 91 and subsequently bought by barton smiths of sligo , the other two vans dissapeared , maybe shipped back to england because they didnt sell , who knows , just ask yourself this " have you ever seen one " ???? the van has led a bit of a chequered past up until now and the most up to date info we can get on it is that she ended up in the hands of a sheep farmer ( hence the big pile of ****e in the back of it ) but again thanks to declan, he was aproached and a deal was done , it suffered a snapped timing belt in 2003 and it has been off the road since , dumped in a field !!! so enough talk, here are the pics i took of her last night as she was being delivered .

quattro777

There were some on the continent, a guy who sells Ford spares imported 2 to the UK.

jimmyw

Thanks for that, I have just brought up my dinner:eek:.

Whos to say the farmer was not using it himself:D.Yuk!Yuk! That is a completely horrible mess. You are brave to be taking on this.I hope you got it for free!!.

Redrocket

you've got your work cutout for you to get her back to glory, lovely piece of ford history tho!

manta mad

as redrocket says ,very nice bit of irish ford history you got ! :cool:

and you have your work cut out ,but it will be well worth it when you get it finished !

keep us posted on your progress please !

carchaeologist

Odd yoke. Comes up as fuel type Gas?

Silvera

Nice find! Never heard of a Sierra Van before?!

You have a big task ahead of you, however the shell looks solid enough - the rest..seats, trim, engine, etc - shouldnt be too hard to source/replace.

Best of luck with it!
Keep us updated.

...nice reg too '91-SO-111'
...the '1' is appropriate, being the only '1' of it's kind in Ireland!

a_v525

try to save the sierra van sticker, I doubt you'd be able to get your hands on another one if they were really 3 of a kind

Gene Hunt

Alot of work there....but I find it very hard to believe the conversion was done by Ford, that spot welding done around the rear back window is sh## to say the least but would be a nice van when done and I'm looking forward to the finished product:)

bijapos

The Sierra Van was sold in Holland, with fully closed off rear windows, not like the one in the pic above, but as they also needed the roof conversion for tax reasons I would think its possible the window conversions were done by a coachbuilder. The bulkhead on that Sierra doesn't look like its from Ford but its rare nonetheless and deserves to be saved, best of luck with it.

Pic here is of a Dutch Sierra Van, note the fully integrated panels on the windows.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/6916303433/

carchaeologist

Gene Hunt wrote: »

Alot of work there....but I find it very hard to believe the conversion was done by Ford, that spot welding done around the rear back window is sh## to say the least

I agree here, it seems to have been an estate converted to a van at some stage in its life, but i really cant see ford having done it as a trial of just three cars. The sticker on the back could have been done by any sticker company.
There wouldnt be any problem doing that to an estate and changing the tax from private to commercial at any stage of its life. Then it will show as commercial on the records.

Although, the rear lower bulkheads do look very similar on the irish and dutch vans, i will say that!

Post some pics of the inside of the blanked out windows and more of the loadbed when you get the crap cleaned out of it.

mickdw

That panel with the dodgy welds could have come from anywhere. Assuming that the history as described in the OP is correct, that rear door could have been replaced at any time due to damage and a botch done to replace the glass as a van door would not have been available.

Even that dutch car linked above has glass in one side for some reason.

gn3dr

carchaeologist wrote: »

I agree here, it seems to have been an estate converted to a van at some stage in its life, but i really cant see ford having done it as a trial of just three cars. The sticker on the back could have been done by any sticker company.
There wouldnt be any problem doing that to an estate and changing the tax from private to commercial at any stage of its life. Then it will show as commercial on the records.

Although, the rear lower bulkheads do look very similar on the irish and dutch vans, i will say that!

Post some pics of the inside of the blanked out windows and more of the loadbed when you get the crap cleaned out of it.

I mentioned this in another forum where this was posted - but I remember seeing at least two more of these back in the 90's - a red one on Cork and I think a blue one in Killarney. I also have a vague memory of seeing a brown one somewhere in Irleand. None looked homemade - all looked factory like this one.

selfdiy

Good luck with the project. interesting to see what it looks like when cleaned out.
I hope you got a large luck penny returned on that deal!

GSBellew

Interestingly there are no weights stamped on the ford chassis weight plate.

What is on the other rusty plate on the slam panel? Coach builders weight plate?

The lack of any weights on the ford plate would suggest it was either an incomplete chassis for a coach builder to convert to a hearse / ambulance etc or indeed a pre-production / experimental chassis.

68deville

nearly certain an 92 Wx red/maroon Sierra van was sold new by Bolands
was a regular on the roads in the South east!

Raytown Rocks

And I thought you meant this??
Ah well

kuro2k

gn3dr wrote: »

I mentioned this in another forum where this was posted - but I remember seeing at least two more of these back in the 90's - a red one on Cork and I think a blue one in Killarney. I also have a vague memory of seeing a brown one somewhere in Irleand. None looked homemade - all looked factory like this one.

I used to see a white one alot around western road in Cork, last time i saw it was probably around 98/99

tinyjiney

Shouldnt a van have only two doors and no c pillar......
Looks like an estate /van to me....

carchaeologist

Well, whatever it is, full marks to greendragon for rescuing such a shed. And it was literally a shed....

G Luxel

gn3dr wrote: »

- a red one on Cork and..... .

the red car you mention could be or was operated by Cork Corporation and had a white stripe with coat of arms on the door. I think it was used by the water department. It was red and exactly the same layout in spec as the OPs car. This car was registered in 1991.

Capri

At last - vindicated !!

I'd seen a Sierra van in Dublin years ago but couldn't dig up any info on it so I was beginning to think that the ol brain was playing tricks.

Now i can stop taking the pills , and hit the pils :D


Next is to find the Pontiac Parisienne c.68, that I remember sitting in in Ranelagh years ago :eek:

http://www.pontiacuk.com/id75.html

tony.aspergers

Could have been converted by NVD at Kilrane, Rosslare, upon entry into Ireland, they did such conversions right up till the beginning of last year....

greendragon3

bit of an update lads , spent all day yesterday shoveling and taking off a lot of bits off the van to see what the actual shell itself was like , turns out its not too bad at all despite twenty years of dog and sheep piss rotting away into the carpet and the sound proofing , it came out in chunks instead of one piece !!!! bit of a nightmare getting out the seats and the rear door was siezed shut but plenty of WD40 and brute force shifted her , we found and managed to remove five rats nests from the back of the dash , id say there is more in there just have to get the dash out first !!!!!! we also had to take out the rear floor because the amount of gathered under here was unreal and we would have not been able to clean it properly other wise , anyway after a lot of stripping we got it o where it was ready for a blast of the power hose , its in the shed now drying out and we will start the body work soon , couple of sills and maybe a passenger floor might do the trick , fingers crossed , here are some more pics .

jimmyw

Jeez, you are a brave brave person:D.What a horrible job to be doing.I hope you reap the rewards from it.

carchaeologist

Christ almighty what a manky yoke!!
Looks good with a wash though, im amazed theres still a floor in it!

ahal

carchaeologist wrote: »

Christ almighty what a manky yoke!!
Looks good with a wash though, im amazed theres still a floor in it!

+1

Given how acidic wee wee is, it's held up surprisingly well. I think you'll need the Lord on your side with this ... and a giant quantity of Kurust :pac:

On the plus side, turning a project like this around has got to be all the sweeter

Blue850

Yuck... seriously though don't let anyone near that van without gloves on, rat pi$$ is deadly. I lost a cousin to Weils disease.

Weils disease

trevorbrady

What a brave undertaking and given the starting point, the end result will be all the better.
Keep us posted

unkel

trevorbrady wrote: »

What a brave undertaking and given the starting point, the end result will be all the better.
Keep us posted

+1

Must be the durtiest resto in history

Bitten & Hisses

Yourself and the guy restoring the rotten P&T van seem to be cut from the same cloth!

Carson10

The power wash and muck out done a good job. Doesnt look half as bad. Are you going to restore it to original? or jazz it up? Good idea mite be to call into hendersons and see if they have any old stickers/tax holders/numberplate surrounds etc from the 90's era. They prob should as they only changed over to Henderson Motorpark recently.

Here is a white 89 Sierra in top condition for sale in the North. Cheap price condsidering all the money you will have to spend sourcing parts.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C248972

Good luck!!

Capri

trevorbrady wrote: »

What a brave undertaking and given the starting point, the end result will be all the better.
Keep us posted

Keep at it - a rare machine, rarer than this

http://www.sierra-xr8.co.uk/photo_gallery/photo_gallery.htm

red sean

Look on the bright side Greendragon, if there's grass in it, there's life in it!
Did you find out anything about it from Barton Smiths or Hendersons re: was it a special order or just bought on the spur. Does'nt seem that long since it was a regular sight on the road. Good luck with it!

greendragon3

hi all , just a quick update , i put a bit of a push on both of the sierra vans over the weekend because we have a big ford show ( Neal Egan run ) coming up on the 5th of august ( ( sorry bout the plug !!! ) ) ;D

anyway i got great help from a few of my mates and we got the red van converted to power steering sourced a new interior and got her running

it went out to donkeys then for a full valet inside and out while me and my ould fella the brother gus and jonny nitro got stuck into an engine swap on the white one ,

while we were at it nitro stripped out the remainder of the dash and found some more rats nest's and took out what was left of the wiring loom ,

i managed to get the engine swapped over very easily from the blue car and within a half an hour we had her purring away nicely .

here are some pics .

greendragon3

manta mad

nice work !!!

red sean

Can we expect to see it at the Neal Egan run 2013?

Capri

manta mad wrote: »

nice work !!!

Ditto

Do-more

I remember a Sierra Van making deliveries to a premises on Castle st. Mullingar up and then, pretty sure it's the red Leitrim reg one you have. It's the only Sierra van I can remember ever seeing.

Fair play for saving them.

greendragon3

thanks lads for all the kind comments , the red one was originally owned by degnans mills in dromod co leitrim and she was used for local deliveries , and to answer red seans question , the plan is to have both of them at the neal egan show on the 5th of august 2012 !!!! they will be in thier current state of disrepair just to let people see them as they are before i start a full rebuild and resto on both over the winter .:):)

Pdfile

not to lick up too much bu you're hard work is enviable.


well dne lads

Sids Not

Amazed that the "Why" brigade havent been on here yet.......:p

MidlandsM

great to see the work on this...............cool olde skool yoke to save, well done

Hermy

Sids Not wrote: »

Amazed that the "Why" brigade havent been on here yet.......:p

Why?:pac:

ta2kevin

Some undertaking you have there. Best of luck with the rest of it, always good to see the rare ones getting saved from being scrapped.

mamakevf

Great work, I seem to remember early Sierra diesels had a 2.3 engine (Opel derived AFAIR) A lot 2.3 cars were 2-door and were desirable for turning into a Cosworth Rep.

Jammy Donut

mamakevf wrote: »

Great work, I seem to remember early Sierra diesels had a 2.3 engine (Opel derived AFAIR) A lot 2.3 cars were 2-door and were desirable for turning into a Cosworth Rep.

Peugeot engine wasn't ? There was 21., 2.3 and 2.5.. Used in Mk2 Granadas aswel.. Actually didn't Ford do a basic spec Mk2 Granada with the Diesel as a Taxi?

greendragon3

hi lads , i had the white van out for a run yesterday and i thought id put up a few pictures . :up: :up:

MidlandsM

love it! Great reg too!

Capri

MidlandsM wrote: »

love it! Great reg too!

91 SO !!! :eek: Main thing is get them running, then tidy up as the humour takes you - too many sheds full of stripped down 'projects' that just get abandoned for whatever reason