Interior Trim

Originally I was going to go for the 'stripped out racer' look, but in the end I changed my mind and bought the interior trim set from Tiger.  This consists of a centre tunnel cover, carpet for the rear bulkhead, full length fitted floor mats, gaiters, aluminium and vinyl for the outer cockpit sides and carpet panels for the forward tunnel sides.

As I have the Rally Design gear remote I needed the hole in the tunnel cover for the gear lever to be further forward than normal.  I posted Tiger a paper template and they made up the tunnel cover to fit.

First job was to cut the aluminium side panels to size.  Once one was trimmed correctly it could be used as a template for the other side.  A piece of vinyl was cut and attached using contact adhesive.

The end result has turned out quite professional and looks really good in the car.  The panels themselves were fitted using black pop rivets.  A little silicon sealant was added on the runs between the rivets.  The idea here is to try and minimise any vibration of the panel when the engine is running.

With the carpet glued, using spray carpet adhesive, to the rear bulkhead and all other trim items in place, the cockpit starts to look really nice.  I need to get an angle welded in the gear lever (to clear the dashboard) before I fit the gear lever gaiter.

Next will be fitting of the seats and harnesses.

Driveshaft Renewal

The driveshafts had previously been removed from the Sierra rear beam and set aside. Soon these will be needed for assembly onto the car. However, first they need to be renewed.

First the internal metal surfaces were masked in tape, i.e. those which go inside the final drive and the rear hub. Then a wire brush attachment in a drill was used to remove all loose rust. After degreasing, a couple of coats of smooth Hammerite were added.

The driveshaft gaiters were most likely the original from when Ford built the Sierra about 20 years ago. It seemed prudent to change these while the driveshafts were off the car. I used a 'slide-a-boot' kit for each. These were bought from eBay and can be used without having to dismantle the drive shaft.

First the old gaiter is removed. The cone is cut down to length and covered in the lubricant provided. The cone is placed over the end of the draftshaft and the gaiter is pulled over the cone on to the driveshaft. The gaiter needs to be pulled inside out beforehand. The gaiter is now pulled the back the right way, grease packed into the CV joint and finally the cable ties used to secure the two ends of the gaiter. The cable ties were used in preference to the metal bands as these were difficult to get tight.

Below the finished driveshaft, painted, gaiters replaced and ready for installation on the car. Same process for the other driveshaft.