Rickman Archive

	Oct 2002 Since collection I have had it running (amid clouds of rust) and the 1800 pinto does not sound too bad although the starter was seized (thanks for your old one dad !) and it looks like either the alternator or water pump bearing is on it's way out too.
The Back End of things where also in a pretty sorry state, The whole back axle assembly has been removed and blasted to get rid of 12 years muck and rust. This also made a hole in the axle case which required brazing up. Fuel tank, Shocks, Bump stops, Light assemblies and Rear brakes added to shopping list
	Nov 2002 After removing the Huge bull bar it became apparent that the nose cone has seen some "alteration" (presumably to fit the 2.3 D engine's radiator ). Someone has also been at the bumper with the grinder as there is is a big lump missing under the "grille"
Nasty radiator cone removed ( was made from original front grille, a bit of Mk2 Escort, some manky steel plate and about 3 tins of filler. Looks like the budget has just gone out the window as a new nose cone is over £300 - Ouch !
	Dec 2002 Further Dismantling And the shopping list grows, Disks, calipers, TCA's, Springs and top mounts are all added to the scrap bin. The Engine has since been removed an revealed a badly corroded X-member.
At last I've actually put some bits back on !. Back axle has had some huge 9" Capri 2.8i brake assemblies fitted, Some new Bushes from Deflex and several coats of paint.
	Jan 2003 More Dismantling and I'm finally down to the bare chassis at the front. A bit more sanding is needed before I can paint it all gleaming black I'm now beginning to wonder why I didn't simply trailer the whole bloody thing down to the scrappers as it seems to be heading there in installments anyway !
The Interior has also been ripped out. the carpet was rotten and on removal it became apparent why - Both footwells have been hacked to fit the Boat Anchor diesel and the resulting holes covered with thin plastic, mastic and Gaff tape !
	March 2003 The Transmission tunnel has now been rebuilt to it's original condition so both footwell's are now waterproof again. I have made a GRP box to hold the battery which I'm in the process of bonding into the bulkhead.
We also have an engine !, It's a ex- Sierra 1800 Turbo unit, These are like hens teeth to get hold of, this example has been bought for spares as it snapped a cambelt. Further investigation has revealed : a broken camshaft, 3 bent valves, missing front pulley, leaky head gasket, one damaged piston and a knackered Turbo, So it's basically £100 of very heavy scrap ! (In keeping with the rest of the car !)
	I've Also managed to get the handbrake working, after wondering why my cable was over an inch too long, A quick chat with Burge had the lever moved forward into it's original mounting holes (Lever moved back as part of 2.3 D Conversion) and it all works now !

Easter Weekend After a serious struggle with 200 kilos of engine & box and an engine hoist with a mind of its own, the (knackered) engine is in the chassis. What you cannot see from this shot is the two piles of brick's and lump of wood that it's currently stood on !
	The Bulkhead is going to need a recess making to clear the Turbo and down pipe, At the moment the corner of flange is inside the car and the rest is outside.
The only other clearance issue (at the moment as there is no engine mounts or cross member ) is the vacuum pump which is rubbing on the passenger side of the bulkhead, again the bulkhead will have to be cut away and a recess made in the GRP. But at least the new holes are in a different place to ones in the footwell's that I spent 3 weeks filling in !
	Blasted and re painted the Gearbox cross member has been refitted along with new bolts and a new rubber mount. Gearbox cleaned up well with a can of Jizer and a garden hose (Although I now have the out line of a bell housing in the back lawn !). It just needs a bit of paint next time it's out.
A pair of Monroe Gasmatic Shocks for a Cortina Mk5 where picked up at the stoneleigh show for £15, the holes in the bushings required drilling to suit the 12mm bolt and the 13mm stub on the axle, but they fit quite well.
	Component parts of the Diesel engine mounts, Sierra 2.3 Rubber/oil mount, 50x50 box, 4mm angle section and gussets and another 4mm plate 90 x 90 to bolt to the engine.
After a few false starts I eventually got the hang of the stick welder, thankfully the chickenshit welding is not visible and strong enough to do the job, by the time I got to welding to the engine plates and the chassis I'd got the hang of it !!
I've also Acquired a pair of new old stock front struts for £20, a pair of 160Lb +1" coil springs, A pair of Anti Roll bar mounts, and splashed out a huge amount of £££ on a pair of roller top mounts !.	On the downside the rubber bushes in the leaf springs are now sagging, so the springs are going to have to come off again so I can replace the bushes that "looked OK" !
A little bit of progress, I still needed a lot of parts to complete the diesel conversion, So when I heard of this 160K old Sierra TD with a broken cam belt it was worth the £100 parts alone.
	1800 TD Engine number 2, On inspection the repair would have been quite easy as the damage is limited to three valves BUT, the engine is showing quite a lot of wear despite regular services. But we discovered that Engine 1 has been rebuilt ! So engine 2 is going to be used for parts to fix engine 1 !! ???
Engine 2 in the Rickman Chassis, we now found that the bell housing for the Diesel is 40mm longer than the petrol gearbox. There is no room to move the engine forward so....
	The gearbox has had to move backwards. So the cut out from the 2.3D engine has come in useful, and the Handbrake has also been moved back to where it started.
Gearbox Mountings Cut and Shut to move the Cross member back by about 1.5". This means that the prop shaft will also need to be shortened
	The Sierra Alternator mount fouls on the chassis, So it has been swapped for the mount from engine 1 which looks more like a Fiesta Diesel one, the Alternator is mounted lower and close to the engine block. This in turn allows the Front Anti-Roll bar brackets to fit.
The soggy rear axle bushes have all now been replaced with Deflex polyurethane. Hopefully the rear end is now complete.
	The Front Engine cross member has also been heavily modified, Both Engine mounts have been cut off. the rear part of the flange has been reduced by 15mm to clear the sump, the steering rack mount has also been ground away to clear the starter motor, Also extra steel has been added the strengthen and lower the cross member by 1" to clear also to get adequate sump clearance

	Jan 2005 Progress on the Rickman has been slow to say the least, mainly due to the fact we have had the builders in over the winter so I have been busy honing my DIY & Decorating skills and trying to find the car under all the building supplies in the garage. However the Good news is that I have gained some garage space and a Radiator !
At last got around to updating the site. There has been very little progress on the Diesel Because we bought another Ranger. This one was running (ish) when we got it and is fitted with a 2.0L Capri Pinto. It has needed a fair bit of work But it's OK as a runabout
	The Diesel Project has now gone backwards as parts have been robbed to fix the petrol car. However I have now fitted the front Crossmember, Springs, Struts and roller top mounts. after a false start with 190Lb +1" springs I ordered a set of 160Lb STD springs. The Roller top mounts add about 30mm to the ride Height.
After steeling the Front Roll bar rubbers for the red car I decided to upgrade to double width mounts and also to lower the Anti Roll to compensate for the lowered Cross member & TCA's. I than made up combined Anti dive kit and ARB mount. Which then fouled on the Crankshaft and Alternator pulleys and had to be modified slightly.
	I have also been busy getting parts for the Car, a new front Nose has been sourced at a good price, and I'm still collecting 1800TD parts !
After spending hours repairing the holes in the foot wells it was a real pain to get the grinder out and cut yet more holes. Unfortunately this is the only way to get the turbo and exhaust down pipe to fit and not burn a great hole in the floor. The piece of GRP cut out will be bonded in 1" further back