Our Rickman Ranger(s) - It Seemed like a good idea at the time !

  Q924 UHB

Acquired Oct 2002, 1989 Rickman ranger saloon, Previous owner said it just requires a bit of TLC !. Having been in daily use until 1999, it has been stood ever since near the coast, so most of it is a tad rusty. Luckily the original builder had specified a Galvanized chassis, so the main bit are in good nick. Most other parts Have been either removed and scrapped or Removed Shot blasted, Painted and replaced.

Originally built on Tyneside around 1989, The original builder installed a 1600 Crossflow engine. The car appears to have been well built until :

At some unspecified point in time someone decided to remove the 1600 Ohv and fit a Sierra 2.3D Peugeot Diesel lump to do this they have severely bastardised the car, Huge lumps of GRP have been chopped from the floorpan, the Front Grille has been moved forward by about 6", and a large amount of dodgy wiring added to the otherwise good loom.   

The last owner bought the car with the 2.3D fitted and used it for some time, however due to a problem with the engine they could not stop it smoking so in the end the Diesel lump came out again.

This Time a Sierra 2.0 OHC engine was fitted in its place, It would appear that the engine and gearbox mountings and propshaft where also replaced.

This engine failed and they where unable to find a suitable replacement so a 1800 OHC unit was fitted in the place of the 2 Litre, they retained the 2L Weber carb and electronic ignition. 

Eventually the owners gave up with the car as circumstances meant that it was too expensive to run and a smaller more economical replacement was found.

The Plan 

As the Rickman is to be in daily use when completed it will replace the Ageing Mondeo TD, It was decided that It had to be Diesel powered (Again), and that we would Improve the vehicle as much as possible during the build and as Escort Mk2 parts are getting scarce we would upgrade as many parts as possible to Sierra components. Several options where looked at including the 1.9 Peugeot TD engine, but to convert them to a rear wheel drive application is not easy although it can be done. In the end I decided to follow the Ford 1800 Diesel route as others have converted Space rangers And campers so it must be possible to convert a SWB.......

The Reality....
 

Well two years on and the Diesel car is still on stands, however the mondeo is long gone and was replaced by Another Ranger !

Ok so it was bought as a stop gap until the other one is finished, it came with a Ticket and a list of jobs as long as your arm.

Fitted with a 2 Litre Ex Capri engine & 5 speed box it has been fairly reliable that is until a bottle of "Engine Leak stop" converted a slightly leaky pinto in one that left a puddle and a blue cloud everywhere.

2007 (Update)

           Having rebuilt 90% of the Trundle Truck's mechanical parts having so many kit cars eventually created too much stress so after 4 years of ownership, 8 car shows, 1 Rickman Holiday and a second 450 mile trip around the Black Country and a whole heap of laughs the Truck has now moved on to a new owner.  It was a shame to have to part with the car but I am pleased that a car which I believe would have eventually ended up on the scrap heap has been not only kept on the road but given the new lease of life it should be on the road for several years to come.... Just need to finish the other one as it's been mostly in the garage for 5 YEARS !