Dagenham Destroyer *updated*

[pablo]

Will be a fun day alright

What's this custom work you're having done at APT "the home of the fastest Escort RS Turbo" 8) . I'll be checking under your bonnet before we go out.

[Stuart]

Just don't forget the diffs* mate I'm relying on them to keep you guys in sight at Donny

*Basically Pablo and Bart have sourced me some diffs which will make the car more accelerative. I don't even use fifth at Snett so these will come in handy big time.

[Rolygtst]

Stu, i am LOVIN the look Fella

[martin]

what diffs they got for you stu

The ratios


And what box are you presently running

As i use to be a mechanic on lighning rods and am quite usefull with the sierah.
And im sure i have a few boxes and diffs laying about

If you need a hand changing the diff give me a shout i use to change them between races :twisted:

[Stuart]

what diffs they got for you stu

The ratios


And what box are you presently running

As i use to be a mechanic on lighning rods and am quite usefull with the sierah.
And im sure i have a few boxes and diffs laying about

If you need a hand changing the diff give me a shout i use to change them between races :twisted:

Thanks Martin
not a clue to any of the above...........no change there then :thumb:

[323ian]

I think you should spray the wheels the same colour?

[jungle-jim]

nice job stu :thumb:

just got the inside to do now

[Stuart]

I won't be painting the inside. I like the blood red interior Jimbo so that will be staying and as for the wheels, I have three sets, two in silver and one in white. One of these will be repainted to match the bodywork

Thanks for the compliments

[Stuart]

A general service was needed as the car had stood (apart from shuttle runs up and down the ramps on the trailer) since last February. Dave Bailey was kind enough to get the spark plugs, oil filter and air filter for me and it was this little service kit that reminded me why I love my Sierra. The bill was

[Stuart]

I have a been pre-occupied in recent weeks so forgive the delay with the project update. Fresh from the trackday at Snett and hundreds of thoughts in my mind, it's a good time for a catch up.

The car was delivered to APT a few weeks ago for some basic work and some rather drawn out complicated stuff too. (Sorry Gary) I knew that the way the drivers seat was mounted was far from ideal and pretty much disabled anyone else from driving it. I had hatched a plan to coax my father in law out onto the track so the decision was made to scrap the old seat lay out and start again. Chris set to work removing the old frame and steel plate, saving me a good few kilos into the bargain. Proper subframes were obtained for the Corbeau seats and then he welded up seperate bars for the new rails to be mounted to, so that anyone from a 5' jockey could get in whilst still accomodating my Yeti-esque proportions. Other jobs on the list were swapping the standard diffs for shorter geared ones from a 2 litre 4x4. The rear was simple enough (not for me you understand ) but the front was a pig. Lots of stuff had to come off and be replaced and my comments of 'Don't worry Gary, it's not a big job' came back to haunt me when he and Chris were still slaving away hours later. This work had knock on effects which I will come to later. The only other thing was a knackered wheel bearing which was swapped and then the Destroyer was ready to rock once again.................kind of.
The removal of the front diff also meant the removal of several of the steering components, so my steering wheel and wheel direction was way out. I asked Ian to help as commercial alignment is his forte and he fitted me in, in Ians true style, right at the last minute :lol: Very grateful to get it done at all though and I'm sure he leaves it late just to make me sweat.

My Dunlop Formula R's had done me well. I had had the tyres for years and done a hell of a lot of hard miles with them. After this abuse and having stood for well over a year, they were well passed their best. I knew I needed some new boots so I asked Christian at APT to get me some of the lovely Toyo R888's ready for my forthcoming trackdays.


I had read a fair bit about these tyres, spoke to Bladey who liked them and structured a deal with Gary (see traders section) so I knew they would be bloody good value for money. I rang Christian at the office and he sorted me out. This was on Monday, so pretty short notice. The tyres were delivered to them on Tuesday and as the guys were baby sitting a set of my wheels in readiness for this, they were promptly fitted, balanced and delivered to the track on Wednesday. Chris even fitted the buggers to the car for me, now that's service :notworthy:

The tyres were simply superb. With a four wheel drive car of low weight and lower power, the scrubbing in procedure was a doddle. 10 laps, come in check the pressure and adjust where necessary. Repeat this for two sessions. Done. The way these things transform a very modest car into a complete laugh around anything resembling a bend is magic. There was enough traction to go where I wanted when I wanted, but I could still play with the tail on faster bends like the Bombhole, Corum and Riches. Also the understeer that became more prevalent with the car on the old knackered Formula R's at Sears was banished. It will be interesting to see how they last as I can only suspect anything with this much grip will have a short life, but early indications after 100+ miles at high speed on a hot day are very promising.

Ok, the diffs~ these were fitted after one of many alcohol fueled MSN conversations with Pablo. I had mentioned that the gearing on the 2.9 was so long, more akin to the Millenium Falcon than a car, and he came back with a pearler of an idea. How about swapping the diffs for a 2 litre one? I had no idea whether this would help, but trusted Pablo and Bart, so went with the idea. The guys were so helpful with this, I really cannot thank them enough. They sourced the diffs on my behalf, drove across the UK to get them and even fronted the money until I could catch up with them. It was a lovely selfless gesture that I won't forget :thumb:

I had hoped that the shorter gearing would make the car more accelerative on Snettertons big straights and I think they did the trick. It is always difficult to know for sure with this sort of thing, even timing doesn't even tell the whole story due to the numerous anomolies that can pop up whilst out on circuit. I would imagine that my engine is producing around 150bhp now, if that, as the car has done well over 100k and 42 trackdays to boot. That's some hardcore use by anyones standards and the car was never a ball of fire when it was new (back in the day) With all of this said the car repeatedly hit an indicated 120-125 on the back straight and that is exactly what I wanted from the modification.

I'll be at Donington on Sunday and this may be a better place for the Sierra. Snetterton is an undoubted power circuit, cruelly showing up a lack of BHP, so time will tell just how good these two significant changes will be. One thing is not in doubt though. For smiles per pound there is little that can touch a cheap, well prepared track car. I am proud of the car and the way it swallows up the use I hurl at it.