This weird band called ”Portion Boys” sings ”I'm going to Nevada on a Sierra”, and the music video has this traditionally (over-)tuned Ford Sierra. While this song tells you a lot about Finnish car culture and people in general, the Sierra of this article paints you another picture. Even if this Sierra has been built conservatively, its main purpose in life is to deliver fun.
Ford Sierra was originally designed for upper middle class, and it delivered. It had it all: futuristic shaping, reliable techonology, very good price-performance ratio and - most important of all - it was a rear-wheel-drive. Sierra was finally replaced by Mondeo in 1993, but nothing can replace it in the heart of a Finnish person (especially since Mondeo was FWD). Even today the Sierra is very popular, even if we're talking about the lamest and slowest individuals, and people spill their beans if you show up in a genuine RS Cosworth.
This individual was bought by Timo Liukko, who had a very built Ford Focus in 2013. He was getting tired of having the Focus ravaged by winter, and so he was looking for a cheap winter car. Since winter is the time of sideways action, the car would have to be rear-wheel-driven. Timo's first car had been a Sierra, and so the power of nostalgy forced his browser on an online quest of finding a Sierra. After a few weeks he found this 1.6 OHC with a nice looking price sticker. The car was in good shape, but after a few days of driving he had the change the camshaft. At the same time he did some basic maintenance, made some DIY lowering springs and swapped the stock wheels to 17” TSW Freezes. With this setup he drove through the first winter. Sierra's main purpose was to go sideways, and that it did.
After a long and fun winter came the spring, and Timo was uncertain wether to sell the car or not. Timo's friend, Janne, suggested installing wide steel wheels, and Timo got excited about that idea. After some searching a suitable set of wheels were found, and they were bought without hesitation. These wheels are flipped steel wheels in size 7.5x17” with ”enough” of offset. Timo also found some Focus' coilovers when he was doing spring cleaning, and decided to try if they would fit. They actually did, with some minor modifications, and so the Sierra could now be lowered even more. This now meant that there wasn't enough space in the wheel well, so Timo had to use a three-inch steel pipe and a sledge hammer to create some space. The procedure had been brutal, but the result justifies the means. Jarno from Imagofix printed the ”Sorry, no money for BBS” stickers.
Doing some shopping in a local shop's garden section Timo spotted some bamboo shoots, and was instantly reminded of some German showcar's bamboo roll cage. In a blink of an eye he had filled the shopping cart with bamboo. It's not like they are of much use in a crash (this was tested some time later), but at least if you're transporting giant pandas, they'll feel right at home. Around these times it was also decided, that this Sierra was now a part of family, and would not be sold.
At the same time when he bought the aforementioned bamboos, he spotted some bamboo and reed carpets, which are now used extensively in the interior, and even the subwoofer box is covered in reed. A part of a bamboo shoot is used as a gear lever, and thanks to its height, you'll have lots of leverage to grind that box. The seats and the steering wheel were found lying in the garage, and they are a very good upgrade for any Sierra. The seat belts are not some chinese rip offs that ride on the fame of Takata, but a Finnish word play, that you can Google translate if you wish.
The car has been crashed once, but the fault was in the other party. This however meant that some new parts had to be sourced. Timo had to swap a lot of parts, some of which were found from a friend's garage. Some of the parts he painted, and some he left unpainted, like the nicely rusted hood and the rear fender. Not everyone is a fan of these wide steel wheels: the local police didn't like the drifter-like camber, and asked Timo to swap the wheels. Other than that people seem to like this car a lot, and why not? It's respectful to its origins, it looks good, and it brings joy to its owner. It's refreshing to see a Sierra like this, since most are either shabby Cossie-lookers or just plain poorly built.
SPECS:
CAR:
Ford Sierra 1.6 OHC 1986
ENGINE:
Stock
POWERTRAIN:
Stock
SUSPENSION:
V-Maxx coilovers in the front, lowering springs in the rear
BRAKES:
Stock
WHEELS:
Flipped steel wheels 7.5x17”
TIRES:
Nankang 185/35R17
EXTERIOR:
Rolled rear arches
INTERIOR:
Racing steering wheel, Biltema racing seats, bamboo roll cage, bamboo floor mats, bamboo gear stick
AUDIO:
Sony head unit, Sony Xplod amplifier, Pioneer subwoofer and a ragtag bunch of speakers
NUMBERS:
Stock
THANK YOU:
Suvi for tolerating, Janne Kurunsaari (big help), Mikko Jeronen, Imagofix, CDHV and Rtuners posse
