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To build a Supercat you are going to need parts from a Donor
vehicle. There are a couple of options available to you
depending on how much money/time you have. The first option is to buy the donor pack from Tiger. The price of this will vary depending if you purchase the engine from them. At the time of writing the standard engine options were the SOHC Pinto engine from the Sierra donor, the Zetec engine from a Mondeo (or similar) and the new Duratec engine (late Mondeo). The obvious advantages of this option are that you don't have to hunt for a Sierra, strip it on your drive, then arrange for the shell to be collected. One disadvantage is the cost, especially if you are using the engine and gearbox from the donor car, as you can pick a Sierra with MOT for around £100. The next option is to buy a Sierra and strip it yourself. What Sierra you buy really depends on what engine you intend to fit. If you are going Zetec or Duratec then engine size becomes irrelevant as you wont be using the one from the Sierra, however the most important part of sourcing a donor sierra is to make sure it has the Type 9 cast iron gearbox instead of the later MT75 alloy gearbox as this type will not fit in the transmission tunnel of the Tiger. The easiest way to check which type of gearbox you have is the location of reverse gear. On the type 9 reverse is up and to the left, and on the later MT75 gearbox reverse is down and to the right. Once you have your donor vehicle you are going to have to strip the following parts:
In addition to these parts you will also need a Radiator (Mk1 VW Polo), a heater motor (VW Polo is a possibility), a wiper motor from an old style Mini (Lucas LRW110) including the cable and wheel boxes. The advantages of this option is that you'll have most of the parts available from a single vehicle, you can take your time stripping it, and you'll probably make most of your money back selling the bits and pieces you didn't use on ebay. Another bonus is you'll probably be able to use the reg number of the donor vehicle rather than your car ending up on 'Q' plates. The downside is you'll have a crippled sierra on your drive for a while, and then you'll have to find someone to take it away. The last option is to purchase all the parts needed separately. You'll easily find the rear suspension assemblies on EBay, and the Type 9 gearboxes are still in plentiful supply. The rest of the components can be bought from your local scrap yard, or brand new from your friendly motor factor. |