Hmmm, we've got the kit now all we need is a nice sierra to cannibalise...

We've researched the basic requirements for the donor - Robin Hood Engineering have based the car on a basic, non-injection sierra donor. Hmm, no cosworth donor then. The basic requirement is a Pinto engined variant in either 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0 Litre size. The rear sub-frame, front suspension, engine and gearbox plus the wiring loom and various bits from the dash are also used.

There are also some novel uses for some of the suspension components. We hunted around for a donor and had a look at a few MOT failures before settling on the beauty you see below. A G reg sierra sapphire was ours for around the £300 mark with a full MOT and a few days tax...this meant we could road test it. It looks like the car has been worked on and we believe it has a 2.0 Litre engine. It seems a shame to break the car as it is useable...

	What a beauty, this picture shows the basic car. A 2 litre Sierra Sapphire (saloon). Apparently the saloon's petrol tank can be used but we have yet to try to fit it. All the other major bits are identical to the Hatchback, although some bits changed across the range as production progressed
	The Editor looks at the engine and wonders how it all works... It sounds good and drives well - at least it does now. After we've ripped it apart and connected the wiring up wrongly who knows..
	Our motor came with these XR alloys...this may be a blessing in disguise as the SVA test demands that rolling diameter of the tyres is as specced so that the speedo reads properly, so we may change these...
	The engine runs smoothly, pulls well and starts easily. It won't take unleaded, but we don't intend to be doing huge motorway miles so we won't touch it in the short term. Longer term we may tweak it, but let's get the thing running first. One key point is that the Robin Hood kit is set up to route the exhaust out of the right hand side of the car - a defining characteristic of the Pinto engine. If it doesn't you'll have major reworkings to the bodywork etc.
	People have fitted injection engines in Robin Hood kits, but then they probably know what they are doing. As this is our first attempt we will keep it simple...

When buying an old car as a donor the most important thing is how it drives and runs - the bodywork and most of the interior will be scrapped. If the car has an MOT and Tax you can run it for a while and get a feeling for the major mechanical bits. The kit uses the engine, gearbox and rear subframe so these need to be in good condition.

Remember that you are going to have to register the kit and having all the paperwork for the donor is a real bonus