or "Pause for Extraneous Activities"
Mounted on its' engines stand, devoid of flywheel, manifolds, and alternator, the engine was to spend several weeks in this state whilst the sump was modified. You remember that the original sump had been holed during removal from the donor Mondeo for transplant in to the Westfield. Borough Salvage had acknowledged it was their fault and supplied us with a replacement.
It's well documented that the 2.0 ltr Zetec sump is too deep and would not clear the ground once installed. Andrew researched alternative suppliers to Westfield for a modified sump since Westfield's price was £223. However the promise of a different supplier evaporated in "No longer working with aluminium sumps, to, at least 2 months waiting whilst we redesign".
On a trip to the factory to pick up things like prop shafts and wiring harness I spoke to Chris Masters about sumps. It seems you can use a 1.8 Zetec sump by taking off a couple of webs at the back with an angle grinder, (they foul the starter motor) but you still have to be careful of the ride height to prevent grounding. The Zetec engine came via the Internet. I thought we would try this avenue again. Placing a request for a 1.8 sump on the "First Choice" web site produced nothing. Thus Westfield got the "nod" and I drove up to the factory to deliver our sump and oil pickup pipe for modification
Despite early promise of delivery the weeks went by and we still awaited the return of the modified sump. Now events overtook us. Sara (my younger daughter) was getting married on July 31st and the preparations for the big day took over. So my attention turned to frills and fancies, flower decoration, menus and booze, not to mention speech writing. Sara and Greg chose a 1920's theme for their wedding and found the beautiful 1923 Hotchkiss (picture right) as their wedding car.
