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Hi, I noticed that Tony Claydon is offering his CHAD SS4 kit for sale , everything the chassis, jigs and moulds manufacturing rights etc and it got me thinking exactly how many kits actually made it to the tarmac and does anyone have any information and/or pictures as I think it was a nice design and a shame that it didn't sell at the time. What do you think the prospects of a re-birth in new hands ?!
Very true, but at the moment there are plenty of rusty Sierras with good mechanicals and immense choice of engines etc and spare parts are not a problem. Talking with Tony recently he explained that as he designed the chassis then changing it to suit other configurations was not a problem so in essence you could have a rear or four wheel drive with a north-south configuration or a east-west transverse front wheel drive as the body/chassis can be altered to accommodate any. This opens the builders choice to many modern power plant options but does brings the added complication of more complex electronics, which could also be a precursor to offering a 'turn-key' option with meeting the current emmision regs etc. However I still think that is has possibilities bearing in mind how many other countries the Sierra was marketed in the potential in it's present form is still quite great. Considering that the design dates back to the early nineties it still looks fresh and interesting and hope that someone goes ahead and start production again.
Or even Focus fwd. I think the industry needs an easy build fwd car. This way you just swap the mechanicals & electrics straight over.
3 series Beemer mechanicals would work but getting good bits at the right price could be a problem and if you use even a E36 as a base things are expense compared to the Sierra and not really an advantage so the FWD route would be the answer maybe using Honda, Toyota or Ford would be great and also Vauxhall or Rover as they are all plentiful.Having spoken with Tony he is keen to see the SS4 in production and as he was/is the designer he could redesign the chassis for any configuration required and the body would stay almost as is