SAPPHIRE V8

[jlebenon]

And Grosvenor used cosworth 260km/h clocks as opposed to 240km/h

[ZA Perana]

dodnt the JT also have the wheels and kit ?

Not sure they did. Info on the JT cars is very scarce and I doubt too many were made.

[twincam nc]

That is a very cool car, I actually prefer them to the Sierra XR8.

There were a few garages/dealers that did V8 conversions on Sierra's and Sapphire's during their heyday.
The Novel Ford (Paarl) conversions were the most numerous in the Cape provinces.

I'm still not certain of assumption that marine spec engines were bought to do these conversions with, there might be a possibility that with decoding engine and block casting numbers, one could more clearly define the origins of the engines used by the dealerships to do these conversions.

I saw your thread requesting a Cosworth bumper. I'm not so sure the Novel cars were fitted with them, I think perhaps only the Geoff Mortimer/Basil Green Ford 2.0L Turbo Cosworth converted cars, used those bumpers, but not sure.
A while ago I posted about a burgundy Novel Ford Sapphire that was for sale in Namibia, compare the bumper on that car, as I think that one might have been a very original example.
https://www.africanmusclecars.com/forum ... 43&t=23471
If there is a member here that have a collection of CAR magazines and want to share, they road tested a Novel Ford Sapphire in the September 1991 issue.

You should also contact member "Gavin RS", I think he is quite a good source of info on these dealer converted V8 Sapphires.

Hey thanks yes i know they didnt came with the cosworth bumper but i would like to fit one on the car for now

[twincam nc]

That is a very cool car, I actually prefer them to the Sierra XR8.

There were a few garages/dealers that did V8 conversions on Sierra's and Sapphire's during their heyday.
The Novel Ford (Paarl) conversions were the most numerous in the Cape provinces.

I'm still not certain of assumption that marine spec engines were bought to do these conversions with, there might be a possibility that with decoding engine and block casting numbers, one could more clearly define the origins of the engines used by the dealerships to do these conversions.

I saw your thread requesting a Cosworth bumper. I'm not so sure the Novel cars were fitted with them, I think perhaps only the Geoff Mortimer/Basil Green Ford 2.0L Turbo Cosworth converted cars, used those bumpers, but not sure.
A while ago I posted about a burgundy Novel Ford Sapphire that was for sale in Namibia, compare the bumper on that car, as I think that one might have been a very original example.
https://www.africanmusclecars.com/forum ... 43&t=23471
If there is a member here that have a collection of CAR magazines and want to share, they road tested a Novel Ford Sapphire in the September 1991 issue.

You should also contact member "Gavin RS", I think he is quite a good source of info on these dealer converted V8 Sapphires.

The Novel cars were sold with the full Cosworth body kit which is what makes them to me the most sort after of all the Sapphire V8 conversions, I will try find the CAR magazine road test.

i would appreciate it this car is a 1992 model as registered on papers

[twincam nc]

Hi guys,

i owned a Grosvernor Ford V8 Sapphire back in 2000-2001. sadly dont have any pics left.

I typed up a long post yesterday and when I hit the post button, it bombed.

so let me try again with a shorter version.

1) The V8 Sapphire was only built by Grosvernor and Novel Ford, in Pinetown and Paarl respectively. I had a Grosvernor one.
2) All cars were fitted with Ford V8 302 Windsor crate motors from the US.
3) No automatic versions were made, if it's auto, then its a conversion. All cars were fitted with the Borg Warner T5 gearboxes.
4) All legitimate cars were fitted with a 3.08 final drive in the diff, thats the one telling point to ascertain whether the car is legit or a conversion. if it has the standard 3,0L final drive (i think it's 3.23 IIRC?) then it's a backyard job.
5) Clutch was a big achilles heel on these cars. Some were fitted with proper V8 clutches, others were fitted with 3.0 V6 clutches, the latter doesnt last.
6) There are quite a few replicas/conversions/backyard jobbies punted as originals around.
7) Almost all the legitimate ones were fitted with Cosworth wheels, but no bodykit or cosworth front bumper. The body was standard 3.0.

The one in the pic above has the bod kit...

Thats correct the car have the cosworth back bumper,side skirts and boot spoiler but not the front bumper tho

[twincam nc]

A few years back I called Novel Ford and they confirmed the cars were fitted with a local bumper . They were extremely helpful and even sent me the part number. 91BB17762EA .This bumper is no longer available from Ford S.A.
Also confirmed the 35 Novel cars had the engine pushed slightly back and had a full size water pump. This meant some massaging of the firewall as well.

thank you thats correct the motor sits fairly backwards

[twincam nc]

And Grosvenor used cosworth 260km/h clocks as opposed to 240km/h

nope this one have 240km/h clocks

[twincam nc]

One thing i dont understand is if you look at the spec's of this car
160kw 380nm with a top speed of 233km/h

But we had a few run ins with german spec M3 which power figures is way much more then the V8.
But on the road the M3 couldnt catch us from pull away and the V8 was much more aggressive on the road.

Can one of you maybe explain why tho'

Regards

[ZA Perana]

One thing i dont understand is if you look at the spec's of this car
160kw 380nm with a top speed of 233km/h

But we had a few run ins with german spec M3 which power figures is way much more then the V8.
But on the road the M3 couldnt catch us from pull away and the V8 was much more aggressive on the road.

Can one of you maybe explain why tho'

Regards

Its fairly easy to fit another cam and you tend to get a bit more power, also the Sapphire I reckon is lighter than any generation of M3 which probably helps acceleration.

[twincam nc]

One thing i dont understand is if you look at the spec's of this car
160kw 380nm with a top speed of 233km/h

But we had a few run ins with german spec M3 which power figures is way much more then the V8.
But on the road the M3 couldnt catch us from pull away and the V8 was much more aggressive on the road.

Can one of you maybe explain why tho'

Regards

Its fairly easy to fit another cam and you tend to get a bit more power, also the Sapphire I reckon is lighter than any generation of M3 which probably helps acceleration.

ohk i see