fiestaturbo.com

[crazycage]

very trick i will be doing mine over the winter

[tompeteRS]

I've been away all week, been meaning to ask you if the box had arrived

No more Focus RS boxes, Focus RS Clutch Plates or Focus RS Quaife LSDs left to sell now - they've all gone I'm very low on a few other Focus RS lines as well now. Yours was the last gearbox and Rob had the last differential. Should have kept a few back me thinks!!

[Excursion]

Thanks chaps.

Tom, thanks for reserving it for me. I'm glad I enquired when I did!

Rear subframe forward mount

I fabricated a 1.5mm thick reinforcement piece for each side of the car, they have a captive nut and a 20mm hole for the locating peg on the subframe. This part will brace the chassis rail and ensure the sub frame is mounted square in the chassis.


The reinforcement pad sits inside the existing chassis legs and was welded from inside the wheel arch, and also through the outside face of the chassis leg.


Next were a pair of 1.2mm 'cups' fabricated from 1.2mm sheet.


They were welded to the reinforcement pads and the chassis leg which surrounds them.


Etch primed and with sub frame mounted.


Due to space constraints I will change the exhaust layout; rather than an in-line mounted rear silencer under the O/S boot floor I will have a large transversely mounted silencer under the entire rear section of boot floor. In order to support this I've added additional exhaust mounting points made from 10mm round bar:


There are now two on each side of the rear chassis legs.

[Rhinopower]

Nice work sir !

[Dave G fsi]

Progressing very nicely mate, keep up the good work

[Excursion]

Thanks boys, it's nice to get feedback, it keeps up the enthusiasm when I'm on my back under the car with a face full of sparks

Rear sub frame intermediate mount

I started by bolting the subframe up to the rear mounts I'd already made, this enabled me to mark on the shell the exact position of the intermediate mounting lugs. I then removed the sub frame and welded a boss on the marks I'd just made.


Next up I fabricated a 1.5mm plate which would cover the bosses and box in area around them:


strengthening plate welded in place.


Both sides done.


Sub frame mounted.

[Dave G fsi]

Progressing well now mate, loving the high quality of work here too, its like its been factory built

[- Danny Boy -]

Good stuff as usual Mark

[Ratspeed]

Every time i look it just gets better and better!

[Excursion]

Thanks guys

[Rhinopower]

Reading this update has given me a semi

[Smo]

It's sickening how good your work is!!! I'm loving it!

Keep it up

[Ghost]

Reading this update has given me a semi

Think with Ryan on this one ..... hopefully never in the same room though!

[andymac]

Reading this update has given me a semi

Only a semi ? Shame on you...

[xr2imetalhead]

awsome fabrication m8

[Excursion]

Thanks guys

Mk4/Mk5/Puma handbrake cable
I wanted to replace the Mk3 handbrake cable with something newer as I don't like the idea of jacking up the car, dropping an exhaust and removing a heat shield just to tighten the cable. The later Fiestas permit cable adjustment inside the car using only a 10mm socket, so thanks to a dead Racing Puma I have the bracket for an in-car adjustment type cable. I modified this bracket so that it could be welded to the Mk3 shell in the same places as the original bracket was removed from:



Mk4/Mk5/Puma rear wheel arch liners
Another modification from a later Fiesta: some rear arch liners. I drilled slotted holes in the rear arches to accommodate four push in fastenings on each side.


A slightly modified arch liner can then be screwed into place. I'm using old parts to mock up with but everything will be plated,coated, refurbished or renewed once I'm rebuilding.


Additional exhaust mount
I decided that I will modify the fuel tank so that the exhaust goes straight under it rather than turning at a 90 degree angle to go around the edge of it. A central exhaust mount was added to the rear cross member underneath the boot floor to support the new exhaust layout.


Boot floor modifications
I wanted to ensure thet the rear subframe was mounted using identical bolts for each mount, as per the Focus. This makes maintenance simpler. This did mean that two of the bolts required clearance holes ibn the boot floor, so I made some small 'buttons' and reinforcement plates to conceal the bolts and cover the holes:



Another bonus of fully-independent rear suspension is that there is no longer a beam moving about underneath the entire width of the boot floor, so I've capitalised on this by cutting a section of boot floor from above the new sub frame in order to mount a storage box. I was lucky here in that there is either reinforcement or edges of chassis rails around the entire circumference so I've really only lost a single skin. I will fabricate an aluminium container which will house the battery and fuel pressure pumps.


New rear brakes
I bought some more AP's These are Escort Cosworth WRC Tarmac spec rear brakes; the calipers and bells are Ford stamped. I bought them for the discs and bells which will be used on the front of my car, but the calipers are really too large and will be sold on with some different discs. I estimate fluid volume is getting on for close to my 6 pot versions, they really are big rear brakes! I had the opportunity to buy the fronts at the same time which were 378mm discs with 6 pot water cooled calipers. Awesome!




Rear sub frame forward mount
The front section of Focus sub frame interferes with the Fiesta chassis rail which give me two options: I could either notch the Fiesta chassis or cut and modify the Focus sub frame. I chose the latter option as an inspection hole revealed that the high tensile steel safety 'cage' is present in the area of the shell I would need to cut. The chassis in this area of the car slopes both upwards and out towards the sides of the car and I wanted to create a platform that would follow these lines and look as OEM as possible. The following photo illustrates what I ended up with:


I filled in both sides of the platform and blended it into the wheel arch.


Here's the modification I made on each side of the sub frame.


Back together with hubs attached. The eagle eyed will spot that I've welded a reinforcement box section to the trailing arms.


Thankfully that's it for chassis modification!I can now get on with the application of underseal and paint, then start to reassemble the car

[Smo]

Brilliant

Do you consider this to be the ultimate in what you can do with the rear suspension setup of a Fiesta? Or is there more you think could have been done with time/money/materials/tools?

[Ratspeed]

Brilliant as always. I cant wait for the rebuild!!

[Dave G fsi]

Excellent work as always mate, nice one

[Excursion]

Thanks lads, too kind!

smo - I don't really have any constraints on the project so I can't say I'd choose anything over what I have. There are ultimately limitations related to the overal dimensions of the Mk3, so it really becomes diminishing returns as far as suspension goes. Technically speaking a double wishbone system is the ultimate but I do not believe there would be a noticeable difference over the Focus rear end if the front end still has the McPherson struts. The biggest gain will come from something that increases camber during travel, which the standard rear beam doesn't do well. The Focus always gets good reviews and the rear end remained effectively unchanged through to and including the Mk2 FRS, it's a very nice example of suspension design.

These: http://www.ruderacing.co.uk/Suspension-Alignment_Products-Ford_Alignment-Ford_Focus_Mk1_(1998-04)_Alignment/c711_1557_1567_1568/p285890/Adjustable_Rear_Control_Arms_for_Ford_Focus_Mk1_RS/product_info.html are a bolt on option for the Focus rear end and once fitted I will have adjustable rear camber, toe and to some extent, castor.The front hubs and arms I've designed will give the same. There is also a big selection of ARB sizes for the rear end.

The worst suspension components on the Mk3 are the top mounts and bushes, a seam welded shell and decent top mounts & bushes will make a world of difference.

[tompeteRS]

Interesting product there Mark, I could do with a set of those as my Focus runs to much negative camber on the rear wheels. The ride and handling is exceptional though!

[- Danny Boy -]

Awesome work as always Mark

[Michael!]

oh my.

[DALSY]

excellent work there mate,

[AW0L]

Excelent work mate, been watching your builds for some time, your work and detail are truly inspiring, do you fancy doing my chassis to make a 4x4 zt

[FRSJON]

great work as always

[ben17southport]

awsome work as usual mate, sorry to be rude but it seems a bit bittersweet using parts that would better suit a 2.0/1.8 like the manifolds on a 1.6

but it should atleast help it breath better and remove flat spots in the power band

It is a 2.0 - I should have mentioned that. The only time I drove this with the 1.6 was on the way back from buying the car, and I got burnt off by a middle-aged lady in a Honda Jazz

I bought the car to convert it, the 1.6 is just way to s-l-o-w.

try owning a 1.4

[ben17southport]

by the sounds of it, you probably already have!

[Excursion]

by the sounds of it, you probably already have!

Yes I've had a few of each and there's not a massive amount of difference TBH

[ford_man]

wow

[ben17southport]

between the si's? i mean ive heard that the 1.6's are like god's comparedd to the 1.4. always wondered like.

love the amount of work you're putting into this, epic

[Excursion]

The 1.6 is barely quicker than the 1.4, the only thing good about the 1.6 is the Gas suspension, seats, and rear ARB. It's not worth paying extra on your insurance until you fit a 2.0.

Under body protection and paint
The products I have chosen for the under side will provide ultimate protection rather than a show like finish. In the past I completed another project car with a perfect underneath and I was always worried about taking it out in wet weather etc.; the goal for this project is to create something that I can enjoy in any weather without fear of it rusting or degrading. I chose 3M 08800 sealer as this is some of the best protection available, I originally ordered 11 bags which turned out to be very optimistic as in the end I ordered 20 .

In total the materials for the under side treatment have come close to £500, which is a lot given the end result is rarely seen, but I figured it's an investment in protection for all the work that has gone in to the shell.





The 3M 08800 is over-paintable within 20 mins, so once that time had elapsed I applied two pack primer, two pack base and two pack lacquer.






So in total I have 90% Zinc primer, satin black, two coats of 3M 08800, two pack primer, two pack base and two pack lacquer. It should be well protected under there

The next step is wax injection.

[ben17southport]

or a turbo ?

looks amazing bud. would love to drive round in my motor and know that the underside is undestructable!

[- Danny Boy -]

SEXY!

[Smo]

Wow, it looks like Dairy Milk foil!