fiestaturbo.com

[hb69]

Making a good start on it Jay Wish i had a garage like yours to work in this time of year

[dangerousdave]

Making a good start on it Jay Wish i had a garage like yours to work in this time of year

aint it just mate, stick a gas fire in it and id use it as a flat too...

[jayrs]

its my uncles garage, well workshop tbh, got 3 rooms, 3 phase power too, should of pulled my finger out and cleared it when i first done the rs, would of made it easier

oh and dave, i got a portable gas fire in there

[Turboboy67]

Finished by 2015 you say......sounds about right

Have you thought about a couple of those halogen heaters mate ?, no condensation then.

Doesn't look to bad, Ford never actually intended for their cars to last more than 10 years let alone 20 and beyond

Once its totally stripped and up on the spit its surprising how quickly the welding can be done, must say though I would replace the sills completely

Good progress so far

[Dave G fsi]

Good progress mate, getting there

[jayrs]

cheers guys.

shaun, the workshop is so bit and the roof so fudgekin high, any condensation would form i would of thought on the skylight glass and windows in the next room, well i say next room i tore the wall down last year , but yeah i have thought about them, and am thinking of getting a couple, but as i say, the place is so big it needs a $hit load of heat to take the chill off when its cold, but once it gets bitter cold im gunna sheet off the other room so the heat is contained where im working, which is when the halogen heaters will be better as i can have one front of car, one back.

as for spits, it wont be on them for a while yet, but the car will be raised to about 3-3 and half foot off the gound (sill level) so plenty of room to do the panels etc, but im being careful with it, i dont want the shell bending or twisting, not saying its gunna happen, but rather be on the safe side, but yeah, once its on them, sorting the under side should be a weekends work.

and after thinking about it, i am replacing the full sills still, i dunno how far surface rust has gone on the inside, and over time its just gunna go again, so there come off for full new ones, none of this over skin $hit

still, gotta save some money for a spot welder, dunno where im gunna get about £300 for one from even if i hire one, its £68 a week, and theres no way ill have every panel done in a weekend, meaning ill need to hire it again, unless i take a week off, which is holiday lost, so its weighing up the pro's and cons, weeks holiday worth a few hundred to me, £68 hire the welder, maybe needing to get it for a extra weekend, another £40, so £400 worth in total, or spend £300-£400 buying an new one... but then i could flog it on..

damn you shaun, why didnt you buy one for your track car then i could of borrowed it for free!

[Excursion]

That is one sweet shell! I'm keeping an eye on this

[Chris 2i]

christ, I don't look for a while and then when I check back you've done more than I've ever done to mine

keep up the good work mate

[rsonblackwheels]

nice up-dates,looks like your having fun and looks nice and solid under the rear windows

like the the new bonnet hinges too

[black2]

Quality work Jay.

The shell dosnt seem tooo bad tbh. But it is crazy how much just cant be assesed by an M.OT. Still Ive seen far far worse not only on mk2;s but also there are a lot of mk3's that are worse than that.

Keep the updates rolling

Gareth.

[jayrs]

cheers guys.
i have to say i was a bit shocked on the rust on the back end, but on the other hand i wasnt, all cars have there rot places and this car had rotted in some of them but not all, so im glad about that, and ive seen some right $hitters in my time, but then again, the early mk2 fiestas were made in germany i belive then from late D reg - E reg there were made in spain, im sure thats right, but what ever way, from lat D / early E the grade of steel used was cheaper and thus most of the later cars rusted out faster, so i was told many years ago, and im led to belive this as my very first car was a B reg XR2 and the shell was solid, couple scabby bits but over all solid, then my second one 14 months later which was a E reg needs about 4 patches on the inner wings alone!

i have checked some of the common rot spots on the under side, there surface rusty, but solid, but im tempted to clean it up (thinking of getting a sand blasting gun) paint it up then plate over it anyway, that way i know its gunna be solid for years to come and not surprise me come a mot time with a over excited MOT tester with his brand new "i got it for christams" hammer and screw driver
another reason for this is the under side is gunna be under sealed, stone chiped and im going to paint it red something i vowed not to do to the rs as i wanted the under side black, but i feel compelled for some reason to paint this one red, and i dont want it ruined by a over excited MOT tester


god, what happened to "cheap run around/ fun car"

[knuckles]

loving how quick your cracking on with this.

gonna enjoy seeing this one come back to life.
wish i lived nearer to you fella... I would love to get stuck when it comes to the prep and painting.

[jayrs]

cheers dude.

feel free to come over when its at that stage, im not a lover of painting tbh

[niracka]

:lol: yes i remember, but i dont wanna take that long with this.
remember though, when i first stasrted on the rs it was outside on parents drive and it was weather dependant as to what got done and when, this time the xr is in the garage, warm (ish) plenty of light, power, all tools about, and i dont have to waste a hour getting all the tools out, then a hour putting everything away at the end of the day, so fingers crossed it should take so long this time round.

got a up date coming, just up loading some pics

Nice one mate well I'l keep an eye on it should be NICE wen i finish.

Hopefully going to be able to start a project next year after the wedding payed for and I am a fully qualified engineer

[dontpannic]

i dont have to waste a hour getting all the tools out, then a hour putting everything away at the end of the day, so fingers crossed it should take so long this time round.

Aah I see what you're saying. So it will be 3 years, not 4 this time?

[jayrs]

cheers guys

niracka, what sort of project car you got in mind mate?

nick

[niracka]

LOL thining renault 5 gt turbo actually just cos always wanted one. I want to get one for around a grand n do it up then sell on and maybe go for the frst finally.

[HCS PIMP]

jay lookin good were they vectra hinges per chance ???

[jayrs]

a R5, wouldnt waste ya time or money tbh mate, load of crap imo.
get a FRST and restore that, at least at the end of it you have a car you want and have done it how you want it done

sean, no mate, BMW Z3 boot hinges, i would never put anything from a vauxhall on my car

[jayrs]

update time.

been playing with the bonnet and hinges today, cant belive how much time it took, mind you a fair bit of time was done talking about everything bar the task in hand with me dad

still, the bonnets fitted up, its only temp fitted with self tappers etc, and when lowered done fitted 90% right, just a bit low on the back, which in turn has cause the bonnet to catch the scuttle when opening, but after fitting the bonnet to be level on the sides the middle isnt fully flush, prob due to the years of being slammed shut and catching in the middle and over time lost a little of its curve...., unsure but logical, and for those reading unsure what i mean, the mk2 fiesta bonnet is norm hinged on the front panel with the bonnet catch up by the scuttle.

will spend a bit more time on it sunday and will make the fixings tighter as they came loose which didnt help, and adjust as needed.
only problems i can see this may cause now, is the bonnet when opened, lowers the back into the engine bay a couple inches, not a great problem, but im worried the wiper motor or its cover may get in the way, something im hoping wont be, and shouldnt be with any luck.

your see in the pics the wing edges have been trimmed back, and even though it looks like ive hacked a load of the inner wing lip out too, i havent, as it curved round a mounting for the bonnet support rubber, so what little has been cut off makes no difference anyway, but its all rough work, and the wings are coming off for replacment remember, and when it comes to it, it will [ERRR] neat and tidy


catch wise, picture shows where the catch will go, nice one to FRSJON for cutting the top off the fiesta his breaking and giving it me, the catch mount will be taken off that and fitted up to the mk2, for now i dont see any problems with that, but im expecting it to throw up one when it comes to it.

enough crap, pics

[hb69]

Good idea I always used to end up taking the bonnet off my mk1 to do any work on the engine

[HCS PIMP]

well as i said many many moons ago on msn i think theyre the same a the vectra hinges but very impressed with the updates

[jayrs]

Good idea I always used to end up taking the bonnet off my mk1 to do any work on the engine

the bonnet opening like that has its pro's and cons, ideal to work behind when wind blowing , its never gunna open and fly up over windscreen when drivng etc

but damn is it a fcuker when workiong on the front of engine, even doing manifold to downpipe gasket, jesus it makes a 2 min job in to a longer back breaking job dont it
there are downsides to having the bonnet open like this, cant remember if i said, but the place i was looking to mount a box for the ECU aint gunna happen now as the bonnet lowers into the bay a couple inches, so back to drawing board on that

they could be mate, when im next up scrappy if theres one there i'll have a ganda, cos if they are the same, ill take the little gas struts for spares


big up to FRSJON again, cheers for all the bits mate.
for those that dont know jon is/has broken up a Si, and ive had a load of bits off him which i can use on the xr2, some needed stuff like engine loom etc, other bits that might be be able to be used, like the arch liners, im gunna try make them fit the mk2 as it doesnt have any as such, so nice one again jon for the bits so far and the bits left to come, dont forget to tell me how much you want for them

and cut ya hair ya hippy!

[niracka]

Good Idea with the bonnet mate. Might have to try that with the R5 if I get one lol

Ollie

[Dave G fsi]

Done a good job with the bonnet there mate, nice one

[HCS PIMP]

jay i thinking of putting a 2.0 ZETEC in the mini with focus rs box what you think ???

[tompeteRS]

Making excellent progress my friend, looking forward to seeing this finished as I love MK2 XR2s. The shell is in really good condition, I'm quite surprised about how good it actually is, certainly going to make your life easier and speed up the build.

Are you still OK to meet up on Tuesday? I'll have a few more bits and pieces that you'll probably need for the Zetec conversion soon. It would be a shame to lose the lovely distinctive exhaust note but Zetec power is the way forward, although a little wasted with hardly any roads to drive on!!!

[FRSJON]

no worries on the parts jay ... as for the hair its on my list of things to do...

[rs-tom]

what r the hinges off mate is there much room for adjusment and fine tunning

[MK3-MATT]

what r the hinges off mate is there much room for adjusment and fine tunning

BMW Z3 boot hinges

[jayrs]

cheers guys

niracka, would be good to see a R5 with a bonnet like it, although you would prob have to use different hinges, or your would have bigger prob's that im having at the mo due to space in a R5 bay, but then again, its been a while since i worked on a R5 turbo, so cant really picture the bay that well

pimp, i think its crazy , would be good, but you just wont have the space in the mini bay, although thewres alrays rear mounted

tom, tuesday is fine with me if its fine with you, although i duinno how much i owe ya now, will have to check, unlessd you want 50% and that light
whats these other bits you saying about?

jon, that hair just dont like right on ya , i will come get the rest of the bits when i can if thats ok mate, whens the car going so i know what time i got , as i start standby this weekend and im on for 2 weekends in a row


rs tome , as mk3 matt says, there off a BMW Z3 boot

[jayrs]

right spent a bit more time out on the car today, progress has slowed due to this bonnet, its thrown up a couple problems
to get the gap right along the back, means the back edge of the bonnet catches the scuttle panel when opened, BAD TIMES, however, i have come up with a idea that could well solve the problem GOOD TIMES, however it means that the plates have to be welded onto the bonnet (for strength and tighter fixing), something i wanted to do at a later date incase something needed minor modding, but no probs.
the thoughts we had (me and my dad) to make the fixings strong, and reliable was to get a high tensile bolt, and braze it into the mounting plate, cut the end off so flush, and then drill and tap it, we couldnt really tap the plate as its only about 3mm thick, and although a 6mm bolt uses a fine thread its not enough and i dont want the thread stripping.
we did think of studs coming out the bonnet, but again, it stands the chance of snapping, and a nut welded on stands the chance or breaking loose, and a 6mm nut isnt really thick enough to get a real good weld on it without distorting it really, but its do-able, not saying it wont do the job, but once this plates welded on the bonnet, it aint coming off! so the above idea was decided as the best, although we havent drilled and tapped it yet, just brazed it as we ran out of time, but this will be the best way imo and give plently of thread, and if i wanna use studs, i can use a bit of stud bar, although i will go with bolts tbh.

back to the idea for the back edge, i have thought of a wedge or a roller, or both, just to support the back edge and keep it liffted up enough to clear the scuttle, although it might not be needed once everything is welded and tight, cross that bridge when i come to it

it will become clearer what im on about when i progress further and get more pics, but for now, the only one i got is of the plates for the bonnet being made up.
and the head of them bolts will be inside the bonnet frame, if you get me



i knew there would be a few probs with doing this mod, but tbh, i expected it to be on the catch end of it
if i wanted the back end raised, there wouldnt be any problems, but i dont want that, i want a smooth fitting bonnet


oh , and i won a brand spanking new non abs mondeo master cylinder on ebay today for £3.99 plus £5.50 post, bargin imo

[tompeteRS]

Jay txt me and I'll sort out a time to come down and meet you by the IOW Ferry, and let you know about the other bits and bobs.

Your correct about the later cars using poorer grade steel, the later ones rusted faster and the metallics seem to be more prone to rusting.

[jayrs]

ok mate, ill text you later as i know you cant pick up text while working

[Ratspeed]

That bonnet looks a top quality job mate. Well impressed!












Now lets see it closed!