Ford Focus Mk2 [ST] Estate Sleeper - Build Thread

[CHR15 G]

expensivegarms said:

Love love love this! Something is like to do sometime in the next couple of years.

Thank you!

Do it! It's been easier than I thought so far, but I purposely picked something 'easier' that didn't require cutting/welding/fabricating.

[qwertina]

Excellent project. Will really surprise and annoy some people when it's done.

Having the cars alongside each other must be a great help.

[CHR15 G]

tdm34 said:

Brilliant thread so far, can't wait for the next update....

Thank you! Luckily for you they will be coming quite quickly as I'm behind on them and work as progressed-there are highs and lows for you to look forward to!

[CHR15 G]

JackP1 said:

Been reading this with great interest, proper good effort!

Thank you, but there has been very little effort on my part as I'm really really enjoying doing it. It's helped that it's been so easy (no stuck bolts and everything just fitting together etc), but I just love all the work involved including the research.

[CHR15 G]

qwertina said:

Excellent project. Will really surprise and annoy some people when it's done.

Having the cars alongside each other must be a great help.

Thank you! I hope it will walk all over repmobiles and be quick enough to worry Porches and the like!

Having the cars side by side has been great, whilst still having enough room to work on them both. Unfortunately as we strip down one car we have to strip down the other as well so we lose the reference of it. On the plus side though my dad has a mk2.5 Focus estate (but he lives 3 hours away) so I keep getting him to go outside and take pictures of random parts! It's always good to have your dad helping on your car project!

[CHR15 G]

Engine in! This was very awkward with only two of us...





Engine in. Looks great easy from the photos, but there was many hours of aligning everything.



And a bit of chassis bracing back in.





The bracing was the routing for quite a few cables and hoses, so those are back in too.

[Sf_Manta]

Bookmarked, really interested to see where this goes
Any plans for upgrades on the suspension side of things?

[CHR15 G]

Sf_Manta said:

Bookmarked, really interested to see where this goes
Any plans for upgrades on the suspension side of things?

Front springs and dampers are from the ST as they went in with the front subframe. I suspect that the estate rear springs will sit it too high and will be too soft. I will initially run it on these though to get started, but will see what else is available.

Hatch back and estate have different rear subframes and suspension set ups so I can't just use all of the rear ST stuff, and the estate is slightly heavier anyway.

[rohrl]

Good project and you're making good progress by the look of it.

I think the Mk2 Focus estate's back end is an unsung piece of design. It's one of those fairly mundane cars whose styling gives it a boost beyond its place in the automotive pecking order. Every time I see one I think "that's a good looking car".



Which wheels will you be fitting to the car?

[CHR15 G]

rohrl said:

Good project and you're making good progress by the look of it.

I think the Mk2 Focus estate's back end is an unsung piece of design. It's one of those fairly mundane cars whose styling gives it a boost beyond its place in the automotive pecking order. Every time I see one I think "that's a good looking car".



Which wheels will you be fitting to the car?

I liked the styling of the car before I started, but since working on the car and looking at it whilst stationary I have grown to love it. Unlike some cars (including my 182) it still looks good when it's dirty which is a bonus for me as I don't want the hassle of washing it all the time.

Wheels will be 17 inch steels from a Peugeot 407, as a Volvo V70 T5 owning friend of mine found that they are the same stud pattern, they have a slightly different centre bore though so I'll need some sort of adaptors.

[Sf_Manta]

Maybe worth finding out the spring rates of the ST and having some made up to the same dimensions as the Estate's setup, then it's just getting decent shocks

http://www.dfaulknersprings.com/acatalog/Specials.... would be able to do them.

[BenWRXSEi]

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

Surely (banded?) steelies and wheel-trims are the way forward for ultimate sleeper bragging rights?

[CHR15 G]

Sf_Manta said:

Maybe worth finding out the spring rates of the ST and having some made up to the same dimensions as the Estate's setup, then it's just getting decent shocks

http://www.dfaulknersprings.com/acatalog/Specials.... would be able to do them.

Thanks for this, I had been looking for someone who did custom springs. Have you used them before? Any ideas on pricing? I've also been told of a company who does custom dampers.

The only problem I have is that I don't know the exact spring and damping rates that I want, as the vehicle mass is different to the ST and will have different loads in the boot.

Although I want it to have decent handling, it doesn't need to be the last word in cornering as I have the 182 and 205 for that.

[CHR15 G]

BenWRXSEi said:

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

Surely (banded?) steelies and wheel-trims are the way forward for ultimate sleeper bragging rights?

The steels I've found are only 5mm narrower that the standard ST wheels, so I won't loose too much contact patch. The 'will they hold up at autobahn cruising speeds' might play on my mind whilst cruising at autobahn speeds, although I know many people would swear by them.

I was possibly thinking a single wheel trim on either side, for the complete 'I don't car about/maintain my car' look.

[jamiebae]

Great thread, and a really interesting car to build.

Do you have any idea how much this is likely to stand you at once finished? I was looking at used STs a few days ago and hadn't realised how cheap they've got now.

[Sf_Manta]

CHR15 G said:

Sf_Manta said:

Maybe worth finding out the spring rates of the ST and having some made up to the same dimensions as the Estate's setup, then it's just getting decent shocks

http://www.dfaulknersprings.com/acatalog/Specials.... would be able to do them.

Thanks for this, I had been looking for someone who did custom springs. Have you used them before? Any ideas on pricing? I've also been told of a company who does custom dampers.

The only problem I have is that I don't know the exact spring and damping rates that I want, as the vehicle mass is different to the ST and will have different loads in the boot.

Although I want it to have decent handling, it doesn't need to be the last word in cornering as I have the 182 and 205 for that.

I haven't personally, but a friend of mine had some knocked up for an Opel Manta, and the prices were not at all bad considering they were custom at around £70-80 a spring, but this was 6-7 years ago. Maybe worth giving them a call at the end of the day.

[BenWRXSEi]

CHR15 G said:

I was possibly thinking a single wheel trim on either side, for the complete 'I don't car about/maintain my car' look.

Generic Halfords ones, held on with cable-ties

[rohrl]

A decent starting point would be to find out how much stiffer the normal estate rear springs are than front springs and go from there. If the rears are 20% stiffer than the fronts then get some springs which are 20% stiffer than the ST front springs.

I'd have thought that the spring makers will be able to give some pretty good advice from their own experience.

[CHR15 G]

jamiebae said:

Great thread, and a really interesting car to build.

Do you have any idea how much this is likely to stand you at once finished? I was looking at used STs a few days ago and hadn't realised how cheap they've got now.

I have a figure in my head which is roughly half what a same mechanical condition ST would cost.

Before I started the project I was considering a blob eye Impreza STI and I think this will be cheaper by half, and running costs will be lower. And the money I save can be spent on my Land Rover restoration!

[jamiebae]

CHR15 G said:

I have a figure in my head which is roughly half what a same mechanical condition ST would cost.

Before I started the project I was considering a blob eye Impreza STI and I think this will be cheaper by half, and running costs will be lower. And the money I save can be spent on my Land Rover restoration!

Sounds good then, effectively you're re-shelling a Cat-B and repairing with used parts. Given you're not planning to go nuts with wheels, body mods, fancy paint and so on it shouldn't be super expensive, and will be much more usable than an Impreza too. (Usable meaning being able to drive it without every chav and his mate wanting a race)