Mk2 Fiesta XR2 rebuild/restoration
Discussion
Biker's Nemesis said:
That's a cracking job, give yourself a pat on the back, you have every right to feel proud.
Thanks, I was pretty pleased to get it out of my friend's garage and on the road!!threespires said:
Congrats OP. It's looks perfect.
How refreshing to see a project car on these pages that actually gets finished.
Cheers! I wouldn't say perfect, but it's not bad How refreshing to see a project car on these pages that actually gets finished.
Riskins said:
Love this and the work which has gone into it, a credit to you.
Also make me quite nostalgic as my first 'fast' car was an E reg Diamond White XR2 back in '95, was an absolute rust bucket bought for £1700, but I loved it nonetheless.
When are you adding the rest of the body kit to finish off the exterior?
Cool! I remember my first one about 11 years ago being my first 'fast' car too. It was also diamond white. I remember smiling about the fact I could accelerate up a dual carriageway hill near me rather than struggle all the way up.Also make me quite nostalgic as my first 'fast' car was an E reg Diamond White XR2 back in '95, was an absolute rust bucket bought for £1700, but I loved it nonetheless.
When are you adding the rest of the body kit to finish off the exterior?
I need to investigate some rivets with plastic washers but basically I want to get the kit back on as soon as possible. On the outside it's just the kit and the spot lights to do - spotlight brackets need powder coating as I forgot to put them in with the pile of other bits I got powder coated ages ago.
Gallons Per Mile said:
Red Spider said:
This brings back loads of memories, my first brand new car was a MK2 XR2 bought in 1986, in white followed by a grey XR2 in 1988. Before those I had a SuperSport.
Ooh, any pics of them? 
SuperSport,
First XR2, photo taken in the South of France,
Second XR2.
I put rear headrests in the two XRs after following an Orion Ghia and thought it looked good. Also put Ghia badges and wood trim in the grey one.
Wow, excellent pics there! Loving the nostalgia :-)
Thanks for comments, everyone.
As I'm here I'd better tell you all the latest. MOT passed - 0 advisories but my MOT man did put some split pins in the track rod ends for me as I'm using old castle nuts rather than nylock nuts and it would have failed otherwise.
The car was hanging around for a while at the garage waiting for a slot to sort out the sump gasket first before the MOT. I was in no rush anyways as I've only just got back from a week away in Scotland. While it was there the ignition module that sits on top of the distributor decided to fail. No spark at all, and tested with a spare coil to rule that out too. A new ignition module was fitted, timing set up properly as it seems I'd either not done it very well with my timing light or the ignition module was already playing up and throwing the timing out. If you remember, I rebuilt the carb quickly too, on the side of the road on the way to try and get the MOT done. Well, as the car was sitting around at the garage, I stole the carb, bought a rebuild kit and built it back up with new gaskets and more cleaning inside. I discovered the emulsion tubes were completely missing!! They're supposed to sit between the main jets and air correction jets, but there was just a hollow carb casting with no brass emulsion tubes to be seen. Luckily I've got a spare carb in the garage so I had a look inside that one, found some emulsion tubes and swapped them in to my main carb. Unsurprisingly, the car runs better than ever now that MOT dude has put the car on the gas analyser and set the mixture perfectly. We're running 12 degrees of advance too but if it's a bit pinky I'll retard it slightly.
I picked up the car earlier on with the leaky sump gasket fixed, ignition module replaced, timing and mixture set up and an MOT pass sheet. All went swimmingly on the 5 minute drive home but as soon as I pulled on to the drive the sump gasket sprang a leak again... Straight back to the garage in that case!! We're a bit confused because the gasket was fully checked on the ramp and held oil just fine all the time the car had been running while the timing and mixture was set up. He's going to investigate and let me know. I'm suspecting something more sinister like head gasket failure putting pressure in to the sump but at least it'll only take me half hour to take the head off if I need to. I'll update with the result!
Thanks for comments, everyone.
As I'm here I'd better tell you all the latest. MOT passed - 0 advisories but my MOT man did put some split pins in the track rod ends for me as I'm using old castle nuts rather than nylock nuts and it would have failed otherwise.
The car was hanging around for a while at the garage waiting for a slot to sort out the sump gasket first before the MOT. I was in no rush anyways as I've only just got back from a week away in Scotland. While it was there the ignition module that sits on top of the distributor decided to fail. No spark at all, and tested with a spare coil to rule that out too. A new ignition module was fitted, timing set up properly as it seems I'd either not done it very well with my timing light or the ignition module was already playing up and throwing the timing out. If you remember, I rebuilt the carb quickly too, on the side of the road on the way to try and get the MOT done. Well, as the car was sitting around at the garage, I stole the carb, bought a rebuild kit and built it back up with new gaskets and more cleaning inside. I discovered the emulsion tubes were completely missing!! They're supposed to sit between the main jets and air correction jets, but there was just a hollow carb casting with no brass emulsion tubes to be seen. Luckily I've got a spare carb in the garage so I had a look inside that one, found some emulsion tubes and swapped them in to my main carb. Unsurprisingly, the car runs better than ever now that MOT dude has put the car on the gas analyser and set the mixture perfectly. We're running 12 degrees of advance too but if it's a bit pinky I'll retard it slightly.
I picked up the car earlier on with the leaky sump gasket fixed, ignition module replaced, timing and mixture set up and an MOT pass sheet. All went swimmingly on the 5 minute drive home but as soon as I pulled on to the drive the sump gasket sprang a leak again... Straight back to the garage in that case!! We're a bit confused because the gasket was fully checked on the ramp and held oil just fine all the time the car had been running while the timing and mixture was set up. He's going to investigate and let me know. I'm suspecting something more sinister like head gasket failure putting pressure in to the sump but at least it'll only take me half hour to take the head off if I need to. I'll update with the result!
Wow, this thread hasn't been updated in a while... Time flies!
Re: the above problem with my leaky sump gasket. I bought a brand new sump and had that fitted instead. Killed two birds with one stone as the new one doesn't leak and the old one needed painting anyway!
On to some updates: I entered myself for the 'Oh So Retro' show last September and decided that the car should look a bit more finished before I show it. That meant putting the body kit back on and tidying up a few bits and pieces.
The brown stuff is Dynax something-or-other that prevents rust. I sprayed it all over the place as Ford didn't really bother with rust protection. I've currently got a very rust-free Fiesta and I want it to stay that way! It's going to be used whenever I fancy and I won't worry if it gets wet.
Don't worry about the missing side skirt. It went on the next morning.
I also gave the air box a very quick repaint as it looked a bit terrible.
Before:
After:
Quite a bit better but I may re-do it at some point as it was a very quick job.
Then, I hit problems. The car decided it didn't want to run properly the day before the show. It wouldn't idle and was a pig to drive as it would cut out every time you dipped the clutch. It had to be a carb problem but I couldn't find it in time and I didn't make it to the show. Shame when it looked so good next to a friends Porsche:
I went to the show in the Porsche instead but really I wanted to be driving my XR... This lead to many hours of taking the carb apart, putting it back together and finding that nothing had changed. I tested everything for air leaks, changed the plugs, leads and distributor just in case but none of that worked. It seemed a bit like an air leak and I even changed the inlet manifold for a spare too but of course there was no change. I had the carb back to bare components and completely rebuilt it:
No change still! This saga carried on all winter and I was no closer to working out the problem. The weather started to get better in March and I decided I wanted to start using the car so something had to be done. I booked the car in at a local carb tuning specialist who luckily are just down the road from me:
The next morning I was told my car was running perfectly and I'd missed a blockage in the idle circuit. I was kicking myself that I'd missed it but at least it was something simple. There's not much to go wrong on these cars anyway! The idle jet was also a bit blocked and that was cleaned and drilled out by a fraction to give a nicer idle. It was all set up again so it should be good on fuel and will pass the emissions part of the MOT again.
Since then, I've used it on the odd day when I've been off work and I even took it to work one day last week. It didn't miss a beat but did highlight that the old brake discs I thought might be ok to use really aren't. New ones on order. Also, my water temp is a bit higher on the gauge than I'd like. The water temp sensor is new and so is the fan sensor, but the water pump didn't get changed before I put the new cam belt on and put the engine back in the car as I was running a tight schedule to rebuild the car when it was in my friend's garage. I've already got a new pump so I'll put that on soon and see if things change. There was no danger of overheating as the temperature was rock steady on the motorway, just higher than I'd like. Other than those things, I've got a new 'XR2' sticker to go on the boot (one currently on there isn't 100%) and I think I put it on slightly wonky anyway. I've also got the red pin stripe to go on, a new aerial for the wing, and I've got to get around to putting the door cards back on...
Re: the above problem with my leaky sump gasket. I bought a brand new sump and had that fitted instead. Killed two birds with one stone as the new one doesn't leak and the old one needed painting anyway!
On to some updates: I entered myself for the 'Oh So Retro' show last September and decided that the car should look a bit more finished before I show it. That meant putting the body kit back on and tidying up a few bits and pieces.
The brown stuff is Dynax something-or-other that prevents rust. I sprayed it all over the place as Ford didn't really bother with rust protection. I've currently got a very rust-free Fiesta and I want it to stay that way! It's going to be used whenever I fancy and I won't worry if it gets wet.
Don't worry about the missing side skirt. It went on the next morning.
I also gave the air box a very quick repaint as it looked a bit terrible.
Before:
After:
Quite a bit better but I may re-do it at some point as it was a very quick job.
Then, I hit problems. The car decided it didn't want to run properly the day before the show. It wouldn't idle and was a pig to drive as it would cut out every time you dipped the clutch. It had to be a carb problem but I couldn't find it in time and I didn't make it to the show. Shame when it looked so good next to a friends Porsche:
I went to the show in the Porsche instead but really I wanted to be driving my XR... This lead to many hours of taking the carb apart, putting it back together and finding that nothing had changed. I tested everything for air leaks, changed the plugs, leads and distributor just in case but none of that worked. It seemed a bit like an air leak and I even changed the inlet manifold for a spare too but of course there was no change. I had the carb back to bare components and completely rebuilt it:
No change still! This saga carried on all winter and I was no closer to working out the problem. The weather started to get better in March and I decided I wanted to start using the car so something had to be done. I booked the car in at a local carb tuning specialist who luckily are just down the road from me:
The next morning I was told my car was running perfectly and I'd missed a blockage in the idle circuit. I was kicking myself that I'd missed it but at least it was something simple. There's not much to go wrong on these cars anyway! The idle jet was also a bit blocked and that was cleaned and drilled out by a fraction to give a nicer idle. It was all set up again so it should be good on fuel and will pass the emissions part of the MOT again.
Since then, I've used it on the odd day when I've been off work and I even took it to work one day last week. It didn't miss a beat but did highlight that the old brake discs I thought might be ok to use really aren't. New ones on order. Also, my water temp is a bit higher on the gauge than I'd like. The water temp sensor is new and so is the fan sensor, but the water pump didn't get changed before I put the new cam belt on and put the engine back in the car as I was running a tight schedule to rebuild the car when it was in my friend's garage. I've already got a new pump so I'll put that on soon and see if things change. There was no danger of overheating as the temperature was rock steady on the motorway, just higher than I'd like. Other than those things, I've got a new 'XR2' sticker to go on the boot (one currently on there isn't 100%) and I think I put it on slightly wonky anyway. I've also got the red pin stripe to go on, a new aerial for the wing, and I've got to get around to putting the door cards back on...
I'm aiming to keep hold of it once it's fully finished, I've already sold this one once and bought it back again... It's my 5th XR2 and I always seem to regret selling them and have to get another one. I've built it up to my perfect spec too - slightly lowered, nice exhaust, polybushed suspension and it'll have a reasonable quality set of speakers with USB head unit so I don't get bored on longer trips. The intention is to use it as a second car as and when the mood takes me, and store it away and forget about it when I'm doing other things.
By 'other things' I mean restoring the Escort RS Turbo that's been in my main garage for the last 5 years untouched... Oh and doing something with the M3 that is currently taking up valuable drive space. Too many projects and not enough time!!
By 'other things' I mean restoring the Escort RS Turbo that's been in my main garage for the last 5 years untouched... Oh and doing something with the M3 that is currently taking up valuable drive space. Too many projects and not enough time!!
Shiny happy brake disc update!
As you may have seen in the last update, I've been actually driving the car a little bit and even had a 20 mile spin along the motorway to work in it. All going quite nicely apart from the terrible braking situation. Pressing relatively hard on the pedal from motorway speeds in an effort to stop somewhere before the back of the queue at the traffic lights on the slip road was a slightly trouser-soiling experience. The car needed to feel a lot more positive for this pedal pressure and much less vibration was required too. You'll remember from previous updates I had to put the car back together pretty quickly as my friend needed his garage space. I'd already got new calipers and brake flexi lines. Obviously, there was fresh fluid in the system, but I hadn't quite got around to buying new discs so the old ones went on - after all they weren't lipped, just needed a wire brush so I thought I'd get away with it. I was wrong!
Just to let you know. Since the car went on the road last summer, I had been trying to buy new brake discs as I thought I'd put some on at some point anyway. It seems Mk2 XR2 brake discs are some wierd height/offset like seventeen point ten milimeters or something. Reputable Ebay shops proclaiming their stocks of XR2 brake discs to me didn't have any such thing. Eurocarparts reckoned they had some too, but they didn't. My local friendly garage reckoned they could find some, and duly supplied a pair of discs which sat in the car all winter as I'd got fed up taking the wheel and caliper off to find the latest set of discs I'd bought don't fit. Guess what? These didn't either. They're now taking up space in my garage...
What to do? Well, Burton Power reckoned they could supply a set as they were listed on their web site, again marked as definitely being Mk2 XR2 brake discs. I thought I'd give them a shot as they usually know what they're on about with old Fords.
Old discs looking a little shabby but in 'more or less working' condition. I compared old and new discs while still on the car.
Hmm... These seem quite similar! I'd better take the old disc off to compare properly.
I'm glad I was sitting down. The new discs were actually the same as the old discs. Wooyay etc. Shiny copper grease on a freshly cleaned disc:
The finished article:
Yep, you saw the red carriers didn't you. I'll get around to making those silver soon. They're annoying me too. You can't really see them with the wheel back on though.
The pads need some time to bed in to the new discs, but they've only done probably 150 miles on the old discs so I'm not getting new ones. That should help the braking situation at the front. As for the rear, the drums and shoes are the old ones I had before the rebuild so really I'll need to change those too and it should be all the better. I'm thinking a brand new master cylinder wouldn't be a bad idea either but I can't find the correct one anywhere. I think there are rebuild kits available so that's plan B.
I hope you enjoyed my brake discs as much as did
As you may have seen in the last update, I've been actually driving the car a little bit and even had a 20 mile spin along the motorway to work in it. All going quite nicely apart from the terrible braking situation. Pressing relatively hard on the pedal from motorway speeds in an effort to stop somewhere before the back of the queue at the traffic lights on the slip road was a slightly trouser-soiling experience. The car needed to feel a lot more positive for this pedal pressure and much less vibration was required too. You'll remember from previous updates I had to put the car back together pretty quickly as my friend needed his garage space. I'd already got new calipers and brake flexi lines. Obviously, there was fresh fluid in the system, but I hadn't quite got around to buying new discs so the old ones went on - after all they weren't lipped, just needed a wire brush so I thought I'd get away with it. I was wrong!
Just to let you know. Since the car went on the road last summer, I had been trying to buy new brake discs as I thought I'd put some on at some point anyway. It seems Mk2 XR2 brake discs are some wierd height/offset like seventeen point ten milimeters or something. Reputable Ebay shops proclaiming their stocks of XR2 brake discs to me didn't have any such thing. Eurocarparts reckoned they had some too, but they didn't. My local friendly garage reckoned they could find some, and duly supplied a pair of discs which sat in the car all winter as I'd got fed up taking the wheel and caliper off to find the latest set of discs I'd bought don't fit. Guess what? These didn't either. They're now taking up space in my garage...
What to do? Well, Burton Power reckoned they could supply a set as they were listed on their web site, again marked as definitely being Mk2 XR2 brake discs. I thought I'd give them a shot as they usually know what they're on about with old Fords.
Old discs looking a little shabby but in 'more or less working' condition. I compared old and new discs while still on the car.
Hmm... These seem quite similar! I'd better take the old disc off to compare properly.
I'm glad I was sitting down. The new discs were actually the same as the old discs. Wooyay etc. Shiny copper grease on a freshly cleaned disc:
The finished article:
Yep, you saw the red carriers didn't you. I'll get around to making those silver soon. They're annoying me too. You can't really see them with the wheel back on though.
The pads need some time to bed in to the new discs, but they've only done probably 150 miles on the old discs so I'm not getting new ones. That should help the braking situation at the front. As for the rear, the drums and shoes are the old ones I had before the rebuild so really I'll need to change those too and it should be all the better. I'm thinking a brand new master cylinder wouldn't be a bad idea either but I can't find the correct one anywhere. I think there are rebuild kits available so that's plan B.
I hope you enjoyed my brake discs as much as did
Jesus, this is giving me flashbacks...
Back in the day I had a white one too (E Reg) , and it would just periodically start playing up.. So many times I would just take the carb to bits at the side of the road, clean (blow) out the jets and other bits, and then it would work again for a few months.. Never got to the bottom of that issue.
Back in the day I had a white one too (E Reg) , and it would just periodically start playing up.. So many times I would just take the carb to bits at the side of the road, clean (blow) out the jets and other bits, and then it would work again for a few months.. Never got to the bottom of that issue.
JackP1 said:
Car looks amazing
One question, and by no means to offend. Do you prefer the body kit plastic to look a bit more "used" as it looks greyed out a bit.
Cant help but think it would looks a whole better if they were brought back to life a bit.
Give him a chance, he's only just put it back on One question, and by no means to offend. Do you prefer the body kit plastic to look a bit more "used" as it looks greyed out a bit.
Cant help but think it would looks a whole better if they were brought back to life a bit.
Squadrone Rosso said:
Still a great thread
If I could find a mint 1988 XR2 in Crystal Blue like mind I'm pictured with below I'd buy it.
I'd give the shorts a miss though (oh to be 18 again).
Maybe swerve the loafers with socks too. :-) If I could find a mint 1988 XR2 in Crystal Blue like mind I'm pictured with below I'd buy it.
I'd give the shorts a miss though (oh to be 18 again).
Edited by Squadrone Rosso on Friday 21st April 10:05
Kitchski said:
JackP1 said:
Car looks amazing
One question, and by no means to offend. Do you prefer the body kit plastic to look a bit more "used" as it looks greyed out a bit.
Cant help but think it would looks a whole better if they were brought back to life a bit.
Give him a chance, he's only just put it back on One question, and by no means to offend. Do you prefer the body kit plastic to look a bit more "used" as it looks greyed out a bit.
Cant help but think it would looks a whole better if they were brought back to life a bit.
Justin S said:
Looks fantastic . Really nice to see one again as pretty rare these days. As regards to temperatures , have you changed the thermostat before you start stripping cambelts etc . Its the usual issue with ford CVH engines.
Thanks! Thermostat and temperature sensor in the head have been changed for new. Pump is unknown as I've never changed it and neither did a friend when he owned the car as the CVH was in the garage and not in the car! Taking the cam belt off is literally a 5 min job. The worst part of changing the pump is spilling the coolant. I'll get that job sorted soon and again post up the pictures.joe_90 said:
Jesus, this is giving me flashbacks...
Back in the day I had a white one too (E Reg) , and it would just periodically start playing up.. So many times I would just take the carb to bits at the side of the road, clean (blow) out the jets and other bits, and then it would work again for a few months.. Never got to the bottom of that issue.
Sounds like good old gunk in the carb blocking up the circuits and/or the jets. Mines been really good now it's been checked over by a pro. I'd done 90% of the work anyway but these carbs are supposed to be the 'less good' version compared to the earlier XR2s (pre '87). Back in the day I had a white one too (E Reg) , and it would just periodically start playing up.. So many times I would just take the carb to bits at the side of the road, clean (blow) out the jets and other bits, and then it would work again for a few months.. Never got to the bottom of that issue.
helix402 said:
Super rebuild, you can get clear Dynax too if you don't like brown stains.
WOOT. Wish I knew that before I bought brown... Would have made my underside look even prettier. Not to worry though. I've built it to use and not be a show pony so I'll only be getting underneath and cleaning when it needs some proper maintenance.Squadrone Rosso said:
Still a great thread
If I could find a mint 1988 XR2 in Crystal Blue like mind I'm pictured with below I'd buy it.
Thanks! I love blue XR2s.. My father bought a brand new XR2 in '87 in Tasman Blue as that's my favourite XR2 colour for sure. White is a close second. I nearly painted my car Tasman Blue but decided to keep it original. Crystal Blue is a lighter version of Tasman and I believe it only came on the pre '87 cars?If I could find a mint 1988 XR2 in Crystal Blue like mind I'm pictured with below I'd buy it.
Cheers for the comments, everyone!
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