Mk1 Ford Focus RS
Discussion
With all the cutting done the guys began to work on replacing the sills. As I mentioned before there is no such thing as focus RS specific sills so the replacements had to be created from standard 3dr focus sills and modified to fit with the lager rear arches.
It was quite satisfying to finally see the car going in the right direction
It was quite satisfying to finally see the car going in the right direction
Alex said:
Great work. I must say I am surprised how bad the rot was on such a relatively "young" car!
Its a Ford..... lol..... they are known to rust.I had a 2002 Focus, not even a cooking one, a zetc with the 1.6 litre Yamaha engine, a special edition silver with the leather heated seats and windscreen, what a car it was a total revelation. a gem of an engine and a chassis that was unlike anything on a mainstream car before.
really liked that car.
Alex said:
Great work. I must say I am surprised how bad the rot was on such a relatively "young" car!
Thanks! It seems to be an age related thing to an extent, as a lot of mk1 focus RSs are getting the same treatment at the moment. There are a couple heading towards and above 200k miles which are in no worse condition.
I also suspect mine is quite bad as it came from the North of Scotland and has spent its whole life up there. Perhaps examples from the south of England where the climate is slightly better might not be so bad.
ruggedscotty said:
Its a Ford..... lol..... they are known to rust.
I had a 2002 Focus, not even a cooking one, a zetc with the 1.6 litre Yamaha engine, a special edition silver with the leather heated seats and windscreen, what a car it was a total revelation. a gem of an engine and a chassis that was unlike anything on a mainstream car before.
really liked that car.
I guess the expectation was that with a new age car that ford might have finally managed to solve the rust issues but as you can see there is still a long way to go! I had a 2002 Focus, not even a cooking one, a zetc with the 1.6 litre Yamaha engine, a special edition silver with the leather heated seats and windscreen, what a car it was a total revelation. a gem of an engine and a chassis that was unlike anything on a mainstream car before.
really liked that car.
I agree with you the standard focus when it was released was a total revelation, my first one was a base model TDDI but even on that the handling was superb for what it was! The funny thing is that when the Focus first came out in 98 I wasn't convinced by it at all, I was so used to the shape of the Escort that it was a bit Alien to lines of the focus and the rounded shape.
The next step in the process was to begin painting the underside and engine bay. The underside was done with Raptor UPOL to try and get a coating that was as robust as possible. I decided to go for the underside done in Imperial blue instead of the standard grey with over spray. I know it will upset the purists but its my car and hopefully always will be. I always felt that the grey with over spray was a little rough and if I had had the choice from the factory then I would have had it done in blue too so here we are haha!
At the same time the engine bay was also done, this was the first time that I had seen the quality of the paint and painting process. I was blown away by the colour and how fresh it looked. At this point if I wasn't already convinced I had made the right decision to go ahead with the build I definitely was when I saw this:
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/VLHE8lK8.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/7QLCLjpV" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/7QLCLjpV.jpg)
Sorry for all the pics but the colour still blows me away when I see these pics
At the same time the engine bay was also done, this was the first time that I had seen the quality of the paint and painting process. I was blown away by the colour and how fresh it looked. At this point if I wasn't already convinced I had made the right decision to go ahead with the build I definitely was when I saw this:
Sorry for all the pics but the colour still blows me away when I see these pics
Alex_225 said:
Great car there OP. I'm not even hugely into Fords but recall back in 2003 when I bought my first quick car, seeing the RS Focus around. Always just seemed like a special car and in my eyes the best Focus RS looks wise.
Keep up the good work.
I think they are a very under rated car, the head line figures aren't very impressive by modern standards but they don't really tell the whole story. I drove a MK2 Focus RS and don't get me wrong it was definitely quicker in a straight line and the noise was excellent but it just didn't feel as special or as composed as my MK1. I agree with you that the Mk1 is by far the best looking of the Focus RS's, the design is almost timeless and subtle in comparison to the more recent versions.Keep up the good work.
MK1RS Bruce said:
I drove a MK2 Focus RS and don't get me wrong it was definitely quicker in a straight line and the noise was excellent but it just didn't feel as special or as composed as my MK1..
Now, i'm biased i admit, but the thing about the Mk1 RS was that every single person who worked on it was a serious petrol head! Yes, the basic ingredients weren't that special, but it was not just done well, but done well by people who really, really wanted to, and did, a terrific job. Taking what as a fairly cooking car (ST170 was as sporty as it got till that point, and that wasn't, well, very sporty), and modifying or changing anything that was felt to let the side down, which as the Project managers and final Profit /loss accounts bear witness too, was a lot of parts!Members of the RS Team have gone on to some pretty serious jobs and done some great things!
Here's Neil Briggs, (now of course of BAC Mono fame) and I with a 1PP mule car, high in the Italian alps. Neil was the guy who did a lot of the chassis sign off and attribute setting for Ford, clearly setting him in good stead for future projects ;-)
I owned number 305 for just over 6 years. Best car i've ever owned and let her go for a song when she went which stings now as values are rising.
I just smile to myself at all the brilliant times I had with the car, so competent and I felt so special every time i drove it.
Thanks for posting this thread, love to see ones like this.
I just smile to myself at all the brilliant times I had with the car, so competent and I felt so special every time i drove it.
Thanks for posting this thread, love to see ones like this.
Another great thread. 
That's going to be one of the best around once it's done.
I'd agree the 1st generation Focus is definitely the best looking - but that's true of so many Fords! Escort and Corina for example....!
I think the location of the car in the North of Scotland was probably a major factor with the rust - I had a 52 plate BMW recently that was registered in Aberdeen, and nearly every fitting on the underside was a rust-fest! Thankfully the body shell was OK though.
That's going to be one of the best around once it's done.
I'd agree the 1st generation Focus is definitely the best looking - but that's true of so many Fords! Escort and Corina for example....!
I think the location of the car in the North of Scotland was probably a major factor with the rust - I had a 52 plate BMW recently that was registered in Aberdeen, and nearly every fitting on the underside was a rust-fest! Thankfully the body shell was OK though.
lord trumpton said:
Great read so far and great to see a proper job bing done.
Am I being naive here...I'm gobsmacked a car as 'new' as this rusted so badly.
Is it commonplace on the mk1 focus then or has this car had previous damage? Looking at the pics then the sill cover adhesive looks non OEM
thanks Am I being naive here...I'm gobsmacked a car as 'new' as this rusted so badly.
Is it commonplace on the mk1 focus then or has this car had previous damage? Looking at the pics then the sill cover adhesive looks non OEM
Obviously you can never be 100% sure a of a used cars history but there was no obvious evidence that the car had been in an accident previously and the condition was the same on both sides. We have had it back to the bear metal and rust
in some places obviously and there is no sign of previous repairs. The cars were all hand finished so that is possibly why the bonding agent left on the sills looks non OEM? There are currently a lot of cars undergoing the same sort of work so I believe its possible an just an age thing, which has been compounded by being in the North and North East of Scotland all its life.The plan is to have it as a summer weekend and dry days car so hopefully I shouldn't have the same issues ever again.
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