2004 Focus ST170. A slightly sentimental acquisition.
Discussion
This car was bought brand new by my brother in law in 2004 as a present to himself after his wife died, a couple of months later when it was run in he took me out for a demo ride around our local countryside roads, he then handed me the keys for the drive home.
I hadn’t driven a fast Ford since my two Cortina GT’s and my Mk 1 Escort GT in the sixties, this didn’t disappoint though, the controls were all in the right place and it seemed to fit me like a glove. It went and handled just how I always expected a fast Ford should and I was really impressed, so part jokingly, I said any time he wanted to sell it to give me first refusal.
My brother in law loved his Focus and he was never planning to sell it but unfortunately he died way too young in March 2016. At his funeral his son told me he was going to keep and run the car but would let me know if he ever wanted to get rid of it.
A few weeks ago I got a call, a pre check had showed the Focus needed a lot of work to get it through the Mot and he didn’t want to spend any money on it so if I didn’t want it he was going to take the scrap man’s offer of £150.
This was at just the wrong time as I’m really busy building the Penthouse (see thread in Homes and Gardens) so I reluctantly decided to say no. My workshop and all of my storage space is taken up with building materials and tools, so I had nowhere to put it and I knew I would have no time to even look at it until the building work is complete.
A stroke of luck though, my nephew who is a classic car enthusiast with a small collection rents a large storage unit and had just sold his Alfetta in auction, he offered me this space to store the Focus, so probably foolishly I’ve gone for it.
My nephew in law drove it up from Cornwall and it looks okay, it needs a good polish and valet, the headlights need polishing and the bumpers need painting, there are a couple of supermarket trolley dents but the interior is in great condition, the engine sounds okay and the car seems to drive well.
It definitely needs rear tyres, brake discs and pads, the exhaust is a bit suspect and a few other things were mentioned in the pre Mot check but it doesn’t look too painful. and I’ll source the necessary parts over the winter.
For now it’s been sorned and parked and I’ll update again when I get started on it around March/April time.
I hadn’t driven a fast Ford since my two Cortina GT’s and my Mk 1 Escort GT in the sixties, this didn’t disappoint though, the controls were all in the right place and it seemed to fit me like a glove. It went and handled just how I always expected a fast Ford should and I was really impressed, so part jokingly, I said any time he wanted to sell it to give me first refusal.
My brother in law loved his Focus and he was never planning to sell it but unfortunately he died way too young in March 2016. At his funeral his son told me he was going to keep and run the car but would let me know if he ever wanted to get rid of it.
A few weeks ago I got a call, a pre check had showed the Focus needed a lot of work to get it through the Mot and he didn’t want to spend any money on it so if I didn’t want it he was going to take the scrap man’s offer of £150.
This was at just the wrong time as I’m really busy building the Penthouse (see thread in Homes and Gardens) so I reluctantly decided to say no. My workshop and all of my storage space is taken up with building materials and tools, so I had nowhere to put it and I knew I would have no time to even look at it until the building work is complete.
A stroke of luck though, my nephew who is a classic car enthusiast with a small collection rents a large storage unit and had just sold his Alfetta in auction, he offered me this space to store the Focus, so probably foolishly I’ve gone for it.
My nephew in law drove it up from Cornwall and it looks okay, it needs a good polish and valet, the headlights need polishing and the bumpers need painting, there are a couple of supermarket trolley dents but the interior is in great condition, the engine sounds okay and the car seems to drive well.
It definitely needs rear tyres, brake discs and pads, the exhaust is a bit suspect and a few other things were mentioned in the pre Mot check but it doesn’t look too painful. and I’ll source the necessary parts over the winter.
For now it’s been sorned and parked and I’ll update again when I get started on it around March/April time.
I'm glad I don't have to berate you for not paying £150 (I assume?) for an ST170 thats running and driving and that you know the history of?!? You'll never get another chance to buy that car if it goes to the scrapman! You know you made the right choice! I'l always had a thing for these, but one has never come up for the right money when I've been looking 
Eagerly awaiting updates....
Eagerly awaiting updates....
cheapest car i ever owned
Best bits:
Interior doesn't seem to wear
Drives beautifully
has enough power
Very reliable
Chain Belt
100k Spark plugs!
Things like wheel bearings are about £12
Bits that went wrong:
Dual Mass flywheel went at 100k- i imported one from USA, at the time it was £300 which was a bargain
IMRC valve (changes the length of the inlet manifold) - a common fault, the problem is a resistor that costs literlly 60p
Best bits:
Interior doesn't seem to wear
Drives beautifully
has enough power
Very reliable
Chain Belt
100k Spark plugs!
Things like wheel bearings are about £12
Bits that went wrong:
Dual Mass flywheel went at 100k- i imported one from USA, at the time it was £300 which was a bargain
IMRC valve (changes the length of the inlet manifold) - a common fault, the problem is a resistor that costs literlly 60p
Happy to see a mk1 Focus thread today.
This morning I left my Alfa at my dad's house and drive him to the airport in his 2001 mk1 1.6.
So did about 50miles today and really enjoyed the drive and engine especially.
Would never think it was a 17year old car. Engine felt strong and happy to rev.
Can imagine the extra power of a st170 would be great.
Look forwards to updates on your st and glad your nephew stepped in to prevent the regret that could have been
This morning I left my Alfa at my dad's house and drive him to the airport in his 2001 mk1 1.6.
So did about 50miles today and really enjoyed the drive and engine especially.
Would never think it was a 17year old car. Engine felt strong and happy to rev.
Can imagine the extra power of a st170 would be great.
Look forwards to updates on your st and glad your nephew stepped in to prevent the regret that could have been
MrBig said:
I'm glad I don't have to berate you for not paying £150 (I assume?) for an ST170 thats running and driving and that you know the history of?!? You'll never get another chance to buy that car if it goes to the scrapman! You know you made the right choice! I'l always had a thing for these, but one has never come up for the right money when I've been looking
Eagerly awaiting updates....
The total cost to me was £360 which covered my nephew in law's time, fuel to drive up and train fare back to Cornwall as well as the scrap value. Eagerly awaiting updates....
I think that's a pretty cheap motor and I'm glad that I didn't let it go to the scrap man, it has the potential to be a nice fun weekend road car or even a track day machine and I like to think my brother in law would approve.
I'm going to do some research over the winter to see what upgrades are possible then make some decisions, any advice on websites or forums from pistonheaders will be gratefully received.
You made a good decision to save this. The Mk1 Focus is a fantastic car - I keep having words with myself to prevent me spending inordinate amounts on my own 2002 Focus Silver. They really are great cars.
It'll be a real shame when the rust monster carries them all away.
Looking forward to updates.
It'll be a real shame when the rust monster carries them all away.
Looking forward to updates.
I'm the (proud) owner of a MK1 ST170, having owned it from brand spanking new. In fact ive just come in from the garage where I have rotated the tyres front to back and freed off the track rod ends as I need to do the tracking when I get chance. Currently it has a genuine 42,600 miles on the clock!!!
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
I'm the (proud) owner of a MK1 ST170, having owned it from brand spanking new. In fact ive just come in from the garage where I have rotated the tyres front to back and freed off the track rod ends as I need to do the tracking when I get chance. Currently it has a genuine 42,600 miles on the clock!!!
Matt, you're just the sort of person I need to be talking to as it sounds like you have got long term Focus ST 170 knowledge.I have a body shop that I have used for years who will do that work but there is lots of stuff I need to know for when I get into working on the car.
As it's getting on a bit now I imagine a lot of parts are not too readily available so can you give me some ideas on where to get parts and what suppliers have the best deals please.
It's been a while due to the Penthouse taking a bit longer than we planned but I've finally got the Focus sorted out and on the road.
A local mechanic replaced the rear brake discs and pads and sent the wheels off for refurbishment for me, he also replaced the offside window regulator and did a full service, it then went through the mot with no problems so far less work than I thought it would need.
It's been at my bodywork guys place for the last couple of weeks, he repainted the bumpers, got the dent magic man in to deal with all of the small dents and polished it up, it now looks pretty damn good, there's just a small rust spot on the bonnet to touch up which wasn't worth repainting it for and the wheel centres to replace then I'm happy with it for now.
After doing a fair bit of research on what tuning and fettling was possible I've decided to keep it as original as possible, it's a nice fun car to drive just as it is and although I have no plans to sell it right now I think it should be a better investment if it's kept that way.
A local mechanic replaced the rear brake discs and pads and sent the wheels off for refurbishment for me, he also replaced the offside window regulator and did a full service, it then went through the mot with no problems so far less work than I thought it would need.
It's been at my bodywork guys place for the last couple of weeks, he repainted the bumpers, got the dent magic man in to deal with all of the small dents and polished it up, it now looks pretty damn good, there's just a small rust spot on the bonnet to touch up which wasn't worth repainting it for and the wheel centres to replace then I'm happy with it for now.
After doing a fair bit of research on what tuning and fettling was possible I've decided to keep it as original as possible, it's a nice fun car to drive just as it is and although I have no plans to sell it right now I think it should be a better investment if it's kept that way.
I had one of the first ones in the UK in 2002. I remember it being identical to that. I absolutely loved it. The only issue was the turning circle due to the extended gearbox for the 6th cog and the resulting shortened rack.
Had a thirst for unleaded and a hunger for front tyres. I was 23 tho....
I'd love a tidy one now.
Had a thirst for unleaded and a hunger for front tyres. I was 23 tho....
I'd love a tidy one now.
I bought my mother a cheap mk1 Focus (like £200 cheap, and it passed it's mot yesterday!) to run about in a while back and since then I've developed a bit of a soft spot for them. It's only a very basic CL model but the handling and steering feel is unbelievably good.
If I had the space I'd buy a Focus ST170, a Puma 1.7 and Mondeo ST220 and hang onto them.
Oh, and very nice car OP, I like that.
If I had the space I'd buy a Focus ST170, a Puma 1.7 and Mondeo ST220 and hang onto them.
Oh, and very nice car OP, I like that.
Edited by njw1 on Friday 18th October 13:34
I had one of those back in the day, before the 2.5L volvo turbo focus ST came out.
Best thing I ever did to the ST170 was fit an underdrive pully. It lets the engine rev easier (under drives the ancillaries) so it feels a bit more like driving a Civic Type R (without the crazy vtec noise).
Best thing I ever did to the ST170 was fit an underdrive pully. It lets the engine rev easier (under drives the ancillaries) so it feels a bit more like driving a Civic Type R (without the crazy vtec noise).
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