Mk1 Ford Focus RS
Discussion
Max_Torque said:
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 ;-)
Thats a spectacular photo, I seem to recall someone telling me that around 70% of the parts were specific to the focus RS and that each one cost Ford about 5K more than they were able to sell them for, you might know if the figures are near the mark or not.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 ;-)
Its nice to hear that people involved in the development have gone on to do well for themselves, I didn't know that Neil Briggs was involved with the car!
Its amazing how many subtle changes there are over the normal focus, The obvious ones are the branded parts like the dampers from Sachs, the brakes from Brembo and the wheels from OZ racing. The subtle ones are the front knuckles are different to give the wider track, the front wish bones have a stiffening plate in the middle of them and a slightly larger bush which means the front subframe is slightly different to a standard focus one too. On the rear the stub axles are unique, the hubs are different, the rear arms have a stiffening plate for the Anti-roll bar, the trailing arms have a stiffening plate where the stub axle bolts onto.
There are probably quite a few more that you know of that I haven't stumbled across yet.
Its all quite interesting finding these unique parts but it does make finding new ones very difficult haha.
Getting the underside and engine bay painted was the trigger for me to crack on and get the sub frames and suspension components refurbished or replaced.
I stripped down the suspension got some parts powder coated, others which were sensitive to heat were primed and painted and some parts were replaced for new.
Pictures of some of the parts at the beginning, as you can see some of them were not very pretty
Pictures of them being coated
I stripped down the suspension got some parts powder coated, others which were sensitive to heat were primed and painted and some parts were replaced for new.
Pictures of some of the parts at the beginning, as you can see some of them were not very pretty
Pictures of them being coated
Great work so far.
The Mk1 FRS for me probably my favourite hot-hatch of all, but a car that I’ve never managed to buy!
I did seriously look into buying one about 5 years ago but even then i was kinda put of with the dreaded tin-worm and what was lurking behind the skirts etc... Bought a mint low mileage Astra VXR instead that i didn’t regret, but i should have bought an RS!
The Mk1 FRS for me probably my favourite hot-hatch of all, but a car that I’ve never managed to buy!
I did seriously look into buying one about 5 years ago but even then i was kinda put of with the dreaded tin-worm and what was lurking behind the skirts etc... Bought a mint low mileage Astra VXR instead that i didn’t regret, but i should have bought an RS!
A lot of work is going into that restoration! It will be brilliant when finished. I owned a FRS mk1 and its the longest I've kept a car (3.5 years). Let it go for about 5.5k with 85k miles on the clock back in 2009 I think. Loved it though, had a K&N induction kit and the Tuna fish remap (never really understood what that was about!), plus a few other mods, and it was pretty rapid. I occasionally see one about and the design still looks good, one of the best looking hot hatches.
Great to see an owner giving this car the love it deserves and doing a proper job! Keep up the good work
I had #4139 for a couple of years, back when I lived in the south of France. It was my first 'performance' car, and I loved it all the more for it! Great memories, and probably the best handling car I've owned to date. A couple of photos, why not... in its natural habitat, the hills behind Nice (some may recognise the Monte Carlo rally stage in the background)
I had #4139 for a couple of years, back when I lived in the south of France. It was my first 'performance' car, and I loved it all the more for it! Great memories, and probably the best handling car I've owned to date. A couple of photos, why not... in its natural habitat, the hills behind Nice (some may recognise the Monte Carlo rally stage in the background)
Oh Behave said:
A lot of work is going into that restoration! It will be brilliant when finished. I owned a FRS mk1 and its the longest I've kept a car (3.5 years). Let it go for about 5.5k with 85k miles on the clock back in 2009 I think. Loved it though, had a K&N induction kit and the Tuna fish remap (never really understood what that was about!), plus a few other mods, and it was pretty rapid. I occasionally see one about and the design still looks good, one of the best looking hot hatches.
Cheers hoping to have it finished shortly and get it on the road for the summer, I think they feel very fast and sharp because they are quite light. The TUNA reference is blast from the past, it was all the rage when I bought mine but it all went pear shaped before I could do anything about it for mine so as it stands mine is still standard but I have heard a new Map can really make them flybreakfan said:
Great to see an owner giving this car the love it deserves and doing a proper job! Keep up the good work
I had #4139 for a couple of years, back when I lived in the south of France. It was my first 'performance' car, and I loved it all the more for it! Great memories, and probably the best handling car I've owned to date. A couple of photos, why not... in its natural habitat, the hills behind Nice (some may recognise the Monte Carlo rally stage in the background)
Stunning pic of yours in the mountains, what did you use to take the second pic, a drone? thats a cool pic too! Plan is to take mine back up north this summer and do the NC500 and get some good pictures of it finished.I had #4139 for a couple of years, back when I lived in the south of France. It was my first 'performance' car, and I loved it all the more for it! Great memories, and probably the best handling car I've owned to date. A couple of photos, why not... in its natural habitat, the hills behind Nice (some may recognise the Monte Carlo rally stage in the background)
As with all of these restorations once you clean up one part of the car it instantly makes the other parts look in need of some work.
Even before I had committed to the bodywork, I got the wheels refurbished, they weren't badly in need of work but there was a chip where an over enthusiastic tyre fitter had chipped it and a couple of scrapes where a mechanic had obviously let it fall over on its shiny side. Anyway this and all the work I was planning on the suspension led me to the realisation that I wasn't going to want to fit the brakes back to it in their current condition.
Although fully functional, the years of heavy braking and lots of heat and dust had left them looking a little tired. I got a few quotes from various companies but in the end I went with Custom Calipers.
They blasted the calipers to remove the old paint and any grime then replaced all the seals and 2 of the pistons which had seized from the car being stood for so long. They then fitted new bleed screws and repainted in the OEM colour and stenciled the brembo logo back on.
The rear calipers got the same treatment, I must say I am really pleased with the results and the turnaround service was great!
Even before I had committed to the bodywork, I got the wheels refurbished, they weren't badly in need of work but there was a chip where an over enthusiastic tyre fitter had chipped it and a couple of scrapes where a mechanic had obviously let it fall over on its shiny side. Anyway this and all the work I was planning on the suspension led me to the realisation that I wasn't going to want to fit the brakes back to it in their current condition.
Although fully functional, the years of heavy braking and lots of heat and dust had left them looking a little tired. I got a few quotes from various companies but in the end I went with Custom Calipers.
They blasted the calipers to remove the old paint and any grime then replaced all the seals and 2 of the pistons which had seized from the car being stood for so long. They then fitted new bleed screws and repainted in the OEM colour and stenciled the brembo logo back on.
The rear calipers got the same treatment, I must say I am really pleased with the results and the turnaround service was great!
Looks good. Apart from Copperslip on the wheel studs. That’ll give the wrong torque when you torque the wheel nuts up.
You could use a clear anti corrosion wax such as one of Bilt Hambers for exposed bolt/nut heads to stop corrosion, it might look a bit nearer than Copperslip.
You could use a clear anti corrosion wax such as one of Bilt Hambers for exposed bolt/nut heads to stop corrosion, it might look a bit nearer than Copperslip.
Edited by helix402 on Thursday 21st March 12:04
helix402 said:
Looks good. Apart from Copperslip on the wheel studs. That’ll give the wrong torque when you torque the wheel nuts up.
You could use a clear anti corrosion wax such as one of Bilt Hambers for exposed bolt/nut heads to stop corrosion, it might look a bit nearer than Copperslip.
Cheers You could use a clear anti corrosion wax such as one of Bilt Hambers for exposed bolt/nut heads to stop corrosion, it might look a bit nearer than Copperslip.
Edited by helix402 on Thursday 21st March 12:04
I've got a spreadsheet which I can use to work out the torque and account for changes in the CoF of the lubricant used to maintain the required bolt pre-load.
I agree that copper slip is a bit messy but in my experience its the best solution I have come across for preventing corrosion, will have a look at the anti corrosion wax you have suggested though.
The body shop have applied a clear wax to the underside which might be the same one you have mentioned.
Here are some pictures of the front subframe being built back up again after everything has been blasted and powder coated.
I was lucky that many years ago I bought a new steering rack off the internet when it was cheap, the only challenge was finding out where I had stashed it away all those years ago!
I was lucky that many years ago I bought a new steering rack off the internet when it was cheap, the only challenge was finding out where I had stashed it away all those years ago!
Having the subframes completed coincided nicely with the body shop being ready for them too.
I dropped the subframes off along with a bag full of new bolts for securing them onto the body shell. The car was moved onto one of the ramps and the remaining half of the spit was removed.
The rear subframe was the first one to be fitted:
Fitting the front one highlighted that the fuel lines running along the bottom of the car were a bit rough looking, so before I we went any further fitting it I would have to source some new ones. The issue with this was that the majority of the pipes were no longer available from ford. We ended up going with plan B and just cleaning up and painting the existing ones which was quite a bit more time consuming than just swapping them out for new ones but the reality is that they are probably going to be more robust with a proper paint coating than new ones with the factory coating would be.
Once we had these pipes sorted out we got the front subframe bolted onto the car too:
I dropped the subframes off along with a bag full of new bolts for securing them onto the body shell. The car was moved onto one of the ramps and the remaining half of the spit was removed.
The rear subframe was the first one to be fitted:
Fitting the front one highlighted that the fuel lines running along the bottom of the car were a bit rough looking, so before I we went any further fitting it I would have to source some new ones. The issue with this was that the majority of the pipes were no longer available from ford. We ended up going with plan B and just cleaning up and painting the existing ones which was quite a bit more time consuming than just swapping them out for new ones but the reality is that they are probably going to be more robust with a proper paint coating than new ones with the factory coating would be.
Once we had these pipes sorted out we got the front subframe bolted onto the car too:
MK1RS Bruce said:
Having the subframes completed coincided nicely with the body shop being ready for them too.
I dropped the subframes off along with a bag full of new bolts for securing them onto the body shell. The car was moved onto one of the ramps and the remaining half of the spit was removed.
The rear subframe was the first one to be fitted:
Fitting the front one highlighted that the fuel lines running along the bottom of the car were a bit rough looking, so before I we went any further fitting it I would have to source some new ones. The issue with this was that the majority of the pipes were no longer available from ford. We ended up going with plan B and just cleaning up and painting the existing ones which was quite a bit more time consuming than just swapping them out for new ones but the reality is that they are probably going to be more robust with a proper paint coating than new ones with the factory coating would be.
Once we had these pipes sorted out we got the front subframe bolted onto the car too:
That looks a really nice job. I dropped the subframes off along with a bag full of new bolts for securing them onto the body shell. The car was moved onto one of the ramps and the remaining half of the spit was removed.
The rear subframe was the first one to be fitted:
Fitting the front one highlighted that the fuel lines running along the bottom of the car were a bit rough looking, so before I we went any further fitting it I would have to source some new ones. The issue with this was that the majority of the pipes were no longer available from ford. We ended up going with plan B and just cleaning up and painting the existing ones which was quite a bit more time consuming than just swapping them out for new ones but the reality is that they are probably going to be more robust with a proper paint coating than new ones with the factory coating would be.
Once we had these pipes sorted out we got the front subframe bolted onto the car too:
I might be tempted to paint the underneath of my Clio Williams the same colour as I'm restoring mine. How do you find the raptor underseal?
MK1RS Bruce said:
Its amazing how many subtle changes there are over the normal focus, ... The subtle ones are the front knuckles are different to give the wider track...
According to an office conversation I had at Lommel during preparations for the press event there and with a guy who should know these things, the knuckles were a bit of a f
k-up and there wasn't any cash left for new tooling to correct it. The result was the rather lively handling under power. The mistake, according to this fellow, was that the designer held the scrub-radius constant when adjusting the standard knuckle for the new track rather than holding the king-pin offset constant. I don't know if this was sour grapes, technical rivalry or sound insight but the engineering logic works given that king pin offset is the lever arm distance when under power - scrub radius being the lever arm under braking.Anyway, I'm proud of the fact that I blew a £300k hole in the budget to re-write the EEC-V controller code to add in the boost controller as the earlier prototypes had a separate boost control module which was a bit of a dog's breakfast and fundamentally incompetent as far as boost control goes. Tearing around Stelvio to calibrate the altitude compensation and turbine speed limit was a lot of fun although no-one appreciates this bit and just up the boost...
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