My Shed Mk1 Focus Ghia

[RobXjcoupe]

greenarrow said:

RobXjcoupe said:

My old mk1 focus estate finally getting the new rear suspension fitted. Started off as a change of springs for the next mot. Ended up with new upper and lower wishbones. New lower spring pan, I also fitted a poly bush replacement on the trailing arm as the original was shot. Rear brake calipers have had a rebuild too. I’ve got all the restoration gear to hand from doing the xjc. Ford stuff is a lot easier to restore. I can see why the old Ford classics have such a following.

That's cool Rob- you should set up your own Readers Car thread, your Focus is making my look old - lol

Just sharing pics with those that read here really. I don’t think my estate is worthy of its own thread tbh

[Eyersey1234]

RobXjcoupe said:

greenarrow said:

RobXjcoupe said:

My old mk1 focus estate finally getting the new rear suspension fitted. Started off as a change of springs for the next mot. Ended up with new upper and lower wishbones. New lower spring pan, I also fitted a poly bush replacement on the trailing arm as the original was shot. Rear brake calipers have had a rebuild too. I’ve got all the restoration gear to hand from doing the xjc. Ford stuff is a lot easier to restore. I can see why the old Ford classics have such a following.

That's cool Rob- you should set up your own Readers Car thread, your Focus is making my look old - lol

Just sharing pics with those that read here really. I don’t think my estate is worthy of its own thread tbh

Nonsense of course its worthy of its own thread.

[RobXjcoupe]

Got it back together last week on its lower springs

[greenarrow]

So, my Focus went for its MOT today and sadly failed. Had one of those difficult to make decisions. Get the work done or sell without an MOT/scrap.

The difficulty is that I am not handy with a spanner and therefore paying for work. The main issue is a rear trailing arm bush, which doesn't surprise me as I've sensed for a while that there's a lot of rear movement. Garage say that when they take it apart they may have issues as its all very rusty. Other failure points, hand-brake, bulbs, stop lights and a rear brake cylinder which is almost devoid of fluid.

In the end I've decided to get the work done and the shed will live again. Adding the cost of the work to the value of the car without an MOT came out just in favour of getting it done and also I factored in the risk of selling and buying another second hand car which may then need money spent - I do know my own car well now. Also, there are no rust advisories other than the rear suspension part I've mentioned and a couple of brake pipes, so unusually the car seems to be structurally sound, which is quite rare on a MK1 Focus (and my garage are notoriously fussy so they WILL spot any rust issues!!) Ultimately,I've got quite attached to the old girl and when push came to shove didn't want to part with her!

Edited by greenarrow on Tuesday 18th August 14:58

[V6todayEVmanana]

That's good news (keeping it not the MOT failure).

Doesn't sound bad or risky and as the Focus is rust free then makes a lot more sense that starting again with a "new" car.

Followed a nice blue one this morning, looked so smart, wouldn't think it's a car designed 20 years ago.

You need to add some photos of your Focus once fixed and ticketed for a year

[MC Bodge]

It's good that you are keeping it going.

Bangernomics make more sense if you can do your own work, though.

Ps. The Focus has been on sale since 1998, 22 years ago.

[RobXjcoupe]

Be prepared for a complete set of new rear suspension components. I had 4 corroded/seized lower bolts. 2 into the subframe and 2 from trailing arm to a point spring pan lower arm. In the end I changed all for new wishbone and springpan arms together with new bushings into the trailing arm. Getting a garage to remove those rusty seized bolts will be best as I struggled laying on my back cutting them with carbide drill bits and heavy duty jigsaw blades in a dewalt jigsaw. While you are having all that done you might as well fit new rear springs and dampers.

[greenarrow]

RobXjcoupe said:

Be prepared for a complete set of new rear suspension components. I had 4 corroded/seized lower bolts. 2 into the subframe and 2 from trailing arm to a point spring pan lower arm. In the end I changed all for new wishbone and springpan arms together with new bushings into the trailing arm. Getting a garage to remove those rusty seized bolts will be best as I struggled laying on my back cutting them with carbide drill bits and heavy duty jigsaw blades in a dewalt jigsaw. While you are having all that done you might as well fit new rear springs and dampers.

Yes, the garage have warned me that it might all fall to pieces when they remove the seized bolts. I hope I am not going to get an even bigger bill. Even £350 ish is hard to swallow on a car that cost you just over £500!

I decided however that it is not the time to be changing cars. I'm on a short contract at work and that ends in December. So seeing as I am working from home, I might as well just run around in my old Focus for now.

Also, looking to the future, I've been offered a low mileage one owner 2012 Mazda 2 next year, owned by the wife of a friend of mine. I am quite a big Mazda fan, having owned a 6 and an MX-5 in the recent past and the Mazda 2 and Fiesta of the day shared some technology, so this little Mazda could be an ideal successor to my Focus. I think it shares much of the Joie-de-vivre that makes the Focus such a fun car to drive. I'll be honest, I'd like an Ecoboost Fiesta, but I keep getting put off with the stories of engines going pop. The Mazda 2 is n/a and has no such issues!

[RobXjcoupe]

£350 isn’t that bad to fix something that hasn’t been touched for 20 years

[greenarrow]

RobXjcoupe said:

£350 isn’t that bad to fix something that hasn’t been touched for 20 years

Yes and £350 includes the MOT fee and the other issues, such as the seized handbrake and the two fog lights that have gone.

As a mate of mine pointed out to me as I ummed and arrrrhed about getting it done or scapping it, the service on his 2018 Volvo was £550 last month... so its still fairly cheap motoring in the grand scheme of things.

But as MC Bodge has pointed out, Shed motoring is best for people who can do their own work, which is why next time, I probably won't buy such an old car....historically I've done well out of buying full service historied, privately owned (by mature owner) cars at 6-7 years old and keeping them for 3-4 years, moving them on as they reach banger status. They've generally passed their MOTs without advisories, bar the odd tyre and wiper blade type issue....

My Focus was bought unseen from Ebay with no history, based on my assessment of the MOT history, so really I guess it isn't that bad. Could've been worse!!

Edited by greenarrow on Thursday 20th August 10:27

[RobXjcoupe]

I’m not knocking it. People get caught so easily in the car isn’t worth much so must buy newer. Then you get caught in the depreciation drag that no matter how perfect the car is at 10 years + old They are all worth virtually the same. Personally Im into the classic car thing now. Look after it and it holds its value or even rises in value. Mk1 versions are always more sought after. Old cars are also so cheap to service yourself. I think the younger generation have been brought up on lease cars now with inclusive service costs. They never get to open the bonnet lol. Those people will carry on spending as a permanent monthly bill through life to have a new car regardless. Just look out for the bargains as you said with full history that nobody wants as it’s got old and may need more than an oil change for its next service

[greenarrow]

Absolutely right about younger drivers. My daughter's best friend at Uni owns a current shape Nissan Micra, a far newer car than mine. But she is already into her overdraft having blown her grant. We bought our daughter an old Ford Ka and aside from rust issues it does her fine. We pay half any repair bills, but she pays the rest and she is learning the art of not living beyond your means and always has a surplus of uni money left over at the end of each term.

I actually prefer to buy cars that are slightly above shed budget as I am not able to do my own work. My best buy was my Mazda 6. Cost £1600 in 2013 and I ran it until 2017. It had 3 MOTs and failed on one, a wiper blade with just a single advisory on one of the other years. But it had full dealer history until I took it on and one elderly owner before me. If you buy carefully, you really can save shed loads of money over new.

[Eyersey1234]

Off the top of my head I reckon I have spent about £2500 on my Focus with servicing, repairs etc in nearly 2 years, the lease/HP/whatever on a new shiny equivalent would have come to far more in that time to say nothing of the depreciation.

[greenarrow]

Update on my car. Still in the garage. Like many garages my independent are rushed off their feet right now with the change in MOT rules. When the car failed, the first opportunity they had to look at it was Friday. Had a call from the garage owner yesterday, who is a man in his 60s now with a life-time experience fixing cars. Believe me he is a very skilled mechanic. Says he has spent the best part of two days trying to get the rusted and seized bolts off the suspension and then taking apart the various parts and refitting the new trailing arm bush. Just to rub salt into the wound, the brake cable that arrived was the wrong length (twice) and a longer one had to be ordered.

I am dreading what the final bill is going to be, but knowing my garage, they won't charge me for all the hours they have spent. They are very good like that with older cars!

So it looks like I may end up spending the value of the car on this year's MOT, which I am not too happy about. I seem to have mis-understood the key principle of bangernomics, where you buy a very cheap car and then get rid, if you get a big bill! I get too attached to my cars!!!!

[Gallons Per Mile]

Sounds like a very good use of money to me! Better than sinking money in to another unknown shed

[gman88667733]

greenarrow said:

Update on my car. Still in the garage. Like many garages my independent are rushed off their feet right now with the change in MOT rules. When the car failed, the first opportunity they had to look at it was Friday. Had a call from the garage owner yesterday, who is a man in his 60s now with a life-time experience fixing cars. Believe me he is a very skilled mechanic. Says he has spent the best part of two days trying to get the rusted and seized bolts off the suspension and then taking apart the various parts and refitting the new trailing arm bush. Just to rub salt into the wound, the brake cable that arrived was the wrong length (twice) and a longer one had to be ordered.

I am dreading what the final bill is going to be, but knowing my garage, they won't charge me for all the hours they have spent. They are very good like that with older cars!

So it looks like I may end up spending the value of the car on this year's MOT, which I am not too happy about. I seem to have mis-understood the key principle of bangernomics, where you buy a very cheap car and then get rid, if you get a big bill! I get too attached to my cars!!!!

As much as it will be a big blow having to pay potentially £500+ to fix it, just think about the savings you've already made so far. Some people pay that in a 2 months just to 'rent' a car.
You could very easily scrap it and put £500-£1000 in another car for it to go bang within a week or two.
In the past I was very against big maintenance spending and kept switching cars, but have now realised I've spent far more than I should due to this and now, unless the expenditure is overly excessive or a problem that is recurring etc, I'll just fix it and be happy in the knowledge that I know the car, know what needs doing and what state it is in.

Best of luck. I hope the bill isn't too scary!

[V6todayEVmanana]

Dito as the last couple of post said.

Also I think you got a good deal on your Focus (circa £500) and be hard pressed to find a replacement that wouldn't need a similar outlay. Not sure if any other model would offer the same bang for buck.

Sounds like you got a good garage, Focus suspension parts are not usual expensive so all in it will hopefully be a good use of your cash.

Whilst not a shed I dropped a fair amount of cash after a head gasket failure on my Alfa, 12 years and nearly 80k miles later the engine is still going strong and enjoyed many a track day. It too started out an inexpensive car but I got attached, still quids in on buying a new car I'm sure.

Our 2001 Focus is now refusing to respond to the remote locking, going to try the rest method below which has helped a few people:

1. Open the door with the key
2. Put the key in the ignition
3. Turn the key to the second position (lights up the dashboard)
4. Turn the key back to the off position
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 four times (you will hear an audio sound if you

have done it right)

1. When you hear the audio sound press the lock button on your key fob a

few times (I normally hit it about 6 or so times for about 10 seconds)

1. If the doors lock, you are laughing and you have fixed it, if the

doors don't then give it another go (I couldn't do it right first
time)

[greenarrow]

V6todayEVmanana said:

Dito as the last couple of post said.

Also I think you got a good deal on your Focus (circa £500) and be hard pressed to find a replacement that wouldn't need a similar outlay. Not sure if any other model would offer the same bang for buck.

Sounds like you got a good garage, Focus suspension parts are not usual expensive so all in it will hopefully be a good use of your cash.

Whilst not a shed I dropped a fair amount of cash after a head gasket failure on my Alfa, 12 years and nearly 80k miles later the engine is still going strong and enjoyed many a track day. It too started out an inexpensive car but I got attached, still quids in on buying a new car I'm sure.

Our 2001 Focus is now refusing to respond to the remote locking, going to try the rest method below which has helped a few people:

1. Open the door with the key
2. Put the key in the ignition
3. Turn the key to the second position (lights up the dashboard)
4. Turn the key back to the off position
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 four times (you will hear an audio sound if you

have done it right)

1. When you hear the audio sound press the lock button on your key fob a

few times (I normally hit it about 6 or so times for about 10 seconds)

1. If the doors lock, you are laughing and you have fixed it, if the

doors don't then give it another go (I couldn't do it right first
time)

Yes, we use a good old school family run garage. Father and daughter. The dad runs around in old sheds, but has an E60 M5 for the weekends and has recently restored an E Type Jaguar.

Interesting tip re your central locking. My front passenger door has never locked using the key fob. Wonder if your fix will help that?

[Gallons Per Mile]

Probably not if the other doors do lock on the fob. If that's the case it's probably the electronics that are dead and you'll need a new lock put in. I did one on a friend's car and it was a bit fiddly but nothing that can't be done in an hour on the drive.

[MC Bodge]

Gallons Per Mile said:

Probably not if the other doors do lock on the fob. If that's the case it's probably the electronics that are dead and you'll need a new lock put in. I did one on a friend's car and it was a bit fiddly but nothing that can't be done in an hour on the drive.

I needed to do the same to my Mk1 driver's door, when it was four years old.