Post by free on Feb 22, 2014 23:22:46 GMT
Well seeing as I've had the car for a few months now I though it was about time I got my finger out and posted some of the bits I've grafted on.
As most of you are aware I bought this kit with the frame already powder coated blue and the floor put in. It came with loads of bits too which was nice.
First job I decided to tackle was fitting the front and rear arms. This was relatively painless using my vice and some grease. The only thing I had to do was take a shave off the crush tubes with a polishing disc to allow for the powder coat.
I found out after I'd pressed my rear wheel in bearings that these rear uprights are the ones for the Hi-Spec calipers. It just means that they'll be getting hacked about a bit at some point in the future as I want to use different calipers. That's what you get for not buying brand new I suppose.
I went onto fit the steering rack next. In an attempt to keep bump steer at bay I decided to raise it up a bit so a mate of mine turned me up some alloy spacers which did the job nicely. The green bits you can see are anti-vibration washers. I've had them sat about in the garage for ages, left over from when I fitted a big electric motor at work. It seemed like as good a use as any.
Seeing as the rack was in I thought I'd bung the steering column in next. Then I realised that I'd need to have the radiator in place so I'd have more idea where the column needed to be.
After some head scratching I worked out that the rad that came with my kit was for a 1.8 focus, so I went and bought the correct one for a 1.6. It went in without a fight but I decided to raise it up a bit as I'm going to fit a floor to the nose section at some point. I just got a mate to machine me up some nylon bushes which worked a treat.
P.S if you know anyone who's looking for a MK1 1.8 focus rad I've got one going cheap!
I was really pleased with the way the top rad brackets came out too. They're just held in place with M5 rivet nuts.
The front bulkhead was next on the list. I wanted to use alloy but I chose to make it out of stainless as I was planning to mount a self centering bearing to it for my steering column. While I was doing that I fitted the pedal box too as I thought it was the easiest way to decide how much I needed to cut out of the bulkhead to make it fit round the pedal box. I also fitted the brake reservoir so I'd have some idea about where to cut a hole for the brake pipes to run through.
I glued some rubber strips onto the bulkhead to reduce vibration too.
There was enough room to get my rad pipes in with the bulkhead in place. I was glad of that as I know space has been as issue for some builds. Plus welding my powder coat was not an option. You can see the rubber vibration strips in this photo too.
I thought long and hard about the best way to make the steering column extension. I was leaning towards having one machined out of a single piece of steel like Kiwi's masterpiece, but instead I settled for making one out of a piece of 16mm round bar that I found in my garage!
To get the 17mm hex head that I needed for the Ka U.J I put the bar in the lathe then drilled and tapped an M10 thread in it.
Then I wound in a piece of M10 stud bar, tightened an M10 x 30mm stud coupling on to it and welded the coupling at both ends.
I made 2 flat edges on the other end to fit into the donor steering column using a polishing disc on the angle grinder. Jobs a good un.
With the column in place I found that the bulkhead flexed a little so I made a bracket to put a stop to it.
I could have made the bulkhead out of alloy after all. It would have saved me a fortune in hole saws too!
The motor was next to go in as I wanted to make sure it would fit before I gave it a rebuild. I was really happy with the way it went in. I needed to move the gearbox up by 8mm and back by 40mm so I got a mate to modify the gearbox mounting post. If anyone needs more details about this drop me a PM as its a neat solution.
You can see the gear cables that I got off Steve in this pic too. Perfect length!
I went looking in the scrap yard for a MK2 Mondeo shifter but couldn't find one so I went for this one out of a MK3 with no lift reverse.
With a bit of modification it worked a treat. Again I won't bore you with the details but PM me if you want to know what's involved.
Having the shifter in place allowed me to fit the rad pipes too. I just used twin 32mm Stauff clamps for this.
While I was on with engine related stuff I got my mate round to have a crack at fitting the exhaust manifold. It actually fitted............ after he'd cut 1 1/4 inches out of it.
There's plenty of room at the top now but it was touching the frame before.
Its still kinda close near the bottom tube. Might need more mods later but it's all good for now.
I was still undecided about the way to go with front brakes as I wanted to use vented discs on the front. I know the norm is to go with solid but I though it would be an interesting exercise to see if I could get vented to fit with stock hubs.
After a good bit of searching on fleabag I came up with this. The front disc from a Mondeo ST24.
Its a tight fit but nothing clashes.
I'm just in the process of fitting MK2 Focus calipers. I'll post some pics for anyone interested when they're on. Should be next week some time all being well.
That's about where I am at the minute. No doubt I've forgotten loads of things that I thought about along the way. That's what I get for taking so long to post things I suppose.
I've done a few more odds and sods on the front end but no major surgery.
Once the front calipers are on I'll be making ST170 rears fit the a$$ end. That's the plan anyway!