moondustka

This thread started back in 09/07, and the last update was only the other day!!

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Well, the conversion is underway and made good progress today thanks to craig, his gf and my brother

Don't think i need say anymore as the pictures speak for themselves!





Next, the dash needs to come out so the wiring can be done properly, the steering column and PAS rack, anti roll bar needs changing ove, then I can start thinking about the getting the engine in once the gearbox is built up!

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Right I've planned to get this relatively finished and working in about 3 weeks. Half term comes up at college in 2 weeks so I hope to be on every hour of the day when that comes. (What a stupid thing i said back then - as if that was gonna happen! ha)

As progress goes..

The wiring is almost there, all old wires are stripped out, and all new circuits put in part from a couple i think. The fiesta ECU has been lengthened and bound back up (took a good 3 hours!).

The very last of the wiring needs to be done now, with new circuits into a another fuse box.

The gearbox is underway, just need all new bearings from ford, and then put back together, with the new diff and st150 gears 1-4, and ka 5th.

As soon as that is done the engine will go in - should only take a couple of hours to do that.

Next update will be with pictures as visible progress takes place!!

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The alarm is gonna be a bitch, that could be the biggest hitch. So many wires for it. I'll be lucky if my windows work and especially the remote start.

I'll be happy it reaches 150bhp, but there's no reason it shouldnt reach 160. And If I wanted, £800 will see me to near 200.

I've already put the motorsport fueld pump in ready for any other mods

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Managed to get this pic up, my photobucket is rubbish! though this is a couple of weeks old, just the wiring which has got a little tidyer



All the black bundles on the bottom, if you can make them out, are all for the alarm! There are so many!

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Sprayed the bay in satin black, so not glossy, but not matte. Not the best finish in the world, i'll admit, but it's not gonna rust anywhere.

It was already dark grey from factory if anyone's wondered why i sprayed it black. So I did the cross member as you don't really see this, unless you look through the grille.

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Dash is back in now.. wiring is really quite tidy now.



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It's even mroe tidy than that now after I spent about 6 hours in there.. All wires that run down the car are all cable tied to self adhesive bases. All parts of the alarm are now sorted, and the relay for the fan over ride.

Last of the wiring to be done now.. The gauges on the passenger air bag, fuse box number 2. (Then there's the wires in the engine bay, but the engine needs to go in before me or dan can start sorting those out.

So, as you asked, either the rest of the wiring or the gearbox has to built up, both by dan, cos I've hit a wall, so to speak. Though i reckon i could do the fuse box and that.

So, if he decides to do the gearbox, the engine will go in next , then it should all be done pretty fast from then on, cos I'm pretty ok with the mechanics side of it. Potentially I could have it relatively done by the end of next week, but maybe the week after.

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I've got a custom GRS rad.. Sy's old one. Got a Pacet fan on it too. Would have been expensive to buy new. And all Samco/SFS hoses for boost. Standard water hoses from FRST. Some braided oil feeds etc. Basically, whatever Sy had in his, cos I bought the whole lot

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Second fusebox is done, part of the dash, and although the picture doesn't show it, the carpet is now in too..



Hopefully, some engine progress should be happening soon

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Just an update… (sorry no pics – even though they would have helped explain loads! I didn’t take any!)

My progress on the car has slowed down a bit – I hoped to have the engine in by now, but the gearbox has taken longer and we came across a few major problems with it – though I now understand how it works after some explaining from dan’s nextdoor neighbour and couldn’t have put it together without him really.

Right, there is a difference between the gearboxes made between 96-98 inclusive (mines a 97 and dan’s is a 99). The internals have changed slightly.

The differences are that the bearing for the shaft that holds the gear set has a bigger collar in mine, meaning it’s stronger, however, the crown wheel and pinion is a fair amount smaller and therefore weaker.

The Fiesta ST150 shares the same size pinion and crown wheel as Ka’s from 99 onwards (well unless they’ve changed it again since, but I doubt it seeing as the ST is the same).

This meant that the crown wheel fouled against the casing around the bearing of the gear set, but not by much. I think what ford did was to make the bearing for the gear set smaller so the bigger crown wheel and pinion could fit.

So, what the neighbour did, was to dremel down the metal edge of the bearing, only round a quarter of it by a few mm so the crown wheel didn’t foul and hey presto the whole thing fits, spins and doesn’t foul it anymore.

The only other alternative was to use the Ka gears again and crown wheel. But the crown wheel isn’t as strong. And I’d have to sell the ST150 gears. In turn, meaning slower acceleration (providing I can get the grip ) By using the Ka gears it meant that I would have to buy new bearings on the other end (opposite end to the pinion and crown wheel). The ST150 gears are all new and so are the bearings with them.

Reason for replacing all bearings is that you don’t know how worn the old ones are. If they are worn and something happens to them then they will ruin a £550 diff and the gears!

So I’ve now kinda got a hybrid box, with a strong bearing for the gear set, and the stronger crown wheel and pinion with all new bearings throughout.

Cost of it all, well, the new bearings (the ST150 gear set comes with 2 of them) cost me £140, but I made a mistake buying one of them as it was for dan’s box, a 99 onwards (the one for the gear set, pinion end)

These gearboxes end up being very expensive!

I hope to get the engine in soon, latest, at the weekend.

Sorry for the essay here, but im bored in my IT class at college and this is far more interesting than writing evaluations to building a website

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Hit a MASSIVE problem...

The engine mount i got from sy is screwed... The thread for the bolt that bolts the CVH engine mount on is shredded, all the thread has gone! So i can't bolt the mount on.

The engine is now underneath resting on supports, with the hoist all tied up to it.

So, I either need a new mount or i've got to somehow get a new bigger bolt, skim the inside of it with a drill to make it smooth, and tap a new thread - lucky i've got a tap and die set. then i'll have to make the hole of the mount slightly bigger to allow for the bigger bolt.

(For some reason this sounds worse than it actually was, think i was panicking - but read on, because it gets sorted pretty easy!)

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I've got a new bolt now, with a slightly larger thread which is deeper so should be stronger.

If the mount was steel, no one would ever have the problem, but it's probably a lot more expensive!

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I have sorted it.. new bolt and tapped a new thread.

Engine will go in tomorrow hopefully

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This was after i found the mount was buggered:



Then, today, with the mount all sorted and the engine bolted up:





Oh, and the driveshafts are in, along with the quickshift. So hubs are back together apart from brakes.

My diff seems to be really really stiff though, can barely turn the driveshafts by hand.

Hopefully it will loosen when i drive it.

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Yet another set back..

The gearbox has got to come off again. There's something not quite right with it. I took the driveshafts out again and put some ends cv joint ends in incase in was the force of the driveshafts pushing that was causing it, but no. It's too stiff..

It could be that the casing is too tight around the whole thing, but not really sure. So it'll have to come off and be taken apart again

Such a bitch of a job... now i know why garages charge so much to change a clutch, cos the gearbox is so annoying to get off once the engine is in.

Really should have checked the diff before the gearbox was bolted on, but as it was new i didn't expect any problems. Could be the diff bearings (they're new) that are too tight.

Hey-ho

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The gearbox is apart again and we found out why it was so tight..

The gear shaft is too long!! only by a fraction so that when you tighten 5th gear housing to the casing it clamps down on it.

So, dan's nextdoor neighbour, an absolute life saver, is making up a spacer, thickness of about 25 thou. Slightly under a mm. It needs to go just before the 5th gear housing goes on and this should sort the problem nicely.

So, the lesson here to everybody is, if you're thinking of changing the gearbox internals, don't do it to an IB5 box before 1999!! Because you will have to modify it. Ford use the same box in the fiesta st150 as those ka's after 99. The casing must be the same as everything fits perfect in dan's one.

Hopefully, it'll go back together, mostly tonight Maybe get it back on the engine on the weekend. I'll be happy when i know the engine is held in there properly rather than half hanging on an engine hoist!

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Pictures of the gearbox apart since it had to come off. First shaft on the left is the one that the engine turns, second in is the gearset and the diff and crown wheel are on the right.





The bit circled red is upside down! It is now the other way up as when you try to put the casing on, your cant move the gear selectors. So that problem was sorted, but had to take the gearset and selectors off to do it!





These last two pics are off the spacer plate (25 thou) that dan's legend of a nextdoor neighbour made up by hand!!! took him about 6 hours in total - boy do i owe him!

This was the reason the shafts were stiff to turn, the gearset was clamped down too much by 5th gear housing. So the plate holds it at the right height and hey presto, turns nicely now.

The gerabox is now back on the car. Dan and I did that this evening. Driveshafts and ball joints knocked in too.

More progress to follow thursday and friday this week

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We're getting there, not gonna say much as I've got pictures and they're always better than words!

Braided hoses for the drums



Sport Ka Front brake setup: Black diamond braided hoses, black diamond drilled and drooved discs with the pads to go with. Should be enough for the Ka











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Next update!! Things moving nice and quickly now! (no college work, its great!)





Got the engine running!! Wiring isn't sorted as you can see by the pics, but wanted to make sure it worked ok. Took a while to get going, after we'd sorted the starter out. Cut a long story short, my bro told me to connect the wires the wrong way round and so the starter wouldnt engage. Anyways took a few goes turning over, then one turn of the key 3rd or 4th time, and it went..

Sweet as nut.. got a bit of squealing from my release bearing for the clutch, but it is new so just gonna see what happens - I'm not taking that bloody box off again!

One problem.. my bro rebuilt my turbo, and so i can't thrash it about yet, it's pissing oil down my downpipe! Apart from that.. everythings coming along nicely!

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Next update...

Getting more tidy



Decided to stomach the cost of one of these as it'll help the general running of the engine and hopefully help my turbo to seal when i get it out on the road.















The front wheels are also on and so is the exhaust... but the exhaust will have to be tied up somehow until it goes for its MOT where they'll weld on the hangers properly and get it to sit right.

It's still up in the air, just waiting on some new tyres for the rear and I've finally sorted my V5 (took me a while to find the engine number and to find it underneath the paint!) A few weeks and it should be insured ready to go for its new MOT (only had one late august - shame i can't use that! )

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Recognise this? It's back down on the ground at last!







Think these will be the last pictures until it's all cleaned up and actually "on the road".

Ah, and now I've finished it, I have added a nice luxury, as has dan to his. Anyone guess? Craig knows already Something I've done to the inside - nothing that special but just nice to have!

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Well, its finally time for an update. The Ka has now got an MOT, its exhaust is all hung properly, and the turbo now boosts, but a bit late.

Well that's some of the good news. Now for the bad news:

The bill was £294! The thing is over-fuelling and misfiring past 4000 rpm or thereabouts. I think it's the chip that's causing it. I phoned Engine Advantages and it'll go for a set up. The cam, turbo and boost will get set up properly and we'll see what the thing is running, eeek! .. but at the cost of £155.

More good news!

The heater dial works! the heater dial needs a tacho feed for the heater matrix to open and close. My heated seats work still ned to sort out the power to the gauges, but the head-unit can go back in. Everything all works a lot better since the battery and alternator have been replaced

So, need to get it booked into engine advantages and also, I should have all the gauges and head-unit working by then. Hopefully when it comes back from Paul Hills it'll be running sweet.

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Finally, the next update is due - now that the car is running nicely and I'm driving it around

Bits I got since last post:

Hybrid T2 turbo
Kent CVH35 cam (as the Piper one was shagged and it was this that was causing the misfiring)

After this i then had it set up again. The whole spec of the car is as follows (with power and torque figures):

Engine:
1991 1600 CVH Fiesta Turbo
Turbo Technics hybrid T2 turbo (12 psi)
Custom intercooler (Blakey Conversions)
Bailey Motorsport oil separator pot
Kent CVH35 cam
Piper vernier
Uprated valve springs
Escort Cosworth fuel pump
Full Scorpion exhaust with 4" outwardly rolled tailpipe
OFAB mangement
165 Superchip
Engine loom patched into car loom and extended to allow ECU to sit in original Ka location

Transmission:
Ka IB5 gearbox
Quaife ATB differential
Fiesta ST 150 gears 1-4
Ka 5th gear
TAS quick-shift gear linkage

Power:
160 bhp
172 lbs/ft of torque

Suspension:
Lowered on fully adjustable Gaz coilovers all round
SportKa anti-roll bar
Polybushed lower arms
Polybushed anti-roll bar

Brakes:
SportKa front setup
Black Diamond discs and pads
Black Diamond braided hoses all round
Standard rear drums

Exterior:
Smoothed tailgate (de-locked and de-wipered)
De-locked doors
Mondeo ST24 alloys (215/40/16s on the rear, 205/40/16s on the front)
Rear beam spaced 20 mm either side with Ford spacers.
Front alloys spaced 5 mm
Aluminium mesh replaced the standard grille
Ford front mud-flaps added
Clear front headlights
Custom rear lights (clear indicators)
Crystal side repeaters
Bonnet raisers

Interior:
Fiesta RS1800 steering wheel
Horn relocated to steering column shroud
SportKa gearknob
Fiesta XR2i Recaros bolted to custom subframes
Heated elements added to Recaros with 2 heat settings
ETB instruments Tachometer where air vent used to be
Revotec gauges in TIM gauge holders:
Oil pressure
Oil temperature
Water temperature
Turbo boost pressure
Custom front door cards to house Alpine components
Alpine Headunit
Clifford Concept 650 with:
Remote start
Remote lights
Remote windows
Total closure
Boot pop

Think that's everything.. now for the pictures! Just a quick wash, as the weather is so bad, there's no point in shining it all up!

















Going to get that intercooler sprayed up in the same colour as the car too, as it has seen better days!

But that's it now.. there's always going to be stuff i want but funds aren't going to allow for a long time! It'll have a re-trim one day

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Despite what others have said I decided to do it. From this:



To this:



It's not sprayed or anything, but i got it all back to bare alley with a wire brush, some nitromors and some sanding blocks.

I'm also in the process of re-doing my top rad hose, but i only got sent 1 silicone 'U' bend so I can't finish it.

I've also put in an 82 degree thermostat and a new fan switch as i had to switch the fan on manually.

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Time for a rather big update

It's been a while and things have changed quite a bit over the past year, although the car still looks the same...ish

First things first, some more recent pics

Although the intercooler isn't straight in this pic it is now..





Polished Charge Carrier - the original one, but I just spent some time smoothing it off working my way through the grades of sand paper on an angle grinder Worked well!



And now... more recently, this new piece I have been working on..... Haven't quite got any photos of the very beginning:

I started by chopping the backs of the gauge pods, taking the bases off and then screwing them down onto the cover, then I got some of my sisters tights and put the whole thing down one leg! And this is it with its first coat of resin. There are some steps missing in this, like i repeated a few steps over and over!









Luckily my sanding skills are much better than my filler skills!! I used the old angle grinder trick with this again - I had to be brutal!





More filler, and another sand....





First coat of filler primer...





Sanding.. and more filler, and more sanding!





More filler primer..





Now, before I got some colour on I repeated the last 4 pics and went over any imperfections with knifing putty, then sanded and then the coat of filler primer!

First couple of coats..









I think I flattened back the paint on this here and then sprayed in afterwards again,





The finished result is in the car along with some other changes!

Now, I'm nearly there with the interior, but still got the recaros because they need to be re-trimmed and after buying a full interior and trying the leather fronts i decided to sell them hence my for sale post! Next pictures are self explanatory!





Then i uncovered some rust!! Bottom of drivers A-pillar compared to the passenger side!





The black marks are where I brushed some kurust on and then hammerite which seems to have stopped some light surface rust i found when i did the conversion.

Now, people, don't get me wrong, this is a bit of a bodge of bodywork and really it should be welded and the screen taken out, but that was very costly and at the moment I've planted into getting the engine done! Cos it's a bit foobarred at the mo.

Anyways...



That's all sprayed in now too..

Moving on!! My girlfriend decided to take some pics of me! While the dash was being changed i decided to sort some wiring which I wanted to change for the new dash.. things that were a bit short from last time the loom was moved around, so i arranged it properly.



Out with the old!



In with the new!





And now some pics showing the gauge pod, which took forever.. I worked out I'd spent a solid 25 hours making it!! mostly sanding!!!







It doesn't have any lacquer on cos the ford stuff isn't that glossy finish.. So it's all just paint..and i obviously masked and re-sprayed the rest as you can see!!

Anyway, that's about it for now.. the interior is all back together and I do have black mirror interior bits on too Just need a black parcel shelf?! Or can you get like fabric paint so i can spray the original blue one?

As for the engine... I've got a high pressure oil pump to go tomorrow hopefully - i'll take some pics if i remember!!

And then it's booked into Torque of the devil for a newman camshaft and solid lifters + re-map :twisted:

I had a tappet go and took a cam lobe with it.. so the car still runs and everything but it's a loud tick from one of them which is worn!

But this is booked in for july 16th! Which is miles away and I have only driven the car once in the last 4 weeks and thats cos i had to get the paint done on that patch. I did try myself and it went all wrong, so wrong the thinners had to come out no evidence of that luckily!! anyway, that was only 1.5 miles up the road. So it'll be 8 weeks it hasn't gone anywhere for!! sad times! But it'll be good when its done.

Oh and the reason for the High pressure oil pump is to give everything the best of chances with the amount of abuse that engine suffers regularly! If an engine is running and setup properly etc, they mostly fail due to bad oil pressure. Now my pressure wasn't bad but it wasn't fantastic, just satisfactory. Dan has had a High pressure pump from start and hasn't had any problems like this (touch wood).

That's it for now... hopefully another update soon.

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I've done the oil pump now, it took 3 hours alone just to get the bloody thing on the end of the crank! Either the gasket kept falling off while i was trying to wiggle it on or the bolts fell out, then the gasket dropped or the seal wasn't on properly, or it just wouldn't locate centrally and slide all the way on. Absolute nightmare, I don't think I've cursed and sweared that much ever! haha Anyway, all on now, need some new oil and filter then i can start it to see the difference and also check for leaks!

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Next update

I haven't got many pics.. But this is my next little project for the car. Big Brake Upgrade!

The car is currently up on axle stands and all wheels off (which will be for sale! when i find some suitable comps for a decent price)

Exhaust is off, heatshields are off, handbrake cable out, rear beam off the car and brake drums in the bin!!

Rear beam is painted up, and got some polybushes for i too.. Along with focus hubs. And here's some pics.. Will take more from now on I think!











Have painted all the Callipers too will get pics

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I ordered this yesterday and my mum very kindly picked it up for me today



A Fiesta ST handbrake cable that will be the right length and work with discs :twisted:

And a few new clips!

Hopefully I can get most of it back on, on sunday!

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I'll let the pictures speak for themselves for most of this

Sorry about some being blurry! Poor light where the car is too..























Front:



Old front disc against the new rears!



Disc looking a bit boring/plain - one solid bit of metal! I sorted this out though later...





Doesn't look all that great with a plain disc, just too big





Rear:





So, I wanted to spice up the front discs - I have a pillar drill and suitable drill bits.. I decided to drill them!!

Marking them out was a little tricky at first, but here goes! The pictures tell the process I think.









I drilled one side, all the way through.



Finished with 3mm holes...





Then drilled through again with a 3.5mm bit (this is what my old sportka discs are)





Then countersunk with an 8mm drill bit..



Got to do the other tomorrow. I admit there is 1 error on it though - just hope it's going to be ok. See if you can spot it

The disc must have shifted position on the pillar drill. Anyway, also I was being impatient and drilled both sides at the same time so as to get them even too, which meant that for 3-4 holes they cut the web a bit..



Oh and my car with a mates 15" compomotive mo with Toyo r888 8)



Just to see if it would over the 300mm discs and calliper!

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More pics! Discs look better now..



Then when i went to put my rear wheels on I found a problem



So, I had to take a spacer off.. (the 10mm one, which leaves this 20mm) Mine came with 10 standard, so now with a 20mm, only increased by 10.. the focus hub makes the other 10mm. Which is better actually, less stress on bolts as not as long now!



So now, just need to clean the thing! (if the weather every gets any better) And get some proper finished photos!

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Got some pics now I've washed it - just a quick wash though! All my discs are rusty colour already

So in no particular order...

Compare this!!



To this....



























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moondustka

Spec is now as follows

Engine:
1991 1600 CVH Fiesta Turbo
Turbo Technics hybrid T2 turbo (18 psi)
Bailey Motorsport oil feed and pre-turbo filter
Custom intercooler (Blakey Conversions)
Bailey Motorsport oil separator pot
High pressure oil pump
Newman Cam & Solid lifters
Piper vernier
Uprated valve springs
Escort Cosworth fuel pump
Full Longlife custom turbo back, stainless steel exhaust system
Omex 600 Management
Electronic boost control
Engine loom patched into car loom and extended to allow ECU to sit in original Ka location

Transmission:
Ka IB5 gearbox
Quaife ATB differential
Fiesta ST 150 gears 1-4
Ka 5th gear
TAS quick-shift gear linkage

Power:
195 bhp
221 lbs/ft of torque

Suspension:
Fully adjustable Gaz coilovers all round
SportKa anti-roll bar
Adjustable Camber Polybushed lower arms
Polybushed anti-roll bar
Polybushed rear beam

Brakes:
Focus ST170 front brakes
Stainless steel braided brake lines
Focus ST170 rear hubs and callipers
Fiesta ST handbrake cable

Exterior:
Smoothed tailgate (de-locked and de-wipered)
Ford Ka Spoiler
De-locked doors
Mondeo ST24 alloys (215/40/16s)
Rear beam spaced 20 mm either side with Ford spacers.
Front alloys spaced 5 mm
Aluminium mesh replaced the standard grille
Ford front mud-flaps added
Clear front headlights
Custom rear lights (clear indicators)
Crystal side repeaters
Bonnet raisers

Interior:
Full black trim
Black leather door cards & rear bench
Fiesta RS1800 steering wheel
Horn relocated to steering column shroud
SportKa gearknob
Fiesta XR2i Recaros bolted to custom subframes
Heated elements added to Recaros with 2 heat settings
ETB instruments Tachometer where air vent used to be
Revotec gauges in home made fibreglass pod where passenger air bag would be situated:
- Oil pressure
- Oil temperature
- Water temperature
- Turbo boost pressure
(All fitted with Hi-Power LED bulbs)
Alpine Headunit
Kenwood 5x8s
Clifford Concept 650 with:
Remote start
Remote lights
Remote windows
Total closure
Boot pop

atomodam

great thread buddy, some more inspiration for me as i start my ka

theburns1

really like this, good work fella

boothy

iTrader: (14)

Nice work mate

Brian

iTrader: (2)

Excellent work


Brian

andy escos

iTrader: (1)

looking real nicw should be fun on the road

rallycross

I like the idea of a quick Ka with the sleeper look, but having the big wheels and the intercooler hanging out of its nose kind of ruins that.

And ka's always look bad with black bumpers, maybe get some ka collection/style bumpers on it?

TOMMY_RS

looks ace mate

CarbonRick

Fantastic!

SiST

iTrader: (1)

Great work mate

Rs_Nick

Fantastic work mate

Twins

iTrader: (18)

Looks great that ,did the 15" wheels go over the st170 front brakes ok as im looking to do this on my track car

moondustka

Not sure what else I could do with the intercooler! Nowhere else for it to be hidden. Any others are bigger than that one anyway..

The black bumpers are more sleeper?! no?! and they're wider than the collection arches so better from that point of view. If I were to change them I would get ford racing arches but ay £650 unpainted it's a bit much. I would much rather spend that on the engine


Twins: The 15 comps will fit over the st170 brakes yea! Not as tight as I thought either - probably about 8-10mm from the calliper to the wheel.

However, I've gone off the idea of them because that 15" comp with R888 is heavier than my 16" st24 wheel with toyo T1-R on... 18kgs vs 18.75kgs. Is it just that 888s are a really heavy tyre!?

Thanks for all the comments I had a quote on getting all the silver parts on the dash flocked in a similar grey colour, but was too expensive at the moment! It is in the pipeline though, I think it'll look better and less plastic inside

stevescort13

nice work chap

jonny s2

iTrader: (12)

leave it as is and paint the cooler black,awesome sleeper bet it shifts!
would love to build something like this,loadsa fun, good work

cossiejsy

what a top job you have done there mate

GranaDavey

Really awesome car, proper sleeper !

GTi-R23

Yeah I like that alot, only thing I'd change is lose the bonnet spacers, hate that look, but thats just my personal taste, great looking car otherwise and great workmanship too

Ad4m RST

You don't mess about mate great work...

doctor stavros

An amazing amount of effort gone into this, every credit mate

moondustka

This is what I've done with the car over the last 8 weeks! I'll say no more

I updated my thread on another forum so here it is all together..

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Well it's all now under way and more.. Loads of pictures from the past few weeks - I've been slow to update this thread!

Decided that the FRST engine had to go after wanting more power and having to spend thousands on it to get it anywhere near 250bhp, the Focus RS engine seemed like the best option!

So here goes:

Last pics of engine before it came out..





Burnt out the rubber from mine and my brothers rear gearbox mount to be made solid no one does uprated engine mounts for the Ka



Focus engine when we got it (still waiting on another!! - for my brother)



Dan's Ka



and mine facing it:



I set about stripping the Focus engine down of all the stuff I don't need Although I used the alternator and PAS mount (but that one was broken - got another one)



Looking a bit better





Injector looms - one omex adapted FRST (right) and one FRS (left) - unsure what to use, either adapt the Focus one or just use the FRST one.



Focus one is nicer:



I then set about cutting my car apart - as far as I know, no one has fitted a Focus RS engine in a Ka with the radiator in the front! Still, first i cut the slam panel out - it's always been in the way even with the FRST engine there. Caused me grief and a lot of cursing at times! So time to make my own









Scary stuff..

Different shapes don't help!





Then I started making up the new one - and I've never welded before (only watched) So nothing better than to practice on your own car!!



This side was difficult because the metal just after the bend is so thin.. Hard not to blow holes if you get to trigger happy!





Headlight test fit..



The other side - and I think my welding is getting marginally better! Still not great I know!



Finished the passenger side



Then I chopped the cross member out because there isn't enough room for the rad in front of the turbo otherwise!



Welded the rest of the new 'slam' panel in



With both headlights test fitted



New cross member - needs more strengthening though. For this to fit behind the bumper (and I knew this beforehand) I had to take out the plastic re-inforcement bar behind it. I knew all this and a way of moving the cross member thanks to Joey, who did this conversion, but the rad was in the boot - most of you must have heard/seen it!



This is a dummy fit of the Rad - It's an XR2 rad, fits perfectly between the gap and the right height also! The hangers are a mock up in steel. Think I'll do them in aluminium bar so it looks better! and then need to do steel brackets off my new slam panel to hold it at the top .



Then I fitted the alternator in the better place!! Using the Track Designs kit - perfect stuff



I went to the scrapyard this weekend and got another thermstat housing with the sensor threads in - The Focus RS one doesn't have any!

The omex sensor fits straight in the top and my revotec gauge right in the bottom!





Until I came across one problem!



I think I'll put a couple of washers under it, hope I've got enough thread to seal it!

So this is where I am at the moment!

Flywheel is off getting skimmed and balanced, got a clutch. Hopefully getting the engine mounts back this week! or for this weekend and I'll test fit the engine saturday or sunday! Shame it'll have to come back out again to finished welding, grinding, and painting - and some filler on my slam panel so it looks much more presentable!

Should have a steady flow of updates

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Found out the FRST regulator fits nicely onto the end of the zetec rail to give me adjustable pressure. Thank you Ford!



Update of tonight's antics - I needed to make some tabs for one of the mounting points of the headlights. Not completely finished but basically there. They need a hole and thread in and the metalwork to be tidied up. All which will look good I hope once some filler is applied!

Welding getting better? tabs look awful here, they do get better..









Was a nightmare trying to hold the metal in the right place! Was trying to use a G-clamp but kept slipping off and wasn't holding very well!

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Small update - this all takes soo long!

Bolt holes drilled and tapped for headlight mounting point..



Will use aluminium spacers for better fit, which reminds me, I need to buy some bar!



Then I set about plating up some open ends..













Then, to aid me in making the radiator brackets in aluminium and round them etc. I went and bought one of these from machine mart! It's pretty good! ..and not a bad price either.



Then cut my welded steel brackets off and drilled and tapped a thread for the aluminium to bolt to





I've made the new brackets but having a mare getting the radiator to sit right with them!

Not sure I can do much now until i can get the engine in to see where everything comes too! For that to happen I need the flywheel back from machinists, bolt it on, clutch on, mounts back for engine and bolt all those on, then the gearbox on and engine in.. only to come back out again to filler and paint

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Bit of work last night and today

Skimmed 1.8 zetec flywheel



4 paddle Clutch - 2nd hand, but hardly worn! Just took the shine off the cover plate, as that's what you're meant to do apparently ?!



Then, made up some spacers for the headlight bolts as there's a gap







Then time to make this metalwork a bit nicer. Went over a some P40 fibreglass first, then P38 filler..



















Might need one more going over and then higher grade paper.

Test fit of engine tomorrow!!

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One of the big moments I was waiting for!



It's in!

And the standard inlet fits nicely



Sad thing is there are 2 problems!

Here's one:



Can be changed quite easily.. just more work!

And this isn't really a problem, but it's so close it's ridiculous! I also don't have any space for fans with the 'new' cross member I welded. So time for a re-design! And luckily I have a possible solution on the way!



*****************************

Lot's of pictures

The re-design begins! Bending these steel conduit tubes with a double set in each end and all 3 the same is damn difficult!! They're not absolutely perfect, but they are hand made turned out pretty well I think.





Put in a temporary bar to help stop chassis legs moving now engine is in... though it still moved a couple of mm. So wedged a bit of wood against gearbox





New bars welded on, and bumper test fit.



And now a jump in progress! To get everything to fit nicely for Rad and fans on the front. Had Joey (previously had black focus RS powered Ka) round Saturday evening/night/early hours of sunday morning! And managed to make up the radiator mountings, so fans and intercooler would fit (Thanks very much joey!)





Much more space for turbo



The tape across the rad is so we could see where the bottom of the fans will sit on the rad. The cardboard is the depth of the fans.





Cored a hole for this - still needs to be a little bigger!



Sundays work - Intercooler mountings and brackets made up to tie the bottom of the rad & intercooler together to make it really sturdy (and I didn't think it would work too well, but it does, because of the way the radiator is mounted at the top and the rigidity of the intercooler top brackets.





Test fit again







Bottom brackets. Currently bolted to the bottom of the radiator, but on the new one, I might weld the brackets to the rad.







And how it's standing at the moment. Now it all needs to come off so the metalwork can be tidied and prepped for painting



Now that everything fits, hopefully the worst part is over! Was fun seeing it come together though. Very excited now!

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Small update!

Small 'post' with m6 thread for centre bumper mounting point



I've got 1 last bit of fabrication! My brother and I have found that the original bonnet catch can fit and so making up mountings for it :Q No bonnet pins! (which would ruin the look of the car, as it doesn't look track like at all!)





You might also have noticed that I've filled the radiator mounting holes. This is because I have designed and given drawings to pro alloy for a custom one! :Q

This was after I bought a brand new pattern XR2 rad and found that it's slightly different and didn't fit!! So I decided to spend more money I haven't got and do it properly

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Some more work - I'm loving the fitting of the bonnet catch, even if I say so myself







All 3 mounting points done:



Had to re-arrange the bonnet latch to make it drop into catch properly without hitting the bar..





And grinded off a bit



Sorted that problem!

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More and more

Tidying up the ends (need some seam sealer)



Filled the back behind the bars with weld, was pretty difficult as the gap was massive!



Other side



I let myself loose with the filler again!



Out came some sand paper and this is how it stands now (until tomorrow )



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Little more progress today..

Had a slight issue with the bonnet.. I hadn't aligned it properly and when I put the headlights and bumper on it was way out. So aligned it and then the bonnet hook was in the wrong place. So had to re-mount it, move it back further and put a plate underneath as it also needed to be longer (because I'd moved it back). It's not quite right still, but does the job and catches nicely - just the hook is on the piss so as not to pull the bonnet out of alignment when it shuts! Sodding thing! Will sort it another time I think possibly when I get a new bonnet at some point!



Started with the seam sealer Got lots of small areas for water to creep in/rust to build up so best to get this stuff on!



And now some acid etch primer! I know this isn't really the proper way of doing things as I haven't taken the engine out. I can just about get to everywhere



Unfortunately, it has reacted in a few places so got to sort that out. And some filler areas need some knifing putty really. But at least I can see how it taking shape now

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Small bit of progress - Unfortunately I forgot to cover the arch liners, good thing they're completely covered.





Some people don't like satin black, but it's easy to touch in when it gets chipped, which it will cos I'll always be working on it!



Then I cleaned it all



Fitted a 2.0 N/A blacktop thermostat housing as it has sensor positions (Focus RS has none!)



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Photos

Reverse switch changed



Then I started making up this coolant pipe from the oil cooler in copper as the std one had seen better days plus I could do with it longer. I'm actually using it in a different place to where it is on the focus!



You can probably see I've twisted the oil cooler round to attempt to make the outlets in better positions for me..





New ball joints.. 2 years ago these lower arms were mint! I gave them 2 thick coats of the hammerrite (brushed not sprayed) and now look at them! Rusty! I'm not bothering anymore



Then, when I filled the engine with oil I noticed I had a leak... from here! (this silly dent, so new one on it's way)



Boost controller solenoid and map sensor in place



I've also done the management wiring and it's now complete (for now - thinking about doing something with the injector loom after it's all running)

Then I set about getting the exhaust on as I had to cut it and get it to fit the FRS downpipe!

The the end off my custom one..



Cut the flange off this piece of FRS exhaust that came with engine..



Put exhaust and flange on the car..





I then measured the gap and cut my flexi out with the correct length of exhaust and tack welded it in.

Then welded it all together!



Fitted it all back to the car, after I'd turned all the lights off and shined and torch round the welds to check for holes!! Which there were a few on both welds. So had to go round both welds thoroughly again.. which then made the welds dead ugly!! but better that than a leaky exhaust!

Now on the car





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Couple more pics

Red cable is the one from alternator to battery when it arrives and it's now all tied into position for battery even though photo doesn't show it!



And new sump one that doesn't leak! I put the other one up to the light and I could see the holes in it !!



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Pics



Dry cell racing battery, weighs 7kgs, 680 CCA and well, you can see the size! :Q





Car is booked in to TOTD on friday want at least 250bhp out of her

Going to be a tight schedule as radiator wont be here till wednesday, or thursday morn at the latest!!

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The update I've been waiting to make!

Rad arrived - had my brother collect it so I could fit it wednesday, as car was booked in for mapping friday!!





The fit..



The fans, sadly the biggest I could fit!! But nearest competitor only flowed half as much air as these!



All fitted..





Loads of room!!



Good fit of bottom radiator hose.. (gonna heat wrap that downpipe though!)



Excuse boost system - it was/is temporary!! (I've ordered all the right boost pipes/hoses - although the turbo to intercooler part isn't changing much!)



Back on the ground.. at gone 2:30am friday morn





So, car went to Chris at TOTD friday.. and apologised for bringing him a lash up of boost system/vacuum hoses/engine wiring!

It was soo hot that day, the engine and cooling system did well to survive the 30 odd degrees it was around the dyno!!

Good test of my cooling system which I had no idea how it was going to perform.. but it did well, espesically sitting in traffic on the motorway all the way home!! Never rose above 95.

So, good news and bad news...

The engine made 249 bhp and 291 lbs of torque. It made 197bhp at 7 psi!! Almost standard

However, i bought a 4 paddle of someone here and basically it's fooked, it just kept slipping with the sudden rise in torque as the turbo comes in, so i didn't get a true reading of power..

The actuator can only hold 12 psi of boost because it's gonna flacid

So basically the upshot was, it's a really strong engine producing that power at that boost, and with those ambient temperatures!

But Chris reckoned there's another 20-30bhp and over 300 lbs of torque sitting there if the actuator worked properly and the clutch didnt slip!!

my adivce to anyone is never buy a 2nd hand clutch, EVER!! unless you like changing them and wasting money getting the flywheel re-skimmed!

Lots of fettling to do now!! Some of which i've done!

Vacuum hoses - all sorted properly now..
Boost hoses/pipes - all ordered (with the no money I have!)
Tidy engine injector loom

Slight problem with the cooling system until the thermostat opens.. I've plumbed it slightly wrong so that the flow isn't right. I've got 2 hoses that the water pump usually sucks in from when the thermostat is shut t'd together so that it tries to pull 2 15mm pipes into 1 and it's not enough so the pump pulls the water out of the rad and sucks the air from the header tank down and fills the tank up!! So anyway I'm sorting that with a 15mm t piece that goes into 1 28mm Hopefully that should cure it!

P.S. Car feels rapid even with a turd for a clutch

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little update..

had a porblem with the water system where the pump was pumping water into the header tank and moving the air to the top rad hose! I did get to bottom of it eventually..

Started by replacing this t piece with larger outlet to water pump..



to this..



That didn't have much effect, so thought I hadn't got the expansion pipes right as there is an extra one on the FRS, so got the rad out and got an outlet welded on the corner!



back apart again..



But that didn't sort it either! Then I realised the only thing that's different is the header tank is plumbed separately all the way to the bottom rad hose.. Did that and all was ok

Made it bloody tight here though! But a p clip later and it's fine..



Cleaned up the rocker cover and replaced the bolts for stainless steel :Q I've got a stainless steel bug now and I'm slowly replacing all the bolts



Also had this package arrive





And started to fit them.. Few more to arrive yet to complete it



Re-doing the expansion hoses too so more pics to follow and boost system should be finished tomorrow

SiST

iTrader: (1)

Great project mate - thats going to be a right handful lol

Amazing amount of work has gone into it

Brian

iTrader: (2)

Awesome project mate


Brian

deano st24

very nice mate keep up the good work

Spax

Wow, nice project! should be a nice sleeper when it's finished

Zetecfiesta

great work!!

BillyCabrio

iTrader: (1)

Christ almighty!!!

Inspiring!

Ginger Will

Alot of work has gone into that; I am very impressed.

GaryHurn

iTrader: (1)

great project how is dans coming along now??? can you ask him to give me a ring i havent spoken to him for a few years now

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Top project mate.You have done alot of work to this.Keep up the good work.

ZetecSX

just read the whole thing... wow... i bet that shifts and suprises some people..

moondustka

Thanks for all the comments

It's looking a lot better at the moment than any of the pictures so far, so will get them up soon!

Gary: I'll let Dan know! His is getting there - has to be done by end of this weekend! He had his engine re-built (not out of choice) but now has steel rods and forged pistons - found out during that, the head is gas flowed also. It's built to take NOS

moondustka

That must have taken a while to read!!

erm, it sort of shifts at the moment - my tyres are getting on for there legal limit and they're a crap brand, the car is wheelspinning most of the time, in every gear. I'll get some decent road tyres this time and see where we go - If there's little improvement, I'll have to drop down the 15s and go for 888s..

Wellz!!!!

very nice nice ideas with the fabrication work on the front end

Did wonder what was next for this ka, now I know

moondustka

Well I couldn't update for ages as photobucket said I'd exceeded the bandwidth rubbish..

Here goes - pics tell the story

Air filter really isn't as red as that - dodgy picture!



Expansion hoes re-done..





Heat wrapped downpipe





Painted coilpack bracket





Painted this standard heatshield, fitted it but didn't like it - it was bent and tried to get it back but just didnt look right!



I then decided I wasn't happy with the paint under the scuttle panel and the turrets..







Painted and started putting back together:



I then found some holes!! There were more but no pics so the whole car went to the bodyshop while I was away and is still there now..





Next update will be after Ford Fair - I'll have Friday night and Sat to put both bumpers on, waxoil behind them, put a rear door card on, the rear seats, get 2 new tyres fitted - tracking done and any last minute preps before Sunday!

COLEYST200

iTrader: (3)

lookin good mate dose the motor run yet

moondustka

Thanks. Yea - will be at Fair Fair Runs perfect apart from a slipping clutch at 290 lbs torque and a janky actuator that only holds 12-13 psi of boost.. Can't afford to fix them!

m4tt274

iTrader: (2)

only half the pictures have loaded up on my computer

so its got me interested then i cant see the end result :L cliff hanger or what.
anyway il comment so i can find the thread later on then hopefully it will load up properly and il leave some constructive feedback :L

craigybaby

mate that is awesome fair play to ya