This week I decided its about time I started a build thread on my 1989 XR3i Cabriolet.

It all started in November 2006 when I swapped my 1996 Escort RS2000 16v for a 1989 Escort RS Turbo. I already had a project in the form of a 1988 Fiesta XR2 which was almost complete. I'd wanted an RS Turbo since my early teens so this was an offer I couldn't refuse. The RST had a few months MOT left so the plan was to finish off the XR2, poodle around in the RST then start rebuilding it once the MOT ran out.

Well as with all of these things, the MOT ran out and then my circumstances changed. My wife and I were offered amazing job opportunities 200 miles away in London so we took them and moved. I finished and sold the XR2 to fund the move and put the RST in my parents garage with the intention of tidying it up whenever I was home.

Over the next few years I collected all of the parts I needed to rebuild and upgrade the RST but as I got further in to the build things changed again. Rust and time were against me. I got offered a 1989 MFi XR3i cabriolet by my brother in the summer of 2010 for really low money. It was solid throughout and more importantly an absolute bargain. The new plan: reshell the RST into the cabriolet.

Here's a few pics of how I got it:







A quick wheel change, much better:



So, I stripped the RST shell and sold it on. I fitted the '90 spec front bumper and Recaros from the RST. Then with the proceeds of selling the shell, I had the XR3i re-sprayed to make it minty mint:















I then began the task of cleaning up and painting all of the running gear:









Once it was all freshly painted, I got it transferred in to the cabriolet and got an MOT. I drove it like that for the summer:



















At the end of 2011 she was parked up. Now the RST engine rebuild and transplant coupled with the EFi conversion began. As I already had an MFI RST engine with a few thousand miles since the bottom end was rebuilt I did things slightly diferent. Instead of an EFi bottom end with a CPS hole I opted for a bottom pulley and CPS mount from a CVH Sierra (36:1 trigger wheel). This is a tight fit (impossible with the engine in place) but will work fine :





































And that's where we stand today.

To finish it off for use in the summer I need to sort out a fuel leak, sort any issues starting it, tape the loom, re-fit the dash and tighten the front running gear.

Current spec:

Engine

• 1.6 CVH
• EFi
• Ported and polished head
• Stage 1 T3 turbo & -31 actuator
• Airtec Front Mount Intercooler
• Airtec aluminium radiator
• Black silicone hoses all round
• Group A induction filter
• Mongoose stainless steel exhaust
• Custom EFi loom
• Beige injectors
• Adjustable fuel pressure regulator
• Small turbo EsCos MAP sensor

Running gear:

• Koni adjustable dampers
• AVO -35mm springs
• Flo-Flex polybushes
• RS Turbo hubs, Anti-Roll bars (Front and rear), tie bars and wishbones.

Brakes

• Front: Escort Cossie callipers with Sierra Cossie 2wd disks, Ferodo DS2000 pads and Goodridge braided hoses
• Rear: Sierra XR4x4 callipers with Sierra Cosworth 2wd disks, Ferodo DS2000 pads and Goodridge braided hoses

Lee