Hi.

I've recently bought this car (maybe someone knows it from down the years?) MT53 YFF.

Plan is to replace the front bumper (replacement sourced in Germany), and do a full stage 0 rebuild, then bring to Germany, re-register it there and use for Autobahn trips. I have my Sierra for the Mountain drives but looking for another fairly rare Ford to continue my hobby.

So the car is in need of a lot of attention but its' just what I wanted; a Project Car.

It will get a full re-work including but not limited to:

Timing chains and sundries
Full polybush swap including wishbones, ARBs (F + R), subframes, track sway bars etc.,
Front bumper replacement (will repair the damaged front one and keep in storage)
Brakes (rear calipers and discs) - Front already come with the ST225 Focus set-up
Hand brake cables
Front and rear wheel bearings
Rear arch rust spots (both sides above the rear bumper)
Full interior valet
Sort out non-functioning Cruise control
Service the LPG (Filters, piping etc.,)
Alloy wheel Refurbishment (corroded)
Complete brake pipe replacement (copper piping and each corner for the flexi pipes to calipers)
Rebuild front ST225 Calipers with new seals etc., preventative maintenance
Source LHD Xenons to replace the RHD ones as I will use this car in Germany and on the Continent more so than in Ireland
Paint detailing where required and good exterior polish
Replace the radio cage due to USB connector having been fitted at some stage in the past, thereby damaging the radio/Clima surround (simple aesthetic change)
Though it has LPG i want to see if the engine cover can be modified somehow to cover the visible LPG connections
Fit side skirt jack covers (missing) with new
Window wind deflectors
Clutch kit
Dual mass flywheel as clutch slipping
Engine mounts (may as well)
Front and rear Shock Aborbers
Front and rear coil springs
15mm Direnza wheel spacers (F + R)
Check underbody and clean down, respray where necessary and stone chip to keep the underbody secure for the next few years
New tyres
Tracking etc
A/C refill
Gearbox oil replacment
Engine oil and filter
pollen and air filters
Steam clean of engine
Replace ICV (preventative maintenance)

So, aim is to have the car moved to Ireland in March, spend some vacation time rebuilding it and have fully back on the road for mid-April and drive it back to Bavaria for re-Registration there for its German Rego.

If anyone has any history from owning the car, I'm happy to hear it (good or bad). The car has fsh up to 30,000 miles with sporadic non-Ford servicing since then so it's pretty much complete with its 4 keys.

As a next project it'll be fun now I've more or less finished my Ford Sierra build - just in process of redoing the roof liner.








Sierra Sheltering during Covid-19 Lock-Down (Ireland 21-Jan-2021)