[QUOTE]My names Rikki, I'm 28 and currently doing a VRQ in Automotive Paint and Body Repair at college.

My first car was a white 2.5V6 Ford Probe, my second car was a black one. I've had plenty motors since I passed my test and I've been looking for a new project for a while.

Just picked up this rather rough looking RS Turbo replica XR3i.

(The pictures make it look a lot better than it is!)



The shell has only done 55,000 with every MOT and a damn clean interior to prove it. The engine is a smokey, noisy, rattly EFI Turbo unit which I was going to rebuild but I'm going Zetec Turbo now I think. Someone has painted all the ancillaries with what looks like poster paint and the drivers side has seen better days.



Basically someone has taken what was essentially a very solid 3i and stuck loads of crap bits on it an attempt to recreate the automotive equivalent of the bits that are left in the bottom of the box when you finish a Big Mac.

I've taken it upon myself to bring this car back from the brink and although I've been driving it around daily for the past few weeks it has now done what it should have done a long time ago and retired from active service!

Think it's just a starter issue but I'm not taking any chances and she's going to be living in my lock-up for the next few months whilst I strip, clean, paint and rebuild as much of it as I can before sticking the Zetec in and putting it back on the road.

Wish me luck!! Oh and if anyone near to Perth, Scotland has experience of building Zetec Turbos and likes beer I would be more than happy to strike a deal!

 

Sounds like a canny project... stick a few more photos up to show the condition of the full car before you start though

Best of luck with it

 

Good luck mate

 

looks like an interesting project mate im just up the road in montrose, give me a shout if you need any help or advice with the conversion, ive done a few

 

looks like it could be fun mate. all the best mate

 

nice,i have a bonnet and doors in vgc and only stay 25 mins from dundee.i just broke my s2 so if you need any bits gives a shout,still got some bits and pieces left!

 

good luck with the project

 

Cheers lads! I've been down and taken some pics just getting rid of a few viruses on my laptop first

 

Nice one mate! How much do you want for the bonnet? What do you have left?

 

 

So there she is in all her glory. I know it looks bad but it's my baby so be nice!!

Here's the plan.

Going into the garage on Friday to have bumpers, bonnet, skirts and front indicators removed.

I'll drop the engine over the weekend and start removing all the painted stuff like servo, manifolds etc.

Next it's off with the wheels, calipers, struts, brakes and what not then I'll take what I'm keeping to get blasted and sell on any decent parts I have left over.

Picking up a 2.0 Zetec from a Mondeo next week which miraculously appeared in my local scrappies the other day. It's in good running order and I got it for a bargain Ł150.

If anyone has parts I can use for the conversion or any advice it's more than welcome!

 

The zetec is a good reliable engine mate, will be a nice car when its done, i take it you are doing the bodywork yourself?

 

good luck mate should be a good one this

 

Nice one mate! How much do you want for the bonnet? What do you have left?

hi,i want Ł50 for the bonnet,with catch,vents and sound proofing.its straight and rust free and has a new ford badge on it.
what else do i have,powdercoated suspension arms,tie bars,brake compensator,servo,wiper motors,elec window motors,2 doors,3 90 spec spoilers,clocks,the bodykit with all jacking covers,the shell with 9 months mot,s2 front anti roll bar,driveshafts,arch liners,heated windscreen,side windows,rear screens x 2 and thats about it.drop me a pm if you want anything,ta,lee

 

oh,and it looks like someones been busy with the hammerite!

 

With your advice it will be! Me and the lads from college are doing the prep and paint so we've got all the right equipment and plenty of experienced tutors to help. I'm tempted to do a MK3 front end conversion but I might get used to MK4.

 

good stuff, keep the updates comming! lee is a gid lad, he will sort you out with any odds and ends, ive also got a mate up here who breaks turbos if lee cant help, keep it mk4! any ideas on a colour?

 

hi lads. sorry to jump in on this post . i noticed you break turbos. would you know anyone who as a mk4 1.6cvh engine laying about

 

Mines is coming out and the engine itself is good it just hasn't been fitted properly and the turbo is knackered!

 

Well I'm getting there. There's so much conflicting information online it's hard to know what the best route is to Zetec Turbo power. Glad there's plenty knowledgeable people on here who know that not everyone has Ł10,000 to spend on a car that's essentially worth about Ł500!

Colour choice so far is either white or black an if I don't go MK3 I'm going sleeper style with no spoiler and steelies. I know its not the way things are usually done round here but I like the idea of a bog standard car with 200BHP.

Going to get it up on axle stands tomorrow and start getting it stripped so plenty pics to come.

 

gl with it mate

 

sleeper sounds good, complete with AA badge and nodding dog

 

Ha ha I'll pull up beside some Saxo at the lights wearing specs, a hospital gown and smoking a pipe. Then watch his back axle fall off when I put the foot down and blow him back to when Citroens were old mans cars and the Escort was King!

Shouldn't be too much of a problem to get someone to swap my RS kit for some Bonus bumpers, boot and bonnet? Anyone??

 

a cvh turbo,xr3i or standard 1.6 carb engine?i dont have any of them but may be able to find something.

 

Can anyone tell me what parts i need to rob from the mundano along with my Zetec engine please? ECU and key needed?

 

good look with it mate spend some time on it and do it right 1st time round

 

haha see what you mean about the paint!
personally id strip the kit off and keep it looking like a mint `3i.


mk3 lights! wtf?? haha.

looks tidy enough to be worth doing anyway fella

 

The engine was designed by my 6 week old son using Crayola software and the body work was sprayed with a technical piece of modern equipment that's known as a 'rattle can'.

It's hard to see but the car itself is solid it's just sad that someone has done all this dodgy work to it.

Once the bonnet, bumpers, spoiler, skirts and other bits start coming off they're getting sold on to fund the work thats getting done to the new engine If anyone wants them they're actually in really good condition apart from needing a good clean up and a paint and they wont be expensive.

Thought about the 3i look but I don't want it to look sporty at all just a clean, standard MK4. The only giveaway that it's a bit different will be the exhaust and the sound from the engine bay.

I like the MK3 lights!

 

turn it back to a 90s spec 3i

 

Don't like the spoiler. Or the front bumper for that matter.

 

Been thinking about the plans for my Zetec Turbo'd engine. Doing it on a shoe-string budget of Ł500 inc the cost of buying an engine from my local scrappies.

I've never done anything quite as complicated as this but there's plenty info online and I'm sure lots of you will be willing to help.

What I also intend to do is start a thread with step by step pics and a guide on how I do it for anyone like me who is looking to do the conversion on a limited budget.

So far I've bought a decent looking Mondeo Zetec 2.0 for Ł150

Looking for:

Decompression Plate/Calibra Turbo pistons and rods
Manifold Adaptors/Instructions on how to make one
Escort 1800 waterpump, flywheel and sump
Turbo
MTX75 Gearbox
ARP Head Bolts

There's probably more bits and bobs I'll discover along the way but thats the basics anyway.

I'll also have to take into consideration the cost of a new head gasket kit, oil, antifreeze etc so its Ebay for me for the next few weeks.

If anyone has any parts/labour they want to donate or sell I'm interested.

 

the mtx75 box needs a 240 mm clutch and flywheel off the 2 litre, custom engine mounts, custom gear linkage, custom drive shafts and clutch cable. unless you are a dab hand with machine tools like a lathe and verticle milling machine then it would be easier to buy an adaptor plate, or buy an escort aluminium manifold, also the calibra pistons require the block to be bored out, but more importantly the calibra rods will not work you need to machine the zetec ones out to accept the gudgeon pin from the calibra pistons, arguably making them weaker. much easier to keep the bottom end standard, and fit a decomp plate, keep the boost low and use the standard ofab management, gearbox and clutch. or you will soon be looking at thousands to do the conversion.

 

When I read that earlier I had a raging hangover and it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. All clear now though. You wouldn't happen to have a decompression plate kicking around that you might like to sell? If not are the Ł65 Ebay ones ok or should I pay the extra for a Ferriday one?

 

100% go for a ferriday one mate. is ur bottom end on the cvh ok mate?

cheeRs
scotty

 

ferriday all the way

 

It is mate yes. Thanks for asking lol. It seems to be fine and 'supposedly' it's been fettled too but you know what it's like with these things. It's still running at the moment so if you're interested you could come through and hear it running but be quick because it wont be long before I rip it out.

Whats your second name btw?

 

Ferriday it is then. Think that's first on the list. Considering getting a Gold Membership so I can advertise in the Parts Wanted section.

 

how much would you be looking for for the botton end mate? just found a big crack in my bottom end yday

2nd name is dickson mate

cheeRs
scotty

 

Make me a sensible offer mate.

 

I think thats come all the way from London mate. Im pretty sure that was my mates run about for a while.