Hi,

Since there's no proper place to do a presentation (at least i haven't found one...), here it goes....i'm Tiago from Portugal. I belong to a little community of Ford Focus lovers in Portugal. We have a little forum of our own and bet some of the guys are registed here. In the list of people that are registed in our forum, only one has an ST170.

I currently own a 99 reg Ford Focus, 1.6 Zetec-S engine. I love the ST170 look not to mention the RS () and i'm really decided into making the conversion into an ST170 since there's a lot of engines on Ebay. What i wanted to know is: is it a straight fit? Is there any big mod to be done?

Hope you Ford guru's can help me out I've seen so many beautifull projects here that i wish i lived in the UK

P.S.: Sorry for my english....i know it's not the best.

 

You need everything, gearbox, engine, loom, radiator, exhaust, sensors, hoses etc...basically everything that's in the engine bay. Not an easy conversion unless you have a written off ST170.

 

Right....engine, gearbox, loom and ECU are come most of the times, what worries me is that sensors you talked about. I don't really know that much about the ST170 engine.
The engine mounts are the same right? The exhaust if i take the cat out, would make the car consumes more gas? I've heard usually ST170 owners do like 20/25 mpg.

Thanks for the help.

 

If you intend on fitting the 6 speed getrag box you will need ST170 shafts and hubs, then you will need the brakes also.
You will need the dash clocks and the interior loom, you will need the ST170 engine mounts as i belive the 1.6 has different mounts. The ST170 has a unique fuel pump controled by the ECU with no fuel return so you will need this along with the hoses and maybe tank too.
It is a parts swapping excersise, no cutting or welding involved etc just allot of parts to swap.

My ST170 does an average of 22mpg but i belive my bank one O2 sensor needs changing

 

Can i get any fuel pump that was on a ST170 or has to be the same from the car wich the engine was taken?

 

Any ST170 fuel pump will do, they are the weak point on the ST170 i would fit an uprated version such as the one Sytec ones

 

Even for an every-day car? I mean....is it really needed even runing an stock engine?

 

Personally, i think you are going to too much trouble, if you want the 'ST170 look' and save the hassle of swapping the engine, then you can get hold of all the bits and bobs for reasonable money.
EG:

ST170 Front fog lights
ST170 Head lights
ST170 17 inch wheels & tyres (personally I'd go for the 17 inch MP3 wheels they look better)
St170 Lower bumper grille
ST170 upper grille (or go for the chrome grille off the 'collection' model)
ST170 half leather interior

all these come up on ebay from time to time and will be a lot easier to fit!!.

you do what you want to do though!

 

I will do the look transformation also...but if i didn't, 17'' wheels in a 1.6 petrol with 99bhp, is a little too much don't you think?
Maybe for the time being i'll do the look transformation and slowly gather all the parts until i end up with everything and then, make the total transformation. Better idea isn't it?

 

Why not just buy a ST170?

 

Because ST170 here in Portugal are RARE and beside, the documents of my car will show a Focus 1.6 wich in reality is an 2.0, but no one needs to know....SHHHHHHHH

At the end...i can get the transformation done and still is cheaper than an original ST170....and i pay less insurance and tax

 

Yes it is well worth upgrading the standard pump, they are weak, im waiting for mine to break so that i can fit an uprated one, they cause all manner of running problems

 

Don't forget as well that the st170 does not have a fuel return pipe, so you may even need a different fuel tank, and to run a different line. Really not worth the hassle IMO.

 

If i get the hold on a cheap tank, the fuel lines may be cheap at Ford's...may worth to try, doesn't it?

 

I have a 1.6 Chic limited/special edition.
Ive just got a set of 17 inch MP3 alloys for it that are going on
have fitted the ST170 lower front bumper grill
have swapped the rear light clusters for 'lexus look' units, with matching fog/reverse lights.
have converted the interior dash illumination to blue LED's

You dont want to go so far with mods as to invalidate your insurance, or if you tell your insurance company what mods you have done have your premiums increased to a level where it becomes prohibitively expensive to insure after you have spent an absolute fortune on your car.

think 'subtle' or 'hard to spot' mods and you wont go far wrong. Thats just my opinion, obviously. So don't let it put you off, just have your eyes wide open to the quite mammoth task you have set yourself.

Is all the hard work and effort worth it in the long run, when you can do subtle things to your 1.6 to make it unique, but, understated..............

 

Its the same fuel tank, its only the pump/level module in the top that differs. IIRC there is a driver module under the rear seat which controls the pump from the PCM (ECU). Unless they've added a new pump, the Sytec (Walbro) has problems with pickup of fuel at levels below 1/2 or 1/4.

That shows that there is even more to swap than just everything in the engine bay. Also, you could have problems if your current Focus is pre-facelift. The wiring is subtely different for those as the electronic modules are different (CTM, GEM, Hazards, etc).

You don't have to use ST170 brakes, but its a good idea as IMHO the standard ones are marginal on a standard 2.0. It does however need the front knuckles changing as well.

Martin