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A couple of months ago I came across the conversion brackets on eBay to fit focus rs mk1 brakes to a st170 and like lots of others bought them, then also bought the callipers from an Alfa Romeo and some brake hoses, I already had a pair of new disks. Took the st170 brakes off and went to fit the rs disks and hit a big problem, they do not fit as the bottom ball joint stops them fitting to the hub, pics show st170 brakes then the rs ones.
I was unable to find much help on the web so tried a couple of things but the only answer that I know of is to fit a spacer behind the disk. I have gone through various wheel spacers and found that hub centric ones do not fit, the cheap universal ones sit very nice inside the disk but I ended up fitting solid universal ones 6mm thick. Going for 6mm is a compromise as when the car sits on the road the ball joint just touches the disk but gives 4mm of hub for the wheel to sit on and I have still had to take some metal from the joint to get clearance, using 7mm would clear the ball joint better but loose another 1mm from the centre of the hub where the wheel sits, going 5mm would mean taking more of the joint.
With the disk now fitted its time for the calliper, some metal needs to be removed to allow it to fit on the bottom and a big chunk taken out for the top, the same thickness of washers as that used on the spacer will need to be used to get the calliper in the correct place.
ST170 wheels do not fit!! the back of the spokes foul on the calliper but my 17inch OZ wheels do but they are et42 all irrelevant as I have some new ones
fitted. The rear axle spacers had to be removed first.
Been away for a few days which has left me short on time to get the car ready, so today I have been working on the front.
The bumper support/crash bar has now been removed saving 7.8kg the front fog lights are also gone saving 1kg arch liners 1.8kg for the pair also removed. I cut down the air filter box leaving enough to support the maf and fitted a cone air filter saving 1kg and the battery box was also removed saving 0,7kg a lighter motorsport battery replaced the heavy standard one which saved 8kg
Total weight loss for today is a grand total of 20.3kg
Well I did make it to Llandow on the 17th September and had another good day
The day before I had one last push on the car, the rear arch liners are now in the bin saving 3.4kg and over a kilo of crap fell out from behind them, the carpet was also removed(weight unknown) and I fitted a bucket seat using the rails from the original seats with some metal bar (from b&q) bolted to them, worked out quite cheap and no welding was required, the original seats are approx. 22kg the buckets 10kg
whilst I had the cutter out I attacked the dash
Whilst the car did not seem to be any different from the last outing the lap times were averaging over a second faster, loosing another 90kg (the passenger) meant the car going faster by another second per lap. Best lap of the day was 55.6 seconds
The car started out as a budget build and a bit of fun, not anymore, I want to go faster so plans for the future are:
1) loose more weight - the passenger seat, bonnet, heater etc
2) Suspension - replace all bushes etc, better tyres, upgrade the coil overs
3) More POWER!!
[QUOTE=H3lsing]Take out the fan heater and use some car pro fog fight. It's good stuff and I've been using it for over a month, works really well.
Thanks for the advice any is welcome. I will at some time in the future take the dash out and remove as much as possible.
Originally Posted by PaulinhoT
Looking mighty, that's a load of weight out of the car, bet it feels nice
To be honest as I said it felt no different but it was nice having a better seat, I think it looks a bit of a wreck which is what it is but its getting better
Spent the last few days removing the engine which will be going into the escort which is under the cover, I was going to put in a 2.0 silver top but the engine has proved itself
During October last year I managed to install my new engine which is the ST170 block with standard cylinder head and thick head gasket combo, mated to the gearbox from the green focus with a Drivetorque stage 3 clutch. Then for the last 4 months due to work, Christmas, the weather and a lack of motivation the car has not been touched until today. Managed to fit the driveshaft's, struts and hubs from the RS, this then meant that the brakes fit with no spacers, washers or adaptors. More to come soon I hope.
not sure how but iv missed all of this thread. i started out just like you only thinking of having some fun on track days but the bug gets you. i remeber my obbsession with weight loss and lap times at llandow. i suspect your lap time will drop massively with a turbo so look forward to progress.
To make things as simple as possible I am going to start by fitting the standard RS turbo and manifold. These were purchased and bolted together with a stud & nut kit then a 10AN adapter was bolted on for the oil return. Stainless steel cat delete and flexi pipe were also purchased.
And today I got the chance to bolt it all on, I even remembered to get some new manifold stud insulators. The exhaust now fits properly again on the mounts but the original RS v band clamp does not fit hence the cable ties
Its been a very long time but I have finally done something to this car. The dashboard has been removed so that I could pull out the heater units
The combined weight of both units is approx. 8.4kg so with all the other little bits of heater tubing and plastic the total loss would be just over 8.5kg
hope to get more done soon, next is to cut out redundant wiring before putting the dash back in.
I will put up the pin out info on the focus rs ecu if you go that way.
Thank you for the kind offer. I have purchased an Omex 710 ecu which I was planning to use.
Attacked the harness and removed 1.5kg of wiring, I was going to leave the metal frame in but will be cutting the centre metal work out soon
A bit of news: I have bought another Focus, a 2003 1.6 3 door which I hope to collect in a few days time. Plan is to get it through the m.o.t and use it through the winter then maybe turn it into a track car.
stripping the loom is a job i wish i'd never started. I'd definitely go ahead with removing the dash bars.
In the event of a crash, you could catch your leg on them, and it'll make a lovely cut.
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this is what mines like. Dash does rattle round a little bit though
Had big plans for the August bank holiday weekend which as usual fell apart, work, other commitments and a decision to rescue another focus.
I just could not help myself this poor thing has been totally abused and needed saving.
Its a 2004 1.6L and has no panels without dents, is totally beaten up and is held together with tape!! the seats are wrecked and its in no way mechanically sound.
I felt really sorry for it so after getting it home started on the biggest problem, the front brakes were locked on!! found the front callipers were knackered so decided to upgrade instead of replace, so the TA Technic coilovers and st170 hubs from the turbo focus were fitted along with the st170 discs and Mondeo callipers from my puma, the st170 and OZ wheels were also then fitted.
It looks like the lower arms, drive shafts, track rod ends, anti roll bar links all need to be replaced along with the interior and the rear brakes before I look at anything else.
Doing the rear brakes today in the rain is not what I call having fun, expected big problems but got away with a good clean and some new brake shoes.
I have though been thinking about this a lot lately, last year 2016 was good and I did indeed enjoy myself unfortunately this year has not gone so well, spent too much time and money on the st170 and working in Spain most of the summer has not helped, so I have been pondering the question how to get the fun factor back?
Working on any car in the rain is a real ball ache. I used to be happy doing it, but not anymore. My ST170 is suffering from rear brake problems again, having been fixed 4500 miles ago. It seems to be a common fault with them.
As for the fun factor, that's a very difficult question to answer, personally I've had a few grand put away in hope of finding a few "choice" mods for my car, but In over 4 years of searching I've not been able to find the supercharger I want
Fun factor of life, well that's a completely different thing all together
When trying to remove the front brake callipers I was unable to undo the flexi hose at either end so cut the hoses and went back to the next join on the brake pipe, this then meant replacing some pipe and the flexi hoses, found some braided ones that never got fitted to the puma so they got used, The front bumper was beyond repair so the one from the turbo car got fitted, its grey not silver but it looks ok. The car was then taken for an m.o.t which it failed on lots of little things, airbag warning light, exhaust, side indicator, mirrors etc. and it seems that after one track day at Llandow the front tyres are no longer any good!!
Fixed all the problems and fitted the wheels from the puma and its now legal to go on the road
Last edited by The Black Count; 20-09-2017 at 09:45 PM.
Thanks. Been doing a bit of man maths with the help of a couple of strong ciders, the original budget was Ł250 and considering I paid Ł150 for the car Inc. collection and the m.o.t is Ł40 it was always going to be tight, having to replace the front section of exhaust blew the budget unfortunately, total spend was Ł300
Car is now going to be loaned to my mate as I didn't get to work on his VW van, should it survive the winter I have some ideas for it.
Last edited by The Black Count; 20-09-2017 at 10:02 PM.
So how many Focus have you got at the Mo then Mate? Two? hows the turbo one going now?
I've sourced those brembos and RS hubs for the front of my project, and now I've got a welding set working I'm back getting the kit car project finished so I can move on to my 2nd focus.
[QUOTE=Mashurst;6748879]So how many Focus have you got at the Mo then Mate? Two? hows the turbo one going now?
Originally Posted by PaulinhoT
That's a bargain motor all day long well done.
Not really a bargain if you add up the cost of the parts used which I was able to get my hands on, I could have bought one for less and in better condition but where's the fun in that? also for what I have in mind for it, its ideal.
I now have 3 focus mk1's, a 1.6, 2.0 and st170 (and 2 Escorts which are actually my main projects)
The 1.6 as above just needs a service, new wheels and a couple of minor problems sorting until next year
The st170 is going to get new suspension, lower front arms and a replacement front wing as soon as I get time to fit them
The 2.0 is slowly turning into an RS replica track car sort of thing. I stole the lower front arms and pinch bolts for the 1.6 so first is to fit the tubular arm kit, also need to replace the sump, complete the turbo oil lines and complete the intercooler pipes, fit the ecu and sort out the body work etc.etc. Not getting much time on it and with the winter fast approaching and possibly having to work in Spain I am having to contemplate paying somebody to help out.
I thought the 1.6 focus was going to be good to drive through the winter but that was not the case, when I delivered it to my mate I noted it was not driving properly and thought it was just the tracking, he had this checked and adjusted but the car is dangerous to drive so he named it "the death trap" as he was avoiding accidents on a daily basis. We think its the steering rack but it could be something else or a combination of things.
Not having the time to look at it, I went out and bought another car for him to use.
Only 2 things I can do with the focus now, scrap it or turn it into a race car. Will have to find out what the problem is before deciding, that's for next year.
If considering putting back on the road at some stage. Then it might be worth checking the history of the car. You can request some details from the dvla: https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla
10-09-2016, 10:01 AM
it makes for interesting data 
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