WINNER of March NFOTM: WTF? I Thought This Was FOCUS of the Month!
The Winner:
Ray
Quote:
|
"Thank you, FocalJet. While the Merkur wasn't a Focus - the fact that the build thread had such great support shows the quality of the character here. Since the beginning - when the car didn't run, was filthy, and seemed overwhelming - you all kept me going. I really do appreciate that. In the beginning, the XR was funded by sales of parts from my wrecked zx3. Sold here, on Focaljet. Several Jetters (some of which i met on focaljet) donated several hours, long days, and their own blood to this project. You guys know who you are - you're the best. Several other Jetters helped me figure out problems, troubleshoot, plan, design, and locate parts to use. You are also the best, and know who you are. Each small cut, drop of blood, drip of sweat, and burn from welding is now only scars, for now. Dont worry. The project will continue, albeit slower than before. I have some more blood to donate." Where to start? My mother got this car in 1993. It was this oddball car, some german ford or something. I was young. 12 or 13. I liked the car. I liked the car a lot. My father said i couldn't have the car when i turned 16, as it was too fast for me. Still, when i was 14/15 he brought me to some big empty lots (precursor to autocross?) to learn how to drive manual, in this vehicle. I fell in love. In october of 1995 the engine overheated, warping the head and burning the number 4 exhaust valve. At the time, we didn't know what was wrong except that it lost compression. My father was in the process of building a 1938 plymouth coupe street rod and decided to "keep the merkur" to use the seats in the street rod. Little did i know he never wanted the seats, but he wanted me to have the car once i "proved myself". The car was put in the back yard on cinder blocks and forgotten. 9 years later i'm graduated from college and i own a supercharged zx3 that i also autocross. It's now may 2004, and i convince my dad to let me "have" the merkur. I knew a lot more about engines than i did when i was little, and i was sure i could get this car running. In october 2004 a friend of mine with a trailer brought the car from my parents to my house. 3 weeks later the car ran. New head, head gasket, hoses, belts, etc etc etc etc etc and she ran. Sure, the timing was off. Sure, this and that. Whatever. She ran! On disassembly i was shocked the car was in as good condition as it was. Well, except the interior. 9 years of mice left me removing the insides with a full face respirator and latex gloves. Ever get mouse crap in your eye? I have. After cleaning up the car and interior and getting it running, i offered it to my mother in 2005. She said "no, it's yours now, and ... well, i'd just break it again." Okay. Fast forward to 2008. the car now sits on a fully customized suspension, with a hodgepodge of parts from things that really only fit because i bought myself a welder and a sawzall. (inside joke). A "mod list" doesn't apply here, at least not in "bolt ons". Not much on the car is a bolt on, and not much on the car is actually made for the car. The funny part is... thru research and planning, it WORKS. So i'll attempt a mod list. Inside: Removal of about 4lbs of dessicated mouse crap. Removal of 3 or so dessicated mice. Removal of about 45lbs of sound proofing, give or take. Removal of most interior pieces (rear seats, carpet, trim, head liner, drivers seat). Replacement of drivers seat with a momo start (14 lbs) Custom fabbed seat rail using the oem slider so i can still have front / rear slide control. Crow 3" 5pt camlock harness. Autopower 4 pt rollbar, modified with extra steel to have a harness bar, diagonal brace (to rear shock tower), and welded (not bolted) in. Very lightweight triangulated aluminum rear shock brace. Stitch welded floorpan (most of it) I also had to resolder some of the circuit boards. Gauges: Wideband o2 sensor Big fat tach (it was cheap and used) Oil pressure Oil Temp Water Temp (oem didn't work, even new they sucked) Voltage (lets me know when something isn't right) Boost Redline tuning shifter boot (yes, the first one made for a merkur) Fire extinguisher (it's still a merkur) Ford Focus Shifter knob (different tranny than stock = different shift pattern.) Under the hood: fully clean and repainted most of the parts. new hoses, wiring out the friggin' wazoo, etc. 3" turboback exhaust 3" dump under pass side door with block off plate for non-track stuff. front mount intercooler (3" x 20" x 6" core, bar and plate) intercooler tubing i welded up myself lightly ported / polished e6 turbo manifold stainless braided oil feed to turbo line stainless braided fuel line turbojoe's high flow fuel rail proform adjustable fuel pressure regulator fuel pressure gauge thermostatically controlled oil cooler (from a 1988 rx7) summit racing oil filter sandwich plate (for oil cooling) stainless braided oil lines for oil cooler mustang v8 oil filter (shorter than stock, so it fits) esslinger underdrive pulley (crank, water pump) upgraded the **** out of the ground wires (i didn't want any chances with sensor stuff) LA3 ECU Big VAM (from a turbocoupe) air charge sensor (wired to ECU) 3" stainless turbo inlet pipe K&N cone filter in a custom made 20ga galvanized steel heat shield with a decal of winnie the pooh holding a knife dripping blood in one hand, and piglets severed head in the other. New head (kind of a big deal i guess) felpro 1035 head gasket Drivetrain: tremec type 5 trans (t5 for short) mustang (1986 i think) v8 driveshaft adapter for driveshaft to differential european 7.0" limited slip diff spec stage 3 6 puck clutch clutch cable from a non-hydro clutch mustang oem speedo cable with different end gear in trans (wrong ratio, btw, it's like 14% off (too fast )) Brakes: full flush of brake fluid once per year oem rear brakes (replaced all hardware, and painted drums black fronts have handmade adapter brackets for the following: ford focus SVT rotors 2003 mustang GT calipers ford focus SVT brake lines (required a rethread of calipers to fit new lines, they're 1/8 npt if you're interested) Suspension this is where the car got expensive. mc2racing helped tremendously with advice and parts supply for this portion of the car (as well as other portions) Front: Hypercoil 500lb/in springs, coilover helper springs coilover sleeves on koni adjustable dampers nylon steering rack bushings polyurethane sway bar bushings polyurethane inner and outer TCA (control arm) bushings i also chopped the top off my strut towers, fabricated new tops, and welded them on to fit: mustang QA1 camber plates with spherical bearings. a crazy amount of adjustment now. Rear: Hypercoil 325lb/in coilover springs QA1 carerra 4/4 aluminum threaded body racing shocks custom fabricated lower shock reciever redone and reinforced upper reciever (a lot of welding) mc2racing polyurethane rear diff mount nylon inner and outer STA (control arm like) bushings polyurethane rear beam bushings Wheels / Tires mustang pony wheels painted white to match car with silver lip to hide wheel weights 225/50/16 falken azenis RT 615's i also have some oem 16" focus wheels with hoosier rubber on them but i haven't used that in a while. Exterior: Cleaned, claybarred, waxed car handmade fiberglass cossie replica grill reshot the trim from grey to white to match car cossie style hood vents tinted tail lights some decals to support my local businesses, and friends magnetic numbers and class stuff for autocross. some rust fixes here and there. For a timeline build with all the pics and full commentary, please view all the pages here: http://forums.focaljet.com/team-rigz...1-14-08-a.html I've lost count of the hours in this car. More spent working on it than driving it, but if you know me, you know that i absolutely love this car. I had to sell one toy, and ... sadly, the focus is for sale. I cant part with this car. It means a lot to me. Too much, probably.   first event:  cutting the tops of my shock towers off...  no, i really DONT trust the factory gauges... (mostly because they dont work that well)  motormounts, wideband, 3" wrapped dp...  best pic i have of the front suspension  rear suspension (still sorting this out)  respect.  fun.  fairly recent engine shot  prettiest pic i have  |
Re: WINNER of March NFOTM: WTF? I Thought This Was FOCUS of the Month!
