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02 ZTW build of the "Unicorn"

12K views 63 replies 17 participants last post by  Blystr842 
#1 ·
So it's time I started a build thread. This will be a slow process for me since I spend a lot of my time and money racing RC (radio controlled) cars.
I bought the car with 97k. It has AdvanceTrac, leather, sunroof, 6 disc, I am the second owner, and most importantly... 5-SPEED!!!
I'm open to suggestions etc, I've been out of the Focus game for a while so I'm a bit rusty on all the new styling etc.
Sorry for the bad pics, all I have is a really old cell phone. :rolleyes:

These pics are essentially in order of completion.

At the stealership:


First mod, black side markers:


Then I dipped the wheels, grille, and tailgate strip and debadged:





Tint:


Rolled my first Odo and I'm more than happy I did it in my dream car:



Replaced bad valve cover gasket, plugs, and wires:


Centerforce Dual Friction clutch waiting to be installed:


Volant short ram:


Ram Air scoop:


Changed fuel filter:


Power Slot slotted rotors and EBC Green Stuff pads F&R:



New Konig's and BFG's:


Tomorrow I'll be replacing the old rusted parking brake cables and possibly treating the leather. Interior pics should be coming soon.
 
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#2 ·
The whole reason I bought this car wasn't just because I've always been in love with the MKI ZTW, but the fact that I needed something with better storage space and MPG's than my 07 Ram. Like I said, I currently drive all over the state (sometimes 8+ hours) to go to RC Pro Texas State Series points races and this thing is perfect for transporting myself and a fellow racer to and from said races. :D
This is pretty much what my car looked like on it's first outing to an RC Pro event with my stuff as well as econorocketZX3's stuff loaded:


That would be a canopy, 2 tool boxes, 4 RC's, 3 chairs, 2 duffle bags, a suitcase, a cooler, 2 pit tables, 2 spare parts boxes, one spare tire box, one crate full of lights and cords, one transmitter case, 3 extra RC bodies, one hauler bag, and 3 trophies in there. Still had room to spare :thumbup:
 
#9 ·
Awesome! Always cool to meet a fellow RC enthusiast outside the normal circles.

Currently I run the Team Durango DESC410 4wd short course truck and DESC210 2wd short course truck. The 4wd took some work to get it ready to handle the abuse of the 1/8 tracks, but it's pretty dialed now. I'm fairly new to the 2wd, but it is hands down the smoothest, easiest to drive, fastest short course truck I've ever driven!
I was just about to pick up a 2wd buggy until the local 1/10 track closed so I may look into getting a 1/8 e-buggy.

What RC's are you running? You go to any big races?
 
#4 ·
I also have a '02 ZTW that has a moonroof, Advanc Trac, traction control, and is a 5-speed. This is the only other one than mine I've seen posted on here.

I have upgraded to the Rally brake fronts, and the one time I ever had to stop fast... It stopped on a dime with the Advanc Trac! I could not imagine how good it would be with SVT fronts. I will eventually get SVT fronts or Brembo 305mm brakes. I love my wagon, and yours is equally equipped!

Do it right and get a SVT front, and SVT side skirts for it!
 
#11 ·
Yeah I know, it's not the "true unicorn" though I wish it were!!! It's something I've wanted since I picked up my first Focus (a 2000 LX) back in 2003. I came a little close in 2005 when I picked up a 2002 SE wagon but it just didn't do it for me. So I guess it's my little unicorn ;)

Here are my first two MKI's:

 
#7 ·
Wait, I read you "dipped" the hatch strip? Please restore the beauty of the chrome piece! The side markers look cheap, OEM orange looks much better. Best thing you can do to make the car look like more of a "finished" product is paint the door handle, and get SVT mirror with painted inserts. Giving you my honest opinion from 10+ years of building this things. Love this wagon the way it is equipped, and love the color!
 
#16 ·
What are you doing to your wagon?
 
#15 ·
My three big qualms are the hatch strip, side markers, and wheels. Don't get me wrong, the car doesn't look bad, but my taste would point me in different directions. Since you're so open to constructive criticism, I'd suggest clear sidemarkers to better match your stock headlights, a set of OEM wheels (left in their original silver finish), and a return to chrome on the hatch strip. I know you're not a fan of chrome (I know many people with your phobia, and I can't say you're crazy because of it), but since you're unable to get rid of all of it at once, I'd say continuity with it is a good stop-gap until you have the resources to do it all at once. ST170 headlights, a GOOD set of coilovers, short-throw shifter, some matching anti-roll bars, a 2.5" exhaust system, tune, and some silver aftermarket wheels would make this car an awesome daily driver in my mind.

Keep up with doing things right, that Volant intake is something I really wish I could have! I look forward to seeing your progress.

PS: I've always though wagons looked great on SVT 6-spokes if you're looking for a budget-intensive wheel choice.
 
#18 ·
Thanks much!

Yeah constructive criticism is exactly what I need. I like seeing options through other enthusiast's eyes. You guys will open my eyes to things I may not have seen on my own. It's welcomed and requested for the development of what is essentially my dream car.

I'm looking at black housed headlights now to try to wipe the last bit of chrome from the ride, but I do remember still having my clear side markers from my 2nd MKI lying around somewhere so I may slap them on the ZTW and peel the Dip off the rear strip to see what it looks like.

As far as the wheels go, they were not my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or even 10th choice. I found out that one of the stock wheels was bent and the new looking tires were dry rotted as F. So I went and pulled my old 17x7 Konig Holes wheels from the closet and was told I had 2 of them bent and it would cost $300 to fix. Discount Tire just happened to be having a special that weekend on sets of wheels and tires. Buy 4 wheels get a $100 Visa card, 4 tires - $100 card, use their credit card and get additional $50 for wheels and $50 for tires. So my GF offered to buy the wheels for my birthday and I picked up the tires and as a way of saying thank you I offered to give her all of the Visa cards I'll receive.
I really wanted the SVT EAP wheels. Still do. Eventually I will have them. I actually used to have some of the TSW Saleen replica wheels but my ex destroyed the face of one wheel so I sold them last year.

Thanks for the pointers and all the mods you mentioned... they're all quite literally on the list of things to come :D
 
#17 ·
Baking, opening up, and restoring a set of ST170 headlights (some moisture got in them from the previous owner and are a little faded), making a wire harness so I won't have to cut any wires to install them and finishing up some maintenance stuff... like tps sensor and trying to chase down my cooling fan issue.
 
#19 ·
UPDATE:

Clutch started slipping today. I have a clutch ready to go in but don't have the money to get it installed. Plus I may have to buy a flywheel which will set me back a few more bucks. On top of that, on the way home from the gas station my truck decides to start downshifting into 3rd randomly and the engine light comes on. So now I'm stuck riding around my Ninja with a "For Sale" sign on it until I can get the ZTW rolling again...
 
#20 ·
Finally got the ZTW rolling again! Now it's sporting the Centerforce Dual-Friction clutch and a Massive Speed Systems motor mount! :)

I couldn't be happier! It's shifting perfectly and drives like a champ. The only issue is it's making quite a bit of "tractor" noise. I've had some local Focus owners say they have had the same issue with the noise but had no mechanical problems. I hear it's the transmission, not the clutch. Any ideas what I can do to shut it up?

Next fix is the parking brake cables then the timing bet service. After that I'm probably getting the CFM UDP kit. If I sell my motorcycle anytime soon I'll be picking up a cat-back and short-throw.
 
#23 ·
I only had the stock flywheel machined (assuming it was stock) so should the chatter still be normal? It does it the entire time the car is running. It's loudest when it's being lugged in gear at low rpm and when I'm doing about 70 on highway then let off. Starting to really hate it...

I'll try to get vids up soon.
 
#22 ·
I had the flywheel machined. Assuming the clutch had never been changed, it should be the stock flywheel. It's not like it's a big issue, it's just really loud and kind of embarrassing lol. Maybe once I get an exhaust bolted up it will drown out some of the sound...
 
#24 ·
I have no experience with a machined flywheel, but the balance could be way off perhaps. I had my clutch and flywheel spin balanced before installation. My chatters loudly at idle, not all the time.
 
#27 ·
Yup I race a lot. I run a Team Durango DESC410 4wd SC truck and a DESC210 2wd SC truck. I'm running the RC Pro Texas State Series in the Pro 4 SCT class and after round 4 I believe I'm leading in points. Currently I have Venom batteries as a sponsor but I'm working on a few others ;)

You race much or just have RC's for the fun factor?
 
#28 ·
I will be getting my flywheel checked soon. I'm going to change tranny fluid as well. I don't think the shop used the right fluid...
 
#29 ·
Well here is a pic of the family. :D
My dropped 07 Ram, of course my ZTW, and the "wifey's" (as the kids say) 2012 SRT. Just wanted to share a bad pic from an old phone :rolleyes:
 
#30 ·
Hell yes! Gotta love a functional whip!


slightly off-topic:

Do any of you RC guys have experience with a quad-copter AND plan on going to Focus Rising 2014?!?!?!

I'd love to take the risk of strapping my GoPro to the bottom and getting some sweet aerial footage of the Focus Showfield... and I'd only feel moderately comfortable letting experienced RC-heads pilot one with my camera on it!
 
#33 ·
Well I'm not much into the quad-copters but my dad is. I can drive the crap out of a car/truck but can't fly a kid's toy to save my life! lol But my dad is pretty good with them and is looking to get a sweet GoPro-toting quad-copter soon. If that happens, I'll make him go with me to FR '14. :thumbup:
We will probably have plenty of practice filming races before we make it to FR. I'll give you a heads up for sure.
 
#31 ·
The 'tractor noise' is 100% normal. All MTX75s do it and is more apparent with more clamping force behind the trans.

It's just the clutch/fw assembly transmitting gear rollover noise as sound. It's worlds worse with an aluminum flywheel.

- Drew
 
#34 ·
Yeah I've heard that quite a bit lately. I was told it's particularly loud because the flywheel has 103k miles on it and was just machined so there is probably and ton of space in there for it to smack the pressure plate around. I hate how loud it is now so maybe an aluminum flywheel is out of the question for now... until the car has some real bite to it
 
#36 ·
How awesome... can't catch a break!!! :bang:

 
#39 ·
Was it difficult at all? What's the estimated time to replace it?


Instead of pulling the axle on my contour, I used the funnel method. It worked surprisingly well for replacing CV boots. Youtube it if your not familiar.
I looked up the "funnel method" and it seems pretty easy. Not a bad way to save money and time. I think I may try this if my CV joint isn't exposed to the elements long enough for debris to get in there.

Also this past weekend I did the ever popular "fog light mod" and fit up a Mach-1 lip to the front end! :D I've had quite a few guys come up and say how the minor mod changed the entire look of the car. Pics to come soon.
 
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