Modification

ST170 Turbo engined 4X4 (Quattro) Fiesta project

24/03/2007

My new adapter plate is finished; big thanks to Mark Attridge for helping me out with this despite having a project of his own!

The lug I removed from the rear of the block in order to accomdate the Audi transfer plate has been decked and tapped in each corner for M5 studs. This is so I can bolt on a cover plate with 2 threaded fittings for the breather system:

Gearbox and engine were put on the mill to get accurate dowel position coordinates:

16mm HE30 aluminium. Mounting holes being machined/tapped/countersunk:

Outside edge:

Internal:

The following photo shows the new 8mm dowel that's been installed in the block (top right adajcent to existing bolt hole), this facilitates precise location of the plate on to the block. I've had the Titan dry sump modified with 2 fixing points. The outer edge wasn't flat so it's been milled to suit, you can just about make out where it's been milled to accept the plate's profile:

Complete:

This shot shows how far the engine is tilted back:

This has all gained me a massive 3.7" of clearance below the engine, so I can now move it down further to lower the COG.

24/02/2007

OK, back from Thailand and things are rolling again. I've had long running concerns about the adapter plate I created so I've re-evaluated and commissioned a CNC part. I've got to thank both Mark Attridge and Richard Jones from R J Engineered Solutions (he mainly deals with VW>Impreza conversions) for their help and machine work. The 02M gearbox is being reverse-engineed in order to ensure the adapter plate locating dowel positions place the input shaft relative to crank C/L within OEM tolerances (0.05mm). I know for a fact my plate would work (as proven in many other conversions worldwide) but I want to make sure everything is 100% from the outset.

I've got a two week wait for the plate so, in the mean time here are a few photos of my WRC manifold. I just had to have this as the design is excellent (as you'd expect!); ideal primary diameter, length (equal) but most importantly the collector is of high quality which is extremely important for good turbo/throttle response. The primaries are relatively long; torque counts in WRC! This is also exactly what I'm after. The manifold is constructed from Inconel so has excellent heat transfer properties; in fact it's cold enough to touch 5 minutes after a hard drive.

You can see the WRC thermostat take off (magnesium for insulation!) which keeps the top hose from coming too close to the hot manifold. I've also got some longer leads to relocate the coil pack although I'll more than likely go coil-on-plug.

28/10/2006

The shell is now all shot blasted and prepared, all clean and ready for work to commence:

Here's a new toy I've purchased to make life a lot easier:

A switchable horizontal and vertical laser line (self levelling if required):

23/09/2006

I'm the process of shot blasting the enture underneath to remove any surface rust that appeared since I last worked on the car (some parts were left bare metal). It's a crap job but needs must!

I'm using Dinitrol RC800 to seal the bare metal. I was going to use etch primer first but I undestand that it's slightly porous, so if you leave it unpainted for a length of time then you get rust underneath the primer (especially this time of year). The RC800 is organic acid based and it 'etches' in to the metal and leaves a totally impermeable seal. It neutralises rust that's already there and is also overpaintable.

It's a milky colour, turns blue the minute you paint it on and fully dries black after 12 hours or so.

01/05/2006

The rear diff subframe requires two new crossmembers, one on the boot floor and one underneath the rear seat. The rear most member was very time consuming as the boot floor is anything but flat:

I've welded in tube where the subframe mounting bolts will pass through, and up to the boot floor (which will be reinforced):

On the car:

And here's the subframe bolted up complete with ARB:

17/04/2006

I've now fully prepared the bottom of the car, it's all seam welded and I've spent a while taking the majority back to bare metal, or as good as. This is to ensure I've got rid of all the corrosion as even on a shell like mine it's surprising the amount of undetectable 'spiders' you can find under the etch primer (these start from stone chips).

With the shell underneath prepared I can start to work out where is best to begin strengthening. I'm starting with parts used from the Mk5.

These will extend forward to reinforce the rear wishbone mounting point and also go forward up to the bulkhead.

I was also lacking some suitable gearbox mounts, I had to travel a surprising distance to get these, just the sort of part that gets thrown away when a car is broken!

It's time to get the engine in and in position so that I can see where to modify the floor and also where best to place the prop shaft. The first obstacle was the rear gearbox mounting lug on the Zetec block, this together with another mount on the sump were completely in the way of the Audi driveshaft output.

These were duly removed, and here the crankcase is exposed; this will be covered with a plate that will be secured by 4 bolts with threads drilled and tapped in each corner of the exposed area. The plate will also serve as the rear take off for the breather system.

The gearbox alone could now be fitted to the engine, and preparation for fitting the transfer case could commence.

The transfer box proved to be an extremely close fit, initially 2 castings on the Zetec block were in the way.

These were removed.

On the transfer case itself, I needed to remove one of the lugs that secures the casing to the engine block. As the Zetec block is totally different to the Audi 1.8T block, I will be designing a bespoke bracket that will replace this mount anyway.

Finally the entire assembly bolted together. I now need to design some adapter plates to join the Zetec lugs to the Audi gearbox lugs, as most are in differing places.

With this work done I can now position the power train in the bay, and begin to make the engine mounting brackets.

08/04/2006

I've been pretty slack with the car recently, not done anything for weeks! Got stuck back in this past few days though stripped the remainder of the underseal, exposed the seams and welded them.

I'm going all out with the seam welding, going beyond what would normally be done...but every little helps :)

12/03/2006

Audi 02M Quattro 6 speed gearbox & transfer box:

Point of note: the top bellhousing bolt centres are at 135mm - exactly the same as the Ford Zetec, Interesting! However the input shaft position does not match.

Transfer box:

Input side:

O/S output:

Combined:

I also picked up a spare set of driveshafts & CV's:

03/03/2006

The metal has arrived for the rear diff mount, it is 100x50mm*2mm ERW box section. I also have some ERW tube to reinforce the areas where the mounting bolts will pass through the box section. I carried on with preparing the rear of the car today, removing the 2 spare wheel carrier mounting brackets and removing the rest of the underseal ready for welding.

02/03/2006

Cleaned the exhaust tunnel in order to remove all of the Waxoyl, this took a considerable amount of time with rags and a toothbrush and no doubt the wax in the seams will come back and haunt me when it's time to start priming & painting.

At the rear of the car I started to prepare the boot floor area for the fabrication work required to mount the diff, starting today by removing the boot floor reinforcing piece.

28/02/2006

I have taken a few more photo's as a record of how the shell is now, before any modifications.

27/02/2006

I spent a little time today swivelling the shell into place so I can begin work on the underside. This was a 2 man job as clearance was minimal between the garage door opener and the top edge of the shell, my Dad kindly spent half an hour with me holding the shell while I adjusted the height of the stands and locked them in place with bolts.

I'm out of garage space at the moment! 2 interiors, 2 sets of wheels, 2 sets of suspension, an RS2K 4x4 rear end and numerous other things are making it difficult to work on the car, hopefully by the end of next week all of the parts that I don't need will be sold, giving me back some much needed space!

22/02/2006

I've decided to make some modifications to the rotisserie stands. As it will make it a lot easier for me to have the drivetrain mounted whilst the car is on its side I wanted to make sure the mounting points on the car were up to taking the extra weight.

The images to the right show the original mounting brackets which used the existing bumper mounts, these are fine for the empty shell but wouldn't take much more weight.

At the rear I made two extensions that loop underneath the rear valence and sit against he rear chassis rails, from here the brackets can be bolted through the chassis rail and into the boot area via the OEM tow bar mounts.

For the front I made another bracket that went through the front tow eye recess in the valence and sat flush against the front cross member, this could then be bolted through into the 2 existing gearbox cradle mounts.

13/02/2006

I decided to treat myself to a new welder and chose a Murex on the recommendation of my friend Steve over at RSBible. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Murex to anybody, it's solid as a rock even on the lower power settings.

February 2006

I've been working on the car when I can, a lot of time has been spent organising all my Fiesta spares and creating a catalogue so that I know what I have. I've got the shell stripped and have removed pretty much every fitting bar a few clips (which will be removed in due course). I hate overspray on anything, even if it's not seen!

I seam welded the interior of the car this month, rather than update this project log with lots of very similar looking photo's on different dates I have decided to write a separate article detailing what's involved in seam welding, the reasons behind it and lots of accompanying images. There article can be found here.

24/01/2006

Small update, we have the Drivetrain! It's a lovely piece of kit; very solid construction yet lightweight. It has been proven to take 550bhp by the HPA Biturbo R32, so it should be OK for me.

Typical VAG attention to detail (I have a lot of respect for their work, it's some of the best in the business IMO) with the line routing and that highly effective green anti-corrosion treatment of bolts.

Box section arms.

The Haldex unit and rear diff.

Late type forged aluminium calipers, I will be using these as my handbrake calipers.

Not much of an update, I've spent the day cataloguing my spares as Dad has kindly given me the loft in one of the garages to keep all my Fiesta parts. It's amazing what you collect! I've still got to strip out the interior, headlining, glass and loom - pretty mundane stuff. I hope to have the car on its side by Friday and then I can mount the diff. I've been planning it all in my head over the last couple of days and now have it all worked out including the suspension arms.

More soon.

22/01/2006

Finally, now my 2 FRST's have been sold I can devote a bit more time to this project, things can really start moving now.

I spent today making a set of spits (now another customers are finished).

The rest of the day was spent stripping the car down to a bare shell.

The shell is totally mint, better than most Mk5's.

I'm going to Kent in the morning to pick up the entire underpinnings of a 2003 Audi TT quattro. I'm researching the system with a view to making a custom controller. I have some pretty trick plans for the electronic torque bias, it should be a Ford first when completed.

10/11/2005

Picked up an RS2000 4x4 rear-end from Barnsley yesterday. DaveRom came along to join me as we watched the chaps at the scrap yard struggle in taking it to bits so that I could put it in the back of my Fiesta :).

I really can't recommend highly enough the Ford Salvage Centre in Barnsley. You kind of expect to be served by ignorant arseholes at scrap yards, get used to it, but these guys were polite and very helpful. The best I've ever dealt with I think!

Anyway, here's the rear end as it stands at the minute. After a few preliminary measurements the whole assembly needs shortening by over an inch.

I am going to use the Escort arms for making the mock up rear end, cutting them, butt weld and then sleeve for a strong joint. What I'll then do is have a complete set of arms made from billet aluminium. I have a source for the drive shafts and will be fitting HD CV joints.

17/10/2005

The Focus ST box has gone to a friend, and in it's place sits (or will when it arrives!) an Audi 22s Quattro gearbox (TT 225). I always wanted a 4WD Fiesta from day 1, and with the power I'm expecting FWD would have been useless.

Next on the list is a decent Torsen rear diff, I want to keep diff locking mechanical rather than electrical. I'm still looking in to the various options for this, I wanted to use the Audi S4 rear but it is open as standard as the Torsen is the centre diff in that configuration (and apart of the gearbox which is longitudinal). It seems Mazda have a nice one for the MX5, but I need to know if it'll take the 500bhp the S4 one will and is compatible with the 22s gearbox.

EDL (Electronic diff locking) will require the use of a CAN bus network (what modern electronic systems use to communicate with each other) within the car which will take a considerable amount of time to install and integrate with mk3 switchgear. It utilises the ABS system (I am using a Mk5 4 wheel electronic system) to mimic true diff locking, however it's no where near as effective as a Torsen diff.

Pretty small update, I should have more interesting things to add once I've made a rotisserie for the car.

05/05/2005

Had a play around today with the Mk5 secondary door weather seals that I ordered from Ford. The photo's to the right show a Mk5 that I have and how they attatch to the car. I really want toa void welding these on mine as My Mk5 is rusting along the seam at only 16k miles. They trap water.

It took an age to line up the seal bracket son to the car, it took a lot of careful bending. The brackets comefrom Ford way out of shape due to how flimsy they are. I don't know how I shall mount them yet, bonding may be out of the question due to how out of shape they are.

Some wiring supplies also turned up today from Vehicle Wiring Products, these are good to deal with and delivery is fast. I ordered some wiring to build a new OFAB engine management loom, the wiring is thin wall and in the same colours as Ford used.

03/05/2005

Nothing too exciting I'm afraid, I've got exams in 2 weeks so busy with revision. The sunroof will be a while off yet. I've got a lot of welding and fabrication ahead before the '2nd fix' as it were :).

I've bought myself a welder so I can do my own steel fabrication from now on, and also seam weld the shell. It's a powerful one as far as domestic welders go and requires a 25amp supply. The standard domestic wiring installation supports 13amp.

Luckily in our garages we have decent wiring, and in the garage where my car is there are free slots on the consumer unit. I have added a 32amp circuit for the welder (standard MCB sizes are 16, 20 and 32).

2 spaces in the consumer unit.

Plug the wall.

Fit the socket (Blue 16amp socket, strictly this should be a 32a - but will get me up and running on medium power for now).

Wire the socket.

Open consumer unit.

Hager 32amp MCB.

In place and wired.

Finished with the live side.

Attatch the male socket to the welder power lead.

Attach welder.

Ready.

First attempt, not too bad.

Had an hours work on the car today, finished cleaning up the mid section of underneath, this time the O/S.

As it was.

Detail.

Cleaned.

Today I also ordered most of the wiring accessories that I will need for the project. I managed to get hold of reels of wire in colours that Ford used, which is what I was after. I'm now waiting for Webcon UK to get back to me re: Ford engine management connectors, then I can set about making a brand new OFAB engine management loom custom built to my car and it's one off main loom.

01/05/2005

A very minor update. I need to replace the cable actuated Mk3 heater controls as I will be using a Mk5 ventilation system. The mk5 has electronically actuated temperature adjustment.

I had a play around with an old mk5 heater control panel.

Here is where I will be mounting it. This was just a 15 minute test fit; the panel will be straightened out and cut to exact size on the final version. When finished it will look like it was there from the factory.

Test fit of Mk5 instrument cluster in the Mk3 dash.

24/04/2005

Today I stripped the underside of all removable parts; fuel tank, fixings, pipes, heat shields etc.

The tank was still half full so I siphoned it dry to make removal simpler.

The spare wheel carrier was also removed, it's gone for good as the new exhaust system will take up all of the rear space. Here are a couple of shots of the install I did 6 years ago, I will get around to updating it at some point.

Battery relocated to the boot, and false floor for install so that some load space is still functional.

This is the floor as it is now, lots of wax and underseal.

The mid section of the car is not undersealed. I spent this afternoon removing all of the wax with petrol and a combination of Brillo pad, toothbrush and cloth.

Still a long way to go.

23/04/2005

I'm going to source a set of Bi-Xenon projectors and carefully mount them in the Fiesta headlamp using the reflectors from another type of car, I'm having new covers made to replace the stock glass fronts. I've worked most of this out and have contacts ready, but the lighting will be one of the last things I do unfortunately. The finishing touches will be done towards the end of the year :)

22/04/2005

I ordered some Scotchbrite pads this week from RS online (be warned there are cheaper places out there, but delivery is fast & reliable).

I'm using the pads to remove all underseal and take the entire underneath back to bare metal, ready for etch primer and new underseal (in specific places).

Here is the underside as it was, covered in about 1.5mm of wax. When I took delivery of the shell back in 2000 I spent 3 days and copious amounts of Waxoyl making sure it wouldn't rust...

Here’s what the N/S looked like after 10 minutes with the angle grinder and Scotchbrite pad. I found the electric drill lacking in power and it tended to burr the underseal and not fetch it off cleanly. The drill is only really useful for the hard to reach places..and there are lots of those:

Long exposure to show more detail.

I've got limited time to spend on the project at the moment due to revision, so standard Grey Primer was used to protect the exposed metal. This will be removed when I've finished removing all of the underseal and in its place will sit a nice coat of etch primer.

m1k3_w47715 was kind enough to donate a pair of ST170 hubs to the cause! Big thanks to Mike ;)

Superflex Polyurethane ARB bushes. This is the only place on the car I will be using Poly bushes, the ARB bushes take some punishment so it's worthwhile in this area.

Low screen wash level sensor from a Ghia. This will be wired up to my Mk5 clocks.

Some of the Ford parts I need for the project have been delivered, I've no doubt that a need for more will arise though!

Mk5 secondary weather seals for the doors. At speeds over a ton the top of the doors flex and the result is a lot of wind noise. These strips should go somewhere towards stopping that. I'm going to bond the brackets on, as a lot of Mk5's rust out from the spot welds the top of the rail (it traps water).

A fresh set of decals for the car, including the engine bay which will be resprayed to match the car colour (Metallic Mk3.5 engine bays were left in etch primer).

Any parts that are not in 'as new' condition are being replaced along with all the suspension bushes & components just to be on the safe side. Even though most parts have only done 700ish miles I want the car to be perfect:

The magic button!

20/04/2005

Small update. The rear calipers arrived this morning, very good condition and the pads have still got a lot of life left in them. I've had red calipers before and they didn't look too great against my burgundy car, so I'll strip these down and have them powder coated silver to match the fronts. Replacement Brembo decals can be bought on eBay.

Now I have both front and rear calipers I can begin to determine the square area of each caliper piston, in order to calculate the total fluid displacement within the system (also allowing for pad wear and brake lines). This is used as a requirement for master cylinder size, and the ratio of the SportKA brake pedal is used to determine if adequate brake line pressure will be available. I will post more when I've learnt exactly what needs to be done.

I have also ordered a few Scotchbrite pads to begin stripping the underseal from under the car. I'll get cracking at the weekend. I'll (etch)prime first and I aim to give it a finish as good as the top sides. It'll be my first time painting with a compressor/gun so I'm expecting a few mistakes!

18/04/2005

Well, I've been through phases of wanting to sell her and wanting to keep her. I figure it's not worth anything other than to me, and as it's a fine base to start with I will be undertaking one last 'Fiesta Project'.

The rationale for this project is as follows; I've learnt quite a lot since the last Zetec turbo so the S4 project aside this will be an ideal chance to do something different. I also feel that the car could do with bringing 'up-to-date' as I enjoy learning about new technologies and I have plenty in store for the car.

As with previous incarnations I'm not looking to create the loudest, most powerful and ostentatious car. It's going to be firmly driver orientated and tastefully done. I've reconsidered my original engine spec which would have seen power up towards 400BHP. I want the car to be quick, and that doesn't always equal big BHP so revisions were made, however the engine will be built to allow for safe, future increases up to that amount.

The chassis will be as strong as possible without doing anything radical such as a weld in roll cage, seam welding is a possibility. I'll be making few braces for the running gear and chassis, particularly at the front end. However, there will be a firm luxury element. No knocks, bangs or harshness. Anybody can create a rock hard & unforgiving car, but it takes more thought to create one equally as good that is still comfortable. I like to use the car in 'everyday' circumstances.

Enough of the talk, here are some quick (read poor) preliminary photo's of the components I have amassed to date. There are lots more but I will post when I fully decide what direction I take and Uni is finished.

SportKA PAS rack. Matched to my ST170/Focus RS PAS pump which has unique valving for sports applications. The Sport KA rack will enable me to run 20mm extra front track and provide a nicer feel on the road.

Believe it or not this is from a '53 plate car. Lots of farm tracks around here, it'll clean up fine.

Pedal box assembly from SportKA. I'm performing a hydraulic clutch conversion so that I can run a HD clutch without encroaching on pedal feel. Modifications to bulkhead and steering column required:

Master cylinder and brake booster from aforementioned KA. Temporary measure until a VAG setup is sourced:

SportKA front hubs, +20mm lower arms (cast for strength). Also hub carriers with revised gearbox mount, ideal for my gearbox conversion. The S brace is both stronger and lighter than the mk3 version.

Hubs have integral ABS sensors, needed as I'm wiring in 4 wheel electronic ABS.

Puma VCT gearbox mounts, may be of some use yet. Not sure at this point.

ST170 wiring loom. The heart of any modern Ford electronics system is the General Electronics Module (GEM). I'm cutting this system from the ST170 loom to gain radio frequency locking, control of double locks and a security system.

The GEM is integrated with many functions of the car including lighting and wipers. I will be utilising its functionality to the maximum to provide functions such as automatic wipe when wash, rear wipe in reverse, interior light delay etc.

The front brakes, Focus RS 330mm with 4 piston alu calipers. 16" Superleggera’s to cut down unsprung weight. Billet hubs are something I'm looking in to. Front drive shafts are going to be equal length to cut down on torque steer.

Porsche are a company that takes braking very seriously, look at their top steel systems and the rear calipers and discs are the same size enabling them to have powerful yet controlled brakes. An example of this is on track days, RS4's with Mov'it front 380 6's cant touch GT3's for braking unless the rears are done to compliment

My rear brakes are Focus ST170 front 300mm discs and Brembo 2 piston calipers, with a separate handbrake caliper. A lot of people claim large rear brakes are overkill, this is horse, the rear brakes must be relative in size to the fronts to provide an even spread of torque across the system. A well balanced system equates to shorter stopping distances

Focus, Mondeo and Golf IV A/C system's. Parts of each will be utilised to improve on the low capacity Mk5 Fiesta system. Wiring will be custom and I will be retaining the Mk3 dashboard.

Mk5 clocks with rev counter...in black. Thanks to Project for these ;)

GRS EVO3 I/C and rear strut brace. IC may be changed when the front of the car has been re-worked (tubular front cross member to give clearance for a larger radiator & cooler).

Electric & heated mirrors, heating will be controlled by the GEM.

The power plant, ST170 turbo. It will be all steel internals which are still to come across from the states. I've commissioned a custom inlet manifold that has been made a person who works on the US Indy series. He has taken a particular interest in the Zetec. The manifold has been designed around what I want from the engine, which is driveability and effortless torque throughout the rev range.

ST 6-Speed gearbox. I'm worried about it's torque capacity, Getrag don't put a very high torque rating on the box, but then neither did Ford on the B5. It's a gamble at this stage. The ST gearbox is geared for 185mph at 8krpm in 6th. It'll be flat out whenever the opportunity arises.

A little dusty..she's been in there for a few years now..Still only on 38k miles..

More updates soon.

17/04/2005

In the scrap yard today helping a friend to get most of a SportKa so he could to upgrade his girlfriends Ka, I got the sunroof on the off-chance it would fit a Mk3. It doesn't, the roof is a slightly different shape. It was no loss though as it sold on ebay for a decent amount.

15/04/2005

Ordered a set of Mk5 chrome sill protectors for the car today, they should fit in theory and they do. I'm not sure about them now though, I think black may look better!

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