Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 "Originally posted on passionford forums in 2006" (1) 05-01-2006 Bought a MK3 Cabriolet in the summer for £100 from a scrap yard (I know the pic's aren't very good, there wasn't much room in the back yard so couldn't take a descent picture) Anyway all body panels are in top condition (apart from driver side wing) engine was f**ked, but i didn't mind because i already had plans on fitting a EFI Fiesta RS Turbo engine to it. One of the previous owners fitted MK4 bumpers on it & welded a lip on the bonnet to make it look like a MK4, first thing i did was take all that off. since the summer i've been collecting bits to do the engine conversion & repair/restore the body work and fittings, managed to get FRST EFI head, inlet manifold, injector rail, OFAB management & engine loom, flywheel plus a few other turbo bits, nuts & bolts, pipe holders ect, also got some new clear indicators because my car didn't have any indicator lenses! Got a mohair hood on it's way too. Started to strip the back end today, i want to get all the cross members, fuel pump, fuel tank ect off for cleaning, wire brushing & painting, also want to free the underbody of any rust/dirt & then re-underseal it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (2) 06-03-2006 Well it's been a while since my last post, it's been to cold to do anything in the backyard, but for the past week i've managed to strip the engine & gearbox out, and started to strip the injection wiring from the loom, also removed the damaged drivers side wing to find a bit of rot and a load of cowboy style welding, the picture isn't very clear but the metal plates can just be pulled off. So i'll be putting this right in the next few days, also need to buy a new front as this one is completely rotten. (3) 23-03-2006 Well after a few hours of scratching my head over Fiesta & Escort wiring diagrams, i got the EFI power loom installed, that's all relays & fuses, i also managed to fit the relays in the fuse box, which just keeps things a little neater. It took me a couple of weeks to get it fully installed and it got a bit annoying at times, but it had to be done right. As far as wiring goes, just got to fix up the lighting & charging wires, there's alot of broken & bodge job wiring to fix & i've got a few damaged lighting plugs to put right. Also been degreasing the engine bay, which has taken me 3 days so far, i could have done with a steam cleaner really, but done it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cabbytech Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I can see this looking really nice when its done, well done for saving another cabby from the crusher mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (4) 25-03-2006 Finished the engine bay loom!!! I went over every wire three times checking for brakes or past bodge jobs (& found quite a few), soldered all the bad areas & taped the whole thing up, just left with starting & cooling wires to put right (multi-plugs are f**ked) Look, new wing Not fitted it yet, just dropped in place. Also modded & mounted a XR2i sensor plate to the heater box with the ignition & map sensor in place. Next thing to do is buy a new front panel & start welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (5) 10-05-2006 another update for you all, cut all the bad repairs out of the inner wing, welded them up properly then treated the rust and sealed the weld, also managed to get the new front welded on. I've got an engine for it now, i was going to build a CVH Turbo but then i bought a 1.8 Zetec for £50, so i'm going to build a turbocharged zetec engine. It was out of a Mondeo so i have to change the oil & water pump, sump & pick up pipe for ones off an escort, also picked up the inlet manifold off an escort zetec which i'm modding to take the FRST management set up. Started polishing the rocker cover. Also bought a ERST stage 2 exhaust off a friend, i thought it was going to be like a normal exhaust (comes in 3 pieces) but it wasn't, it's just 1 big pipe with a 3" bore and the backbox looks twice the size of a standard S.S one It was a good job i went in my dads pick-up to collect it, and it didn't even fit in that, i had to tie the down pipe section to the roof bar & could see the turbo end through the windscreen, but it should do the trick and make the car sound like a monster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Welcome to cabbyland mate, I expect the cab is now back together. You got any more pics of your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (6) 14-05-2006 Small update, Got all the front panels welded on, even put the headlights ect on, just to see how it's going to look. also welded up the door and boot locks. Because i delocked the boot i had to make a boot release, so i went down the scrap yard and got a release motor out of a mk 5 escort. I modded the original cabriolet boot lock (cut the push button bit off & drilled a hole in the release switch) pushed the bar through & welded too stopers on with an inch of play in the middle, the reason for this is the boot lock is very sensitive & the lightest knock will open the boot, so it needed a little bit of play, heres a few pictures of the finished piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (7) 02-03-2007 Well it's been a while, i haven't had much time or money over the winter period, so my project got pushed to one side. but it's not all bad, since my last update i've managed to finish most of the body work, respray the car & got hold of a series 1 anti roll bar. part painted atm, just finished sandblasting the tie bars. it was in bits when i got it, so had to guess how it went together, can anyone tell me if i've got the center bar the right way around? a few pic's of the body work, it's not the original colour, it's actually a colour used on the old rover mini's. looks lighter than it actually is in these pic's. i've got a gearbox for the car now (bloody things are hard to find) so i'll have pic's of the 1.8 zetec engine being fitted, in the next update, which will be in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (8) 18-06-2007 An update at last! it took me a while to find some steel tubing for the oil return & breather pipes that needed to be fitted to the block, it wasn't really worth doing an update until i had that sorted. Anyway heres the block stripped down, also made a blanking plate for the standard zetec breather. Oil feed with standard & aftermarket oil pressure switch. I drilled & tapped new exhaust stud holes, used an XR2i exhaust gasket as a template. Camera broke! So theres a few photos missing of me drilling & fitting the oil return/breather pipes to the block & rebuilding the bottom end. Pistons & crankshaft back in place. sump, oil & water pumps back on the engine. I bought a engine mount off Ebay thats been made for zetec engine conversions, the only problem i've had with it so far is the top part of it stops the cylinder head fitting the block properly, quick chop with the angle grinder, & problem solved. A peview of the engine, looking good Next on the list, fit the bottom end & gearbox to the car, get the inlet manifold sorted & fixed to the head, fit 2 litre cams & start on the interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (9) 10-10-2007 Engine & gearbox have been fitted, the head isn't fitted yet, still got a bit of work to do on the inlet, it's just there for show. I'm using a CVH oil filter which has plenty of room Series 1 RS Turbo anti roll bar fitted I've just started work on the inlet (taken from a rover 420 GSI) Interior is going back in, had a few problems finding interior parts for a mk3 so i resprayed the panels in satin black. I found a power hood at the scrap yard, took the lifters & pump & fitted to mine, cost me £20! Fitted the hood & rear window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (10) 24-02-2009 Xmas put a grinding halt to my project, the credit crunch didn't help either, but managed to get a few things done. Put all the engine parts, manifolds & exhaust system together, just to see if everything fits ok, so far so good. I've finishing the lower half of the inlet manifold, had to cut some of the alloy away to match the adaptor plate, just need to smooth the ports. I've decided to to fit a MK4 loom, it comes with EFI management loom installed which i can use FRST OFAC ECU with, i had an OFAB system already, but sold that & got an OFAC one. I had a few problems with the loom, lots of cut wires, looks like someone removed an alarm system & didn't bother to replace the missing wire. Took me a while but most of it is fixed Still have one wire that's a bit of a mystery, brown with black strip that goes from the speedo, its broke & i can't find the other end? if anyone reading this page knows what it does, please let me know. (11) 03-03-2009 Small update: MK4 dash board fitted with help from Smilers Site Cylinder head is almost done, valve seated, chambers & ports cleaned up, just needs a skim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (12) 27-03-2009 I got the head skimmed, bought 2 head gaskets & put the engine together Cleaned out & primed the cam followers & fitted the 2.0 litre cams, then realized i forgot to fit the crank position sensor holder in the block! So engine back out, gearbox, clutch & flywheel had to removed to fit the holder. sand blasted the cam cover, dip stick tube, lower section of the inlet manifold, throttle body & coil pack bracket, sprayed the cam cover, manifold & throttle body in silver & coil bracket & dip stick tube in black Finished all mods to the lower section of the inlet manifold & bought allen bolts to fix it to the head. Just need to get the top half of the inlet manifold modified now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (13) 20-10-2009 It's been a while, mainly dew to my dad restoring a triumph spitfire, picture of the finished product below. So while that was going on i spent my time cleaning a few things up, sandblasted the intercooler, gearbox mounts & top half of the inlet. Wire brush attachment for the angle grinder help alot with the driveshafts Managed to track down a Series 1 body kit not to far from my location. S2 RST brake disc's & calipers, another ebay bargin, these will get a good clean up before fitting. MK4 dash painted satin black & fitted, many thanks to danny_boy699 for the speedo Found MK4 RST black carpet on ebay, looks better than the old grey & faded carpet Mocked up the alternator, everything is good here, just got to finish the bottom radiator hose. Continued on next post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (13 continued) Figuring out where & how to position the throttle body. Driveshafts painted & fitted, should have took a picture of them before fitting, but got carried away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Welcome to cabbyland mate, I expect the cab is now back together. You got any more pics of your build. Cheers m8, it's close to complete now, lots of fabrication work needed. That's the lot so far, should have a few pictures by the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shaun Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Hi mate cabby looks good.Keep pics coming looks like you been working hard on cabby will keep looking to see how far it has got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dez72 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hi Snozz2004 just looking though the work your carrying out on the MK 3, fantastic work cant wait to see the next lot of photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest benny Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 just wow! wish i had half the knowledge you got!!!! lookin good mate lookin good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steelcabby Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 did you have any trouble with the T3 manifold hitting your breather plate?? you can buy a core plug to blank that out. and you won't get any oil leaks either that way. also if you need a smaller oil filter. the renault 5 GTT fits perfect. alot smaller, just get a sump magnet and an in line turbo oil filter. all fileings will be stopped that way looking good chap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys. did you have any trouble with the T3 manifold hitting your breather plate?? you can buy a core plug to blank that out. and you won't get any oil leaks either that way. also if you need a smaller oil filter. the renault 5 GTT fits perfect. alot smaller, just get a sump magnet and an in line turbo oil filter. all fileings will be stopped that way looking good chap It's close to the turbo, had to use screws instead of bolts, actually bought a core plug off ebay the other day, but looks like it needs to be pressed into the block. Fiesta RS Turbo oil filter fits to, good idea with the turbo in line filter though, i didn't think of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steelcabby Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 you can knock the core plugs in. just make sure its square and you use a nice flat bit of hard material to do it with. is this a 2.0 or 1.8 zetec?? i know the 2L oil pumps stick out too far as i don't think the 1.8 zetec ones do?? a sump plug magnet is essential chap, your be surprised with how much crap you get before your next oil change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snozz2004 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 you can knock the core plugs in. just make sure its square and you use a nice flat bit of hard material to do it with. is this a 2.0 or 1.8 zetec?? i know the 2L oil pumps stick out too far as i don't think the 1.8 zetec ones do?? a sump plug magnet is essential chap, your be surprised with how much crap you get before your next oil change It's a 1.8, think i've seen magnetic sump plugs on ebay, will get one. Have you ever fitted an oil cooler to a car like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steelcabby Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 i had a small oil cooler on my 2L 8v zvh turbo. only cos i was running good power. you only really need them for high powered engines which get abused alot...lol. you thinking about it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 this all brings back good memorys then went zetec good luck m8 looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 forgot to mention 2wd cossie throttle fits straight on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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