COUPLE UP

What’s better than finding true love? Finding out that they also share the same passion for fast Fords as you do, and also have a tasty Fiesta ST in the garage too…

Be warned. What follows is a romantic love story. A story about a soon-to-be-married couple who met gazing across an Asda car park full of modified Fiestas in Glasgow back in 2017.

But this isn’t ’50 Shades of Blue Oval’, this is Fast Ford magazine. So we’ll be having none of that gushy nonsense here, thank you very much. Besides, the tale of how Jamie Speirs and Michelle Prag’s feisty Fiesta STs blossomed is far more interesting. Especially when you spice things up a bit and ask whose Fiesta is faster...

“For me, it all started back in early 2016. That’s when I bought my Fiesta ST,” recalls Michelle. “It was already modified with a decent spec but I’ve been adding my own stamp on things ever since.” The car came from Elite Automotive in Scotland, a wellrespected car dealership specialising in performance and modified cars, in particular Mk7 Fiestas – even Fast Ford’s own Mk7 Red Edition project car was sold through Elite a couple of years ago.

So, Michelle knew she was getting a good car: just 18 months old, with less than 5000 miles on the clock, and already equipped with a strong Stage 2 spec, pushing out in the region of 270bhp. “It’s a bought not built car,” jibes Jamie. That’s because his ST has been lovingly transformed from stock to the subtle fast-road spec it is today by his own fair hands. “He does all the mechanical work on both of them now,” admits Michelle.

Jamie picked up his ST about a year later than Michelle, and soon joined the Fiesta Owners Scotland group, where the two met. “He likes to tell everyone that we met arguing over a disabled car parking space,” laughs Michelle, “because telling people we met in an Asda car park doesn’t have the same ring to it!”

Jamie’s black ST-3 was just a year old and was totally original, and initially that’s exactly how it was intended to remain. “That didn’t last long,” laughs Jamie, “it had additional security the same day I picked it up, and that was soon followed by Mountune lowering springs and the MP215 kit. I’d previously owned a tuned Mk6 Fiesta ST, so the standard ST180 felt a bit too slow in comparison.”

With a selection of Collins Performance goodies already in place on her car, Michelle’s first thoughts were to wrap it in Cadbury purple... “I’m glad I didn’t in the end, and decided it leave it white,” she confesses, “but as you can see, some of the purple highlights did make their way onto it eventually.”

Both cars continued to evolve and

develop over the coming years, much like their relationship. Jamie’s car gained a Scorpion sports cat, Milltek exhaust and a whole load more upgrades from Mountune, including intercooler and boost pipe upgrade.

And, as we’ve already established, Jamie likes to do things for himself so has fitted all of the mechanical upgrades. “It’s not always as straightforward as you’d like it to be, though,” he admits. “When I was fitting the sports cat (after refusing to fit Michelle’s too!) I had the common problem of bolts snapping. What should have been a two-hour job turned into an all-day eight-hour job that involved removing the turbo entirely from the car.”

“That’s not the only time things didn’t go to plan either, is it Jamie?” Michelle taunts. “When my discs and pads needed replacing, he told me it would be a two-hour job. But after he managed to snap one of the

bleed nipples on my Wilwood callipers (and having to wait for a replacement) my car was off the road for a week.” Still, the courtesy car wasn’t bad – Jamie was forced to give up his ST until it was fixed. “He broke it, so I got his car for the week,” laughs Michelle.

“I am learning to get my own hands dirty too, with Jamie’s guidance, of course,” smiles Michelle. “I’ve recently learnt how to change the spark plugs and change my rear discs and pads. I don’t think he’s ready to let me loose with the spanners full-time just yet, but I am much better at cleaning the cars than he is. He always seems to get polish on all the plastics, which is very annoying.”

You may have noticed that we have avoided the most obvious question until last, for the sake of pre-marital harmony… But, whose Fiesta is fastest?

“Mine!” exclaims Michelle. “Jamie says it doesn’t bother him, but deep down we all know it does.”

“But at least mine’s built not bought,” Jamie retorts with a wink.

Blimey, these two are bickering and mocking each other as though they’re already married! But the big day isn’t until next year, and you can bet the two Fiestas will feature heavily on the day and in the photos. It’s only right, too, given the impact and influence they have had on Jamie and Michelle’s lives. Not only did the couple meet while talking Fiestas, it’s a hobby and passion that has featured prominently throughout their relationship.

“We spend the year going to a number of car shows and meets… Well, usually we do when the country is not in a lockdown,” smiles Michelle, “and every year we get the gang together and head to Silverstone for the weekend for our favourite show, Ford Fair.”

You can clearly see this is more than just a hobby to Jamie and Michelle, it’s a way of life. And all banter and mocking each other aside, both have a clear respect and admiration for each other’s projects and plans.

“We’ve worked hard to get both cars this far, and we’re constantly chatting and comparing ideas for our next upgrades,” admits Jamie. In our eyes, they’re both fantastic examples of how tuneable and easy it is to personalise the Mk7 Fiesta ST, and that there really is no right or wrong way to do it – especially when you’ve got someone equally as enthusiastic to share it all with.