16-VALVE MK2 FIESTA
After an incident with a postman knocked him back, Ady Bright’s back delivering the goods with his Fiesta for the road and track.
Bike-carb’d, Zetec’d and track day spec’d.
What is it that drew you to your favourite classic Blue Oval? For many, the attraction to a particular model can be traced to a childhood spent exposed to a standout example owned by a friend or family member. For other petrolheads, the appeal can be a working knowledge of a specific Ford’s mechanical configuration, enabling repairs or upgrades to be carried out on one of Henry’s finest in a timely fashion. For Cambridgeshire man, Ady Bright, however, it’s the promise that he won’t kill anyone!
“I’ve always been drawn to the Mk2 Fiesta,” he explains. “I’ve owned plenty of them over the years, but it was my experience behind the wheel of a Mk1 Escort that confirmed the Fiesta as being the car for me,” he adds.
The misadventure that he’s referring to concerns a Escort that he was driving before knocking a postman off his bicycle. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt in the incident — and the postie was deemed to be at fault for travelling the wrong way down a one-way street — but Ady was shaken-up enough to swap a Ford pushing forward from its rear wheels for what he considered to be the comparative safety and surefootedness offered by a Mk2 Fiesta.
On two wheels
As ironic as it sounds, Ady became a worldchampion mountain bike and BMX dirt rider in the years that followed his failed attempt to rid Royal Mail of one of its pedal-pushing employees. During that time, the Ford fan doted on a Mercury Grey Mk2 XR2 that he customised with Minilite wheels, tiger stripes and a 1.8-litre Zetec engine with motorbike carbs. He eventually reached the end of the road with the project, deciding to sell the hot hatch and retire his spanner collection from active service. “I’d had enough of toying with cars,” he admits. That may well have been the case,
“I REALISED MK2 FIESTAS WERE IN MY BLOOD AND WITHIN HOURS THIS GALAXY BLUE POPULAR HAD LANDED ON MY DRIVEWAY”
“I LOVE THE FACT THAT THE ZETEC GIVES ME PLENTY OF STRAIGHT LINE PERFORMANCE, YET THE SUSPENSION UPGRADES KEEP ME COMPETITIVE ON TRACK”
but his withdrawal from Ford fettling didn’t last long…
“I remember parting with my XR2. It was a Saturday, and I was looking at the stockpile of parts that the car left in its wake. I immediately realised that Mk2 Fiestas were in my blood. Believe it or not, I’d found the Fez that I’m in possession of today by close of play on the Sunday!” he laughs.
The XR2’s replacement came in the form of an ’87-plate Galaxy Blue 1100 Popular in a standard state of tune. Having covered just 36,000 miles from new, it was a rare find and something of a bargain at just £550. The details of what can rightly be regarded as near-mythical ‘careful lady owners from new’ preceded Ady’s name on the car’s logbook, but that didn’t stop him from finding a home for his impressive pile of performance parts almost as soon as the new arrival landed on his driveway in Godmanchester.
“50 mm lowering springs and Pepperpot alloys were fitted onto the car within hours of me getting hold of it!” he chuckles. “I decided early on to transform it into the track-friendly fast-road rocket that it is today,” he tells us, pointing out the 163 bhp Black Top Zetec and Kawasaki ZX-6R motorcycle carburettors that sit beneath his blue belter’s raised bonnet.
The engine was acquired from a likeminded Fiesta fan who had decided to refresh the 2-litre lump with a ported and polished cylinder head. “His project plans changed,” continues Ady. “I ended up buying the rebuilt engine. I treated it to new service and timing parts before giving it to a friend to install while I went on holiday to Tenerife. I got back from my fun in the sun to find my fired-up Fiesta waiting for me to put the pedal to the metal. The task of unpacking my suitcase had to wait!” he laughs.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the modified Mk2 delivered plenty of smiles to the mile; the aforementioned Kawasaki carbs were soon joined by airflow enhancements including a danST Engineering inlet manifold, a heat-wrapped Ashley Competition exhaust manifold and a custom 2 inch stainless steel exhaust system. The fuelling demands of the engine were satisfied by a Facet solid state fuel pump, an uprated fuel pressure regulator and a MegaJolt ECU that has recently been mapped by Tom Hudson at Fenland-based Ford tuning centre, Hudson Speed Shop.
Continuing the theme of bagging bargains, Ady managed to get hold of a fully operational LSD-equipped Series 2 Escort RS Turbo five-speed manual gearbox for just £150. The trick transmission was promptly fixed to the belly of his Fiesta along with an RS clutch, XR2 driveshafts and a Puma gear linkage.
Handle with flair
Chassis upgrades followed thick and fast, with Koni dampers (“they’re almost as old as me,” smirks Ady), Outlaw Motorsport 250 lb lowering springs and Polyflex polyurethane bushes going on to do a fine job of reducing body roll while improving the car’s corner entry response. “I like the fact that Zetec power gives me plenty of performance in a straight line at venues such as Santa Pod Raceway, yet the appointed suspension upgrades enable me to
stay competitive when rubbing bumpers with rivals on track at Ford Fair and Trax,” muses the 46-year-old cycle shop owner.
Motorsport-inspired updates can be also be found inside the fruity Fez; a stripped cabin plays host to Corbeau buckets, Sparco harnesses, a Safety Devices rear roll cage, an enlarged tacho and various gauges. There’s also a selection of OBP Motorsport rally kit (including lightweight foot rests), but surely that’s not enough to qualify having the company’s logo splashed across what seems like every exterior surface of the car? “Outside of the motoring arena, OBP operates a successful cycling accessories business,” Ady assures us. “The company is one of my biking sponsors, but its motorsport division has been kind enough to help with the build of my Fiesta. Displaying prominent OBP logos on my car is my way of saying ‘thank you’!” he grins. Outside in Other than striking sponsor graphics, the exterior of Ady’s mega Mk2 remains largely standard. Factory paintwork has been littered with a chequerboard vinyl-wrapped roof while additional decoration takes the form of carbon-wrapped plastic trim. Motorcycle rear view mirrors and a Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTi front splitter also join the party. “I’d bet money on me being the first person to fit a Golf chin spoiler to a Fiesta,” sighs Ady. “Interest in the mod was so great that I started selling Golf splitters in huge numbers. Now every other Mk2 you see at the summer shows has VW gear hanging from its front end!” he chortles.
It may have taken a regrettable incident with an obstinate mailman for Ady to determine that the Mk2 Fiesta is his classic Blue Oval of choice, but make no mistake — his Galaxy Blue track machine is nothing short of first class!
“ADDITIONAL DECORATION TAKES THE FORM OF CARBON WRAPPED TRIM AND MOTORCYCLE REAR VIEW MIRRORS”