PROJECT CHEAP THRILLS
Dan introduced his budget ST170 project last month, and wasted no time getting stuck in to see what’s what
QUICK SPEC
2002 Focus ST170 ■ Magnum Grey ■ Comfort Pack ■ Rear spoiler ■ ESP
Bargain Blue Ovals have become a bit of a fascination for the Fast Ford team lately. Elsewhere in the issue you’ll find our Grand Buys feature where we gave ourselves an imaginary £1000 budget to choose a cut-price car; naturally I bought my choice – a Cougar V6 – for real, and it’s now part of my Ford fleet.
Before that, last issue we introduced my budget ST170 project too. Initially it was bought as an engine-donor for a Mk1 Escort, but acquiring a couple more ’170s allowed me to see a nice three-door sitting beneath a film of neglect.
Both front wings were rotten along their
trailing edges, and one was crusty around the wheelarch. Fortunately, the seller had thrown a pair of wings into the deal; they were in the right shade of Magnum Grey, and pretty scufffree other than a few storage marks.
After decades spent messing around with old Escorts and Sierras, I was relieved to find Focus wings bolt on, so I rapidly found myself with the car’s headlamps out, wheelarch liners off, and front bumper on the floor.
Yes, it was grotty where no human eyes had seen since Saarlouis in February 2002, but there didn’t seem anything to worry about. Until, poking around with a screwdriver (as you do), I cleared out a load of crud and discovered a special air-conditioned section in the offside inner wing.
At this point, I was still in two minds about breaking the car instead of saving it – and evidence of tinworm chewing though the steel should have been the kiss of death. Yet, maybe it was my conscience reminding me of the time I scrapped a two-door Mk1 Escort. Maybe it was the memory of chucking an ST170 along a B-road. Maybe it was just an excuse to search for another knackered Focus to rip out its engine instead.
Whatever it was, I reached for the angle grinder. And rather than chopping the old Ford into easily-saleable chunks, I opted to cut out the rust and fix it.
Now, when I say fix it, I don’t mean a full underbody restoration. I mean scraping, sanding, chopping, brushing and grinding
away every last trace of corrosion, welding in small sections of new metal, and smearing everything in Rustyco rust remover. I’m far from a great welder, and I really need a new MIG set, but the repair is strong, smothered in seam-sealer and stone-chip treatment, and looked absolutely amazing after it was hidden behind the wheelarch liner.
With the replacement wings in place and carefully aligned, I turned my attention the ST170’s sills. The Mk1 Focus is renowned for rotting inside and out, but I’d already given the sills a cursory inspection, and it was obvious they’d not need to be replaced.
Was I speaking too soon? Thankfully not: despite the original sills wearing a rubberised coating with the qualities of a hardened sponge, most of the metal was affected with nothing more serious than surface rust. Prodding and poking revealed a selection of insignificant holes, so each was cut or drilled out and made good with fresh steel.
Ever-conscious of keeping to a budget theme, I filled the cavities with Waxoyl, sprayed the sills with stone-chip paint, and squirted them with a few coats of rattle-can Magnum Grey basecoat and lacquer.
Perhaps I’ll make a perfect job of it in future, but by then this car will be a classic. In the meantime, let’s have fun with an old Ford.