CONVERTED my Focus SVT into an RS!

[focusinprogress]

well, I’ve been collecting and building(yes building) parts for about a year now, and I’m finally set to get moving on this project. I traded in my beater today for a brand new F150 so now I have a reliable vehicle to drive daily while I work on the Focus build. Starting life as a 2003 SVT:

I used to have a Euro facelift front bumper and 98spec rear bumper, with rieger lip up front…but someone backed into the front end and it got broken to bits, so I put it through insurance and used the money to buy the last set of RS bumpers from Capaldi.

So then I had to start sourcing all the other parts. Scouring ebay.co.uk I was able to get the foglight bezels, brake duct vents, front indicators, and rear fog and reversing lights complete with bulb sockets. I got a splitter from Spudo, and a wing from Cayse. Then I hit a wall, not being able to find sideskirts or fenders and quarterpanels, I had to get creative…
An opportunity arose… a fellow member here doing an RS conversion had obtained a set of RS skirts that were damaged…I messaged and offered to make all the repairs for FREE, if he would just pay shipping to me and back with the aggreement that I would be allowed to make a mold of them…and to my pleasant surprise, he agreed!
Here’s a link to that journey (quite a learning experience)
http://forums.focaljet.com/euro-rs-conversion/647178-repair-some-beat-up-rs-sideskirts-nzwnrzs-skirts.html
So I still needed fenders and quarterpanels! About 6-8 months go by of me searching for these…my gameplan was to obtain a set and make molds like PUMASPEED has in the Uk, they sell fiberglass replicas of the OEM panels for conversion purposes…but then something incredible happened. I recieved an email from a member here, that he knew of a fellow up in British Columbia that had a complete set of molds (besides sideskirts…weird, that’s what I made!)…he had fenders, quarterpanels, and both bumpers molded from OEM stuff and was willing to SELL THE MOLDS!!!
I got in contact with this gent, and we negociated over numerous emails until we settled on a price. MAN, was I a happy camper! what a huge savings in time and energy not having to source panels, then make molds!

So here they are all unpacked:



bought a 50" wide roll of fiberglass, 80yards long to make all my parts

So I’m going to get started over the weekend setting up the molds and begin fabricating the front fenders and Quarterpanels, I figure I can have the front clip finished, painted, and mounted in the next week or two time permitting…Then I’ll have to clean out my garage and pull the car in to remove rear glass and start working on the rear quarters. I have a concept image I made in photoshop but I can’t find it right now, I’ll have to post it up later on…
Thanks for reading!

[Onyx_Z32]

Nice man! I know you’ve wanted to do this for a while!

Still interested in that X-Type AWD swap?

[Jam]

This is pretty awesome

It’s depressing all the cool shit Europe gets that we dont

[GV1390]

@Onyx Z32

Nice man! I know you’ve wanted to do this for a while!

Still interested in that X-Type AWD swap?

Yup he sure is.

[focusinprogress]

@Onyx Z32

Nice man! I know you’ve wanted to do this for a while!

Still interested in that X-Type AWD swap?

That’s still on the plate, but I don’t know if/when I’ll get to it…I started desiging the rear subframe based off measurements on ALLDATA vs/ the stock subframe mounting locations, but stopped investing time at the computer because I figure I should secure a donor car first. I was subscribed to a salvage site for a while, but the manual transmission X-type’s are harder to come by and everytime I bid on one it ended up going for way too much money IMO. I wouldn’t be willing to pay more than $1500 shipping included to get one in my driveway… I’m already too deep in too many projects haha. I wanna finish both bike builds and the body conversion for now…then I’ll decide whether to hunt for a jag or just boost the stock motor and get a limited slip

[LUKE_L]

In for this thread. Good luck to you.

Great job on those side skirts…!

[38stang]

Looks like a fun project. I’m hoping to get a stock SVT Focus for a new daily soon.

[evilsrt]

Love the Focus RS. Sweet project!

[sasquatch]

Pumped on this! My brother loves his SVT focus

[95dime]

bout time you started on this :tup: i’ll bug ken some more to hurry up and convert the fuckus to an svt…lol

[focusinprogress]

@95dime

bout time you started on this :tup: i’ll bug ken some more to hurry up and convert the fuckus to an svt…lol

I have traded the front bumper to a guy in the UK for an ST170 front end…but the rest of the SVT parts (skirts and rear bumper) will be listed for sale very soon…I’ll be selling the euro front when I get it…but I’ll be asking $1200 for it on it’s own, complete. Selling off stock parts and such I think I may actually in the long run break even on the conversion, lol.

[Minglor]

I’m fucking stoked on this.
I always liked your svt. Now it gets better.

[TrueBlue]

Does the RS have more power / different engine than the SVT?

[focusinprogress]

@TrueBlue

Does the RS have more power / different engine than the SVT?

The RS in europe has a 2 liter split-port injection motor with forged internals and a T-28 ball bearing turn from the factory, producing 220bhp. It also has a return fuel system and different gear ratios in the 5spd trans with a limited slip and beefier axles from the factory. I will not be going to this extent of conversion…mostly just the appearance for now…either going v6 AWD swap or high compression low boost on the stock drivetrain in the future…

[theblue]

I’ll be impressed when your roofline looks like this:

[MaximaSE98]

in for this thread…always loved Escort GTs and FOCUS SVT and RS models

[focusinprogress]

This is going to be an interesting thread for me to make…mostly because all of the parts are discontinued in the UK already, and getting used parts shipped is nearly impossible using ebay.co.uk for large peices, so almost every componant that I don’t have I’m going to have to come up with a way to “fake” it to acheive the look…

Also, since I have purchased these molds, I am the only person in North American with the capability to produce the body peices for conversion…PUMASPEED in the UK has the only other known set of these molds, and they don’t have molds for the bumpers or sideskirts like I do…

[theblue]

why don’t you find somebody in England to ship all the parts to, then have them all sent to you at once?

[focusinprogress]

(all prices following this are for USED parts) OEM Fenders are $400 a peice, OEM Quarter panels are $1000 a peice, bumpers $500 a peice, then misc little things like lights, grilles, etc. add up fast. Upper grille is $300. lower grill is $200. Fender slash sheilds are $500 for a set. Then to have a huge pallet shipped over via air or boat is almost $2000. Plus you’d have to trust someone you’ve never met to hold that kind of stockpile for you worth that much… NO WAY lol. I don’t have a money tree growing in the yard so this is the best way to go. I purchased the molds shipping included for about $2300. It cost me about $200 to build the molds for the sideskirts. I have $2500 invested and I’ll be able to make that back if I make ONE extra RS replica kit and sell it. PUMASPEED would sell the fiberglass replica fenders and quarterpanels (built from the same molds I have) for $800 plus shipping to USA… so about $1500 after shipping just for fenders and quarterpanels that arent even OEM sheetmetal…

Edit: on a hilarious side-note… the same thread on the Focus forums has gotten less views and less replies than here on NYspeed lol. I am actually amazed how many of you guys even know what an RS is!

:tup:

[theblue]

RS is a cool car, but I’d rather an escort cosworth.

now you have me looking again:

C'mon 2018: 1993 Ford Escort RS Cosworth