Go Mod It

SOLD - Renault 5 gt turbo rear wheel drive with Clio 172 engine

2011-04-28T15:55:00.002+01:00

The conversion

I originally started the conversion in February 2005 and it was March 2006 when I first had it on the road and MOT'd. At that time it had the original renault 5 GT Turbo engine in (slightly uprated) but in early 2008 the turbo went and at the same time I embarked on renovating my house so didn't have time to fix it. However by February 2009 I had picked up a Clio phase 2 172 engine and aftermarket Emerald ECU and had decided this was the way to go if I wanted trouble free performance motoring as the theory is you have less components to worry about. Mid 2009 the car was ready and after a few teething problems mostly down to needing a full tune the car was ready for my first sprint!

I have quite a few photos and details of the first build phase on my website www.gomodit.co.uk, . I re-designed the rear compartment in the second phase to be more like the original Renault 5 Turbo 1/2's of the 80's. This also meant there is now a proper sealed fire barrier between me and the engine which was essentially to get it past the scrutineers at a sprint day. This has been created with a steel frame providing additional structure, a steel panel between driver and engine.Plus an aluminium top cover to keep the weight down.

The engine sits in the original renault 5 subframe, and is bolted to a heavy duty crossmember which in turn is fixed to the original rear subframe mounting points. The rear of the subframe is bolted to fabricated mounts which are welded to the rear chassis rails. The rear engine mount whilst standard has been lowered to clear the clio exhaust manifold. The clio top mount has been used to prevent sideways movement and an additional front tie bar has been fabricated to stop engine movement under hard acceleration.

The car is road legal and is taxed and MOT'd . I Insure, as being rear wheel drive and based the policy on a Clio 172 with all the mods declared it costs me £360 TPF&T based on a 34yr old with full no claims.

The rear end of this car whilst using mostly standard parts, although it does have modified rear suspension to lock the rear wheels.

The bad bits
The headgasket has gone, I bought a new bottom end had the bearings replaced and put it back together costing me £650 in total then after my first run the gasket went. I've tried to keep enthusiastic but my circumstances have changed and can't justify putting anymore money into this project. The body work is in great condition but has a few marks here and there and a couple of dents that may come out via dentmaster or someone simular there is nothing glaringly obvious.

The engine is currently out as I was going to fix, but can be put back in and heard running as there are no problems just a lot of white smoke!

Spec is as follows:

* Clio 172 Phase 2 Engine (approx 66k miles when bought) with Phase 1 throttle body (cable type)
* Emerald ECU see www.emeraldm3d.com this will give flexiblity if you want to turbo/supercharge or just modifiy the engine further in the future.
* Four paddle clutch
* 2x Bucket seats 1x Fibreglass magnum in black this is extremely lightweight and has the same stiffness as my friends Sparco 1x Cobra Monaco S steel frame both seats are in exceptional condition
* recently tuned by Dave Walker of Emerald (seen in the practical performance car magazine) it gave 183bhp (see printout in pictures)
* Full safety devices roll cage with door bars and additional cross bar for harnesses
* 6 point TRS harnesses
* Lotus Elise Stainless exhaust
* Removable engine cover in aluminium
* Professionally Fabricated aluminium fuel tank
* Aluminium oil seperator
* Coilovers one pair are CUP shocks that have oversized shafts for strength and one pair are standard shocks both a coilover conversion see my article http://gomodit.blogspot.com/2007/12/...-december.html
* Also included are 4 sets of 2.5coilover springs for the rear and 3 set for the front
* Up-rated discs and pads, I’m not sure which but they stop the car.
* Hydraulic handbrake and brake bias for manually adjusting how much braking the rear gets
* Hydraulic clutch for a lighter pedal and does away with an extra cable
* Fire extinguisher never used

Do get me wrong I love the car but as you can see I've had it a long time and spends most of it in the garage so it's time to sell it to someone who might get more fun out of it.

Cheers
Andy

Windscreen removal and surround repair on the Renault 5 GT Turbo - July 2010

2010-07-21T14:57:00.004+01:00

With the car off road it's time to do some repairs

The first job being sorting out the rust around the windscreen. Over time the laminate had lifted in one of the corners of the screen and a slight crack had appeared. Then more recently a large crack appeared from top to bottom so I could no longer ignore it.
The first job was to remove the windscreen, I could have called a specialist but I would have incurred two call out charges as I need it removing and refitting at a later date once the rust had been sorted. Fortunately I have a friend who had the tools but found out the method of removal was a lot simpler than I first thought. The main kit basically involves a piece of abrasive wire and two handles that the wire sits in(shown in the top left of the picture --> ). After removing all the plastic trim, you slot the wire around and under the windscreen then start sawing, being carful not to burn the dash or chaff any of the paint work. You can make your way around all the screen but may need to finsh off with a long bladed stanley knife. I thought I'd save you the trouble and point you to all the stuff you need pictured on the right, this kit also seems to come with the rubber removal tools which is quite handy.

After the screen was removed, I got the wire brush out this is when I realised the rust was a little worse than first expected!

well I say rust it turned out they were actually holes

But after the initial shock I decided to do a bit of grinding, wire brushing and hammer forming and rust treatment all last night ! I've also made up some little plates that hopefully I'll get round to welding this week..

Curborough report 9th May - May 2010

2010-05-09T19:41:00.004+01:00

9th May - Things don't go to plan and the Clio 172 engine needs attention

Well.. my first event event didn't go too well.. I had two decent practice runs a 41.92 and a 40.74 not as good as my last visit of 38.56 and then on my first timed run about half way round disaster struck, the engine started clanging.. I'm guessing its the bottom end bearings or something. I pootled across the finish line and exited the track and went for an early bath.. The bonus being I got a time so I was first in class being the only competitor in sports libre class

I think the cause was a tired engine as it's never been checked since I bought it second hand. However, once it's fixed I'll be fitting a proper rev counter and setting the rev limited as I don't fancy a repeat of this.

On the up side of things it gives me the opportunity to replace the cam belt and whilst I'm at it the gearbox too.

With a bit of luck I should have it sorted for my return trip to Curbourgh on June 19th

Return to Curborough for the 9th of May Sprint - May 2010

2010-05-07T12:20:00.010+01:00

8th May - Preparation for the first sprint of the year
After not getting around to changing the gearbox I'm just going to have to change up gentley if that's possible on a sprint, so expect plenty of grinding as I launch from the line. Sunday will be my first sprint of the year, I have removed the standard Renault 5 GT Turbo seats in favour of a single Sparco Pro 2000 bucket seat. Apart from this I've added another split pin to my exhaust to stop the mount from moving.
I've just got to go and get my race numbers "42" from roadrunner motorsport my local stockist and I'll be ready. With a bit of luck I should have some pictures or even in car footage up here next week depending on how my home made mount works.
I've managed to get hold of the screw that fits into the bottom of cameras, it's called a whitworth thread and I plan to weld this to a piece of metal which I will then attach via jubilee clips to my seat belt bar. This should provide a nice mount for my trusty Cannon Powershot A520 hopefully giving me some high def in-car footage on the cheap!
I've also been reading up on tyre pressures, and has prompted me to buy to items a digital tyre pressure gauge and a temperature monitoring device. I've read that if you take three temperatures across the tyre from left to right you can work out if it's over or under inflated and also whether you have to much or little camber.
For example if the middle temperature is considerably higher than the left and right the tyre is over inflated.
Anyway I've put together a sort of data log for tyre pressures and setup information. This will record all my race information neatly on a form so I can compare for next time.
If the form is any use to you feel free to click on the thumbnail then click download, it will then appear in your browser for you to print from.

Not for sale... - March 2010

2010-03-22T10:48:00.009Z

I did think about selling but have had a change of heart and have decided to plough on..

So here are this years plans:
Rear suspension re-design
This is to lighten and improve on the existing wishbones, but still provide adjustment.
Sub frame re-design
This will get rid of the front sub-frame and make a purpose made subframe which should be both lighter and provide better mounting points
Gearbox re-condition
Pretty essential really I'm not going to win anything if I can't get second gear!
Tyres
Something softer and more suited to sprinting
Exhaust and rear bumper
Neaten up the back end, this is purely cosmetic so will probably be at the bottom of my list but it would be nice to bring it back to the standard look, I'll then have another look at the tailgate.

Oh and here's a long overdue clip from my visit to Curborough :)

A Summary
Well being as I wrote a huge advert to sell the Renault, I might as well display it here as it gives a good summary of the project to date.. So here it is:

The conversion
I originally started the conversion in February 2005 and it was March 2006 when I first had it on the road and MOT'd. At that time it had the original renault 5 GT Turbo engine in (slightly uprated) but in early 2008 the turbo went and at the same time I embarked on renovating my house so didn't have time to fix it. However by February 2009 I had picked up a Clio phase 2 172 engine and aftermarket Emerald ECU and had decided this was the way to go if I wanted trouble free performance motoring as the theory is you have less components to worry about. Mid 2009 the car was ready and after a few teething problems mostly down to needing a full tune the car was ready for my first sprint!

I have quite a few photos and details of the first build phase on my website www.gomodit.co.uk, but not so many for the second phase this is something I plan to do. I re-designed the rear compartment in the second phase to be more like the original Renault 5 Turbo 1/2's of the 80's. This also meant there is now a proper sealed fire barrier between me and the engine which was essentially to get it past the scrutineers at a sprint day. This has been created with a steel frame providing additional structure, a steel panel between driver and engine.Plus an aluminium top cover to keep the weight down.

The engine sits in the original renault 5 subframe, and is bolted to a heavy duty crossmember which in turn is fixed to the original rear subframe mounting points. The rear of the subframe is bolted to fabricated mounts which are welded to the rear chassis rails. The rear engine mount whilst standard has been lowered to clear the clio exhaust manifold. The clio top mount has been used to prevent sideways movement and an additional front tie bar has been fabricated to stop engine movement under hard acceleration.

The car is road legal and is taxed and MOT'd til August 2010. I Insure, as being rear wheel drive and based the policy on a Clio 172 with all the mods declared it costs me £360 TPF&T based on a 34yr old with full no claims.

The rear end of this car whilst using mostly standard parts, although it does have modified rear suspension arms to reduce bump steer, this was taken from a modification they use on a pontiac fiero.

The bad bits
It no longer has the bucket seat in one of the photos as that was borrowed for my sprint day
If going from first to second at speed the gearbox will crunch - I'll be honest I think this may be the synchromesh but haven't investigated in detail
There is a bit of rust around the front screen and the odd mark here and there but on the whole excellent condition!

Now onto the good bits
The engine is in the back! and with the Clio 172 engine in this absolutely flies and at my last sprint event posted a quite reasonable time for a first day out. The best thing is that the engine as standard gives around 170bhp so in this state of tune you can run it all day without worry.

Spec is as follows:

Clio 172 Phase 2 Engine (approx 66k miles when bought) with Phase 1 throttle body (cable type)
Emerald ECU see www.emeraldm3d.com this will give flexiblity if you want to turbo/supercharge or just modifiy the engine further in the future.
Four paddle clutch
recently tuned by Dave Walker of Emerald (seen in the practical performance car magazine) it gave 183bhp (see printout in pictures)
Full safety devices roll cage with door bars and additional cross bar for harnesses
6 point TRS harnesses
Lotus Elise Stainless exhaust
Removable engine cover in aluminium
Professionally Fabricated aluminium fuel tank
Coilovers these are standard shocks with a coilover conversion see my article http://gomodit.blogspot.com/2007/12/...-december.html
Spare koni adjustables (ph1 for the front) and a pair of cup shocks (ph2 for the rear) that will go with the car but will need converting to coilovers first – this shouldn't cost as you could use the kit from the shock absorbers already on the car.
Up-rated discs and pads, I’m not sure which but they stop the car.
Hydraulic handbrake and brake bias for manually adjusting how much braking the rear gets
Hydraulic clutch for a lighter pedal and does away with an extra cable
Fire extinguisher never used

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - October 2009

2009-11-12T14:37:00.006Z

My first Sprint at Curburough
Well there's been many changes since Febuary and if I get chance I'll try and post them. However here's a few pictures from my first Hill climb / Sprint event at Curburough.

I'll try and get some video's of the car in action, it handled extremely well after setting up the tyre pressures.
I did have a problem with my gearbox as selecting 2nd gear this was a problem which did hamper my standing starts, this is where you can make up vital seconds but didn't spoil the day.
I also plan (when I get time) to replace the standard shock absorbers for upgrated ones I have recently bought. These are a set of koni's for the front and a pair of renault 5 "cup" shock absorbers for the rear. I managed to pick both up for a reasonable price a while back which providing I reuse my coilover kits will be quite a bargin for a set of adjustable coilovers!

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - February 2009

2009-02-20T18:26:00.008Z

22nd February - The Clio sport 172 engine is in the Renault 5
With the aid of an old wheel barrow and some will power I managed to lump the engine onto the gearbox and jack it up ready for fixing. So the engine is in although still many jobs to do.
The top two jobs are:
1)Fabricate an engine stabiliser mount as this isn't a Clio there's nothing to bolt it up to so this will need to be made
2)Modify the exhaust manifold, not sure how I'm going to do this. First stop will be to find some 45mm tubing and work out where I want the exhaust to end up.
Here's some pictures

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - December 2008

2008-12-15T16:31:00.002Z

Getting it togeather

Phase 1 throttle body to make life a lot simpler with cable operation as opposed to fly by wire!

From 172 conversion

Four paddle clutch used but plent of life, no more slipping clutch!!

From 172 conversion

RTOC national day at Mallory Park

2008-09-27T20:53:00.005+01:00

For those that don't know RTOC stands for Renault Turbo Owners Club www.rtoc.org, today was national day at Mallory Park. It was a great chance to put some faces to names and generally mingle. Anyway here's a collection of footage from the day consisting of oddly enough Renault 5 GT turbo 's, a sideways Renault 5 turbo, a Renault GTA and few other turbo'd motors.
Below are a several of my favorite pictures of the day the rest are available on My Photobucket account. Please if any of these are your car's let me know and I can send you a full size image if you like.

2008-09-23T08:30:00.012+01:00

The Fuel Tank
Yes that is a jerry can, It was the cheapest way I could find to create a fuel tank.I simply bought a length of 10mm steel tube from B&Q and drill three holes - one for the feed, one for the return and one for a breather. I have used this tank with no problems and as you can image the original design of the jerry can is to be a robust way of transporting flammable liquids so safety isn't an issue. I'll post a guide on the various stages of mounting and creating the tank later. The only thing missing is a fuel sender although I know roughly how many miles I can do from a tank - usually about 80 miles :)

A mock up
After a day of cutting out metal from the rear of the car, I could resist putting the subframe in situ just to see what it looked like in the back, at this point I had a very long way to go!!

Homemade Coilovers
This is one of my homemade coilovers using a kit bought from Rally Design, the cheapest coilovers retail for around £300 for a pair, this cost me £30 plus a pair of springs (less than £20) . Providing you don't weld the kits on too aggressively they are reusable on another set of shocks - when I get the money I'll by a set of uprated dampers and convert them. I'll post a guide of how to convert shock absorbers later

The Renault Is Returning

2008-09-20T01:30:00.001+01:00

I'll soon be starting work on the next phase the fitting of a Clio 172 engine to my Renault 5 Turbo!

The main reason being reliability, being normally aspirated (not turbocharged) but still providing the same power - well actually a bit more, means there are less components to fail.

My first thing that needs doing is to lay some new slabs on my drive!

What's this about?

2008-09-18T04:45:00.005+01:00

This is my car, it's a Renault 5 GT Turbo built in 1991. In 2004 I started to convert it from front to rear wheel drive. I'm not sure there was one particular reason why I started, but I did! I completed it in January 2007 when passed it's MOT.
It's certainly more of a fun car than practical, but I do use it as a daily driver (when on the road) . Although my main aim is to go hill climbing or sprinting.
Throughout my webpages or blogs you will be able to read about the conversion itself among other conversions such as my MK2 Fiesta XR2 turbo or should I say turbo's as I've had a few. Throughout the pages you will find guides on how to do these conversions yourself and various other snippets of information.. if you wished :)

Lets see where this goes...

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - December 06 Coilovers

2007-12-16T17:04:00.005Z

How to convert to coilovers

This is a guide on converting your shock absorbers to coilovers, using your existing shock absorbers and an adjustable spring seat kit.

This is a great way of having adjustable ride height without the cost. Once converted you can run any 2 1/4" spring that will fit between your platform and the underside of your strut top.Here's a picture of the kit

First of all you need the kit from somewhere like Rally Design, bare in mind you struts need to be less than 2" in diameter or you may have to find a more specialised product, also when you order pay attention to whether the top of your strut is either a round 10mm or D shape.

My conversion was done on my Renault 5 GT Turbo that I have converted to rear wheel drive, I have used phase 1 shock absorbers on the front and phase two on the rear. You can use either phase shock on either phase car providing you use the matching strut top. One other distance is the total length of the shoch absorber travel which caught me out when ordering the springs.

The process of fitting the coilover kit is actually quite straight forward. First follow your trusty Haynes manual to remove the shock absorber and with the aid of a set of spring compressors (quite a cheap tool) compress the spring and remove te strut top.
Then remove the springs from the strut.

Once these are off you can slip the new spring platforms over the shock absorber, you may need to file down any lumps or bumps stopping the threaded tube reaching the old spring platform.
At this point you have two options 1)leave as it is and tack (weld) the sleeve to the strut or 2)remove the majority of the old spring platform. I removed mine mainly because it gave me a lot more room to work and more options to change the shape of my suspension turrets at a later date, it also made them look a bit more like factory coilovers (if I were to spray them).

Either way you will need to tack the threaded sleeve to your strut, you need to be careful at this point as I have been told not to get the strut to hot as it could damage the shock absorber. My best advice is to prepare where you are welding making sure the metal is clean and look for points where the sleeve and shock are already touching as opposed to trying to bridge a gap.

Okay with the sleeve secured, now would be a good time to clean up the shock absorber and paint if desired (don't paint the threaded sleeve) I put a bit of copper grease on my sleeve this gives it a little protection against corrosion.

Now thread your two threaded collars onto the thread and wind them down to the bottom as far as they will go without forcing them. The reason for two is that one will lock the other, ideally you will want a 'C' spanner for adjustment they aren't very expensive around £5 each

Next on will go your spring - Springs will require a bit of research hopefully the guys where you bought the kit from will be able to give you advice as there's a huge range of poundage and lengths

Following this by the last part of the kit the top spring seat, hopefully you bought the right one and it fitted nicely, finally re-fit your strut top assembly which should go over the top. Despite choosing what I thought was the right size I needed to bore the hole out so I could get the original strut top back on. I did this with my pillar drill ensuring the hole remained central as this part is to keep the spring in line.

Just before you fit the shocks back to your car make sure you nip up the height adjustable collars so that the spring isn't wobbling around.

There you have it fully adjustable ride height

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - Febuary 2007

2007-02-15T14:44:00.000Z

February 07 - Hydraulic Clutch Conversion for Renault 5 GT Turbo
Here's are some details of my hydraulic clutch conversion on my Renault 5 GT Turbo. I have had a number of problems with the extended clutch cable I originally had made this is probably due to the length of the cable and the weight of the clutch. The cable finally gave way one fine morning on the way to work, fortuanley only a couple of streets away I manged to start it in 1st gear and get the car home.
Since the conversion I've only had it on the road for a day but the feel is unbelievable it's like driving a new car not because it feels anyway new but the pedal is so light the only comparable car I've been in has been brand new... Anyway here's a list of the parts used...

MR2 MK1 clutch pedal and housing
MR2 MK1 master cylinder and first section of pipe
Toyota Starlet (I think) slave cylinder
Bit of copper 3/16th pipe - £3.49
A rubber brake hose (from rear of GT turbo with two female ends) - £free
4x male brake unions - £3.96

The first three parts I got from a scrap yard for a bit of elbox grease and £30 - bargin!!
This is the bracket for the slave cylinder, the first being the cardboard template and marked metal the second being part made

Here another picture of the bracket nearing completion and a shot of the clutch release arm as it was prior to welding

Now this is the arm after welding I cut a bit of a clutch release arm from the scrap yard that already had a hydraulic clutch and simply filed it and welded it to the exisitng, the second picture maybe a little hard to work out but is a shot under the dash where the new pedal and braket mounts to, it was in line with the bolt for the windowwiper motor so I just drilled through and used a longer bolt (kind of lucky really)

Here is the pedal in situ with the rest as you can see it's now a million miles away from the old position, the second is a shot of the master cylinder under the engine bay

More shots of the Master cylinder it has a lot smaller profile that I imagined so I see no reason why it couldn't be fitted to front engine R5's as an alternative to the long arm conversion

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - December 06

2006-12-15T12:39:00.002Z

30 DecemberContinued with the firewall divider I also put the calipers on, does anyone know where the clip on the pitcure below is supposed to be?

29 DecemberStarted work on the firewall divider

28 DecemberMade coilovers, found out that phase 1 springs are actually two inches shorter than Phase 2 items so my springs for the rear are a touch two long so these will need to be returned, relocated fuel vent

22 December With only an hour to spare I tried to get the suspension tops off. After many different methods of gripping them in the vice I found that undoing the bolt in the right direction works best, Although I’m sure soaking them in wd40 overnight helped. Thinking I was on a role I attempted the rear callipers with an 8mm spanner to hand I successfully snapped the bleed nipple clean off that was quite enough For one day!

20 DecemberSecured clutch and accelerator cables

19 DecemberSo far today I have bought enough 16x16mm mild steel to make the firewall, along with the existing sheet steel I can make it as I wanted and always build an aluminium one at a later date to save a little weight

18 DecemberI installed the hydraulic handbrake it was quite straight forward but a little time consuming. I had to make a platform to raise the brake Cylinder then add a bracket to the handbrake itself once done It was time to flare the brake pipe ends and Connect it up I was going to start bleeding the brakes but the first nipple I came to was seized what a surprise so I called it a night !

17 DecemberI was going to have the day off today but instead I took the polycarbonate round to my father-in-laws to cut it to Shape for the divider and side windows. Next up was the hydraulic hand brake but I only got round to collecting the flaring tool so hopefully that'll be a job for tomorrow night

16 DecemberAfter all the excitements of starting the engine it was time to get aback to more mundane tasks, there’s nothing worse than having to go back over things that you have already done but they need doing it if it is going to be safe on the road. One d the things was the cross-member and mounting points for the Sub-frame. The sub-frame needed to be lowered for more clearance and gave me the opportunity to sink the Cross-member further down to provide that extra bit of strength. This took me pretty much all day, I may have done it a little a little quicker, if I hadn’t had a small fire!! A bit of welding splat ignited a cloth full of meths… oh well no damage done but a lesson learnt. My plan was to get the coilover kit onto the shocks but I couldn’t get the bolt off the top of the struts so I just placed the shocks on as they were and as expected the front sits considerably higher than I want. The only other thing was to fit the two cables both seem to work okay although the clutch was a little stiff. mind you it was before…

13 DecemberStill revelling in my triumph of starting the engine I decided to mount the rear bumper to begin making the car look a little more road going, just a lot of grinding, drilling really making a hole for the new exhaust position and opening the bottom vent up to allow better air flow through the oil cooler, all in all it doesn't look to rough and it fits quite snug. I also Connected boost gauge and changed rear bulb

12 DecemberOne other quite essential job is to build a firewall between me and the engine, ideally I would like it to be made out of aluminium but I have a feeling the first one at least will be made out of mild steel as it's more readily available and considerably cheaper (oh and I've never welded aluminium :) . I drew up a drawing of the firewall and tool a trip to Leengate metals to get a price on aluminium, if you're really interested it can be seen here

11 DecemberDetermined to get this show on the road I took in my clutch and Accelerator cables to speedo-graph which as a matter of luck was just round the corner from me, they were very friendly and said they could turn them around within the week, I asked for them both to be 3.6m tip to tip, which if I'm honest was possibility a touch long for the clutch cable but we'll see what happens. I also rang Amari plastics and gave measurements again these will be available by the end of the week.. the suppliers details can be found here on my costs page

10 DecemberFinally a huge milestone, I started the engine!! at approx 8.30pm on Saturday night much to the dismay of my neighbours the reno awoke.. the only stopping point was a sticking starter motor which after a few try's burst into life and never gave me any hassle after that.. now the next step is to get it out on the road, I'm hoping for a road test before Christmas but we'll see.. Anyway here's a quick video as you can hear from my wife it was quite an exciting time :)

08 DecemberWell the Wii has been released today not that there's any left to buy!! last night my friend came round and brough his brake flaring tool so we got most of the brake pipes done except the ones to the brake bias as unfortuanly it used what I can only imagine as imperial connections so I'll have to nip to transco to get the right connectors, I started work on mounting the oil cooler which I have found a suitable place at the rear. The only other thing I managed to do was brake the clutch pedal.. so that's going to need fix soon!

07 Decemberfinished clutch cable coupler.. bit of a mouthfull!! not sure I'm entirely happy with it until the engine is running I'll not know for sure if it's lifting the clutch another so may have to revisit this see first pic below. Next up was the fuel pressure regualtor that was quite straight forwardmodifying an original bracket see below. I finished off the front to rear water hoses these are all jubilee clipped up! I also put a jubiliee clip arround the handbrake cables as you can see in the picture for some reason they keep popping out I'm hoping once the brakes are bled I shouldn't need as much force to apply the handbrake ellivating this issue finally the brake bias adjuster is also in place seen in the same picture..As you can see by the final picture I think this evening should be spent tidying up!!

04 DecemberToday was a bracket making day, one for the brake bias adjuster, one for the clutch cable coupler, one for the front clutch cable to sit in, one for the fuel pressure regualtor and one for the fuel pump all in all quite successful although they do need finishing which hopefully will be fitted this week

03 DecemberPictures to follow.. I spent today in the scrap yard pulling out the gearchange mechanism from an MR2 the reason? well it's a cable type system versus my current rod setup, apart from looking sleeker ie no rods hanging down it will give a lot more solid feel to the gearchange (once fitted that is!!) but thats for another day, I also got the right sized hoses for to finish the plumbing

01 DecemberYeah Decembers here, hopefully this will be the month I at least fire her up!! Last night I finished the wiring (apart from the main battery cable)refitted the alternator and starter motor, replaced the TDC sensor and tidied up the wiring into the balck plastic conduits. I also finished the plumbing at the front of the car and made a start at the rear I just need one 32mm bendy hose and a bit of 32mm pipe to finish, lets see what the weekend brings. Here's a few progress pictures, the last picture is underneath looking at the connections for the main water hoses

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - November 2006

2006-11-15T11:52:00.002Z

16 NovemberDon't worry you haven't missed much,The main reason for the lack of updates was the preparation for my wedding back on April 15th. This took the majority of my time, fear not though it will be finished and hopefully sometime this year!! (that's what you think -Ed)
Ran fan cables, ecu cables and temp sender cables from the front to the back, nothing tricky here, still need to solder them up though, connected the old looms to the rear light clusters

18 NovemberReplaced the track rod end and cut the oil cooler pipes fortunately they were both 1/2 inch inner bore so a union should just do the trick

20 NovemberWorking out what I could do with the intercooler, currently I have two ideas the first would be to mount it in the roof with some kind of vent/scoop that would draw the air to it.. it could be a opening vent that could be down until I need more intercooling or running high boost. The second idea is to make a charge cooler by welding two caps either side of the intercooler fins providing full water immersion.. however I am going to leave this until last especially as the ambient temperature is so low at the moment.

24 November
As it's been so long since I took the part it took me about an hour to figure out where all the water pipes used to go, then realising I wouldn't be using half of them because the heater no longer being used I came up with the picture below hopefully this should work.. today I also order some more fuel hose 5/16ths, a coilover conversion kit for the front or rear.. not sure yet, a long accelerator cable and the caliper bolts I desperately needed.. and to complete the spending spree a brake bias adjuster

27 NovemberWiring was the order of the weekend with only minor burns I've made good progress soldering the front to rear connections in the engine bay just the rest fo the inside to do. I think it would be better to confirm everything is working before I loom it up!! Other than that my coilover conversion kit arrived with bias adjuster and fuel pipe, so braking will be next on the list after compiling the wiring this week. I also managed to source the 1/2" unions from thinkauto who very kindly supplied them at no charge

Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - October 2005

2005-10-15T11:08:00.003+01:00

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05 October - wow just realised I've been doing this project for over a year now.. I ought to get my finger out!!
Today I welded up the front four plates it went rather smoothly as I was expecting at least one underseal fire but there was nothing but smoke.. whoever said there's no smoke without fire!! anyway I don't seem to have lost my welding skills during the move and these plates are going anywhere, next I shall do the rears but will have to build on them slightly as I notice that the drivers side cage fixing doesn't quite butt upto the rear wheel arch.

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Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - September 2005

2005-09-15T11:06:00.003+01:00

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28 September - Finally I had chance to get back on with the project, we've unpacked and our lives are returning to normal! As normal as they were before we moved that is. As you can see from the picture the car is in the garage with plenty of work space around it, the move from the old garage was quite straight forward with only a little scraping as the car was pulled onto the trailer due to the front riding on bump stops as good as it looks I think 8.5cm to the lowest point is a little too low!!
Today I got the rollcage in again just to make sure the plates were the correct size, I also tacked them in place ready for welding once the cage was out. For anyone wanting to know the thickness of the plate it is 1.5mm mild steel although the MSA competitors rule book does say 3mm I also have 3mm plates for underneath the mounting points which therefore meets the requirements is I ever want to do some form of motorsport, the minimum squared area is 120mm which I have exceeded with my plates.

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Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - June 2005

2005-06-15T11:03:00.003+01:00

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The rest of May and some of June - Been so busy in this period, first and foremost I have got engaged.. this was during our holiday to Norway. And secondly we have bought a new house.. so aside from choosing wedding venues, sorting solicitors and mortgage arrangements I haven't had time to do much else at least with the new house I'll have a garage, a 20' by 16' garage at that!! so no more trips round to my brothers to work on the motor :)

27 June - After the long break I got stuck in and put the engine back in to allow me to roll it out and work on the cage, in the photos you can see the cage loosely fitted whilst I measured up the plates. Later in the day I made the plates and prepared them and the floor for welding although by 8pm I was knackered and went home for tea!!

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Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - May 2005

2005-05-15T10:53:00.003+01:00

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07 May - Today was a big tidy up day making space and writing up lists of bits I need to buy and work that needs to be done. After a brief cleaning session on the subframe and gearbox I decided it was time to turn the car around and call it a day. With the help of my girlfriend and neighbor I managed to turn it round ready to get the engine in and finish a number of jobs. I've also found some great storage space where the engine was!!

08 May - After a trek to Machine Mart who had a VAT free day I bought some castors and some thick plywood from B&Q to form my subframe trolley it cost me about £18 in total but it was money well spend and certainly a lot easier than lumping the subframe round on just the jack!! After constructing it I put it straight to use dropping the subframe onto it and wheeling it from under the car.. next I managed to single handedly mate the engine to the box.. not sure how as it weighs a tonne anyway with a bit of wood a jack and willpower it was connected. This took most of my time up today and felt enough was enough so I jacked the engine and subframe in place just to confirm clearances and for a bit of a moral booster.. Think I'll leave it there till next time :)

10 May - Spent the day just grinding down welds not great progress but it had to be done

11 May - Sprayed the top side of the conversion today, after that I decided to get back underneath and start welding the under arch.. it took an absolute age and during a moment of madness I lifted my visor to have a look at my handiwork only to have a hot piece of metal drop into my eye!! I thought at first it was just a bit of dust so I carried on getting nowhere fast. I called it a day and went home..

12 May - Woke up with it still itching to cut a long story short ended up at eye casualty only to find a piece of metal lodged in my eye after a lot of uncomfortable poking the doctor had it out and polished out the rust ring that had formed around it.. all credit to the doctor with such precision maybe I should have asked him to finish my welding!!

17 May - Well after a little break my eye was back to normal so it was time to get back to it.. I was determined to sort the inner arch once and for all, it’s been a real pig to weld under there but finally I have managed it to a satisfactory state it’s not pretty but it’s sound!! I also cleaned things up and put a coat of acid8 anti corrosion primer, I also re-finished the tops of the struts. Now just got to start the other arch I think I’ll leave that to another day though J

19 May - The other arch wasn't all that bad and I managed to crack on with the sealant. As you can see in the picture I no longer take my safety for granted

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Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - April 2005

2005-04-15T10:52:00.003+01:00

Febuary | March | April | May | June | September | October | Goto 2006

02 Apr - No huge advancements today, spent an hour trying to get the old calipers off after trying with various 18mm spanners and sockets one retaining bolt decided it wasn’t having any of it and rounded itself off so I fired up the angle grinder and it was history!! Off they came and I offered up the rears. I also have decided that to make access easier for fitting and removal of the engine/subframe I will have the back panel as removable so I am able to just slide the engine in and out which may be useful especially in the early stages sorting out teething problems so I shall convert the panel to a bolt on type which shouldn’t effect the structure to much.

05 Apr - Well i did it, I was slightly worried that the rear quarters were suddenly going to ping outward but fortunately they didn't move an inch, which is probably down to the amount of strengthening around the turrets. This aside I have now welded a couple of extra plates to position and mount my now removable rear panel which I'm quite pleased with as it'll make life so much easier from now on. The below pics show the results. One last bit of work on the rear and thats to tidy up under the quarters (the back of the turrets) but I'll save that until next week

09 Apr - A good full day today, starting at 9am which for a Saturday is quite good for me. Finished off the removable rear panel by inserting the nuts and bolts, it all fits snuggly and takes my weight sitting on it so I'll deem that a success oh and the fact the boot still shuts! next was the steering rack this is now welded into position not the neatest of welds I can assure you but it has bonded well this was placed on the subframe and the wheels line up nicely although fine tuning can be done at the track rod ends. the third job was to clean up under the arches I have now ground the turrets flush with the existing wheel arch to avoid the wheels catching. After doing these jobs it was time to reassemble and lay it on the ground as you have probably read previously the springs are no longer so it was going to sit literally on the bump stops and it did, a mild mod to the bodykit and the car was lower with amazingly no rubbing even sitting on the bump stops which is good! a quick call to my mate Glenn and he and is nephew turned up to help turn the car around the only incident was rolling the car over my foot.. a small price for the satisfaction of seeing the car rolling, I only got to see it for a short time but we didn't have all day so the gormless gazing had to stop and get it back in the garage. I started on the frontend dismantling but it was getting on and I was starting to get hungry..

22 Apr - below you will see a picture of the alternator I got stuck on one of the terminals which seems to just spin. After gently persuading the plastic capping from the alternator there was another nut that I could grip whiles I removed the nut holding the terminal on, after this everything seemed to run smoothly until I came across the rear mounting bolts on the subframe despite soaking them in WD40 I’m managed to snap a socket. This coupled with not knowing how to remove the steering column from the rack I spent the rest of the day marking up labels on the electrical side of things just to aid things when putting things back together in the back.

23 Apr - With a better frame of mind I was on a mission to machine mart to buy a proper breaker bar and set of high impact sockets, a gentle pull and it cracked free the other side followed suit this was a great relief, also the steering column connection wasn’t so hard despite the bolt being an odd type with nothing to attach my spanner to I gripped it with some molegrips and the nut span off quite happily. Before I knew the engine was out on the floor. I put the front shocks on the rear it was at this point I realized that ideally the subframe should have been a couple of inches lower, but I just dropped it down the desired amount connected them and jacked the subframe back in position, this should give the springs a little more pretension if nothing else but I can always drop the subframe a little more if this becomes an issue. To finish the day I removed the driveshafts from the hubs (a very messy job).

27 Apr - It was time to depart with a bit of hard earned cash I bought some solid 8mm discs from the campus and a 'uprated' clutch derived from the volvo I believe, in addition a new timing chain and tensioner just for peace of mind as I don't fancy separating the engine and box to often!

28 Apr - My mate Mark came round today to fit the chain tensioner and clutch, simple job as it sounds but I'd rather have peace of mind from someone who knows

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Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - March 2005

2005-03-15T21:12:00.003Z

Febuary | March | April | May | June | September | October | Goto 2006

3 Mar - Finally I have a vice!! this has just made creating the fiddly bit sooo much easier.. I have now finished strengthening around the back of the strut towers

7 Mar - Just trimmed around the bottom of the box sections for the struts to allow clearance was going to mount the subframe in place but had no 21mm spanner to undo the strut tops to release the springs to check full travel

5 Mar - Busy day today with lots done built up strengthening around the base of the strut towers to provide extra strength and stability to them and much of the chassis rail that has been cut, also I have added triangular bits to aid this. I have now got to integrate the chassis rail to the rest of the welding.

8 Mar - After searching 4 tool shops I finally found a 21mm crank spanner to fit the strut top only to find that the allen key slot has split on both struts so to check the clearance between the driveshaft and box sections I had to angle grind the 2 springs.. so I'm on the look out for a pair of shocks and springs!!
Everything cleared nicely so I can finish off the strengthening I also had a little look at how I would mount the intercooler getting a head of myself I know :) but I recon it'll be time to clean up and start sealing/painting by the end of the weekend!!

13 Mar - today was spend on part one of closing the existing box section of chassis member, as it was a box section and I had took quite a chunk out it was now time to close it all up and add strength today was spent attaching an angled to the underside which will form part of the bridge between the cut chassis member, well I bought the paint but have decided to hold off until I have the car rolling at least just in case of any last minute changes..

18 Mar - I have now completed work on the box section I just hope there is enough clearance however if not I do have alternative ideas and space to build upwards to provide the strength if I need to gain anymore height, in addition I may lower the sub frame slightly which in turn will give more clearance and a more horizontal driveshaft when standing

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Renault 5 GT Turbo conversion - Febuary 2005

2005-02-15T11:24:00.004Z

Febuary | March | April | May | June | September | October | Goto 2006

07 feb - After slogging my guts out all day I have finally got the car on the wheels with no jacks, everything nicley tacked in place. Now I need to take all the maechanics out complete the welds and add some reinforcement.In case you're wondering why there's apicture of me.. well I'm not sure either...

09 feb - A little more welding practise was the order of the day for me. Now that I'm happy with the alignment I've took out the rear chassis & shocks ready to start reinforcement. Hopefully on Saturday I should get a whole day on it !!

12 feb - I really feel I've got the hang of this welding lark now, which is a good job as there's plenty more to do. I've now fully welded each side of the turrets and have started fabrication on the strengthening around them, after so much happening in a short space of time progress seemed really slow but it has to be done!! Oh one thing to bare in mind either buy yourself a vice or wear steel toecaps as you can see by the photo, I didn't realise I was milimeters from my big toe till after I'd cut the steel :)

22 feb - A continuation of strengthening cutting little bits of metal and going through plasma grinding discs like no tomorrow. I've gone through my first reel of wire and bottle of gas today no major feat I know but shows how much welding is involved!!
27 feb - Had the weekend off and went down to the Historic Motorsport Event in Stonleigh and came back with allsorts of crazy ideas about putting a cosworth engine in, despite this I decided it would be best to get the 5 engine first and see how it performs.

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Fiesta XR2 Turbo Conversion - Wiring guide for MFi

2002-12-19T17:23:00.005Z

How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

By the fact your here you've either stumbled by accident or you would like a further look into the wiring side of things and you have a big mess on the floor and it looks a little like this

Fear not, it's actually quite straight forward and in a couple of hours you'll have a lovely labeled ready to install loom.
First things first look for three main components the two ecu plugs and the purple/blue relay holder this you'll probably find in the dash part of the loom after the fuse box. This is the fuel pump relay, the relay itself is prone to burning out especially if placed within the engine bay.

If you can't find the relay which is bright pink, it is identifiable by the following numbers 69125 followed by 8566 9P704 AA and 6HB30 stamped on the side.
Once you have found these items you will need to pull them out and away from the rest of the loom.
One particular Green/Black wire which originates from the ECU plug will lead you to a relay on the fuse box, it will be Brown and have KE in big letters on the top obviously the wire will need to be cut but also remove the Relay as this will be needed later. The relay is also identified with the following 86AGION323-AB, DIODE SRG PROTECTION, 72UF001 and 9J05 down the side.
Another noticeable set of wires is the 3x Yellow and Black these all meet together and join a large Red/Black and Blue/Black these can be cut at the join.
The rest of the separation process is a case of removing the lights, indicators, temp sender and cooling fan feed (you will use the existing XR2 ancillaries to perform these functions). You will now be left with ignition lives, permanent lives and earths.

Now is a good time to tidy things up start with the two ECU plugs and work your way down just taping every 150mm to keep things in order and also taping around where groups of wires branch off to their sensors.
Okay now that's the hard part out the way. Once the engine and components are in place start putting the plugs on. On the below picture I have labeled all them which should make life a little easier.

The rest as they say is history just get your soldering iron out and make those connections a list of which is below.

3x Browns together (from sensors) - to be connect to earth
1x Black (from ECU) - to be connected to black on coil
1x Black/Green (from ECU) to connect to pin87 on Brown relay
1x Green (from ECU) - to connect to Green lead on coil
2x Brown (from sensors) - to be connected to earth
3x Yellow/Black (feed to sensors) - connect to 10Amp fused ignition live
1x Black (from Amal valve connector) - connect to black lead on coil

From the Fuel Pump relay

1x Thick red - This requires a 25Amp feed
1x Brown - connect this to Earth
1x Black - connect to Black on coil
1x Thick Black/Red - This will need to be connected to the live on your fuel pump
1x thin Black/Red - This will be on the same terminal as the above but goes to the Auxiliary air device plug
1x Green/Red - this will be from the middle terminal and again go directly to your ECU

Note:

From the Brown Relay

Pin 87 - connects to Black/Green wire describe in above from the loom
Pin 86 - requires 10A live ignition feed
Pin 85 - connect to earth

Now a word of advice - I wouldn't tape everything up just yet as it's best to check everything works first.
If you don't fancy doing this yourself it's best to find someone who has done this before or they'll probably include their research and development in their costs, I have had quotes from £80 to £900 for the wiring alone so be warned. I ( Andy ) can strip label and post back for £50 if required.

Part 2 Installation of the loom
First off I would suggest getting the loom in position ie connect it all up to the relevant plugs most of the plugs are colour coded to the sensors and those that aren’t will only fit the correct sensor or opposite plug. I have also a table to help on page 2

Once this is done confirm you can see all the wires that need connecting up I have made a check list so you can familiarise yourself with the ends that need connecting and it will be useful to double check if troubleshooting is required. It is pretty much essential you have a multimeter handy as you will need it for check you have the right feed in the right place, it is also useful for checking you have a good earth (another point that can cause teething problems).

Figure 1.1

Label number	Wire Colour	Connect to
2	Brown	Earth (from fuel pump relay)
4	Black & red (Thick)	Fuel Pump Positive terminal
5	Red (Thick)	Permanent 12volt (put a 25amp fuse inline)
6	Black & Yellow x3	Ignition live 12v (put a 10amp fuse inline)
10	Brown	Earth (Various)
11	Green	Green on XR2 coil
12	Black	Black on XR2 coil (from amal valve, ECU & fuel pump relay valve)
13	Black and Green	Pin 87 on Brown KE relay

After you have connected number 13 to the KE relay you will be left with 2 more pins 85 which will need to be connected to an earth and 86 which will be need to be connected to a ignition live (this can be the same as connection number 6 (shown in Fig.1.1) if it is easier than finding another source) this requires a 10amp fuse inline)

For the fuses simple blade types will be sufficient. I have enclosed a few from the RS Turbo fuse box although new ones are available from your local motor factors. Connect the wires to them using the correct rated spade connector (blue if I remember correctly) the same applies to connecting the wires to the KE relay. I you are not happy with the Purple relay block the Pink fuel pump relay sits in you, can always use the correct rated blade terminals if you wish (Although yours looks in good condition).

Don’t forget you will be using the XR2 loom for the starter motor, alternator(charging system) and other ancillaries such as brake fluid sensors, you should not have to chop into any of your XR2 wiring only to connect up to the coil.

Best advice I can give is just take your time and work through logically any problems let me know and I’ll do my best to help..

Here is a list of the RS Turbo connector plugs. Connecting the plugs shouldn’t be a problem but it’s always useful for trouble shooting.

Connectors table

Type	Colour	Wire colour	Haynesref:	Destination
Square 2pin	Brown	Brown/White,Yellow&Black	142	Thermal time switch
Square 2pin	Blue	Brown/White, Yellow&Black	20	Cold start
Square 2pin	Yellow	Brown/Green& Brown	141	Temp sensor(1)
Square 2pin	Black	Red/Black & Brown	11	Aux Air
Round 2pin	Black	Brown/Black & Brown	4	Air Temp
Square 3pin	Black	Brown/Black, Brown/Green & Brown	143	Throttle sensor
Square 3pin	Black	Brown/Yellow, Brown/Green & Brown	3	Air flow pedeometer
Square 2pin	Black	Black & Brown/Green	146	Wastegate solenoid (amal valve)
Square 2pin	Grey	Black/Yellow & Brown	121	Pressure Actuator
Square 3pin	Black	Green/Yellow, Brown & Black/Red	29	Distrubutor
Square 2pin	Green	Blue/Yellow & Brown	104	Knock Sensor
Round 2pin	Black	Brown & Brown/Green	141	Temp Sensor(2)

How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

Fiesta XR2 Turbo Conversion - FAQ about the MK2 XR2 RS Turbo Engine conversion

2002-12-19T15:16:00.006Z

How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

Here is a list of commonly asked questions from people trying to put the RS Turbo engine in their Fiesta XR2.

Conversion (also see Engine)
When using a fiesta turbo & down pipe, will it foul the front crossmember?
Do I have to cut the front crossmember when using the Escort RS Turbo engine?
What exhausts system is used or who does one off systems suitable?
What radiator and intercooler are used or are they custom made?
What fuel pump can be used? as the fiesta one is in the tank and I heard the Escort RS Turbo pump is to great a pressure.
Can you fit an RS Turbo Engine into a MK1 fiesta?
Do you have to relocate the battery?
How much will this sort of conversion cost me?
Suspension and Brakes
What's the best buy in suspension terms?
What brake upgrades are available for 13" wheels?
What brake upgrades are available for 15" wheels?
What is offset?
Engine
Are late CVH XR3i/earlyXR2i inlet manifold and injectors etc. the same as turbo ones?
Which dump valve shall I use, do they all do the same thing?
Charge Coolers, Intercoolers. What is the difference?
Bodywork
What is the best way of refitting an XR2 bodykit?
Oddities
What about the Turbo Technics kit you used to be able to buy?
Where can I buy all the RS Turbo bits I need?
Which way should I go Efi or Mfi?

Conversion

Q. When using a fiesta turbo & down pipe, will it foul the front crossmember?
A. No, You should be able to drop the fiesta Turbo Lump straight in a Mk2 to with no cutting of the front cross-member needed.
Q. Do I have to cut the front crossmember when using the Escort RS Turbo engine?
A. You can use a SAAB Manifold with the Escort RS Turbo to get away with not cutting the front crossmember. Otherwise you will have to cut a shallow section of the crossmember where the exhaust exits there is already a little inlet where it needs to be cut - remember to get it welded back up afterwards this is a structural part of the car.
Q. What exhausts system is used or who does one off systems suitable?
A. Big City Tyres in Nottingham make up stainless steel exhausts to suit, or you can chop and weld an (ESCORT)RS Turbo exhaust - I did on my first XRTurbo or you will Need A Fiesta Turbo complete system, this will pretty much fit, you may need to weld the rubber hangers in right places. I believe Power Flow will make you and exhaust, failing that Severn Valley Motor sport in Telford could make you one up (scorpion/Mongoose) but you're looking at around £250-£300. But Obviously you DO have to use a turbo exhaust.
Q. What radiator and intercooler are used or are they custom made?
A. you can use the escort RSTurbo radiator and intercooler .It's best to use this as it has twice the capacity as the xr2 i.e. thicker it also has mounts for the standard RS Turbo intercooler this makes it look a more standard factory fit
You will have to take the inner skin out of the top cross member to bring the radiator forward enough to clear the turbo also the is a bit of surplus metal that can be grinded from the turbo itself giving you extra clearance. The bottom of the radiator and intercooler sits nicely in the gutter in front of the bottom cross member, again you may have to chisel a bit away each side to allow room for the water hoses try and line every thing cut with rubber to stop chafing. The next thing is your fan this is where most people start hacking away at the front panel left right and centre yes that's the easy way and I've nothing against it but if you're careful you can still leave a strip going across in front of the fan as you can see on mine this I feel looks better, you could use a knowle fan these I believe are slimmer but will set you back another £100 or so I used the standard RST fan.
Q. What fuel pump can be used? as the fiesta one is in the tank and I heard the Escort RS Turbo pump is to great a pressure.
A. I don't believe you can have to great a pressure I use a cosworth one on my set up as long as you have a return to the tank then the fuel meter will return the unwanted back to the tank
You need a XR2 tank with a swirl pot fitted you can get these from the Fiesta Centre for £90 approx and then just connect an RS Turbo pump externally. It will be fine provided it is mounted correct at bottom level of tank, so it is gravity fed. you can have the Pressure set-up when fitted. I personally use a Cosworth fuel pump from the Sapphire it sits on a nice ready made cradle next to a fuel filter, oh don't forget to get hold of a fuel accumulator if going for the Escort lump as this will smooth out the pulses coming from the pump.
Q. Can you fit an RS Turbo Engine into a MK1 fiesta?
A. Yes you can although you will need a CVH engine and gearbox installation kit from the Fiesta centre or the gearbox will foul the inner wing, also you have less room at the front so using the RSTurbo radiator becomes a problem.
Q. Do you have to relocate the battery?
A. No you don't have to you can turn the battery tray sideward and place it there. I prefer to move it to the boot as it gives more space up front
Q. How much will this sort of conversion cost me?
A. Here is a breakdown of what mine cost you may be able to skip some but it give you something to look at

Block and Initial buy turbo blown & engine knackered	350
Up rated 2nd hand Head & Cam	£200
Stainless Exhaust and Tank with built in swirl pot	£100
Spark Distributor	£50
Turbo good working order	£100
Series 2 Gearbox with LSD	£180
Wiring sort out and labeled up	£50
Sapphire Cosworth Fuel Pump	£40
Cheap Clutch	£25
Fuel Distributor clean and set up	£67.68
Air, Water and Fuel Hoses	£40
Pipercross cone Air Filter	£50
Engine rebuild inc new pistons	£580
Jamex Suspension Kit	£232.45
up rated Bushes from Rally design	£71
Ball Joints, wheel bearings steering joints	£67
Stainless Braided Hoses	£26.30
Fuel filter	£12
Under seal for areas that have be cut	£13
Plug leads normal	£12
Standard ford Motorcraft plugs and distributor seal	£11
-31 up rated Actuator	£80
2nd hand Superchips Chip	£80
NOMAD Dump Valve	£50
Boost Gauge	£30
Petrol Hose	£15
Well lane set up and competition spark plugs	90
Tie bar bushes	£8
Dipstick and tube	£20
filler cap	£3
Gear box oil synthetic	£32
Dump valve noggin on intake	£20
Tarox discs and pads	£100
Recondition of radiator	£103
Starter motor	£10
Total £2918.43

Suspension and Brakes

Q. What's the best buy in suspension terms?
A. I recommend the Jamex sportsline kit works a treat loads of speed bumps round here and bad roads too. Alternatively if you have the money go for a nice set of Leda, in my opinion the best suspension that (sensible) money can buy (most of the Hot hatch racers use them). (SVM used Penski suspension on there 550bhp KA that cost £1500 a corner!) drop bout 35mm, that should be perfect all round set-up.
Q. What brake upgrades are available for 13" wheels?
A. There isn't much available if you want to go bigger. I personally use a tarox disc/Ferodo pad set up works fine for me - just make sure you brake calipers are working well
Q. What brake upgrades are available for 15" wheels?
A. You have many choices but within most budgets there are two main options one is go for drill, grooved or both something like the Tarox. With grooved and drilled discs the only thing you'll gain is less fade you won't increase your stopping power, the only thing to bare in mind you generally get what you pay for I've had cheaper discs in the past and they warped pretty quickly I swear by Tarox 6 grooves
If you have 15" rims you may want to consider the big disc kit from Rally design this will set you back £150 + VAT and in return you get 280mm discs and everything you need to mount your calipers to them. As the discs are bigger so is the leverage, your calipers will now have more control and stopping power. Also with the large disc you'll have more surface area for cooling where as if you were to use larger calipers ie rst items you are in fact covering up more disc = more heat.

**Interesting fact did you know that if you sit at a set of lights with your foot on the brake peddle you are more likely to warp you discs especially after hard braking.**
Q. What is offset?
A. If you imagine the wheel in front of you as if you were about to roll it along the ground now the centre of the wheel would be zero offset and either way would be plus or minus in mm offset click the picture below to see the diagram in full. You will hear the term offset used when buying a set of wheels as different car makes and models require different offsets due to how far their hubs stick out.

Engine

Q. Are late CVH XR3i/earlyXR2i inlet manifold and injectors etc. the same as turbo ones?
A. The EFI Inlet is same but I believe the Injectors will probably be heavier spray.
Q. Which dump valve shall I use, do they all do the same thing?
A. Yes all dump valves do the same thing they release air. but and a big but is not all allow for smooth idling as far as I'm aware the best ones I think, (as painstaking I have tried them all) are the Bailey’s piston type that is specially for the Escort RST this is around £70 and a heavy duty sprung piston type from NOMAD racing around £60 I'm currently using the NOMAD version as this can be rebuilt if cleaning is required.

For mounting, the t-piece cut into the top hose is okay but for efficiency the closer to the inlet manifold the better I have had a noggin welded to the charge carrier plus I would n't want to be cutting a set of Samco hoses eek.
Q. Charge Coolers, Intercoolers. What is the difference?
A. An intercooler uses passing air to cool the fins where as a charge cooler uses water, the water has it's own radiator and pump for cooling the charge cooler is more efficient especially if space is an issue but you can use both if you wish.

Bodywork

Q. What is the best way of refitting an XR2 bodykit?
A. For the side skirts you can still buy the plastic recepticals from ford @ 15p ea +vat , I suggest you go to a breakers yard and get the orginal double threaded lugs from another side skirt, as, using too corse a thread will result in an annoying gap between skirt and bodywork, you may also want to consider getting some black draft excluder to place between skirt and bodywork again this will make the final article much more factory looking. The underside will need rivoting.
As for the arches a short but corse screw with a washer (pref plastic) from the inside will do the job nicley.

Oddities

Q. What about the Turbo Technics kit you used to be able to buy?
A. If you can get hold of it it's worth considering I knew someone who bought one for 50quid! Just the down pipe and air filter were missing. The manifold is designed to reduce lag, it uses a hybrid turbo (T2 housing/T3 compressor wheel). It uses a modified *standard* carb with a special plenum top, it's intercooled, and the standard boost was *6* psi [similar to an RS]. TT supply modified pistons with the kit to reduce the compression and stop detonation.
The figures are 7.4 seconds 0-60mph, and 125mph
You can use your existing cylinder head, camshaft, exhaust etc.
Apparently the car is quite a handfull [due to torque steer] and TT fitted TCA polybushes to try to help out.
80-120 was supposed to take about 5 seconds
A TT xr2 in fast ford shootout with a bleed valve and Magnex zorst running 14psi, it was knocking out 175bhp!! A year later it appeared in Revs with no mention of a rebuild!

Turbo Technics documentation can be found in the Media section of RetroFiesta.co.uk.
Q. Where can I buy all the RS Turbo bits I need?
Ebay is probably the best bet these days. Although you can’t beat getting hold of an RS Turbo that is breaking. That way you can ensure you have all the parts needed and you can check the engine is running.
Q. Which way should I go Efi or Mfi?
A.The main point that sticks in peoples minds is the removing of the little bit out the crossmember, I would say the main argument is really down to how much money you are willing to spend and how much power you want from the word go. For power to pound I would suggest the MFi setup. Although for simplicity ie no cutting I would suggest the Efi although the simplicity of it is arguable. This said the Electronic fuel injection does lend itself to be more controllable at higher stages of tune.

As for the battery either way you're better relocating if you want things looking neat under your bonnet.

How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

Fiesta XR2 Turbo Conversion - Converting the MK2 XR2 to accept the RS Turbo Engine

2002-12-19T12:29:00.003Z

How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

This is an overview of the conversion process for transplanting the Escort RS Turbo engine and running gear into the fiesta MK2 XR2

Contents
Donor parts
Strip the bay
Modify the engine bay
Inserting the main components
Plumbing
The fueling system
The Electrics and Wiring
The final touches and testing

Donor Parts
The first thing you'll need is your donor parts this will consist of the following
Engine - block and head one thing to look for is an engine number this may save a lot of explaining to the police at a later date.
Fuel Injection system - including: Inlet manifold including injectors and red pipes to link to the fuel distributor. As for the tank I would suggest you buy the tank from the fiesta center this is design for this very type of conversion. From there I use the Sierra Cosworth type fuel pump mainly because of it's size and convenience as it comes in it's own mounting cradle which also house a nicely sized fuel filter.
Turbo - there's no sure fire way of checking for a knackered one but if grab the compressor shaft there should be very little movement back and forth also look for cracks in the exhaust housing. It is also good if you can get hold of the down pipe this makes a good start for your exhaust.
Wiring - Probably best to grab the hole loom from the escort RS then you'll be sure not to miss anything although you only be using the engine management part.
Gearbox - To limit the spin (as you will get it) you are best searching for the Limited Slip Differential type box, you may get this with the engine again there is no way of checking what condition the box is in, but no whether it is a LSD type from the casing , the easiest way of check if it has the LSD is with the drive shafts removed have a look through the hole if you can see daylight you have he right one if however you can see a bevel this will not be the LSD type diff.

Cooling - for this many say just stick with the XR2 radiator but for proper cooling I use the RS Turbo radiator as this has twice the cooling capacity in addition you will need all associated hoses. As for the intercooler the standard one will attach to the Radiator and look really neat once installed again you will need all the turbo hoses.
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Strip the bay
For best results remove everything, I would suggest removing the calipers from the discs, all coolant piping and connecting wires, cables, fuel lines, exhaust etc. then move to the hubs themselves remove the steering joints tie bar bolts and track control arms then simply put a good jack at the base of the sump and undo the cross member bolts making sure that jack is pumped up enough to take the weight of the block. Next move onto the upper engine mounts remove these also. Finally undo the strut tops and place these to the ground - or you may want to leave these until the engine is lowered slightly to avoid strain on the shafts as you'll be needing these later.
NB. Once the manifold is removed you may want to offer the turbo up in place to mark what will need cutting on the cross member
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Modify the engine bay
Now the engine and components are out it is time to start work on the engine bay itself it may also be a good time to get the pressure hose out and have a good scrub as no doubt you'll be wanting to show this new motor off once fitted.
Firstly, attack the battery tray this will have to be removed as this is where the fuel distributor will be fitted, how you do this is up to you, ideally, you should be able to drill out the spot welds and it should fall off but more often than not you'll have to get out the angle grinder.
Secondly, you will have to move down to the cross member here you will have to enlarge the exhaust exit to accommodate the exhaust from the turbo although you should have already marked this from step one.
Thirdly, you will have to modify the front panel to locate the radiator and intercooler further forward to give clearance to the turbo. I would start by cutting little noggins out from the inner skin where the top of the radiator and intercooler will sit, this should give a good inch or so also for the bottom the best thing would be to place the radiator and intercooler so it fits in the gutter in front of the cross member again this will move it forward. Once they are moved forward far enough to clear the turbo you have to start making allowances the other side for the cooling fan as this sits on the front for an RS Turbo. At this point many fall into the trap of just hacking into the front panel, if you are careful you can fit the fan slightly lower down this will elevate the need to chop a section out of the strip that runs along below you headlights instead you will be able to nibble a little out behind it so the blades of the fan can slip behind and the middle section of the fan will sit just below.
You should now have plenty of room for you fan, radiator and intercooler you will now have to fabricate some brackets, this part is up to you on the three cars I have done I've always found something in the garage that does the job. With the fan you should be able to modify the existing brackets.
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Inserting the main components
This bit is relatively straight forward, fitting the engine and gearbox is as the Haynes manual says "simply a reversal of removal" now at this point you'll be thinking you need a engine crane etc well fear not if you have a good jack and a couple of adjustable axle stands it is possible, this process normally takes me about an hour - obviously the use of a crane would make things easier.
Now if the engine isn't fitted with it inlet manifold I would suggest doing this now, along with fitting you turbo and exhaust manifold this is when you find out if your radiator is moved forward enough. You will also notice a bit stick out on the turbo that doesn't seem to be doing a lot other than looking like it could do potential damage to the radiator, the solution for this is get you angle grinder out, but be careful not to chop off anything important and if in doubt leave it!
Now your engine should be taking shape the next task will be the fuel distributor, this is the thing that has red pipes coming out of it and also what the air filter fits onto it is also known as a vein meter probably because the red pipes resemble archeries in a strange way. My advise would be to connect the red pipes up to the injectors and on the fuel distributor and place the unit on the inner wing it should sit nicely just above the gearbox exactly how it does on the Escort without causing any stress to the red fuel pipes, make sure your pipe from the turbo intake to the fuel meter also fits otherwise it will be difficult to get one that will fit. Once you are happy with it's placement drill two holes through the inner wing that correspond with the holes on the meter then form a bracket for he top rubber mount this will then bolt up where you battery tray was.
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Plumbling
Well now you have all you components in the right place why not put the rest of the parts on like the remaining turbo hoses and plumbing for the radiator. for the water you will have to fit an extra t-piece near the alternator to allow the two systems to work with each other , if you have the rest of the RS Pipes everything should be relatively straight forward.
Don't forget to connect all your vacuums as air leaks count towards a lot of teething problems you may have.
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The fueling system
This part will also apply if you are fitting a non turbo injection to your car - but that's boring so lets get on
Method One - The most simple and straight forward method is to go out and buy a pre-made fuel tank with the swirl pot from the RS Turbo welded inside the tank front of the MK2 fiesta. You'll need a swirl pot as when you corner at speed the fuel will surge to one side of the tank and as the injection pump will be pulling fuel at such a rate there will be a chance it will suck in air bubbles and this is not good as no fuel in a turbo'd engine could have serious consequence besides the pump will require a larger diameter pipe than that of the standard tank.
These type of tanks can be bought for £89 from Norwich Fiesta Centre this is the method I use.
From the tank I prefer to mount the fuel pump somewhere at the rear of the car, ideally the pump should not be mounted above the tank as the pump is gravity fed. I have used the pump from the Sapphire Cosworth the reason one because it was going cheap and two because it sits in it's own cradle along side the fuel filter this makes it look nice and neat and easy to fit.
Method Two - This would be to use a Facet silver top type pump and the standard tank this can be popular if you have just upgraded from using twin 40's although I'd recommend in this case you sell the Facet with your forty's as from the Facet you will need to feed a swirl pot, this will basically take the form of a cylinder with a top and bottom and with four pipes a feed from the facet pump at the top, a return from the injection system, a return to the fuel tank for overflow and a feed at the bottom to the injection pump of your choice. These can be made if you're handy with the welder but bare in mind this has to carry fuel which could be very hazardous if it was to spring a leak in the engine bay!! and to buy a swirl pot you would be looking at a similar price to that of the ready made injection tank.
Note : Always use high pressure hose and good stainless steel jubilee clips. To get your fuel to the front of the car and back again I use the standard bore fuel lines on the XR2 this seems to be up to the job although you could swap these out for larger versions found on the turbo or other injection models or even get some braided hoses made to length but these are quite costly.
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Electrics
General
Oh no I hear you shout! fear not for some reason this is made to seem a lot more complicated than it need be.
First up decide where you want to have your battery I know the favorite is to mount this in the rear section either where the spare wheel normally sits or opposite in the other void, this will need to be mounted securely as in the event of an accident you wouldn't like that hitting you round the head at 30mph! - You will also need to find and earthing point, I found that drilling a hole then welding a nut on top produced an excellent earthing point, I would recommend this be welded to the axle tunnel due to it being a good bit of metal!
From the battery you will need a good thick cable from the battery to the starter motor, you will have to get your money out on this one nip down to your local car electronics outlet and buy yourself the appropriate length of auto cable (not stereo) a good source would be midland magneto also buy a couple of connectors whilst you are there. An alternative would to search around the scrap yard and find a car with the battery mounted in the boot I was told Jaguars run this set up although I could be wrong.
You cable from the starter motor to the alternator will remain the same. From the start motor take another live feed to your inner wing hear you'll need to get either a distribution box, heavy duty fuse or just good at soldering as you need to connect you live feed to the existing XR2 electronics after all you'll still need your lights to work.
RS Turbo loom
Click here to see the full guide.
Okay onto the RS Turbo loom - Thanks to Mark Lister AKA Bomber I have based this section of the loom I have recently completed for him. The trick with the loom is just a case of tracing the wires back to there source and pulling/cutting the bits you need from the bits you don't.
If you don't fancy doing this yourself it's best to find someone who has done this before or they'll probably include their research and development in their costs, I have had quotes from £80 to £900 for the wiring alone so be warned. I can strip label and post back for £50 if required.
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Final touches and testing
Okay now is a good time to go over everything check all jubilee clips are fully tightened, wheel bolts are done up etc... it's a good idea to have a friend with you just to double check. Make sure your oil is in your engine and gearbox, brake fluid topped up, water is in and most importantly you have fuel - don't laugh. Okay turn the key until your dash lights come on first you should hear you fuel pump prime up it may be an idea to just go around and check you have no fuel leaks then turn her over a good idea would be to disconnect the fuel just to get you oil pressure flowing around the engine and turbo as it has probably been standing for a little while and dry bearings tend to wear very quickly!
Okay connect your fuel feed and spin that motor.... okay you should have a big grin across your face at this moment, if not don't worry as I have another section for trouble shooting.
Well welcome to the world of turbo'd XR2's you now have the potential to run over 200bhp through your 185/60r13's and take it from me it's big fun !!
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How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

Fiesta XR2 Turbo Conversion - A Day in the life of...

2002-12-15T15:55:00.009Z

How to Convert | Wiring it up | FAQ | My build diary

This is a diary of my last XR2 turbo, as you can see by the dates it was quite a while ago however for those owning or contiplating converting an XR2 to a Turbo it may prove interesting

Here's a couple of Pictures in it's hey day at Santa Pod

Well I'll start back in april of 2001 when I bought it - It was in the factory colour burgandy, and there was much speculation one whether or not is was an XR2 40 - a limited edition. Whether it was or wasn't I never found out for sure but I did contact the dealer and it was a one off dealer special with a limited run althogh he never gave out numbers I've never seen another the same colour on the road since

Wed 4th April 2001
Spent most of the afternoon cutting the rust from the corners of the boot as you can probably see from the photo it has spread to the outer skin, this is likely to have been caused by trapped water. I will have to cut back considerably if I want to stop it spreading further.

Wed 4th April 2001
Removing bonnet, headlights and radiator to allow removal of the engine.

Sat 7th April 2001
Removed remaining wires and plumbing and single handedly removed engine, forgot to pull a sensor off the carb and ripped it clean fortunately I won't be needing it
Sat 7th April 2001
My friend had a spare cage for his Nova so I thought I'd try it in the fiesta - a word of advise DON'T apart from it not fitting I managed to put a nasty scrape near my petrol cap although I'm having a repair done in that area so I can get it done at the same time (but still annoying)

Sat 7th April 2001
Whilst I was at the front I have had a further look at the inner wings looks like another bit of welding . It's quite strange as the rest of the bodywork seems mint, guess it's just were the water gets trapped.

Wed 11th April 2001
Did a long awaited oil change on the RS lump, I'll do another when I change the sump and gearbox
I have trimmed back the inner wings on F57 to prepare for welding
And finally I have labeled and marked up the loom on both cars ready for removing the turbo lump from F781 and inserting the standard engine from F57
Sat 14th April 2001
My friend came around to have a look at the work required for welding, he has thankfully accepted and will commence on the 21st April
Sun 15th April 2001
With some help, I managed to remove the RS unit and install the standard CVH lump by 11pm the beers came out and we'd had quite enough.
Mon 16th April 2001
Up first thing to finish things off - calipers back on, petrol tanks swapped and exhaust on - guess what it fired up straight away so after a few minor adjustments to the carb everything was well... slow, I guess, but never less will allow me to concentrate on the project itself
So a big thank you to Alan and Darran for their help.

Thurs 19th April 2001
Came home from work and decided to do some grinding, I managed to remove the battery tray, trim back yet more rust from the front panel, cut out a little noggin on the cross member for the exhaust exit, then finished off by forming the hole for the intercooler to sit. At this point it decided to chuck it down with rain so I thought I'd quit whilst I was ahead.

I also wanted to move the RS Lump and turn my car around for better access a quick phone call and before I knew it six burly blokes appeared and my car was turned around and the lump was exactly where I wanted it, in the next instance they were gone and didn't even want a coffee - thanks lads appreciate the help.
Fri 20th April 2001
There was a bit of rust on the front side of the drivers rear arch so I removed the piece of kit around the arch and though I'd investigate, I wish I hadn't. Never mind once it's welded at least that will be everything sorted.

Sat 21st April 2001
Things finally moving in a positive direction. Lee, a friend who has worked in a dealer body shop for over 12 years came round to do the first installment of welding, managed to cover the passenger inner wing, a little bit and the airel hole on the top side of the wing, the drivers side inner wing and one side of the front panel, the quality of the work is excellent despite having to use substandard welding wire that we bought from a local supplier, however I have now bought some decent stuff from Machine Mart.

I also cut a rather large aperture for the radiator to sit lower at the front, we're starting to be a little concerned about the strength of the front panel so something may have to be done about this soon.
Sun 22nd April 2001
Once again Lee cracked on with the welding and now the front end is complete, just the sanding and painting to go, after he left I sealed the non-visible welds. I will leave the visible ones for him to deal with as I don't want to make a mess of things.
I have also started to build the engine back up with a new dipstick and auto-choke thingy.
Mon 23rd April 2001
Well I'm knackered but the engine is now in place I managed to do it with just a good jack and a couple of axle stands now it's a case of putting everything together.

Tues 24th April 2001
Worked out most of the plumbing and Intercooler hoses also made the brackets for the Radiator and Intercooler
Wed 25th April 2001
My back seems to be taking a toll it seems to have worsened over the past few days, although partly through working on the car I think I'm having troubles with the chairs at work
Despite this I have managed to drill the hole through the bulkhead, make a start on the wiring and mount the fuel distributor.
Sat 28th April 2001
As my back is still giving me troubles I haven't managed to do anything but Lee carried on with the welding this time doing a great job of the rear quarter panel/sill, basically having to construct one from nothing as the good old rust beetle had really bit in. Needless to say he's done another great job.
also the intercooler brackets are now welded in place, from what Lee is saying he should be able to complete the welding next weekend.

Thurs 3th May 2001
Well here we are in another month I have tidied the loom up and plugged on all the engine sensors, I have also neatened up the front panel and painted the majority of it.
Fri 4th May 2001
My new fuel tank with internal swirl pot arrived today from Fiesta Centre along with my racing clutch should handle up to 230bhp from Burton so I should have no more clutch slipping worries, I also went and bought more pipes of varying sizes to finish off the plumbing I have left. Roll on Saturday
Sat 5th May 2001
Fitted the tank although not very happy with the mounting points nor the position of the fuel pump feed the photos will explain this better. Despite this I have mounted it and positioned the fuel pump.
I have also sealed the new welds on the inner wings and will paint tomorrow once it has gone off. I have also neatened up the RS Turbo loom and put it in place, ran the starter motor feed and ground some protruding brackets off the intercooler.
Sun 6th May 2001
Happy with the progress today, both inner wings are now painted and finish although they do look very red in the photos I can assure you they're not so bright in the flesh. I took the opportunity to replace the water bottles and the XR2 wiring.

The fuel pump was also on the agenda today mounting it well to the back seat base and making off all the connections although I will state I'm not happy with the position of the fuel pump feed, I just have to get hold of a pair of longer 10mm bolts to secure the pump fully then I can put this bit out of my mind.

Back up front I have finished the rest of the boost hoses of which I'm quite happy with the best thing is that they fit snuggly in the front bumper I just need some jubilee clips and a top hose to complete this.
Pretty productive day I plan to have the radiator properly mounted tomorrow and make a start on the wiring lets see what happens.

Mon 7th May 2001
Well I managed to get the battery mounted, radiator and fan so I'm pleased with that in addition I've managed to mount the bonnet correctly so I am more than happy.
Things have really started moving now so just a case of wiring up and finishing I plan to bring the deadline forward to the 19th June possibly ready for the Fiesta in the Park but it will require a lot of effort.
Weds 9th May 2001
Not a great deal to report but managed to swap the rear suspension over between the two cars so now Project C7 is sitting 35mm lower well at the back anyway.
Oh and I have removed the front towing eye from F781 so that the front valance would look acceptable again and replaced the headlight as the lense had mysteriously worked it's way lose.
Thursday 31st May 2001
Started the car up first thing in the morning after a few turns it fired up everything seemed fine went to work came out at 5pm started the car and it sounded like I was running on two cylinders anyway I left it running hoping it would clear itself... nothing so, I trundled home it was the same all the way I decided at this point it needed to be looked at by a professional
Sorry there's a large gap I will be filling it in shortly
Friday 1st June 2001
Turned the key and once again it was running like a dog so I popped down to my local engine tuners unfortunately the earliest I could have any work done was Monday so I booked it in and the long weekend began
Monday 4th June 2001
Limped to Moore Bridge Diagnostic centre in the morning dreading the worst, I was thinking leaking injectors, vapor locks and sticking valves....
Most of the day I spent playing on the PC trying to keep my mind off things then the phone rang.
It was 4.30pm and my car was ready for collection the problem? over fueling... an adjustment to the fueling and a change of spark plugs and £41.50 later it ran perfect, I must say I was most impressed with both the value and work carried out so here's a free plug
Automotive Diagnostic Centre
Unit 3 Moorbridge, Hucknall Lane Bulwell
Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG6 8AF
Tel: 0115 975 5200
Fri 8th June 2001
Collected some oil and a filter ready for fitting my newly conditioned gearbox, racing clutch and long awaited sump which has been leaking for the past year
Sat 9th June 2001
Everything fitted, feels nice and smooth now, although, the clutch doesn't half bite, I have started to put the interior back in and will continue work on my front valance.
Thanks to Mark who kindly installed gearbox and changed the sump.
Sunday 24th June 2001
The Journey
Well the day started early me picking my brother up at 8.30am and the voyage started, we when straight in tailing a group of modded R5's in we went and straight to the signing up office.
The runs
£10 later I found myself on the line raring to go 14.97sec was my first run I decided to start playing with the boost after a couple of disastrous runs I managed a 14.40 which is the quickest I've done since E46ROH covering a 14.22 the day just got hotter and hotter and times didn't seem to improve so we called it a day.

The journey home
was fun seeing many RS's everyone was acknowledging each other which was nice... we smelt oil occasionally on the way back thinking it was just coming out the dump valve I kept my eye on the oil pressure it was fine so we continued. That was until we reached Nottingham to hear a screeching noise every time I'd tried to pull away, on later inspection the reverse sensor had sheared off and the 2" long thread had made its way into the g/b so it was kind of a good day
I managed to get towed home so I guess I'll have to be removing it tomorrow.
Friday 24th August 2001
Wow doesn't time fly, I'll be honest I haven't done a single thing to F57 due to financial constraints although to keep me busy Bomber a.k.a Mark Lister has asked me to prepare his wiring loom for an up and coming MK1 Turbo conversion.
I will receive it tomorrow and hopefully start work, this will be the ideal opportunity to expand my conversion section under wiring as I know this causes a lot of people problems.
Watch this space
Saturday 4th September 2001
After meeting with Marks parents I received a package containing a full RS Turbo wiring loom, I happen to take this with me to my parents house, where I decided to get busy by the afternoon I had the majority of it finished and just required labeling. I won't go into it here but you can read more about the wiring here.
Sunday 14th October 2001
Well finally I have landed myself with a decent paid job enabling me to continue Project C7. First on my list is to put things right namely the gearbox but before I can even think about removal I have a problem - I have lost my locking wheel nuts! After trying fruitlessly for many an hour with a claw hammer and a socket plus trying any other method in my tool box I finally decided a trip to B&Q was needed once there I found the ideal tool a 4lb lump hammer, 20mins later all locking wheel bolts were removed. Unfortunately I was losing light so I thought better leave the rest until next weekend.
Saturday 20th October 2001
Today has to be one of the most productive days for about three months, I've managed to remove the gearbox, this went to plan and was fairly straight forward, on closer inspection I could see where the sensor had sheared off and it seemed to be still there (not fallen into the gearbox as first thought) also I found the internals of the sensor which happen to be a ball bearing and spring again they weren't in the gearbox. At a guess I would think some of the bearings have run dry and possibly ceased them, I will take it in to Hi Gear for a check over as I plan to run a lot more power through it in the future!
Next was a pod for the gauges, I have been planning this ever since I bought them! they had been mounted on a piece of plywood with lots of insulation tape - hardly professional looking. Well now I have made one out of fiberglass which looks quite smart I'll post pictures as soon as I get my hands on the digi camera again.

Finally I decided to get busy with the front valance again being not happy with the look of it so I went to it with a power sander chisel and three tubs of fiberglass, it is by no means finished but is starting to take shape.

Sunday 28th October 2001
Well at least there wasn't a months gap between now and the last entry, well today was really a continuation of the valance, I've worked on it from 11am until 5pm although it looks better it is still quite a way from being finished besides I've got to make a mould of it and then create the actual article from that itself. However it is starting to look like the valance I wanted rather than a cornflakes box to bits of plywood and a lump of fibreglass anyway enough talking have a look yourself.

Sunday 11th November 2001
You thought I'd slipped slightly hadn't you, well the reason is because it's damn cold out there. Anyways I've now had the gearbox repaired for a very reasonable £130 this was a favour which I appreciate greatly from HiGear of Nottingham. If you read earlier in this diary you'll know that I managed to lose all oil in my gearbox resulting in killing 5th gear, I also had to have replaced 3&4th the corresponding bearings selectors and a couple of other bits and bobs. Next time I smell oil I shall be stopping pronto.
Well after a couple of hours work start to finish with just the aid of a jack and axle stands oh plus the 3 bricks :) I've manage to refit the box just a case of waiting for the oil which should fingers crossed arrive before the weekend.
Thursday 6th December 2001
Well the winter months are and there's not really a lot to tell apart from last weekend when I fired F57 up for the first time in five months mind you the should be quite an occasion actually, but I couldn't drive her due to not having enough juice in the really dead ( 5v ) 12v battery. Though despite this after jump starting it off another car she ran like a dream in fact as if it had never been off the road.
I've just ordered my new battery and I have also bought some new strut top rubbers as the old ones were perished, these will be fitted before she's back on the road. Unfortunately still no ETA for going back on the road but I would estimate January all being well. It's been quite hard to photograph my progress of late but should have the digi camera soon.

Saturday 8th December 2001
Finally the day has come, I am now insured for £378 that was inclusive of all the modifications the advantages of being old eh?
That battery arrived courtesy of Glenn along with the strut top mounts of which I shall fit tomorrow. I have also order a digi camera which will be my present for xmas this should allow me to make the site a little more picturesque.
Anyway I'm off to give the car a road test so I'll fill you in tomorrow.
Sunday 9th December 2001
Everything seems to be running a dream, just need some drier weather to turn up the boost
Sunday 30th December 2001
A busy day today, I have now fitted new strut top mounts these went on with relative ease, and sprayed the lower rear quarter readying it for fitting the remaining bodykit.
Also I have now raised the boost to 14psi, getting closer but I was unable to get it any higher as I didn't have the apppropriate tools to hand, whilst under there I noticed that the gearbox oil appears to be leaking from one of the driveshaft seals, these will be changed hopefully on Thursday the 3rd, via my trusty friend in Mansfield.
Wednesday 2nd January 2002
Well my first entry of the new year, today I finally put the rest of my bodykit on, the fixings I needed weren't available from Ford whilst there I bought a set of drivshaft seals ready for tomorrow, after that stop I set about looking in the scrapyard, but unfortuantely there were no XR2's which I must say has to be a first, does this mean they're starting to get scarce? I ended up improvising by cutting the heads of some threaded screws, well the kits certainly not going anywhere so I would class it as a success.
Saturday 16th March 2002
Ooops here I go again missing huge chunks out of my diary, well to cut it short alot of things have happened but not to much has been done to the car.
Anyway, today I have change the oil and filter, changed the fuel tank back to the original one I had prior to buying the fiesta centre item which is for sale. I also removed the water feed to the turbo and replaced the radiator top hose for a more robust item without a t'piece in the hope that it will be more durable on trackdays.
The reason behind removing the water feed is so that the engine as a whole will run a little cooler.
Sunday 17th March 2002
I have started work on the rear bumper which as everything seems easier on paper, with regards to being a rare car - I appreciate that and have decided that any thing I do must be reversible in this instance a new bodykit would revert me back to standard ;)
but for now I shall go the bumper route, the rear end looks quite a sight at the moment I shall have pictures tomorrow.. I have next Thursday and Friday off work so by Sunday I should have both front and rear bumpers painted, finished and the car ready to be painted (well the bonnet anyway) I'm also looking at a front opening bonnet which will utilise the 106 hinges again I'll keep you ll posted.
Oh just to add I have found a pair of spots that fit perfectly in the XR2i front bumper and what were they off? - a Skoda Felcia that was sitting pretty in the scrappers.
Another star buy was an auto boot release from the MK3 complete with switch this cost an amazing £6. I have seen this fitted to XR2Babes car which works a treat so I'll be showing you how it fits.
Finally to close --- the fog light two ideas on this one is 206 style with it mounted centrally alternatively have them in existing positions poking through (finished of course)
Thursday 21st March 2002
Well today I continued with the rear bumper and also blended the front in some more to finish it off better, tomorrow I shall continue.
Friday 22nd March 2002
More of the same thing, sanding, filling, sanding, filling you get the idea by 4.30pm I went ahead with the painting and by 6pm I had them fitted, I'm quite happy with the overall result but need to find a better way of fixing them.
Saturday 23rd March 2002
Today I went round to my friends house for a change of scenery as decided to use my old petrol tank as the fiesta centre one is continuing to annoy me as when under half full it'll cause the car to stall as the petrol surges to one side.
The down side with my old tank is that is has a leak so we decided to tackle this, I learnt a valuable lesson today and that is not to weld fuel tanks as the make loud noises and spurt flames, after nearly blowing it up we managed to patch it together and get it on the car, all seems to be working well.
Tuesday 26th March 2002
After two days of strong fuel smells and dripping fuel I thought it may be an idea to investigate the tank further, after dropping the tank down I located the leak to be on the return pipe, which is on the top half of the tank, I decided to just keep the tank on half empty for the time being until I come up with a lasting solution
Wednesday 27th March 2002
After purchasing my new number plate A11 XRT last month I felt it was time to get it on the car so off I went to the DVLA despite quite a lengthy queue no sooner was I at the desk, I was walking away with the necessary tax disc to start using my new plates.
After nipping to Maccess (local autoparts) I bought some mesh for the front bumper and set to work. I decided against the fogs and instead I have enlarge the middle aparture to let more air through and meshed either side to allow the number plate to be mounted on the right again this was to allow more air through to the radiator.
Friday 29th March 2002
Here we are another weekend is here this weekend I decided I was to make the bonnet front opening as lifting it off every other day becomes quite a strain especially if in you work clothes and it's raining !
I spotted the brackets from a Peugeot 106 and set about making the brackets, it was relatively slow progress, but by the end of the day I had something that resembled a mount.
Saturday 30th March 2002
Today flew by, and with the help of Lee (Sparky as he's more commonly known) the bonnet was now functional and everything welded into place, I really am happy with this now it just needs tidying and a bonnet painting.
Sunday 7th April 2002
After much contiplating I decided to go to SantaPod a quick call to my brother and we were off.
After much traffic we arrived about 1pm, which happened to be their lunch half hour so with the car in the fire up lane it gave me an oppurtunity to get myself sorted out with my pass, which incidently is now £13 for unlimited runs which is still good value in my books.
I wasn't expecting miricles as long as I hit the 14.44 I achieved before I had all the trouble with my gearbox last May. My first and second runs were 14.65 and 14.63 which after missing a gear on each I thought was quite good.
With the conditions nigh on perfect despite many folk complaining of lack of grip (isn't that always the case?) I set off smashing my previous time getting a 14.23 which was just 0.01secs slower than my personal best 4 years previous although I was over the moon and as time was ticking due to a 40 minute wait between runs I said to my brother the next would be the last! and what a run it was too 13.98secs yes you heard right I've finally made it into the 13's well I was exstatic, but on this note we thought it would be a good time to roll out.
As my goal this year was to get into the 13's I have now had to change it and say low 13's ie 13.5sec or lower so we'll see what happens.
Later that evening I took everything off my bulkhead and cleaned around ready for painting the bonnet the following day.
Monday 8th April 2002
Early start, I removed the rear bumper in hope that I will get chance to do something with it before the weekend.
I reach SMG body repairs at just before 9am where I met Steve and handed over the keys and set off on foot, well it's all in his hands, can't wait to see the result hopefully Wednesday/Thursday
Wednesday 10th April 2002
Start work on the bumper mould and left it outside in hope that it would cure overnight
Thursday 11th April 2002
Called the bodyshop around 11am to see how it was coming along, much to my disappointment it hadn't been started due to another job turning from one panel to a full respray.
Oh well, I decided it would be best just to collect the car and try and put it back together for the Doncaster show.
On my return home I checked upon the bumper unfortuantly it was still tacky so decided I would have to leave it inside to cure, yet another thing not ready for the weekend.
Friday 12th April 2002
I worked until 12.20am to get the car in a road worthy state, ie I now have window wipers and the mesh is back in the bonnet, I have also used the illumination wiring for the heater controls to illuminate the boost and oil pressure so I now know what boost I'm running at night aswell.
Saturday 13th April 2002
I was up at 5.45am and set off at 7am to the Doncaster show, much to my suprise it only took 40mins so I was there in plenty of time, everything went smoothly and was on the fordsport stand before the public were allowed in.
There was plenty to see and the main attraction for me had to be the flip paint jobs so many cars seem to be sporting these days.
I had a mixed response to mine, obviously the state it was in (ie ready for the bodyshop) didn't do it any favours and it hardly looked like a show car, but never the less it attracted a hell of a lot more when the bonnet was up and had quite a few people asking about the conversion and also the bumpers.
Sadly there were only three other Mk2 fiestas there and one Mk1 although that's not necessarly a bad thing as I guess it makes mine a little more unique.
I had planned on going for both days, but due to me being so tired, and the car not being anywhere near how I wanted it, I took the lie in and decided to save it all for another day.

Well the rest of the year really
So much time has passed an no updates well basically it's been sitting in my garage since the last trackday so rather than go to waste I thought I would sell it to someone who has a little more time spare so this will be my last entry for F57KHK aka A11 XRT
Thank you to Jason at Retrofiesta.co.uk for hosting my XR2 stuff whilst I’ve been finding a new home for it.

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