2003 Ford Focus SVT

Well I'm gonna move this over here since I didn't finish it in time for the CBP. I started with a Revell 2003 Ford Focus SVT and decided that Front Engine FWD wasn't gonna cut it. So I moved the engine in the rear, made it RWD, and threw in a V8 to make it faster. I'm gonna call this OuttaFocus 2! This is the Second Focus I've built and the first one was named Outta Focus as well.

So let's get caught up shall we?

This is what I started with. A pile of parts and an idea!



Threw in a healthy Ross Gibson SBC Alley Rat 502 V8 engine and Porsche 914 Transmission.



Tried to make the frame rails where I could go for a nice independent suspension.



Boxed in the front so I could move the gas tank and such to the front.



Continued ......

Continued:

I didn't like the li'l stubby brake master cylinder. So it's gotta go.



Needed more ventilation since the radiator is remaining up front. So I made the louvers in the hood.






Then the transmission mounts were absent since I'm making a Porsche 911 Transmission into a Porsche 914 transmission. Difference you ask? The 911 faces the interior, the 914 is facing the other direction or the rear of the car. So I made the mounting arms.




Continued .........

Continued:

As you can see in the pictures I had to figure out a mounting plate to mount the Porsche Transmission to the SBC Engine. Well that wasn't hard using the Transmission that came with the RG Engine to make a Template for a mounting plate. I added some bolts to give it a li'l realism.



Then it was time to test it all out and see how it looked.




I think the wing adds some balance to the car.



First Firewall proved to be a case of bad measurements and was too close to the front of the engine.




So I fashioned another one and losing the cup holders altogether in the centre console. LoL




Here is where you can see the joke about the cup holders in the centre console.



Continued ....

Continued:

As you can see in the last pictures. I needed a divider window. So I took a spare I had in a parts box which came from a Ford F250 truck. I made a template of what I needed then cut the window to shape. Its a slider model which makes getting to the engine in case of emergency much easier.

Well my first attempt at the rear frame rails tanked and didn't work. So it was back to the drawing board. I took the back half of another car and reattached it to the front pan. This gives me the inner fenders needed for "debris protection" and also mounting points for a suspension.





So moving along I found out that the gas tank ended up hitting the underside of the hood preventing it from closing. Had to fix that issue. So I made a "drop box" for it to sit in.




Then to give the engine some better ventilation in the rear. I masked the rear window and figured out where the best "cuts" would need to be. Then I took two cutting wheels and made each one ending with one cutting wheel at the ends. Then gently filed to smooth up the edges.



And this catches everyone up on the progress of OuttaFocus 2! Next segment shows where I have done some body work and come up with some wheels that'll work well with the look I'm going for. Enjoy!

Well, now that everyone is caught up to what's going on. Here's what I've come up with lately. Its not a lot, but its something.

I took another body and cut the rear "arches" out and filed, sanded, and contoured them to fit the body to give it some "flare" in the rear to cover the wider tires planned for the rear of the car. I also took the stock rims and some scrap rims and made some nice wheels for the car. The scrap rims provided a nice "Polished" lip that'll give the car some nice contrast.





And a nice rear end shot.



And the wheels not on the car.



Enjoy!

Glad to see you back Jason. Keep at it.

NOOOOOO. Not the cup holders! Looking very promising Jason. Finally a Euro ford that I like.001 

Now, how crazy would this thing be on the road, I for one would love to have a go, I think Ford SHOULD build it...

COOL idea !!!
Not  crazy over the donklike wheels, But this is some great work !!!!
001

Looking Awesome Jason, Glad to see you back at it. Nice work and a wonderful idea.

Jason this pic might be of some use to you with your radiator set up.
The car is a Nissan Pulsar and its radiator lies flat on its back on top of the engine hence the abnormal bulge in the hood as there is no room up front for a normal set up on the 1.1 version.

You may be able to lie your radiator in the same manner over the top of your gas tank.
Just a thought.
Liking the thought of this though a V8 mid engine Focus   Great build so far mate.
                                                                                                                   Tony.

Hey Thanx everyone for the comments! Its helping me try and pull out of this "funk" I've fallen in.

Tony in the photo below you can see that I've allowed a space to keep the radiator in it's original place. I did have thoughts of putting it in the rear, splitting it and mounting it on each side of the engine, or on top of the gas tank like you suggested. If you look behind it you can see the angled area to help deflect the air up through the louvers that I made in the hood. I know it's only 1:24th scale but still. ;) LoL

Sweet project! I really like the idea!

Looking good so far Jas! 001 

001 

Ok, as promised a few pics.

Hard to believe this car has been going on for almost a year (or possibly over a year, I've lost track! LoL). The ton of mods done to this car is crazy long!

So far the mods go like this:
Rallye Louvered Hood (scratch built)
Lowered Front Suspension
Front Engine/FWD to Mid Engine/RWD set up
Roll Cage/Divider
Rear Wheel Arch Widebody Kit
Widened Rear Wheels
Porsche 911 to 914 Transmission Flip Around
Engine Bay Floor with Gas Tank Box
Ross Gibson Alley Rat 502 BBC with reverse intake
And probably something else that I'm forgetting in the process.

So here we are, 2014. I was thinking how am I going to get some more fresh air into the rear engine bay. I got to looking and I saw how massive the rear windows are. Hmm that got me to digging in the spares box and I found an extra set of quarter windows. So, I figured this was the solution. I didn't want to cut vents into the body so this only left this area. I marked out the area to cut, then I took some round rod and scrape .030 Styrene to make the rear vents to fill in the gap behind the glass. Air intake solved. Well the outside is at least. LoL

Stock Windows


Comparison of the new windows compare to the old ones.


Next the vents


Lastly the vents in the car




Next it was to the Exhaust System. I am going to have to fab up the pipes but at least I got the muffler dilemma sorted


Then on to the roll cage. Added the down and seat belt anchor bars


And then cut out a li'l of the front rims to set the "chrome lip" level with the tire to bring it back in the wheel arch a li'l bit better. Stock vs modified



Well, more to come as I'm sorting more and more out. Then it'll be on to painting and assembly once every detail is perfected. Big question for you guys. Would you put carbon fibre over the rear quarter vents or paint them gloss black, or body colour?

A lot of cool mods goin' on there.

If you plan for more of the CF finish elsewhere on the exterior, go CF. Else, black like the trim.

NICE !!! Love the mods ! This is going to look vicious mean !
  

Muffler? I don't think this beast needs a muffler. I say let it roar.

Vents look good Jason.

It's "Imagineering" at its finest! Thanx for sharing a great project and for showing how you solve problems. Don't give up, you have our full attention now.

Looking good!

Very nice Jason,I used to work for Ford in Northern Ireland and we never had anything like that! lol

Thanx everyone! The compliments are most welcome and are keeping my building frenzy in full steam ahead! LoL

Well, I've started working on the rear surround for the engine. Had to change up on the exhaust yet again but oh well. Nature of the beast.

First up was I was thinking of accentuating just the engine because I was having such a hard time with the exhaust system, then I think I got a better plan this go around.



So, I am going for an open shelf style so you can see everything in the rear. Trying to decide on a dual or single battery set up. Made the rear floor plates to cover the transmission (kinda act like a scatter shield if something goes astray). Plus it'll cut down on the air getting into the rear of the car.



Then I shorted the firewall some since the engine had to be moved back sometime before and I needed some room between the front seat and the steering wheel. LoL


Well more coming soon. Hehe I'm seeing a faint glimmer of light for the body work and it'll be soon time to paint this monster. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Some cool reengineering goin' on there, Jason. Nice work.