In the next two weeks I will be traveling to Ohio to pick up an incredibly nice '03 SVTF.

It is "Screaming Yellow" with all options including the EAP.

Mileage: 26,846 [thumb] (no that is not a mistake)

The car appears to be in immaculate condition and (aside from the color) meets or exceeds all my criteria for something worth traveling 700 miles to purchase.

Here is a link to the AutoTrader ad, though I'm not sure how much longer it will run: 2003 Ford Focus SVT (http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=278653256&dealer_id=75122&model=FOCUS&style_flag=1&start_year=2003&keywordsfyc=__c3Z0__&keywordsrep=115118116&search_type=used&distance=500&advanced=y&keywords_display=svt&end_year=2004&default_sort=mileageASC&address=01603&seller_type=b&make=FORD)

The drive home from Ohio to Massachusetts should be fun...wish me luck [cheers]

Good luck with it and have fun... I looked at that ad just a couple of days ago. Very nice find!!

Any plans with it? or just keeping it to enjoy it stock?

[And pics when you get it, and the subsequent trip home [:)] . and yes, should be a fun trip home]

Wow, those miles are incredibly low. Lucky.

Nice find!! if I woulda found that a few months ago i woulda snagged it as well!

WOW!! Great find!!! I wish I had gotten mine with that few miles on it.

Mine had 17k on it when I bought it [8D]

... but that was 5 1/2 years ago.

Congrats man! She'll serve you well.

mine had 3 miles on it. That was christmas eve 2003.[ffrocks]

how much you getting it for

wow very nice find!!! lucky bastard!!!

hahaha!!!

welcome to FF!!!

the car that replaced my totaled 03 svt was a 04 orange eap and i absolutely love it for the month and a half ive had it seats are comfertable for long trips and the best part about mine is i have put 1400 miles on it and its now only at 85xx on the obo yes only 4 numbers 8 thousand miles

Thanks for the warm welcome folks...very friendly crew you have here or so it seems [cheers]

The car is going to be kept mostly stock for a while. When I get it home I'll be going through all the fluids and changing anything that looks less than new, and definitely changing out whatever oil the dealer put in. Aside from that, the only immediate plans are installing some XPEL protection film on the headlights and (maybe) fenders and mirrors.

In the future I could see installing a short-throw shifter and maybe a tune, but that's all. With the condition of the car and low mileage, I'd like to keep it relatively unmolested and just focus (haha) on keeping it extremely well-maintained. She's going to need a second set of wheels and winter tires come November, so that will probably be the majority of what I spend on it this year.

I had originally planned to fly out on Memorial Day but surprisingly the dealer is not open on Sundays or that Monday (very much unlike the local dealers who would sell you a used car on Christmas Day). So, the itinerary got moved up to this coming Friday. Flights are booked and a hotel room about halfway back will be a welcome break, as will checking out the massive Cabela's in Hamburg, PA.

Stay tuned for photos of picking up the car and the ride home... [thumb]

nice, you'll like the short throw shifter... i also suggest mabye a rear engine mount... its super easy to do and relativly cheap... it makes shifting mucho better... just an idea :)

I don't know if you want to tell him to jump on the Poly Mounts just yet.

I would get use to the car first and enjoy it. The Poly Mounts feel great if you want that race feel, but if you want a comfortable ride, I would leave the Poly mounts alone. Just replace with the OEM mounts.

Since you are coming from a PTCruiser ... I assume ride comfort and noise are some what important to you in a Daily ride.

For Performance:
I would recommend a HFC (High Flow Cat)
A Tune : One of the guys here, Tom, makes a good one.
A K&N Drop In Filter
And a Short Throw Shifter

These will give you some umph without the fuss or vibration or loss of comfort.

-Ray-

O and welcome to the forum. [welcome]

And nice Find on the SVT.

-Ray-

Nice color!!

I don't know if you want to tell him to jump on the Poly Mounts just yet.

I would get use to the car first and enjoy it. The Poly Mounts feel great if you want that race feel, but if you want a comfortable ride, I would leave the Poly mounts alone. Just replace with the OEM mounts.

Since you are coming from a PTCruiser ... I assume ride comfort and noise are some what important to you in a Daily ride.

For Performance:
I would recommend a HFC (High Flow Cat)
A Tune : One of the guys here, Tom, makes a good one.
A K&N Drop In Filter
And a Short Throw Shifter

These will give you some umph without the fuss or vibration or loss of comfort.

-Ray-

O and welcome to the forum. [welcome]

And nice Find on the SVT.

-Ray-

Ray,

Thanks for the info. What's the story with the OEM mounts? Do they have a tendency to fail under repeated high load? As with my other Ford cars of yore, I'll probably stick with the Motorcraft parts until production is EOL'd.

My other ride is actually a FJ Cruiser, as in the Japanese-made 4x4 with the porta-potty paint scheme [8D] So, needless to say the Focus will probably be a bit of an upgrade in terms of ride comfort and noise.

Is the Steeda Tri-Ax shifter generally recommended in these parts?

Thanks for the recommendations on upgrades, and the warm welcome.

-Dom

No Prob on the info. Lots of peeps on here will give you some good info.

Sorry, I read your car sig to quickly and though PT as oppose to FJ. Yeah the Offroad ride, I like those. A friend of mine has one of those.

The OEM mounts are just soft and shifts aren't as quick or as solid if you did have the mounts. Not to say you wont be able to shift after 10K miles, but their will be a bit of movement in the engine. As most cars have. Not to big of a deal.

Steeda, CFM or Ford Racing shifters are pretty good. All about the same. The CFM shifter has an added ability to adjust it's height as well.

-Ray-

Nice color!!

Admittedly the yellow wasn't my first choice in color, but the car was too nice to pass up!

My fiancee and her mother have already resorted to calling it "Cheese Wedge" and "Cheeto", respectively [rofl]

No Prob on the info. Lots of peeps on here will give you some good info.

Sorry, I read your car sig to quickly and though PT as oppose to FJ. Yeah the Offroad ride, I like those. A friend of mine has one of those.

The OEM mounts are just soft and shifts aren't as quick or as solid if you did have the mounts. Not to say you wont be able to shift after 10K miles, but their will be a bit of movement in the engine. As most cars have. Not to big of a deal.

Steeda, CFM or Ford Racing shifters are pretty good. All about the same. The CFM shifter has an added ability to adjust it's height as well.

-Ray-

NP, I figured as much. I love the truck, but with a 60+ mile per day commute the amount I spend on gas is killing me. Once I can sell the FJ, the combined savings of the (much) cheaper Focus payment and lower fuel comsumption will be pretty significant, assuming gas doesn't hit $5/gallon again.

Are the OEM engine mounts on the SVTF the fluid-filled rubber design? I know the shortcomings of these well from my '94 T-Bird and '97 Mark VIII; in both cases the solution was solid rubber mounts. I'll keep an eye on them either way.

OK, I'll add those shifters to the list. Adjustable height would be nice to have depending on the price. Thanks again!

great find. Welcome to FF. Lots of great people on this site.

NP, I figured as much. I love the truck, but with a 60+ mile per day commute the amount I spend on gas is killing me. Once I can sell the FJ, the combined savings of the (much) cheaper Focus payment and lower fuel comsumption will be pretty significant, assuming gas doesn't hit $5/gallon again.

Are the OEM engine mounts on the SVTF the fluid-filled rubber design? I know the shortcomings of these well from my '94 T-Bird and '97 Mark VIII; in both cases the solution was solid rubber mounts. I'll keep an eye on them either way.

OK, I'll add those shifters to the list. Adjustable height would be nice to have depending on the price. Thanks again!

The only fluid filled mount is the passenger side engine mount. The other two mounts are rubber (not solid). The poly lower engine mount (connects tranny to sub frame) is a nice upgrade. You can pick up poly inserts to put into the stock mount for about $25, and its much cheaper than the $100 for a new aluminum one. The inserts are softer than the VF ($100 one) i had in my red zx3.

the CFM shifter is nice, i like mine!

Also have the tune, its pretty good. opens up the bottom end alittle more (once you drive the car, you'll notice a tendency to bog, especially in 1st.)

^^^^

haha, i forgot about the vibration :)

the worst of it goes away after a week or two... then you'll get used to it... mostly ;)

Teaser pic:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs342.ash1/29251_391311384314_674999314_4197865_1519013_n.jpg

Wow. You've definitely found a diamond in the rough--and you've also joined the right forum. I think this is one of the best forums on the internet.

I think you're going to love this car. About 3 years ago I flew out to VA to buy my SVTF...similar story, immaculate EAP and had 32k miles on it. Sadly I was forced to sell it a year and a half ago for a job change. Now I got a new job, and this sounds lame to anyone who hasn't owned/driven an SVTF, but I missed it so much that through some pretty cool circumstances I was able to buy it back (THE same car). And I think I love it even more.

Enjoy the car and the forum dude!!!

I think you're going to love this car. About 3 years ago I flew out to VA to buy my SVTF...similar story, immaculate EAP and had 32k miles on it. Sadly I was forced to sell it a year and a half ago for a job change. Now I got a new job, and this sounds lame to anyone who hasn't owned/driven an SVTF, but I missed it so much that through some pretty cool circumstances I was able to buy it back (THE same car). And I think I love it even more.


That's pretty cool.

Got back home safe around 6 tonight. That 700 mile trip was a blast! More to come soon...