Focus Fanatics Forum banner

Infra-Red Focus RS replica/conversion build!

153K views 516 replies 123 participants last post by  sicskate 
#1 ·
well, I've been collecting and building(yes building) parts for about a year now, and I'm finally set to get moving on this project. I traded in my beater today for a brand new F150 so now I have a reliable vehicle to drive daily while I work on the Focus build. Starting life as a 2003 SVT:



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







So then I had to start sourcing all the other parts. Scouring ebay.co.uk I was able to get the foglight bezels, brake duct vents, front indicators, and rear fog and reversing lights complete with bulb sockets. I got a splitter from Spudo, and a wing from Cayse. Then I hit a wall, not being able to find sideskirts or fenders and quarterpanels, I had to get creative.....

An opportunity arose..... a fellow member here doing an RS conversion had obtained a set of RS skirts that were damaged....I messaged and offered to make all the repairs for FREE, if he would just pay shipping to me and back with the aggreement that I would be allowed to make a mold of them....and to my pleasant surprise, he agreed!

So I still needed fenders and quarterpanels! About 6-8 months go by of me searching for these.....my gameplan was to obtain a set and make molds like PUMASPEED has in the Uk, they sell fiberglass replicas of the OEM panels for conversion purposes.....but then something incredible happened. I recieved an email from a member here, that he knew of a fellow up in British Columbia that had a complete set of molds (besides sideskirts.....weird, that's what I made!).....he had fenders, quarterpanels, and both bumpers molded from OEM stuff and was willing to SELL THE MOLDS!!!!!

I got in contact with this gent, and we negociated over numerous emails until we settled on a price. MAN, was I a happy camper! what a huge savings in time and energy not having to source panels, then make molds!



So here they are all unpacked:







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



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

Thanks for reading!
 
See less See more
9
#284 ·
Thanks for all the kind words guys, waiting for the weather to break here and the snow to melt away to get back out there working on it.

I have genuine front fenders now that I can fit, then mold....as well as some genuine RS sideskirts coming from the UK that I will be molding to address some issues with my previous set of sideskirt molds.

Going to try to have the fenders molded/done/painted for SIF'13 in central Ohio April 28th...

if I have time, I'm going to mold my customized RS wing and try to make a few to take with me for the swap meet.

If you're anywhere within a couple hour's drive from central ohio, feel free to come check it out in person at SIF!
 
#293 ·
Thanks! I have a hobby problem....my hobby is hobbies. I consider myself multi-talented, but it's sometimes a curse because there's so much I want to do so badly!
 
#297 ·
Haha, I'll get some more stuff in here on the RS soon....it's still snowy and 20 degrees outside and I work out of a 1 car non-heated garage. I tried building a mini booth in my basement to do some smaller parts with fiberglass, but I can't get an exhaust fan capable of moving enough air to keep the fumes out within the public market....and since no matter where I work in the basement I'm a max of 10 feet from my furnace and hotwater tank, I'd like not blowing up myself/house in the name of some RS wings or bumper trim pieces lol.
 
#298 ·
I am not a fan of the 1st gen focuses but man Hurtinfocus, you have done that hatch some MAJOR justice and your skills, patience are top notch. i just went through all 30 pages of your build. I can not wait to see what you "finish" with.
 
#299 ·
Thanks so much for the kind words

no such thing as "finished" with me....closest I would get to "finished" is if I sold it....which honestly is already a thought. Being that I'm 27 I'm starting to feel like it's getting to be time to move on to a more "mature" platform for my fun-car. Time will tell, I truly love the focus...I've just been driving one for 10yrs now.
 
#302 ·
mini-update. Decided to go out and swap the REAL fenders on to see if I have any tweaking to do for molding them.....driver side literally sat perfect....passenger side seems to have gotten a touch bent during shipping, so I have a few things to do before molding that one.







COME ON WARM WEATHER! I HAVE STUFF TO DOOOOOOOOO
 
#306 ·
Hit the junkyard this weekend for some various items and noticed a wrecked mercury cougar.....it was hit in the driver fender and the bumper had sorta cracked up in various pieces which caused me to notice the foglights are actually projector/HID, and that they MAY fit nicely in the RS bumper's foglight holes....so I snagged them for $12 for the pair!

the housings were busted up a bit and the clear lenses over them were cracked right off, but I knew the projectors themselves were still in-tact so I brought them home and cracked the open. going to need to come up with a way to get a round lens over them to seal them up and make a mount, but I think they'll work great!

 
#307 ·
Holy Christ Balls Batman!!

Nick, I just wanted to thank you for taking up the last 2.5 hours of my life.

I just read through ALL 306 posts and I still can not believe what I have seen.

You have done an amazing job and have worked some serious magic to get where you are today with your RS conversion.

I feel your pain with the paint issues. I was in the collision repair business for 5 years before I got out, because it truly sucks balls. Great for a hobby, not a full time job.

I am very impressed with your drive and determination with this project.

DO NOT STOP... DO NOT GIVE UP!!!

You've got a lot of support here and you are working your ass off. I, like most of the people following this build, can't wait to see the end result.

Keep up the great work... looks amazing. [thumb]
 
#308 ·
ProSilverVT02.....

it's posts like yours that are the reason I love the focus community. This car has been a rollercoaster ride of success and failure, and reading responses like yours are what makes me feel like I accomplished something. I really love the car, I hope I can continue to evolve it and contribute my successes to the rest of this community.

10-day forecast shows we'll be hitting the low-mid 40's temps next week....so I'm going to try to get a jump on molding the fenders and rear wing...and if that goes well and I still have some time I'm going to whip up a couple of my revised RS wings to list for sale....I've invested a ton of money into my molds and my house needs a roof before summer hits, so I've gotta start getting a return on my investment or I'll be up shyt's creek without a shhyt-paddle as they say on Trailer Park Boys
 
#309 ·
You're determination is second to none, after reading this whole thread it really is amazing to see how you put together the best RS replica ever created. Bud Light owes you a Real Man Of Genius salute!

I cant wait to see the project all finished up.
 
#310 ·
while I wouldn't call mine the best replica...I really appreciate the compliment. I've got plans to go further, but it will be farther and farther from a true RS replica.....I have a pretty stellar drivetrain planned for it. at the end of it all the only OEM pieces will be the bumpers. everything else will be a fiberglass replica part or one-off custom by myself.

personally I hold Glenn's RS rep as the absolute best replica. (NZWINRZ)
 
#313 ·
started working on setting up the mold for the rear wing....more as I get further along tonight...waiting for silicone to dry before applying mold release followed by gelcoat and fiberglass....

 
#318 ·
laying tons of fiberglass matt







got about 5 layers on there, will let cure until tomorrow and pop it off, then lay up the other said against the flange I've now made...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top