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02fordsvt Build/Mod/Random Thread

261K views 2K replies 86 participants last post by  02fordsvt 
#1 · (Edited)
I finally decided to make myself a thread I can call my own. I'm not expecting to do any major builds in the near future, but since I'm always doing little changes to my car, I figured I might as well put them all in one place and stop cluttering up the rest of the forum.

A bit about me and the car. I bought my 2002 Ford Focus Svt in June, 2010 and had no real hands on knowledge about working on or modding a car except some basics I learned from my dad and from reading auto magazines. Over the past few months I have done a lot of work on this car and have really learned how to do many things. In other words, it doesn't matter how much knowledge you have, you can do anything that I have done. Furthermore, I will be the first one to admit that I have not done many things in the best or most efficient way possible. I am just learning and having fun.

Thread Rules (Or lack thereof)

Feel free to post any kind of comments or questions. If anyone would like to know how to do anything, let me know and I can give you some of the resources I used. Becuase of the way I have this thread organized, it doesn't matter how cluttered the rest of the thread gets. Post anything you feel like from suggestions, questions, and random comments. I won't feel bad if anything gets a little of topic. [thumb]

Table of Contents

First post:

Current Status Section
  1. Current Performance Modifications
  2. Current Interior Modifications
  3. Current Exterior Modifications
  4. Current Exterior Pictures
  5. Current Interior Pictures
Second post:

Modification Time Line

Reference Material
 
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#444 ·
Here's the hood stripe picture for pyroinsa. It actually didn't look so bad but the biggest problem was that it made my headlights look grey and faded compared to the black.

 
#447 ·
I think it would look better if your wheels were a darker color. The white makes your headlights stand out more from the black hood. Just my $0.02 [wiggle]
 
#448 ·
You might actually be right. Here's the only pic I have with the stripe and black wheels. Unfortunately, this was when I was trying out the tinted headlights as well so it's hard to say anything.



But, no matter what, I not going back to the hood stripe. At least not for a while. I like my clean, blue hood too much.
 
#450 ·
I agree with Focussport13, just go back to the blue. I'm keeping mine that way. I can''t wait to paint my mirror caps, it looks nice.
 
#451 ·
That's what I did. I took the stripe off about a month ago and am very glad I did. It looks so much better now.

It's hard to have black accents look decent when the vehicle body color is close to dark itself. It blends in to much to get the effect you might want. The blue is to nice to cover up. That is why i painted my race car sonic blue.
You have a race car too? Your collection just keeps getting better and better. Do you have anything else or just the Foci, Mustang, and racer (Focus?).
 
#461 ·
SCCA Regional and National events. It has its own specific class that I run in. So I'll be running with other FV's. It's a fun time and gets me out on the race track. I could also solo course the car too if I wanted too but mostly i'll stick with the auto racing. Right now I can go to any sanctioned SCCA racing event in the Northeast devision. So new hampshire, watkins glen, summitt point, pocono, ect.
 
#458 ·
Time for a quick update on the car. Nothing major has happened, just a few little things.

On my last full fuel mileage run, I got 27.8 mpgs which is pretty good for me. The highest I've ever gotten was a 28.2 mpg and that took a lot of work compared to my last run so things are looking good.

Last Friday, my DS hand brake cable broke so I don't have any hand brake right now. The cable was getting really rusty so it was only a matter of time before it broke. Hopefully, a new one will be on there by the weekend.

And lastly, I bought two orange bulbs for the front turn signals. I can now officially say that the my grill cost me about $5 to convert from a OEM Svt grill (or any other Focus grill for that matter) to the state it is in now.
 
#459 ·
The guy I bought my focus from never used the hand brake, he just left it in gear when ever he parked it [slap] So of course the handbrake would freeze and lock the rear brakes if you ever pulled it, but it was nothing that a lot of penetrating oil, a hammer, and pulling the brake about 100 times couldn't fix [woot]
 
#460 ·
When I got my car a couple years ago, the DS brake was actually unhooked so only the PS brake was working. [facepalm] I hooked it back up, wasn't paying attention, and the brakes locked on and I burned through the rear brake in about two days. [more [facepalm]] It still liked to lock on once in a while but with a new unrusty cable, it should never be a problem again.
 
#463 ·
Well, I don't know whether to laugh or cry right now. Today I vowed that I would find that rattle that I've been fighting in back of the car for over a month. I assumed that it was coming from the build that I did in the back so I tore the whole PS rear fender portion apart and added a bunch of foam to insulate all the wood. After I put it all back together, I took the car for a drive up and down the driveway only to find that the rattle was still there. I than tried opening and closing some of the build's doors to make sure it wasn't coming from one of them.

At one point, I got so mad that I didn't bother shutting the hatch before I started driving. Silence. After all that work, it turned out that the hatch had come out of line slightly and was jumping around on it's latch making all the noise. 5 seconds later, everything was quiet again. [?|]
 
#464 ·
ouch!!! at least you figured it out..
that is why i want to use hood pins for my hatch... shouldn't move at all. [grinking] and its an awesome theft deterrent
 
#466 ·
02ford svt, I know the feeling, I have a rattle that I have found but have not had a permanent fix for yet. When my rear seat is up right it squeks and rattles like crazy while I'm driving. The temporary fix is just to leave the seats down when they are not in use or lay something pretty heavy on the seat, both stop the rattle but i want something more permanent.

Svviftsvt, I am intrigued as to how you decided to hood pin your hatch closed :) I might be interested in trying it...
 
#467 ·
well, it was just a thought one day, esp if i were to get a cf hatch, like i have dreamed about..
and since i have just "a little bit" of premium stereo equipment in the back, i would like to securely lock it up. also, i want to put a rear-mount camera in the keyhole.

i haven't gotten it all planned out, but i was thinking of using "aerocatch pins" and using the "bump stops" on the hatch.
 
#469 ·
Still an interesting idea and I like it. Do it so we can see what it looks like.

By the way, as eagle_eye said, isn't the back secure enough without having a handle back there or is it the key hole your worried about.
 
#468 ·
Gotcha, I don't have a handle on my hatch, the only way to open it is from the inside or with the remote. Pretty secure unless someone decided they were going to break some glass.

Sent from my YP-G70 using Tapatalk
 
#471 ·
On this last tank of gas, I was hoping to get somewhere in the 28 mpg range.

My actual mileage: 29.8 mpg

Yeah, I was pretty happy. [:D] Next up it trying to get in the 30's.
 
#472 ·
I tend to get in the low 30's; however, that is when I am not in the mood for some spirited driving :D

Sent from my YP-G70 using Tapatalk
 
#474 ·
I tend to get in the low 30's; however, that is when I am not in the mood for some spirited driving :D

Sent from my YP-G70 using FF Mobile
I'm getting this mpg by driving like a grandma. It sucks when you have a Doritos panel van catching up to you on the highway. lol

I do wish I could get a normal Focus with the smaller engine for my daily commute so I could get better mpg's, but hopefully, someday soon my commute will be much shorter.

Seeeeeeee i could have sn SVt with my current mpg. I got 29.1 with my last tank. best tank with these rims was 31.2
DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol, and put the rims on the Svt. [;)]
 
#480 ·
Had a good day yesterday working on the car.

I finally replaced all the wire nuts for the headunit with splicing nuts so it's not such a mess behind the radio. My dad was also digging around in some old stuff and found an old antenna buster, and I put that in the car. It helps sometimes but also seems to hurt the signal at times too. I may try putting it on a switch and see how that goes.

I also was able to clean the inside of the car for the first time since early February. As you can imagine, it really needed it, but it still needs my yearly spring go over and the seats and carpets washed.

Lastly, I did a lot of work on the rear interior. I won't say to much about it yet because I'm still in the early planning stages, but basically, I am going over the whole rear hatch area again. The basics are going to stay the same but I'm trying to do a lot of changes to make it look better, sound quieter, and be easier to remove when needed.
 
#484 ·
i still need to shampoo my carpets and get my seats cleaned... noticed a hole in one of the bolsters in the driver seat.[bawling]

interested in the new set up... gotta love [wrenchin]
 
#482 ·
Suggestion for the antenna. Autozone sells a powered antenna that mounts on the windshield. Three wires come out of it, 12v+, antenna plug and ground. Replaces your current one. I don't have an antenna on my roof and this works perfect. 20 bucks, can't go wrong with that!! I can post pics if you want. Mounted mine on the dot matrix at top center of of the windshield and also has a light on it to let you know it's on.
I wired the 12v source to the fuse panel for the radio fuse, grounded it on one of the roof screws that hold the metal frame up for the dome light.
 
#485 ·
I'd definitely like pictures too. I was thinking about going to the salvage yard and taking a whole antenna system out of a car and sticking it somewhere inside the car but this sounds even better.
 
#483 ·
I would be interested in that antenna. I have the stock antenna and I have always gotten terrible radio reception, as did the previous owner. I replaced the head unit, so now I pretty sure it is the antenna. As a plus I would love to go to a slick roof.
 
#486 ·
So, here's the new plan for the interior. This is all what I hope to accomplish in no particular order of importance.

1. I want to try and make it quieter. Most of the noise I am dealing with now is coming from the build itself, not so much from what I'm carrying. In the setup I have now, I used a covered frame style which is leading to a lot of pressure creaks. To eliminate some of this, I'm trying to use as little pieces as possible and eliminate the frames underneath as well as sealing all the seams better.

2. Make it much easier to remove. My plan is to build the interior in five section: the rear passenger seat foot well, rear passenger seat area, hatch area floor, hatch area passenger side wall, and hatch area drivers sidewall. By doing this, I will be able to install the rear seats if needed and keep the hatch area in the car.

3. Carpet. This is self explanatory.

4. I want to dislodge the subwoofer. The way it's set up now, the subwoofer is a permanent part of the build. I plan on having it in a box unattached to anything to I can easily take it in and out and move it around in the car as needed.

5. I hope to make it lighter. The weight right now isn't all that bad, but I'm still trying to use the lightest materials I can.

6. Upgrade subwoofer. This is also self explanatory but may take some time.

On that note, this whole project will probably take a while to complete because I really want to do this right. I rushed the first one quite a bit so I ended up with some poorly planned and built areas.
 
#487 ·
i have seen a few threads for builds for subs in the floor well behind the seats... just a thought. would save space.
everything else sounds awesome.... and very exhausting at the same time.
 
#488 ·
i have seen a few threads for builds for subs in the floor well behind the seats... just a though.
everything else sounds awesome.... and very exhausting at the same time.
I think it was you who mentioned the floor subs before and I've considered that, but I think I'd rather stay with something simpler and less intertwined with the car. It is a neat idea, though.

And yes, it sound exhausting here too. lol
 
#490 ·
lol. you have storage mods going...
and what do i do? side exit exhaust!!! [grinking]
 
#492 ·
Now don't go and get me wanting to do that kind of stuff too. lol. I already have to many things that I want to do to this car.

are you going to have "quick disconnects"/clamps to secure the parts together when they are in the car? might help them from rattling/squeaking during travel
Yes. It may be simply nuts and bolts but there will be something holding everything together and to the car.
 
#491 ·
are you going to have "quick disconnects"/clamps to secure the parts together when they are in the car? might help them from rattling/squeaking during travel
 
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