Fresh Start/New Beginning - Your Focus From Beginning to Now

[Fangren]

I am a new member of this community having just recently purchased and now driving my 2000 Ford Focus SE, with little options. Unfortunately some of those options do not work But thanks to the technical forums, I already have a lead to work on.

So Here is How it was when I Purchased it for $ 1350 at 113 thousand miles. ( Drivetrain is solid)

Stock four door sedan no option barring power locks.

Rust, rockers, bottoms of doors and rear floor boards.

Small dent in hood, scuff marks/dents in trunk roof.

Rockers and passenger wheel well inside corner bondo-repaired and painted to match car

Broken radio antenna/mount

Factory lower control arms(rear) + Old coils) If im not mistaken Factory Lwr Control arms were a cause of suspension issues and poor Tire wear patterns.

Front Grill and air intake melted in line with battery contacts, most likely due to previous owner improperly jump starting the car.

Rear 40 split seat, + seatbelt trim + rug torn up broken from Previous owner attempting to get into trunk.

Trunk lock drilled out and replaced.

Driver door panel needs adjustment/reattachment.

Driver seat worn, broken. All seats in poor condition (burns/stains etc)

Factory Radio works fine but lcd screen smashed and unusable.

E- Brake non functioning.

Power locks, power trunk release, interior dome light, all non functioning.

Thats basically it for what was wrong.





Fixes to Now -

Sanded, oxidized, painted rockers, short term fix until replacements can be funded.

Interior Cleaned up with nearly new Junkyard finds from a low mile ZTS donor cloth seats.

Plastic trim pieces replaced with unbroken ones.

Heater/ AC and vent control Dials replaced with unscratched parts.

Floor boards replaced with old steel fashioned from Goodyear supplied steel panels.

Radio antenna and base mount replaced to Ford OEM.

Rear suspension replaced to Ford OEM specs, with OEM coils and OEM (Driver)lower control arm as well as both rear upper control arms (Moog)

Center Console replaced from stock manual transmission w/o armrest to one with armrest.

I even replaced the shifter knob with a new OEM one because it was half ruined.

Hopefully I can find some fresh ideas to continue making this car much more then whoever last owned it let it be.

Or Someone who wants to trade a Hatchback for my sedan ;P

[Sponsor]

[Chris_HT]

pics or it didn't happen :P

[Fangren]

There, My Photos from day after purchasing, and giving a once over clean.

Will add "After" photos once I have sunlight to see car by.

[pyroinsa]

Sounds like you have done a lot If you want to post pics, host them on a site like photobucket, you will get an image code just like the one you pulled from the gallery - where these pics are. That way you don't have to wait for mod approval for every pic you post.

[Nintendo]

Congrats thats a nice list of work you did.

Looking fwd to the after pics!

Silver in that gen looks nice, I dont see silver very often in my area...

[Fangren]

Originally Posted by pyroinsa

Sounds like you have done a lot If you want to post pics, host them on a site like photobucket, you will get an image code just like the one you pulled from the gallery - where these pics are. That way you don't have to wait for mod approval for every pic you post.

Thanks, I wont take credit for the suspension work My father and uncle did that bit since it apparently required a torch and was a "Cursing job"

That and my toolkit mostly resides in a 119 piece craftsmen set, + a nice set of Torx bits.

On a side note I visit one or two JY semi local and can help find or warn other Fanatics about certain cars/colors parts etc.

The one i regular happened to have roughly 10 different cars. Pick n pull.

[Fangren]

I just got finished reading a few other threads and I have one Question.

What is bad about the SPI 2l engine?

Barring customization mods etc, Im asking about what makes it a poor engine choice overall.

That way worse case scenario I can maintain my car as well as I can.

Also Interesting Photo i found while trolling a joke site.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...89755082_n.jpg

[sleepyboy]

They are known to drop valve seats.

[Fangren]

Originally Posted by sleepyboy

They are known to drop valve seats.

Thank You, quite helpful.

After Shots, Apologies I dont have in between photos.

Original cloth design for all seats was this, unfortunately its the only piece left as I replaced the rest with...

And of Course I wont ruin my new seats but alas the fuse box lays detached thanks to a blown fuse I found on the back half last night, Thank you FocusFanatics for the insight to a potential Reasons behind my power lock/light failure!

Now a few photos showing the short term repair to rockers


And the Engine bay, to show the damage a jumper cable can do

[Fangren]

Whoot I found a Leather Steering wheel and swapped it in.

Plus, i looted a 2004 40th Mustang gt Anniversary edition Wing. Im wondering how bad of an Idea it would be to place on a focus...

Black with 2 chrome stripes in center.

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