Just to buck the trend..
BMW seems to be working for a couple of the guys
Honda is making great gains
Nissan 240 with a bit of JVAB suspension
and..
A Fox bodied Mustang would be way easier and cheaper than trying to redesign a Focus. Nearly the same weight, actually probably lighter than a RWD Focus conversion. All sorts of engines to be had and every mod ever done. Cheap shells needing a little strategic re-inforcement.

Or ( I keep looking across the road at the neighbors yard) a Wilson inspired Ecotek powered Chevette.

Just going from my notes on a DD/autocross/track day Focus SVT.

Under hard use-
rear shock mounts go away. So far the answer is to replace often
"trailing arm"/knuckle bends on hard hits. This is the uprated SVT knuckle. The old "rally" knuckle/hub from ford racing, I think is the same.
motor mounts quit easy. Replacements/upgrades availivble.
Tie rods/tie rod ends quit early. The bigger 05+ bits fit and last a bit longer, Still the answer is replace often
The bolt that holds the front struts into the hub likes to bend and seize. This bolt is super hard. remove them early, drill out the threads in the hub, and replace with longer nut/bolt assy
Front strut tops bow out. plates availible.
Strong rear sway bars will literally rip the rear arms in half. At some point Ford reinforced them. If the car doesnt have some 1/4 plate welded at this spot reinforce before you use any big time sways

These are just from my notes of two years of track days. No accidents, no incidents, nothing close to dodging rocks on a logging road somewhere. The car has LOTS of potential, but there are some things that need some planning and reinforcing.

This all said, this is for a 02 SVT. The 05+ cars supposedly are tougher in many spots.

Edit: just as an aside. If I had some cash and didnt want to rally, Id be collecting parts to RWD my SVT, so I'm not shitting on the idea at all.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2011 04:56AM by BobOfTheFuture.

Cool. As you are trolling the junkyards looking for focus parts keep an eye out for a turbo 5000. Dont pay more than $200 for it, and you can get the whole turbo swap done for under $1k. Makes for a really fun daily driver.

http://www.gtquattro.com/GTCTurbo.html

Here is a writeup from one of the guys who still does chips for the old ECU's. Really nice guy, send him an email if you ever have questions about the car.

Patrick,

I do not believe that re inventing the wheel is a good way to go rallying. I have heard so may times how easy it is to do this swap or that swap. It always turns into a huge project. I would hope that people are more interested in participating in an event than engineering a car. Ask Tom B. or Jay W. about their experiences with major modifications.

The only way that I would consider a radical modification is if there were several clear and compelling advantages:

1. proven engineering
2. modern car that will have good parts support into the future
3. substantially improved performance
4. improved durability
5. improved serviceability
6. good return on investment

Based on the above criteria, William's RWD Focus would be my first choice. The only question with the Focus is that the engineering has not yet been proven. I have thought about the concept and talked to William extensively. I believe that the design will work. Someone needs to step up as the launch customer. There is a certain amount of risk in becoming the "first one" but I think that it is worth doing.

If you want to go a safe route then a Subaru is the best bet.

---

Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

Quote
Rallymech
Patrick,

I do not believe that re inventing the wheel is a good way to go rallying. I have heard so may times how easy it is to do this swap or that swap. It always turns into a huge project.

If I wasn't so heavily stuck with the audi, the engine and trans swap, I'd bin it all and go buy a merkur (still might if one pops up)

Sometimes it is better to make the hard decision to change direction.

---

Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

give me a call 425 463 5307
doing the swap is not an easy feat. But I have the tooling
to set this up and make jigs and replacement parts. I would not let a
focus leave without a full frame and suspension spars set up at cost.
all the problem arias will be addressed and the car will have all the proper
parts.


http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2436851592.html
could get for 4000. I'm sure



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2011 12:21PM by SteelSolutions.

Quote
SteelSolutions
give me a call 425 463 5307
doing the swap is not an easy feat. But I have the tooling
to set this up and make jigs and replacement parts. I would not let a
focus leave without a full frame and suspension spars set up at cost.
all the problem arias will be addressed and the car will have all the proper
parts.


http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2436851592.html
could get for 4000. I'm sure

But CURRENTLY the problem is THAT Focus is about 10 times the cost of what an Xratty or 240 can be found for.
$4000 is a cage and suspension.

Put a different way is the convenience of the Fucus parts (fenders for $28, hoods for whatever, etc) worth paying $3600 MORE than a $400 Xratty?

Both of course can be made to work just fine.

CURRENTLY, the big difference is the cost of the starter car, then the cost of the mods to make the one into what is basically the same as the other, except cheaper crash parts.

Now I'm all for "the plan" but! The question is if its worth it to break your head to do an "high spec" rwd Fuckus vs the Xratty/240 theory of "pretty damn good"?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I think with by the time you replace a front window and spent all the man hrs
fixing some old parts that may or may not go bad like heater box and all the
things that just die on old cars. You would appreciate the extra money you spend
on a 15 year newer car.

There is lots of give take in this discussion if it comes down to just cash buy a
done car or xr volvo and few others

Mid to late 90s Mustangs can be found under $2k.

Did someone say foxbody? Just got done daily driving this one for the last 4 months. It was a hoot, a'real steer with your foot kinda car. I'm going to miss it. Every time something broke on it, I would just drive upto Napa and they would have it in stock. It was great.


I'm going to get a hatch(w/capri trunk) next time.

Hey Will, give me a call tomorrow and we can talk serious business. At the moment I only have so much money, but in the long run I will be able to invest more and more. Like I have stated, I was not planning on racing for a year and I am keeping my eyes peeled for ANY good starter cars. The Audi proved... too heavy and too much of a pig to be practical.

My only concern is initial cost, part availability and upgradable parts. I know for a damn well fact that FWD is the easiest to learn, followed by RWD then AWD. For the time being, I would like to keep a FWD vehicle my priority. Once I have spent a year on the track getting a better feel for it, I would love to upgrade to a RWD system. I would NOT mind being the Guinea Pig that brings this to North America. But first comes first; investing in a 2003, 2004 Euro SVT and upgrading it as is.

Will, the RWD project I am more than willing to help on once I acquire the vehicle and spend some TLC on the rest of it (paint, body kit, suspension, brakes, tranny, engine, etc). I just want some time to get acquainted to a FWD vehicle before I jump right to RWD. All my friends that rally said it like this: "Rally FWD, RWD THEN AWD. You will recover easier with a FWD... you lose it in an AWD/RWD car; you're on a tree." We can talk more in depth over the phone though and discuss issues with the Focus, why I should chose one and how you can help my rally team in the long run. SELL ME ON THE IDEA. hahaha. From what I am gathering, you want to sell me a FULLY prepped rally car, in essence? If so, I am all ears.


Also John, you seem to have a itch with the Focus (as per the nicknames you have deemed it.) I may be wrong though.


EDIT: If I am not mistaken... the RWD conversion kit is available through Ford Racing themselves for 5k for the "RS8"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2011 12:53AM by GuinnessFox.

Quote
GuinnessFox
Also John, you seem to have a itch with the Focus (as per the nicknames you have deemed it.) I may be wrong though.

he does that to all cars.

since you are in MN have you ever talked with mark utecht? he used to rally the ex mike hurst fox body mustang.

you should look into the Nemadji Trail 2 rally coming up in late july. they are always in need of volunteers.

http://www.scca-lol.org/rally/stagerally/index.php

the event for the 18th of june has been cancelled. but the next one is on the 30th of july.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2011 12:56AM by Greg Donovan.

No I am the RWD kit! haha no svt you want a duratec!!! and no front wheel drive to build one and
then convert would a be a colossal waste of money.

there is no unwritten rule that you have to start with front wheel drive, some people are just gifted
in front wheel drive I am one who is not.

I do have a friend with 5 focus's we can do a older one just need to do a engine management to
run a duratec I can find you a $500 blown up zx3 might not be a bad idea at all.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2011 02:06AM by SteelSolutions.

Ok, so why the duratec motor? Why not the 6 speed SVT with turbo? The zx3 is... lacking compared to the svt from factory. My friend from the ford dealer told me to get an svt, keep it fwd and use ford racing parts from the dealer.