Focus Build Thread

[Alex the kid]

As mentioned in my newbie thread my one off focus

this is the earliest photo ive got of my car owned it from new. started the project when it had only 10k on the clock.

after a few mods i went on the hunt for a new engine in 2007

where i found a written off FRS and i met the big andy who did all the work

thanks to my dad driving as i couldnt at the time due to health we bought the loom engine gearbox suspension all the goodies. boxed it all up and it sat in the garage for a wee while. in th emeantime i fancied some more mods so i fitted lambo doors.

[Alex the kid]

and ford fair 07 where my dad drove again as i couldnt

the day befor eit went in had a good clean

the graphic was painted on and the doors fitted. while i wasnt driving some serious shopping for mods was done which in jan 08 resulted in everything going back to big andy to fit so heres my goodies and engine ready for andy also not photod was a dreamscience and radiator and chargecooler:

[Alex the kid]

so we shipped it all off with the loom etc to the big man who stripped it and did all this:

now the RS running gear was int he car needed to be made much wider so it was off to the fabricator for some tlc and metal work

the original bumper wouldnt take it so an RS one was on order to be made to fit the original rear was kept

[Alex the kid]

sills all made the bodyshop got on the case making good of the panels that had been fabricated;

[Alex the kid]

we realised the wheels wer ewayyyyyyy to small and inset so we sorted these

a new offset was calculated to get the arches filled the day before pick up

the week after was FITP so much cleaning and fettling was needed to get it mint resulting in this

the transformation was done. at FITP jamie from fats ford spotted it and a feature shoot was sorted and done

[Alex the kid]

after the shoot a live map was needed to get the best of the car. the turbo had to be rebuilt to a race spec by turbo technice resulting in this

after it was all fixed we rocked on until ford fair where it killed th elcutch and again big andy save dthe day and a new upgraded replacement was fitted sorry no photos guys.

on the cards was some drag fun and track fun

tucked away for winter i thought some tlc was in order

couple of coats of diamondbrite job done

the car hasnt missed a beat since. now its running right i had some money so i then bought this to tip it to hopefully 300 bhp

also having an oil and filter change done sort all the fluids int he car after a years hard 2000 miles

Battery was flat so sorted it and before andy took it apart i did some sound clips as it is now

the big thanks for the whole thing are my dad who when i couldnt drive helped me the whole time and helped fund it when i ran out at times. also a huuuuuuuuge thanks to andy hes sorted so many things and has been brilliant. i owe him alot for what hes done. so hope you enjoy folks. when its all fitted saturday next step will be a remap in feb by ric wood again.

how the engine bay looks now the intercoolers fitted

and last but not least rear upper strut brace off jamsport

waiting for the logbook back then mot then remap at jamsport.

cheers for looking.

[Rob's Lexx]

great work mate, an interesting read!! nice power to go with it too!!

only thing im personally not too keen on are the lambo style doors, but everything else is bang on mate

well done

[Alex the kid]

yes mate, the doors are very love hate with people. some people hate them but at shows thats the first thing people see, then when they look closer appreciate attention to detail and how well all the works been done.

Moe power to come in a week or 2 lol

[aido]

There has been some serious skill involved in this project mate :)

Really awesome stuff, hope you're all better now fella and will be good to see what it's pushing with the cone filter and FMIC!

[Alex the kid]

yes mate healths all ok and sorted thankgod not been able to drive was a pain had to get a dvla clearance to work for lexus in wolves where i am now eventhough they know me ayway as my dad sells to them.

it should be getting mapped in the next few weeks so fingers crossed boost should be put up form 1 bar to 1.3 aslong as temps etc are ok.

[aido]

Fantastic news mate!

Are you going to run it all the time at 1.3 bar then or are you going to use an EBC with a couple of modes, one I guess for the daily drive and then one for fun :D

What's it like on petrol as a matter of interest?

[Alex the kid]

as above mate its not used often only did 2000 miles last year, plus because of the way i will have it setup the turbo will run the boost safely and it wont prematurely wear the turbo out. i wont make it any faster after its mapped as its still good fun atm and very driveable dont want to lose that. but i do and will again have a low boost map and high boost map the programmes are on a hand unit which plugs into my ecu takes 5 mins.

on a run 20 to 22 ish sticking under 75 on the motorway.

on track i worked out 7 mpg.

so about 60 miles per 1/4 of fuel only use high ocatne too the car hates normal fuel due to its setup it coughs and splutters.

[redz_UK]

had to get a dvla clearance to work for lexus in wolves where i am now e

does that mean you will be able to get sooperdooper discount for owners club members?? :D

great work on the focus, looks quite tastefull although still not sure on the doors.. as you siad though its an attention grabber at shows!

[Alex the kid]

well ive signed up today

more than happy to answer questions and help people out mate

im sure i can sort something

although i see in your centre reviews were not in there bad times lol

cheers buddy, yup the doors were a grower for me when i first did it i thought what have i done lol

[aido]

Alex, just drop a PM to a guy called "Steve" and he'll sort the dealers review section for you as he's the admin here :)

[Alex the kid]

i just found us in the list only got a few reviews i best convince some of you to come in lol

[TommyH]

Top job mate, great thread & well presented,

Don't know if it was a good idea telling us you work at Lexus,

Your inbox will be as full as Monica Lewinsky's mouth in no time.

Welcome to LOC mate ;)

[aido]

Your inbox will be as full as Monica Lewinsky's mouth in no time.

PMSL, Genius :D

[TommyH]

^^^^ ^^^^^^

[Parthiban]

That's quite a build, that RS didn't look in particularly good shape, I hope the previous owner walked away ok!

Why were the brake discs black? Special compound or just got some protective coating on?

Not really heard anything about Lexus Wolverhampton on here before, so maybe you're one of the good ones that doesn't get complained about!

[Alex the kid]

Thanks for all the good comments guys

yeah they are coated to prevent the grooves from rusting whent he cars used.

im sure we are mate. here as an enthusiast anyways, its good to see.

[aido]

Why were the brake discs black? Special compound or just got some protective coating on?

I had some Pagid racing disks on my IS mate that came black like that - as soon as use used them though the surface cleaned straight up to metallic I think?

[Yeldarb]

Great build, love all the photos!!

[Guest inicol63]

What a good thread.

Great job done there, you must be really happy with the outcome...

[chrisis200]

I do like the FRS, I would get one if I could afford it and the insurance...lol I have to start saving ;)

Looks great either way, alot of time, effort has been put in.