D Racing

D Racing D Racing 2.0
Follow the build of one of the most extreme Ford Focus RS's

Little midweek update/upgrade! Fords have always had nice shifting gearbox's, my first focus, My RS, my ST - all of them...
23/09/2026

Little midweek update/upgrade!

Fords have always had nice shifting gearbox's, my first focus, My RS, my ST - all of them had nice shifting gearboxs, But this one was very meh.

So doing a little digging i found Mountune did a quick shifter kit for the zetec s. This was a 2 part kit, a new shifter unit gear stick side and a fancy billet shifter weight. You could buy them brand new for about £400 all in, could being the key word, looks like they stopped making them a few years ago now!

Now if this was a ST there's loads of after market support for them, but its a different box so even borrowing bits wasn't going to work!

Luckly iv been keeping my eye out on ebay for ether the kit or the gearbox weight replacement. And i got lucky!

Zero other bids and i had a mountune billet gearbox quick shifter!

Pretty simple to fit and 20% less throw is welcome!

And typically as i googled it, looks like mountune have done another batch! So if you have a zetec s or mk6 ST id defo get one bought!

Well, the road test identified 2 issues, which given i had the whole car in bits, im actually ok with.First one easy fix...
18/09/2026

Well, the road test identified 2 issues, which given i had the whole car in bits, im actually ok with.

First one easy fix. I hadnt put the little breather pipe back on the gearbox, so the box oil pi**ed out of it - Once i found the pipe popped it back on and all was good!

Second one im a tad annoyed about, I had the thermostat housing off to fit a new lower stat, cleaned up the surfaces and fitted new seals, but it still decided it wanted to leak....
Why did it leak? Im blaming the plastic housing, its probably the original, and probably warped, me undoing it and putting it back on im guessing i never got it flat to the block again.

So at that point i spat the dummy and ordered not only a new set of seals, but a housing , new bolts and every hose (bar the one iv cut and looped)

Now you'd think this would be a quick easy job to swap over, but noooooo, ford had to put one of the housing bolts behind the alternator... so off with the stupid stretch belt, alternator and once that was out the way everything cleaned up again, and refitted!
While the coolant was dropped i popped the new hoses on as well!

Only ran it up to temp on the driveway but looks like its all good! One to keep an eye on tho!

Cheers!

So BIG push, time marching on i really wanted to get the car back down on all 4's! Few delays waiting on bits and bobs t...
14/09/2026

So BIG push, time marching on i really wanted to get the car back down on all 4's!

Few delays waiting on bits and bobs that i had forgotten about when stripping it down but that wasn't going to stop me!
New clutch kit fitted, that allowed me to get the box on and before i knew it, it was back in the car!

Then it was the boring job of running all the wiring around the engine and plugging everything in.

Front end went back on with ease as i had cleaned up all the fixings, so then it was a case of bleeding the brakes and coolant system and it fired right up!

Got it out for a little road test down to the other jacks shed to put it up on the ramp, do the tracking and admire my hard work! Chuffed with how far its came in a fairly short time!

Theres loads of little details to sort, and a good few bits to fit, next big item will be the sump guard but iv got to wait for that to get made!

Ordered some custom brake lines from HEL as the suspension has a bit more droop that stock ST's the lines are getting a bit tight for my liking on full droop and lock!

But for now im going to give myself a bit of a rest! Practically been living in the garage at this point!!

Happy Monday!

So back at it and back to the captive nut saga! So i bought some flanged nuts off ebay thinking i could use them, but wh...
05/09/2026

So back at it and back to the captive nut saga!

So i bought some flanged nuts off ebay thinking i could use them, but when they turned up they were so thin walled i knew it was never going to work. Turns out you can actually buy weld nuts! Who knew! Because i didn't! 🤣

But i didnt have to! I got some M10 boss's machined up, nice, big, chunky and ready for weld!

So with Craig on emergency call out dutys, he was right over because i only had 2 of these made so it was a 1 shot and it better work kinda job and i just didn't trust myself enough!

Boss's welded in, cover plates made and then it was back to me to get cracking again!

Inner arches had already been treated so it was time to mask the area and get the gravitex in about!

With that done and looking good its time for the reassembly!
Anti roll bar fitted, subframe bolted on, bottom arms, hubs and shocks all fitted.
Now the egal eye'd will have noticed theres no springs fitted to the coilovers.... Well this is to do with the diff and something i read while looking for instructions on how to bed it in.... A few people on facebook had reported the diff being to large (long i guess) and it caused the shafts to push out and then you loose your plung on the CV's and the next thing you know your CV's are in bits.... so will run the shafts through the arc on lock both ways and check for plung or binding! Hopefully no issues there!!

Cheers!

If you're going through hell, keep going - Winston Churchill I might be over reacting a little here, but yeh, limits are...
02/09/2026

If you're going through hell, keep going - Winston Churchill

I might be over reacting a little here, but yeh, limits are there to be pushed? Either that I'm just to stupid to realise iv failed and im still going 🤣

Gearbox's... The bain of my motorsport chapter! I dont know what it is but im just not very happy having to play about with them!

But, times ticking, willingness to learn, and armed with a youtube video i was ready to give it a go!

Job was simple in theory, hard in pratice, Fit the gripper L*D to the box. Bit of prep work i had new seals, new diff bearings and going by the guy on youtube it should be probably the easiest job to carry out gearbox wise... So off i went!

And to be fair i got on all right, had to look at the youtube video mainly when things didnt " fall apart " and i was scared i was pulling on something i shouldnt or had forgotten to undo.

But other than having to find a very think round bit of metal to press one of the new diff bearings on it went pretty smooth!

Hands were covered in oil for most of it so actually only took one photo prior to putting the new diff in!

Gave everything a check and other than reveser gear looking a little sad with a trip to turkey for some new teeth not being a bad shout, the box was actually in pretty good nick with all the synchros looking pointy still!

Early days, but it went back together just as easy and i can select all the gears so thats got to be a good start!

So even though the chassis work had to stop there was plenty to get on with.With the car on the higher end of the mileag...
28/08/2026

So even though the chassis work had to stop there was plenty to get on with.

With the car on the higher end of the mileage scale, i thought it would be a good time to give the engine a bit of TLC.

So major service was due, timing belt, water pump and tensioner all to be fitted. Whipped the covers off and yup, belt was starting to crack, not the worst iv seen but this is why I'm doing it, so was actually nice to see i wasn't wasting my time!

Talking of time, i noticed the engine was ever so slightly out of timing, belt stretch/lack of tension was my first guess, didnt get to caught up in it, but again another reason to do this.

All new parts fitted and timed up correctly, spun over twice and re check timing and its pap on so jobs good!

Then while i was on a roll i got the Ford AC delete kit fitted up and new alternator bolted on, Nothing wrong with the old one but I'm at the point with the car now iv so much time and money invested I'm replacing as much as i can practically afford to!

Gave the mounts a clean and blast, timing cover a once over with APC and bolted it all back up. Clutch to fit then its ready to go back in once the other works completed!

This weekend off as im on best man duties my good friends wedding and everyone knows operating the grinder while drunk is a bad idea 🤣

Cheers!

Flat out before the stage even started! The weekends job was the front ends turn for its upgrade / refurb Plan was simpl...
24/08/2026

Flat out before the stage even started!

The weekends job was the front ends turn for its upgrade / refurb

Plan was simple, engine out, all suspension stripped off, clean up the subframe as its the only part staying, clean, treat and coat the inner arches and tiny bit of floor i didnt get done.

Started well, front end came off pretty trouble free, got the rad removed, aircon rad off and the crash bar prepped for a bit of paint.
Then it was onto the engine and box to remove, luckily these are very similar to the Fiesta ST's that iv dabbled with, but even simpler as theres no intercooler pipe work or oil feeds ect ect. Few coolant hoses and a mountain of plugs and the engine was ready to come out - Flying!
Subrame next and this is where all momentum ended.... Captive nuts.... I seen the front leg bolts through the leg and knew they didnt look smart. Fact that it was a E bit as well the fear had started to set in. So decent soak with plus gas, left them a hour and then it was time to get the bar on them see if i could get them out - Short answer is nope... Both front subframe captive nuts broke there welds... what should of been a easy unbolting of the subframe now turned into a hassle of cutting into the legs to get the old bolts out! Honestly ruined my progress but hey it is a 15 year old fordy at the end of the day!
Drilled a little hole with the hopes i might be able to reweld the nut but when i got in there the mess made me realise that wasnt going to work, so cut a bit more to then find ford for some reason put a cage over the top of the nut?? Why i have no idea but that had to get cut as well!

Progress stumped but not deterred!

Gave the arches a buff down and a spray with the rust converter, then used every chemical i had for cleaning cars and got the heat shields cleaned up so at least everything isnt covered in oil/mud now!

Onwards we go!
Cheers!

Suspension! Struggled with this one, Propper Billys/Reigers coming in at silly money (like the whole budget of my rally ...
18/08/2026

Suspension!

Struggled with this one, Propper Billys/Reigers coming in at silly money (like the whole budget of my rally project silly!!) I had to be realistic, but also know the importance of decent suspension! So wasnt going to be junk going on it!

Call to long time Strathdee madness supporter Paul at Part-box.com and after a bit of advice, specs of said fiesta and planned usage, set of custom GAZ Gold coilovers were specced. Drop will be minimum, with keeping travel/droop in mind.

Took a bit of time for them to get made but they were worth the wait! The fronts will go on when the front end refresh takes place, but i couldnt help myself but get the backs installed and delighted with how they look! Cant wait to play about with the damping!

Just call me Mario! With the underside drying, it was a good time to start plumbing the inside.Fuel lines ran in -6 brai...
16/08/2026

Just call me Mario!

With the underside drying, it was a good time to start plumbing the inside.
Fuel lines ran in -6 braided PTFE hose, brake lines done in copper pipe, Sounds easy right?!
A sucker for detail, and having near zero in brake line making bar the odd repair part i had to get my thinking cap on.
ABS-Bypass was needed, but after a bit of digging its not a simple case of chucking it in the bin. Due to being tied into the cars CANBUS system, you need to keep it in the loop. So all lines removed from it but leave it plugged in was the answer to that.
Issue is with the ABS "pump" removed, you also loose your brake bias, hence why pulling the fuse doesn't have the best results... Having done some research combined with my previous hot hatch knowledge, i knew i was going to have to fit a brake bias valve.
Reading up, since you need to lower the rear bias so much, people fit two "cheap" bias valves to lower the rear brake pressure, or apparently 1 high quality bias valve can have the same effect.
For neatness and 2 less leak points, i had to splash the cash and bought a AP Racing bias valve - Not a cheap day out but brakes is something iv always though you should never cheap out on....

So with the ABS bypassed it was onto sifting through all the different fittings i was going to need to hook it all up, M10, 3/8's, 7/16's and M12, feel like iv got them all!
Then the horrible job of bending the pipe so it looks likes its semi supposed to be there! Bit of planning and what felt like a million pipe clamps later lines were all ran!

Onto the fuel lines next, The fiesta runs a "returnless" system, but also has a v***r breather, So a few adapters letting me plumb into the stock hardware off the pump/fuelrail/breather i had the simple task of running 2 lines with my newly designed hose clamps keeping it all neat and tidy!

Now the fun part of trying the bleed the brakes 🤣

With the temperature still in my favour it would be a waste not to get cracking with the underside! Something i said i w...
14/08/2026

With the temperature still in my favour it would be a waste not to get cracking with the underside!

Something i said i was never doing again after doing the focus but here we are!

So the underside was typical 16 year old ford, crusty, very crusty, Its had some repairs to the sills at some point in the normal areas but much to my surprise it was actually very solid, and the sill lips havnt been destroyed and flattened over!

This will be a 2 part job, doing the rear up to the front subframe first, and then doing the front subframe "outer sills part" when the engine comes out. No point in making it hard for myself, or a mess of the engine with overspray!

So nearly everything on the back will be binned, bar the fuel tank.
Everything removed it was onto the job of buffing all the underside to remove the loose rust!

Then all rust areas were treated with 2 coats of Dinitrol RC900 rust converter, very nice product that you spray on and not brush on (the bilt hamber stuff i last used destroyed my garage floor paint :( )
Then whole lot sprayed with Upol Gravitex. Looking back it might of been worth painting a finish ontop of that, but how that would last im not sure with rallying. Feel like underside painting is something you will do more than once on a rally car! haha!

With that all drying, it was time to make a kevlar tank gaurd. Could i of bought one, yes, but for the same money i was able to make one, and i now have a vaccum pump for more carbon kevlar making things! So a bit of a ruff meathod of making it, i just wrapped the tank in clingfilm as tape wouldnt stick to it at all! Then used tape to soften the edges and "mould" the strap areas to stop the kevlar locking onto the tank. Cover in kevlar, wet out, pull vaccum and let dry! One tank gaurd made!

Then it was onto building it all back up, ST rear axle, powerflex bushs and the exhaust back on!

Yes iv been non stop! haha!

Address

Aberdeen

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when D Racing posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category