fiestaturbo.com

[Minstral]

love reading your updates.
thought you might fit the focus centre console as lots of people on zsoc do that as it fits well with the mk5 dash. although most of them havent cut it to make it fit perfectly

[Excursion]

Once again Mark, absolutely excellent work

Cheers

[Excursion]

mark your a god walking amongst mere mortals!

your work is simply amazing and leaves me with a loss of words


im very impressed with your metal work, how did you do that console bracket, just how, its very professional and intricate

the interior is looking very nice, id love to see them mondeo dials once the shroud is honed in to suit them, and a trip computer is something ive always wanted, ill have to settle for the mk4 escort one which we both seen in the German fellows thread, which ive just paid for


i really enjoy reading your updates, it fills me with inspiration and is like a brainstorming session, i hope you enjoy doing this project, you seem to

you should go into automotive design and work for a certain company for designing they're new models

Thanks Jon, that's nice of you to say. Did the mirror button turn up OK?

[Excursion]

love reading your updates.
thought you might fit the focus centre console as lots of people on zsoc do that as it fits well with the mk5 dash. although most of them havent cut it to make it fit perfectly

Cheers That's something I forgot to add actually, I can't take credit for the Focus console idea as I saw it on another Fiesta site

[Max M4X WW]

All looks great Mark, I'm having to try and fit Mk3 steering column parts to fit an FRST steering wheel

[Rhinopower]

All looks great Mark, I'm having to try and fit Mk3 steering column parts to fit an FRST steering wheel

Mark tell you the same as me, you can't swap the column, the universal joint is completely different. All you need to swap is the steering lock holder and trim

I wish you would listen sometimes lol

[Max M4X WW]

I'm going to! Just saying its funny I'm taking one step back Mark is going 50 steps forward

[TIL13R]

Truely amazing work... This is going to be one hell of a car...

[fiestarsturboblack]

awsum work mate, i love looking at this!!!! wer did you get the carpet from an can u still get one?????

[Excursion]

Thanks guys, I bought the carpet in 2009 when they were still available over the shelf at Ford. I'm quite sure that they are now NLA for Mk3, Mk4 and Mk5 but do take a look on eBay as I've seen several on there this year.

[fiestarsturboblack]

sound, cheers mate, jus love the look of urs, wen do u thnk ul b finishing it aboutor is there still a lot mre to do?

[Excursion]

sound, cheers mate, jus love the look of urs, wen do u thnk ul b finishing it aboutor is there still a lot mre to do?

No deadline on this mate I've done that in the past and found that it takes the enjoyment out of a project.

I finished another couple of small jobs tonight. The alloy spacer for the new steering column is complete. I had a lip added to the rear face to prevent the nylon bush sliding off, and the alloy spacer itself has a tapered bore to prevent it moving on the shaft. I had to sweat the spacer on to the column so it's certainly secure.


The new column fits perfectly!


A very minor job on the rear quarter trims. The plastic covers for the seat belt aperture weren't a very good fit and could have caused a small rattle, so I've put some felt tape around the aperture. The covers (not pictured here) are now a very snug fit.

[fiestarsturboblack]

dnt blame u mate, i agree, better thats its done properly 1st time than havin to redo sumthin,

[Choosey]

I've been waiting on an update on this for ages and this has simply blown my mind to pieces.

Most of those things are things that people would never think about or even notice on a finished product. This car will simply be an amazing drive!

[AW0L]

fantastic Mark...

the work you have put in is amazing and to get it so it looks factory is incredible...

where did you get the roof lining and pillar trims done??

[Excursion]

Thanks both. Aldridge trimming covered the headlining and pillars http://www.aldridge.co.uk/

It's probably easy enough to do yourself, especially if you can practise on some old parts first. I didn't want top run the risk of any small creases so I had Aldridge cover everything for me.

[Capri]

LOVE the retrim Mark. Keep going, I can't wait to see it done in the flesh!

[FRSJON]

mark ,in pic two theres a white 'bush' on the end of the column which would be underneath the steering wheel... do they all have that? as mine doesnt and the steering column/wheel moves all over the place a cure to all my problems ?

[Dave G fsi]

My FRST has one Jon

[AW0L]

Thanks both. Aldridge trimming covered the headlining and pillars http://www.aldridge.co.uk/

It's probably easy enough to do yourself, especially if you can practise on some old parts first. I didn't want top run the risk of any small creases so I had Aldridge cover everything for me.

yea i guess i could be done, i have done it before but always ended up sagging and end up ripping it off so might have to give them a call thanks for the link Mark

[FRSJON]

My FRST has one Jon

cheers dave,mark would you have the part number for this please

[Excursion]

Yes Jon, it should have one. Ignore the one in my photo as it's totally different to what you're after. The Mk3 version is a 15mm long collar with a split along the side to let it expand.

[FRSJON]

many thanks is yours a 3.5 one?

[Excursion]

many thanks is yours a 3.5 one?

It's Mk5, I've adapted the column to fit as its much stiffer. The Mk4 bush is compatible with Mk3.5, but I'm pretty sure Mk3.5 isn't compatible with Mk3.

[FRSJON]

ill get 3 and a 3.5 then .ive got a bit of a hybrid going on as well (not purposely) glad ive found this out as it was turning into a major headache .thanks again

[jonyb4]

mk3 one is different as it doesnt have the airbag wheel, so it sits further down the column i believe

found that out when i converted to non airbag in my mk4 a few years back

[Excursion]

Here's a small update. All the following photos were taken on my mobile, so please excuse the poor quality.

Alcantara Roof Fittings
I've trimmed in Alcantara the sunroof mounting bracket and also two 'buttons' which secure the rear roof lining. They were previously a pale grey.


Poor photo, but the buttons are just visible either side of the rear light.


Cruise Control
I mentioned way back in the thread that cruise control was on my 'to do' list, although it was one modification I wasn't entirely sure would be possible, so now the steering column is mounted it seemed like a good time to find out. It's not the technicalities of the system itself that are the issue as I have a good understanding of how it all works, it's the Fiesta airbag clock spring that may prevent the retrofit. The clock spring is mounted behind the steering wheel and provides a way to continue the wiring loom through to the steering wheel mounted electronics. In the Mk3, Mk4, and Mk5 Fiesta there were only ever two wires to connect the drivers airbag, but if I am to integrate cruise control then I will need more to support the steering wheel mounted controls.

The Cruise Control system I've chosen is from a Mk1 Focus and requires three additional conductors in the clock spring. To start investigations I bought a clock spring from a Focus equipped with CC and stripped it down to find the extruded flat cable had nine conductors, the additional being for Focus specific features including a dual stage airbag. The Fiesta cable is on the left for comparison, and note that the thicker tracks are always for the airbag.


The clock spring is sandwiched between the column stalks/switches and steering wheel; moving the column switches was not possible, spacing the steering wheel was not a safe option and would leave an unsightly gap around the column trim, and I had ruled out machining of the steering wheel due to lack of material. The problem at this point then was how I could add tracks, but do so within the confines of the Fiesta clock spring housing. I tried several things and settled on including a cut down version of the Focus cable within the Fiesta housing together with the original Fiesta cable. This approach meant that I could leave the Fiesta airbag cable and terminations completely untouched, but the downside was that space in the housing was limited.

I produced a proof of concept build to test the theory and noted that the standard 6.5 turn capability of the Fiesta spring was reduced to 4.5 turns. The PAS rack in my car is 2.4 turns lock to lock which leaves 2.1 turns of excess in the spring. I knew that the same clock spring was used on all model variants and some came with a manual rack at 4.5 turns LtL, which gave an excess of 2 turns. This was slightly less than the excess I had with the PAS rack therefore I was happy that the concept was safe and had been proven.


Now I knew the conversion was possible I looked to perfect the steering wheel controls. I bought some Focus cruise control switches and a base model fiesta steering wheel and deployed airbag to work on. The donor Focus was well worn so all the white text on the buttons had worn off!


After a bit of trimming of both Fiesta airbag and Focus controls I had the controls sitting where I wanted them, and fabricated this bracket to mount them to the Fiesta steering wheel.


It fits snugly in the steering wheel and will be secured by 'fir tree' type trim clips through the two holes.


Controls screwed on.


Looks reasonable from the rear.


Complete. They're not the greatest looking switches in the world, but will fulfil a useful purpose.

[heeman10]

I assume your bracket there isn't in direct contact with the red/black wires inside your steering wheel? Just looks a bit of a scary shot, crying out for a short! I'm sure you've checked though

Cruise control is still about the best modification you can carry out on any car I reckon, if it is going to travel any miles. Whenever I get a courtesy car without it I'm reminded just how much concentration is required purely for throttle modulation - it's insane! Love the mod, top work

[jonyb4]

wow, how the hell do you form your metal so well?! whats your cutting technique?

good work, think ill be leaving CC out of my car then haha, did you not want it mounted on the column instead? would have been a ton easier

[Excursion]

I assume your bracket there isn't in direct contact with the red/black wires inside your steering wheel? Just looks a bit of a scary shot, crying out for a short! I'm sure you've checked though

Cruise control is still about the best modification you can carry out on any car I reckon, if it is going to travel any miles. Whenever I get a courtesy car without it I'm reminded just how much concentration is required purely for throttle modulation - it's insane! Love the mod, top work

Cheers There's a relief for the wires at the base of the bracket and then they pass in wiring channels underneath.

I find it hard to live without cruise, too. I'll hopefully clock up a lot of miles in Europe when its done so I want something to avoid getting stung in France

[Dave5300]

really nice addition! lovely and neat, i presume youl be geting new switches with the simbols still on them? top job

[Excursion]

wow, how the hell do you form your metal so well?! whats your cutting technique?

good work, think ill be leaving CC out of my car then haha, did you not want it mounted on the column instead? would have been a ton easier

Cheers! Column mounted would have taken some pain out for sure , but I wanted them on the wheel.

I've become a bit of a surgeon with the angle grinder I used a vice to hold the metal this time as it was too intricate for my bender. I used a cold chisel and lump hammer to move the metal, and finished with a bench grinder and file. Pretty crude really but I've got used to using them

[Excursion]

really nice addition! lovely and neat, i presume youl be geting new switches with the simbols still on them? top job

Thanks bud! Yeah, I'm going to order a kit from Ford that will have new buttons and wires etc.

[- Danny Boy -]

Top work as always, Mark!

Cruise control is one of the things I would LOVE to have in my car when doing long distance journeys!

[Dave G fsi]

Really nice addition there Mark, nice one