1982 Mk1 XR2 Fiesta

[Con2K]

Owned her 3 yrs now and finally started to do stuff properly.


Bought it in march 2007 (i think) lol. From Anglesey via ebay auction. Drove it around for about 12 miles then thought i'd patch up the holes for the next MOT with my mates guidance. Then decided to 'do it properly' and that was that. Afew other details and lots of shiney parts later it was still sat in a rented garage (or two). Original plan was to make it mint/standard but after already selling the cage I thought why should I when I have what appears to be a decent engine under there. May aswell do my own thing and use it as nature intended!













In that time me and a mate bought/stripped and sold 3 other fiesta XR2's for parts. We sourced most of the parts quite quickly.















(EFR - She looked mint but really wasnt - so often the case)

After trying to get it started with jump leads and bodged wiring and a leaky fuel line it caught fire. Thankfully just melted the loom and didnt touch anything else but scared me a bit thinking I was about to watch it go up in flames. Then how she stayed for 2 yrs...



Yes, cardboard!



The rear is really sound. Underneath too, sills OK, etc etc. Just the front inner wings, front panel and wheel arches had got the worst of it.












Finally got off my arse and trailered it down to hereford from newcastle to my mates bodyshop. I can weld (pigeon shit) and at its previous location there is no leccy but also I wouldnt wanna be seen using any tools for fear of theft from the lockup (altho no tools kept in it). A secure bodyshop is much nicer! Would love to do more welding and bodywork but recent house purchase leaves less spare time for major jobs and TBH I want it done well, which isnt going to be by my hands. Smaller stuff I can do. Borrowed my mates trailer (Cheers Matt) and went up and collected it.








did a 953 mile trip in 21 hrs to get it there but glad of some progress now.

Have moved to somerset now and i'll begin stripping bits and peices off it with my mate in about 2-3 weeks ready for welding and paint. Once its painted we will refit the engine and get it started and rolling. Then drop off the suspension, beam, arms etc etc and shotblast/powdercoat it all as and when. None of those steps are vital for an MOT. I dont want it MOT'd yet but I want it to a stage where I could take it for one before being 'finished'. She wont be a show winner, but a clean car I intend to use on trackdays and summer weekends etc etc.

Ah, found some random vids (ignore my mates talking rubbish lol) Just to get an idea of the noise. V.hard to tell how loud it is on a video tho...





Spec is as follows:

If not genuine Vulcan build. Equivelant spec of their 145~bhp engine

-Original engine from car. 1.6 Crossflow XR2 Fiesta.
-Vulcan cam cover
-Rebored Block to +0.090" Giving approx 1690cc with a 0.003" skirt clearence.
-Forged Pistons with M/C Pockets to 0.180" Deep
-Crank Shaft ground to +0.010 (Big end)
-Barings = VPM91142 & VPR819 VP2 Material
-1 Kent KC 244 Camshaft with followers
-big valve head with 1.625 inlet & 1.320 Exhaust with Kent VS 7 Springs and valve caps & Lead free inserts (runs on Shell Optimax)
-high pressure oil pump, 20PSI oil switch
-Lightened flywheel, borg and beck clutch kit

-Full balance = crank, rods, pistons, flywheel, clutch(???)
-8 ARP 2000 Competition Big end bolts.
-Competition 4-2-1 manifold and exhaust
-Webber twin 40 carbs
-lumenition power pack (optronic)
-aldon dizzy
-magnecor KV85 leads
-NGK plug set
-facet fuel pump
-filter king regulator
-electrical cut off switch
-cooling system (pressurised).
-Rebuilt 4 speed gearbox with viscous lsd. (I havent confirmed this tbh)



REALLY need to confirm this so I will be strpping the block down to renew parts aswell as for peace of mind regarding spec.

Thanks for looking and I hope the next few months are v.productive!

Will be back upto Hereford to collect the engine. Gives them more space and less work to do ready for welding/paint and keeps me happy rebuilding the block. Will probably have a crack at baffling the sump after a decent write up was in Classic Ford mag this month.

Cant wait to weigh the car ad see what it is at. Ata later date probbaly go for a cage again and flocking/carbon fibre odds and sods. But most importantly get it driveable.

[arry]

Wicked Always liked Mk1 and 2 XR2's


Good luck with it

[swiftmini]

Will be watching this with interest. Had 5 mk1s myself and i still love them

[cardiff scum]

Wicked little car I had a 1300 supersport in the same colour and you never forget the rassssssp as you hit the gears,happy days

[pdh 14a]

My heart always longs for another mk 1,it was my first car,only a 1.1l but it was absolutely mint,we had some adventures together!
looks a lovely car,and lol at the way you stripped the red one

[arry]

only a 1.1l but it was absolutely mint,we had some adventures together!

All I remember of mine was the rusty brown colour and the footpump for the windscreen washers

[Con2K]

Foot pump would have been a really early one pre 78 iirc. Valencia model they were known as although all were built there the early oens were slightly different.

Cheers for the comments. Hope to update shortly.

I do have another video of it on photobucket in the same folder from inside the car but its great noise is muffled by the missus screaming lol

[Simaroon]

cool project, i'd now like a mk1 or 2 fiesta, any plans for final paint colour?

liking this pic


I bet your neighbours enjoyed this car stripping

[Con2K]

Well I spent over a year deciding on a colour and noarrowed it down to a shade of grey that didnt have an obviously visible colour to it (like bluey grey, or browny grey etc etc) u know what I mean? The most nutral grey I could find that I liked was Audi Daytona grey. Not to be confused with the bluer Dolphin grey). Its a popular RS4/6 and R8 colour.

So after deciding on that, I also decided I wanted to retain the factory XR2 vinyl as its a genuine XR2 shell and getting rare these days. I want to emphasise its a real one. So Daytona grey wasnt too dark that the side vinyl would be lost and the standard exterior looks make people think 'oohh is that an original colour'. Rather than another base spec Fiesta al dressed up.

Then out of the blue I said to the guy painting it. 'Do it Original Stratos Silver' I honestly dont know why but I think it was mainly that I want the car back sooner rather than later, the paint mix for this non metallic finish is cheaper and a little less perfection in the prep work meant that application onto a rough surface wouldnt be as obvious. Once I have all the engine and drivetrain dressed up and after a lot of running in and track days (so say about another year or 2) I will probably strip it back again for any new scratches/flaws or even a colour change. Daft as it may seem but thats what I want to do just to get in it again, its been 3 yrs and Its long enough. Silver ones dont seem to be as popular at shows as the white, red and black ones and a one with a bit more go rather than a concourse example is even rarer with the XR2 vinyl as most are fantastic looking base spec ones with a zetec/turbo lump in them. That is the biggest decision with regards to the car I have made tbh. Grey or standard silver.

I suppose I'll see what he coems back with. He did a Mk1 wing in Daytona grey - looked ace but I just want it back sooner so I can build it back up before christmas instead of saving up more money for a better paint job and then not getting it until january or sumthing.

I have many more pics of it on the driveway with EFR. It was a rare thing lol. Oddly enough a young blonde girl randomly turned up at the front door that weekend and asked about it. Said she had a Blue Fiesta RS Turbo and was really pleased to see not one, but two Mk1 XR2's being restored. Just happened to be passing. Wanted to go for a spin but neither were driveable at the time. Shame. Never bumped into her again.


Thankfully the car stripping was done outside a friends house in only a few hours. Was about 6 people there I think. I missed an EPIC day!

[Thrift Drift]

Do it silver, please!! I had a Mk1 XR2 in silver, lowered & with a Cherry Bomb backbox! It went pretty well & handled like a go-cart, always used to put a smile on my face - especially when the twin choke kicked in!
Good luck with it, glad to see one being restored.
Regards,
Ash.

[pdh 14a]

All I remember of mine was the rusty brown colour and the footpump for the windscreen washers

I had the Sienna brown,like an orangy brown. mine was a y reg,had electric washers 2 mirrors and a rear wiper,very posh

[Teggers]

Another ex-mk1 owner!! Mine was a sort of beige-y yellowy colour. 1978 S reg on twin webers

[Actual_Ben_Taylor]

My mk1 was Rio Brown

They just don't paint cars that kind of colour any more!!

[BreadBin]

Is this turning into the mk1 Fiesta nost***ia thread?

(My 2nd mk1 was XR2 flavoured, but with a few choice mods..)

[sxbaz]

loving this thread, when i just passed my test i always wanted a mk1 or mk2 xr2, but they were disappearing then, old skool cool!

[mossyg]

looks poop!






LOL .... Cant wait till its back on the road...Was a steal for what you paid considering the engines about £3k's worth!

[Silane]

My mate had a Mk2 XR2 for his first car, loved it! Pepperpots rule!

Be sure to get us plenty of pics! Some from the bodyshop would be cool too.

[Con2K]

My mate doing the bodywork is a really good friend, I said I want pics of everything when i'm not there, if he even looks at it I told him to take a pic.

Current updates, I'm going up sunday to remove engine with the gf and a friend who works for ford. Will take it away and leave the shell to be worked on and I can start to strip down and rebuild the engine. Hope its the spec claimed. Will be my 1st engine strip down/rebuild so a tad nervous due to its value but will be under good guidance by people.

Oh and one of the spotlights is cracked when he left a car in gear in the bodyshop and bumped into it. the only thing on the front was the 2 spots lol. Typical.

Many more pics to come this weekend...

[Mark]

All I remember of mine was the rusty brown colour and the footpump for the windscreen washers

Good times mine was sky blue and i fitted 1300S clocks to it

Gutted I never took any pics of that car

[Con2K]

There was a review in Perf. Ford Mag this month someone was telling me, they contacted the DVLA to find out how many old fords were left of particular models. It seems even though the Supersport was the 1st 'sporty' model its now the XR2 (which was a better car) is becoming very rare! Win for me! Fail for the 3 we scrapped!!

Mossy - I will not mention the state of your escort at the moment then... lol

Oh, found it: