2003 Focus SVT EAP $201X Build

lots of luck. I had 4 of them in my past life. EAP is the way to be. those Recaro's are TITS

Great write up, thanks for all the updates. I think you're really going to be happy with this car once completed. A lot of what you are tackling looks similar to what I anticipate I will have to do with mine. My rear main seal/oil pan appears to be leaking and I'm thinking a 3L swap might be in order (mines an SVT Contour, not a Focus but I DO have SVTF front brakes). Either way I think you're going to be really happy.

Mitchell wrote: I finally dropped the flywheel holding tool in the mail, so it should arrive by the weekend.

Many thanks.

This is the giant turd of an engine. Every nut and bolt is crusty. Every bracket is rusted or pitted. It's going to take a lot of work to get this looking clean.

Came to a difficult decision this weekend. I'm parting out this car. Right now it owes me less than $2k and I can sell the interior for around $1k. I just can't keep dumping money into this rust bucket. The more I work on it, the more parts I need to buy. I'm looking at an additional $2500 just to have the car a basic driving car with no mods. If this chassis wasn't so rusty, I wouldn't have a problem doing this. Brake lines are rusty, rear hatch floor is starting to rust through. I don't have time or energy to fix this with a 1-year old and another baby on the way.

Bottom line is I'm going to take profits from this and pay off a small CC debt and take the profits to buy another car from North Carolina. What? I'm not sure. Either one of these 3:

(This is Will's car)

I hope I can get the parts sold fast enough to buy something else this summer.

Sorry to hear; it certainly looked like the more you dug into it, the worse it became.

It's too bad you're not closer; I would take a fender and front bumper off of your hands. I predict shipping to be ridiculous.

Ughhhhhhhhh another EAP dead

I have a lot of new parts, Mitchell. Are you due for a timing belt ( I have all the parts plus tools and a new waterpump)?

I vote #1, keep it in the SVT family.

Would you be better off selling the Focus rather than parting it?

With a very conservative estimate, I have around $4500 in a spreadsheet that estimates what I can make from this part out. I advertised the parts and I've been getting hounded to sell stuff.

Do what you gotta do man, with the understanding you get an SVT Contour like me.

Haha. We'll see. Guy came and got the Recaros today. It was sad to see them go, but the cash was awesome. I literally have people knocking down my door to buy these parts. This has turned into a part time job parting out this car. In less than 12 hours, I have almost made my money back on this car. Crazy. Thank goodness my wife is willing to help box/ship parts.

Was that a six speed or five? Do you still have the shift knob?

Oh! Something I need: Brake/clutch pedal cover. My clutch cover split in half long ago, and they're not available anywhere. How much would you want for one?

And just out of curiosity, has anyone mated the mtx-285 to the Duratec 2.3? That would be a neat swap.

Makes me wish I would have parted my EAP after the hatch was caved in by a tahoe that couldn't stop. I sold it for $2k and it was fixed my a body shop in a few hours. My insurance company was dragging their feet and wanted to total the car.

Nitroracer wrote: Makes me wish I would have parted my EAP after the hatch was caved in by a tahoe that couldn't stop. I sold it for $2k and it was fixed my a body shop in a few hours. My insurance company was dragging their feet and wanted to total the car.

Not sure why insurance companies seem to love to total cars. But back to the build...I would have parted it also.

Mitchell wrote: Oh! Something I need: Brake/clutch pedal cover. My clutch cover split in half long ago, and they're not available anywhere. How much would you want for one? And just out of curiosity, has anyone mated the mtx-285 to the Duratec 2.3? That would be a neat swap.

I believe the bellhousing is different, but don't quote me. If anyone wants to try I have a working Getrag 6-speed for $300.

Pedals, I will send you the complete pedal assembly for $50 bucks. You can even have the dead pedal cover. Even the master cylinder for a spare (I know you just replaced yours). Any other little things you made need I will throw in the package fo free. When is the last time you did your timing belt?

This thread deserves an update. I sold the black shell to a guy about an hour away. This was her leaving my house back in May...

Guy says he has another car that was totaled. He was going to put all of the parts onto my black shell. I told him he was crazy and to call me when he abandoned the project so I could buy and part out his totaled car. Well, he gave up. Because these cars have a small fortune in unique parts, this has become my night/weekend job. Parting out Focus SVTs. Below is my latest victim from the guy who hauled away my black shell. He gave me every single part to put the car back together. I perfect scenario really. I have every part to sell that is already removed from the car, with the front end removed making pulling the front subframe a breeze.

I wonder if the SVT wheels fit the Fiesta? I might be in the market for some wheels to hold some R-Comps...

pinchvalve wrote: I wonder if the SVT wheels fit the Fiesta? I might be in the market for some wheels to hold some R-Comps...

Pretty sure they do. Mine have great condition tires on them though, so they won't be your cheapest option. I'm going to advertise them for $400.

The SVT wheels will fit the Fiesta, they are both 4 x 108. Same as all Focuses up thru 2011. 2012 changed to 5 x 108.

ScreaminE: Are you going to sell the seats from this car. I am looking for some to put in my Transit Connect.

This one followed me home via U-haul. I'm parting this one.

This one (seller's photo) is being delivered to my house next Friday to keep. I just can't stay away from these things.

nice work. I love mine. If you ever come across a silver rear bumper cover or two clear non-HID headlights I would be interested.

After selling the other project car, I'm getting excited about working on my silver SVT. So far, I fixed the Intake Manifold Runner Control (IMRC) module that keeps the butterflys in the intake from working properly and also throws a CEL. I went through hell getting out a dead (smashed) o2 sensor. Had to cut it with a cut off wheel that required me to drop the CAT and cut off some rusted bolts.

Up next is the timing belt to get rid of the last CEL and then turn off the ABS light.

If you ever come across a stock intake and snorkel in good condition, send me a message through here or Facebook. I'll need it for my next inspection.