Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Fast Ford

WHAT'S NEW NEWS See what’s going down in the world of fast Fords... HERITAGE EDITION GT We all know the story of the Ford GT beating Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966, but for the new Heritage Edition to be launched next year, the Ford Performance team went a little deeper in the GT’s history and stylistically based the new limited edition on the first GT to win a 24-hour race – at Daytona in 1966. Mike Severson, Ford GT program manager said: “The Heritage Edition is a limited-edition model that stylistically honours the 55th anniversary of the Daytona 24 Hour endurance race that would eventually lead to our successes at Le Mans.” But that’s not the only special edition GT coming. “Plus, for customers who want to highlight the…

DRIVEN NEW PUMA ST-LINE X No longer a sporty coupé, but does Ford’s latest SUV deserve the iconic Puma badge? Martyn Collins hits the road to find out… Words and photos MARTYN COLLINS The Puma badge in fast Ford circles conjures up memories of the much-admired, iconic Fiesta-based coupé produced between 1997 and 2001. With highlights such as the wide-arched, limited-numbers Racing Puma acting as the halo model for all Puma fans, it’s a tough act to follow. The coupé body might be long gone – with the second-generation Puma morphing into an SUV, as dictated by market conditions – but, like the original, the Puma’s link with Fiesta underpinnings remains, although the new car has grown significantly to take on rivals in the B-SUV class. In fact, this Puma…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT JOHN ORD & BILL HENDERSON ESCORT COSWORTHS It was great to see a group of show cars at RS Croft this year, all belonging to RSOC members. Numbers may have been down compared to previous years, as expected, but the quality remained extremely high. Among them were these Mallard Green and Diamond White Escort Cosworths, owned by John Ord and Bill Henderson. John had been keen to purchase one of these iconic cars for years and managed to pick up this well-cared-for example with just 69k on the clock and FSH for £12,500! It also came with a few choice mods including dark green injectors, stainless steel exhaust, upgraded fuel pump, a K&N filter, RS500 intercooler and Stage 2 map. Currently the Cossie produces a more-than-adequate 330bhp…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT SCOTT FORSYTH MK7 FIESTA ST Making the long trip down from Glasgow was Scott Forsyth and his Mk7 Fiesta ST road-legal track car. One of numerous STs on circuit throughout the day, Scott was keen to mix things up and wasn’t holding back on track. Scott said, “I bought the car track-ready and have added my own upgrades since. I’m always looking to make improvements and develop the car each season.” With a V330R turbo, Stage 3 Peron remap and Stage 2 intercooler, Scott’s Fiesta pushes out 280bhp, making it a lively performer. He’s also upgraded the brakes to Hi-Spec four-pot callipers up front and added a Summit strut brace and Bilstein coilovers to firm up the suspension. The huge rear wing, Team Dynamics rims and sticky…

8 OF THE BEST… FORD TWIN CAMS From the early days of the ’60s through to the latest EcoBoosts of today, Ford has led the way with its twin-cam engines for over 50 years. These eight powerhouses reveal why. LOTUS TWIN CAM Ford’s first foray into a production twin-cam engine, the Lotus-designed eightvalver was based on the Cortina’s 1500 Pre-Crossflow bottom end, but with a cast alloy head. Blocks were bored to 82.5 mm from the standard 80.96 mm, and like the BDA there have been many derivatives so you need to know your stuff. For instance, the Mk2 versions had a thicker casting to more reliably carry the increased capacity that allowed 1558cc. These later engines also had square mains caps — the same as 711M-block Crossflows’ proper oil…

JASON MUSTANG V8 BACK TO REALITY However do you want your car kicks? Jason and his ‘Stang are finally back to life with shows, photoshoots and Santa Pod QUICK SPEC 5.0-litre Mustang GT • Steeda axle-back exhaust • Steeda induction kit • RTR diffuser • Steeda H-pipe • MAP remap • Steeda IRS bushes • Carbon fibre deck lid • Steeda lowering springs • Steeda engine brace and K-brace • Velgen VF5 alloys• Steeda discs and Hawk pads You know that events are starting to get back to some normality when you have to detail your car twice in one week. Not that I’m complaining, though. Two visits to Santa Pod, plus a car show at the historic Hever Castle in Kent all took place in the space of seven…

SIERRA COSWORTH THE ORIGINAL RECIPE Once a big-power regular at the crazy Gatebil events, this Sierra Cosworth is now enjoying life as show winner after a time-defying restoration – with a few RS500 tweaks thrown in for good measure... Words JAMIE Photos JONE KLEMO ØVERLAND If you look at the lifespan of most of the halo fast Ford models from the past 50 years or so, there’s a weirdly familiar pattern they seem to follow: first is the initial purchase, influenced by wanting to emulate race cars on TV; then the cars fall into the hands of modifiers who thrash the pants off them with ever more ingenious ways of improving performance; finally they make their way into the hands of classic collectors, who wrap them in covers in heated…

#PRINTMYFORD See your very own fast Ford in full printed glory! Ever wanted to see your car appear in all its glory in the printed pages of a Ford tuning magazine? Well, if so, all you need to do is ask! Simply email us, or post a picture of your car on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages and add the hashtag ‘#printmyford’, and each month we’ll choose our favourites and print them in this aptly named feature. Alternatively, drop us an email with a couple of pics, a full spec list of any mods and upgrades, and a few details about your time with the car to fastford.ed@kelsey.co.uk with the subject heading ‘print my ford’ and we’ll pick our favourites for a slightly more detailed review each month too.…

GARTRAC ESCORT LIKE A G6! This 350bhp, rear-wheel-drive Gartrac Escort has been built up as a modern-day interpretation of one of the rarest fast Fords ever built, its flawless finish and attention to detail serving as tribute to two very special men… Words BEN BIRCH Photos JASON DODD When an old-school Ford owner who’s been around the block a few times says their car is ‘quite lively’, experience tells us that’s humble-speak for ‘a complete and utter animal’. The accompanying twinkle in owner Jason Wall’s eye is a dead giveaway that he is massively underselling the potency of his beautiful Gartrac G6 Escort, so we delve further into his relationship with one of the rarest fast Fords on the planet. “It all started with my dad, really,” begins Jason. “He…

WHAT'S NEW FORD PARTS The latest products for your Blue Oval DIRENZA MK3 FOCUS RS MVT INTERCOOLER £449.99 Direnza has seen impressive results with its innovative Multi Vane Technology in previous products, and now the Mk3 Focus RS can benefit from this latest intercooler development. The MVT intercooler features special vanes to distribute the charge air across the entire intercooler core for maximum cooling efficiency. Coupled with high-flow end tanks and hard pipes, Direnza says this technology showed an increase of 9.4bhp on the dyno compared to the standard intercooler. Not only that, but outlet temps had dropped by 8.4C too. For more details, check out Direnza’s website. www.direnza.co.uk BURTON POWER PINTO DRY SUMP KIT £1425 Fitting a dry sump system to the Pinto engine has never been easier thanks…

SAPPHIRE COSWORTH MERCURY RISING The Sapphire RS Cosworth may be turning into a blue-chip collector’s car these days, but there’s still a clique of old-school fans who get hot under the collar about using these super saloons as Uncle Henry intended Words DAN BEVIS Photos JASON DODD The life-span of the Sapphire RS Cosworth has reached an interesting point. There are today two distinct groups of fans clamouring for them: on the one hand, you’ve got the old-school Ford lovers who grew up around these cars, and spent the Eighties and Nineties tearing up and down the UK’s seafronts in hot RS models. On the other hand, there’s a moneyed generation of collectors who are bracketing the Saph Cossie in with other firebrand Blue Ovals of the era – these…

EVENT REPORT DURHAM AND DERBYSHIRE RSOC TRACK DAY DURHAM AND DERBYSHIRE RSOC TRACK DAY Coronavirus and lockdown didn’t stop RS Croft in 2020, as the Durham and Derbyshire RSOCs hosted a socially-distanced track day event Words and photos JON CASS WHERE CROFT CIRCUIT WHEN JULY 2020 Back in April, I doubt we’d be alone in thinking there may have been no Ford events happening at all this year. A scary thought indeed! As the months went by and racing circuits began to open, albeit only for participants and with no spectators allowed, there was at least some hope. Soon we heard the Durham and Derbyshire RSOC groups had decided to go ahead with their annual track day in July, and as it was one of summer 2020’s first Ford events,…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT PAUL SHELTON MK3 FOCUS RS Paul Shelton is no stranger to a quick Ford, having owned an ex-FF-featured highly-tuned Stage 4 Mk2 Focus RS, and a well-known XR4i some years earlier. After the sale of the Mk2, Paul was keen to make the natural progression towards a Mk3 Focus RS and bagged himself this stunning black example, which was just six months old at the time. “I was always going to modify it, as I do all my Fords,” Paul smiled. “I’d already had the splitters and lowering springs fitted before I’d even picked the car up!” Originally Triple R splitters were fitted all round, but the front has since been swapped to a Maxton version, which has just a little more clearance for added practicality. Bonnet…

FAST FLEET Check out what’s been going on with our projects this month… JAMIE FOCUS RS Jamie’s getting ready to take the RS to Steeda’s annual driving day at North Weald in a couple of weeks. Full update on how he gets on in the next issue. PAUL COWLAND MUSTANG V8 Suspension and alignment is sorted, so Paul’s now looking at ways to increase power and performance from the V8. DAN FOCUS ST250 Dan’s been talking to Direnza again and following the MVT intercooler he’s recently fitted, more goodies are on the way. HANNAH FOCUS COSWORTH Waiting for shows and track days to re-open has meant Mark and Hannah have been cooking up other projects to get on with. MOTORBASE FOCUS BTCC CARS Back in action! The new Mk4 Focuses…

ADE SAPPHIRE COSWORTH LAST CHANCE! Ade finds out his replacement head is junk and starts again QUICK SPEC MSD live map • Wasted Spark, closed loop L8 and grey injectors • Autodynamix loom • T38 turbo • Gizzmo electronic boost controller • GAZ Gold coilovers • MC Fabrication six-degree beam • Fifteen52 Tarmac alloys Almost three years after popping the head gasket at Ford Fair, things have gone wrong again. And not even a single mile has been covered! Year one was spent with several attempts to repair a cracked head, with no luck. Then year two revolved around a bargain head that was bought from a ‘trusted source’, which was brought back to MJ Racing to be revived, modified and fitted. All seemed well, but the bargain ended up…

ALL ABOUT ENGINE OILS Engine oil is the lifeblood of your motor. Not only does it affect your car’s performance, it can also have a massive effect on its reliability and, ultimately, your wallet. Let’s find out more about this liquid gold… Words DAN SHERWOOD The chances are, if you’re reading this, your car is worth a fortune to you (in both time and money) and it’s our guess that you want to look after it as best you can. One of the easiest ways to do that is by not only using the right oil, but by ensuring that vital fluid is kept at the correct levels and in tip-top condition too. After all, many expensive engine failures can be traced back to owners either not maintaining the correct…

FIESTA ST MINIATURE HEROES This feisty Fiesta emulates the famous Reyland Cosworths from the 2000s, but with over 300bhp from a big turbo conversion, the similarities don’t end with its eye-catching livery… Words and photos JON CASS You never forget your first car; the excitement of the freedom a car offers is a memory that will last forever. Obviously, we try to forget all the scrapes, speeding tickets, and stacking a rear wheel into a kerb the first time we attempt a handbrake turn, but it’s all part of the fun. Speaking to Adam Wood, the proud owner of this eye-catching Fiesta ST, it’s immediately apparent he has fond memories of his first car. “I bought a Mk4 Fiesta from my Mum when I was 18,” he remembers. “It…

WHAT'S NEW CLUB PROFILE PENNINE RETRO SPORTS This year may be an odd one for shows and car clubs, but it’s great to see new groups like Pennine Retro Sports being formed all the time. We speak to Ben Midlane to find out more When was the club first founded? The club was founded at the beginning of 2020, although we did do shows and drives out before that as we are all friends anyway. We just came to the conclusion that we have enough cars to start our own club. How many active members does the club currently have? The club has 13 active members and has over 100 following on Facebook. Our members are based in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. It’s growing all the time though. Which models…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT MATT DAVIS MK2 FOCUS RS Among the gaggle of Mk2 Focus RSs we saw, this immaculately turned-out example belonging to Matt Davis caught our eye. The attention to detail in this car is incredible, Matt keen to retain a subtle look while still adding an impressive inventory of mods. “I bought the car four years ago, as I’d always wanted one,” Matt told us. “It was a two-owner standard car with just over 20,000 miles on the clock.” Since then, Matt has added more than a few of his own touches, including a Spec-R intercooler and oil cooler, Milltek Ultimate exhaust, and silicone hoses with an RS500-style wrap. The Summit carbon strut brace is another neat touch, while H&R 30mm lowering springs help improve the road-holding. And…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT ANDREW AHMED MK6 FIESTA ST The sight of so many Mk6 Fiesta STs at Croft was great, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised as it’s well-known they make a perfect budget track car. Some were pure budget builds, stripped out with a roll cage, while a few former race cars were on track too. Andrew Ahmed’s discreet black example here has been well thought-out for its circuit-destined role. A fully forged engine with ported and polished head, lightened flywheel and 200-spec inlet provides a useful extra 50bhp over a standard ST. Combined with a paddle clutch, AP brakes, Meister R coilovers and that stripped-out interior, Andrew’s innocent-looking Mk6 was easily able to hold its own out on track. Mk6 Fiesta STs are still to be had…

FOCUS RS TRIO THREE GENERATIONS OF AN ICON From the Mk1 through to the Mk3, Focus RS models will all be remembered as fast Ford icons, but how do they compare? To find out, we ask three owners why they chose their preferred Focus RS Words JAMIE Photos JASON DODD Which is best; Mk1, Mk2 or Mk3 Focus RS? We get asked that a lot. And it’s a constant debate that’s usually rife around shows and events at this time of year. Take a walk around any Ford gathering, and you’re bound to hear people comparing the three generations. It’s only natural, given that each individual model will go down in fast Ford folklore as something of an icon, albeit for very different reasons. The Mk1 saw the return…

MOTORBASE FOCUS BTCC BTCC IS BACK After a delayed start, the British Touring Car Championship is back in action. And Motorbase’s new Focus ST has been the highlight We’re back racing. And it’s fantastic to be doing so. After a very demanding winter period designing and building the new Mk4 Focus ST as a BTCC car, we were all excited to finally get the 2020 season underway after a brief delay due the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown. We were able to use some of the time gained from the delayed start to finish off the third new build, though, and get some invaluable testing under our belts before the season started. So, when we rolled up at Donington a few weeks ago for round one we were all excited…

THE XR STORY THE STORY OF… THE XR BRAND XR models epitomise the 1980s’ and 1990s’ fast Fords. Here’s the full story of the brand, from the first to the last Words GRAHAM ROBSON & JAMIE Photos AS DESIGN, ADE BRANNAN, MATT DEAR, MATT RICHARDSON, CHRIS WALLBANK, JON HILL, FORD PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE The XR badge was already in use elsewhere in the Ford empire, but the first time we British buyers saw it on a European Blue Oval was in 1980, and the XR brand soon became an important member of the Ford-of-Europe family. Over the next 14 years, from a modest little front-wheel-drive Fiesta hot hatch to an extremely well-equipped and capable Sierra family car, there seemed to be XR models to suit all tastes, all needs, and all…

BUYER’S GUIDE FOCUS ST225 Pound for pound the finest of all fast Fords, the Focus ST225 is a five-cylinder sledgehammer that’s as fun to drive daily as it is to blast around a track. And with prices getting lower, now’s the perfect time to buy a brilliant all-rounder Words DAN WILLIAMSON IDENTITY A history check is vital to make sure any ST isn t a ringer, write-off or subject to finance. Check the VIN on the log book matches the numbers on the sticker in the driver’s door shut, stamped under a notch in the carpet on the driver’s side sill (just in front of the seat) and on the nearside dashboard, seen through the windscreen. Many ST replicas are on the market, but few folk fit the proper five-cylinder…