Focus Svt

[dub]

I got this kit at a local discount chain store for $8 about 5 months ago. I did start on it right away but quickly got discouraged when the paint color I picked wasn't right and it didn't lay very well. I built the engine and did a little under side detailing and just put it away with a can of the right paint until I got motivated to redo the body. That happened about a month ago and here is what came out of the respray:

This is before any clear coat or major buffing

It definitely got me moving on this one again!

So after that, I cleared it and buffed it out. Then I decided to mask up the body for some black trim painting. Here's what became of that:

This one here is rattle can all the way! It's a mixture of black primer and Tamiya Gunmetal oversprayed for the proper hood blanket look.

The bonus is the texture is spot on too!

The roof molding here doesn't look that bad in person, but I've cleaned it up some, and can do some more yet.

(I actually brushed those lines down the roof! Slooowww and steeaady sometimes just isn't enough )

Edited October 25, 2007 by dub

[dub]

Next I moved on to the chassis. I sprayed the inner fenders red and did a lot of overspray on the interior bucket as a base.

All of the work in the next two pics was done right after I picked it up.

Since the front suspension was already done, I figured the rear should be done.

Which brings me to the first modification to the build. Can't use those terrible plastic kit springs where one can see them!

I'm also pleased with the finish I achieved on the rear parcel shelf:

I have some more pics to post but it's late and I'm too tired to type anym........ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

:lol:

[Mr. Can Am Garage]

I like it, I like it!

[Zoom Zoom]

Cool! They're fantastic little cars, I drove one before and it was much better than I expected...I liked it better than the SVT Contour and '97 Cobra that I also drove on the same day...I have a lot of Ford friends

Nice to see it stock, most builders go straight for that gawdawful bodykit that Revell puts in there

[dub]

I agree. I would not have bought this kit if I wasn't sure I could build it stock. There is one that is parked on the street near my house once and while. It is also red and it was just beckoning me to build it. When I saw how good the kit is, there was no way I was going to do the tuner style. Since then, Nick showed me the tuner can look good too, but I needed convincing!

Thanks for the comments, guys! I will have some more posted tonite.

[cruz]

I love this little model also, there is something about it when you look at it in scale, Nick's Focus is also coming out very nice, I love the color he chose for it. This one is turning out to be very cool also, keep up the good work.............

[Zoom Zoom]

For the stock wheels/tires on this (and other Revell tuners) you know that Revell's tires are pretty skinny rim protectors. If you have any Polar Lights (or AMT) '04/'05 GTO's the tires from that kit fit the Revell rims perfectly and give you a more realistic sidewall and fill up the wheel openings. The GTO tires fit the Revell wheels like they were made for 'em.

[dub]

Thanks for the tip! I noticed that too. Why Revell couldn't supply two sets of tires is beyond me. I did already find some suitable tires in my stash that will work just fine.

I also agree with liking the 1:1 car too, Bob. It's rare Ford gives us a small car with class. This one just oozes with it.

[Zoom Zoom]

I also agree with liking the 1:1 car too, Bob. It's rare Ford gives us a small car with class. This one just oozes with it.

The value of the used SVT Foci just went up with Ford's hideous revamp of the Escort...uh, Focus. I guess they felt their only competition was the Saturn Ion, so they aimed really low

[dub]

Yeah, it seems like auto manufacturers can't keep a good thing. In Europe, they have/had a Focus RS that had even sharper teeth than our SVT. It was something like 210HP with the six-speed and a Quaife brand limited slip! The British printed VW mag I read did a comparo a few years ago with the GTI, the Civic SI and the Focus RS. The Focus impressed the V-dub guys enough that they gave it first place over the VW!!!! Too bad we'll never see anything like that.

Edited October 19, 2007 by dub

[Nick F40]

you just had to build one after seein mine

[dub]

you just had to build one after seein mine

I told you that I had to finish mine now!

Yeah, you did inspire me to move forward. I'm hoping to have this done in two weeks so I can show it off.

Are you going to the Nov. meeting?

[MrObsessive]

That's coming out great Jonathan! Whose paint did you use? That's a nice rich shade of red.

The value of the used SVT Foci just went up with Ford's hideous revamp of the Escort...uh, Focus. I guess they felt their only competition was the Saturn Ion, so they aimed really low

Hey I like my Saturn!

Although I would have liked the Redline version even better!

[Nick F40]

oh great you got Bill talkin about his Saturn now!

ya, i come to every meeting

[dub]

Cool, we'll have to do a photo shoot together! ( of the cars... )

That's coming out great Jonathan! Whose paint did you use? That's a nice rich shade of red.

Thanks, Bill!

I used ordinary Duplicolor touch-up spray right out of the can. I did however use clear lacquer over the base color. That seemed to deepen it a few more degrees! I also used two layers of primer under the color too. That's probably why the plastic didn't craze.

Anyway, I will have some more to show when I get home later.

Stay tuned!

[dub]

OK, next was installing the rear suspension on the chassis and trial-fitting it to the body:

Oh yeah, I installed the taillights and headlight lenses too. The headlights bother me a little because the cement tinted the reflectors blue.

sorry for the not so great pic here but it shows off the paintwork on the console pretty well.

more to come.....

[dub]

A couple more pics...

[dub]

And now, for my 100th post the good stuff! This is the part everybody loves, the "stance check".

Now is definitely not the best time to do it. The time to do it is when you haven't painted anything; during mockup at the beginning.

Well, I'm still a newbie and I sometimes have to learn the hard way.

See for yourself:

Anybody have a nosebleed? It's making me scared of heights!

Bah, I'm not worried about it. I can fix it. Just something to insure that my spare time this weekend is filled.

So that's it for now. I have to do some more painting on the interior and finish assembling it while I figure out how to get all that air out of the fenderwells.

Any suggestions or comments are always welcome!

[Zoom Zoom]

Don't worry over the ride height; it's standard with the majority of kits

I've learned to attach the brake to the wheel, and then get the car on scale jackstands (a stack of business cards works well) so that when you slip the wheels under the car the ride height is where you want it. Either trim material away (from the back of the brake or from the suspension/spindle area) if they stick too far out, or add styrene shims (flat stock, tubing, whatever) to widen the track. Using a Dremel and some Evergreen styrene rod/tubing in a few different sizes makes it easy. Sometimes it's as easy as whittling down the size of the spindle/axle so that there's some slop in the wheel where it's glued. Or open up the hole on the inside of the wheel where the spindle attaches; modify the hole into a vertical slot to adjust ride height, or simply drill out the hole so there's vertical and horizontal adjustment to center the wheel as well.

[dub]

Thanks for the advice, Bob! I will definitely use that on future builds. I did some fiddling last night and got the rear where I want it. I'll get the front down and be back with more pics this weekend.

[cruz]

Hey, look at it this way, if you have a nose bleed and it gets on the car it won't get noticed Bob,s recommendation is very good, don,t worry, we all learned the hard way, personally I am still hitting some walls myself Nice job man!!!!!!!

[fatherdevine]

Hey, look at it this way, if you have a nose bleed and it gets on the car it won't get noticed Bob,s recommendation is very good, don,t worry, we all learned the hard way, personally I am still hitting some walls myself Nice job man!!!!!!!

Wow! Bob that really is a great tip to create a vertical slot to lower the ride height. I am racing to my workbench to drop a 37' ford in da weeds. The SVT is coming along quite nicely, keep up the good work.

________________________________________________________________________________

______________________

Tony Crawley

I am still suffering from modelers ADD

[dub]

QUOTE(marcos cruz @ Oct 20 2007, 07:06 PM)

Hey, look at it this way, if you have a nose bleed and it gets on the car it won't get noticed Bob,s recommendation is very good, don,t worry, we all learned the hard way, personally I am still hitting some walls myself Nice job man!!!!!!!

:lol:

Funny stuff!!! Thanks Marcos, I appreciate it!

OK, I'm back with some progress. The rear was pretty easy. All I had to do was trim the "shocks" down at the top and throw some lowering blocks in at the bottom.

The fronts, however, were a different story. They required a bit more disassembly and a bit more re-engineering.

After cutting the brakes off, I glued some blocks to the top of the A-arms. I also threw in some shims to keep the track as wide as it should be.(thanks, Bob )

Then I cut some of the strut body out to go with the brakes new home.

Edited October 26, 2007 by dub

[dub]

Ahhhh, MUCH BETTER!

I still have some fine tuning to do, but the hard stuff is out of the way!

I'm going to try to tackle the headliner next, once I finish buttoning the suspension back up.

It seems like every time I look at this now, despite how close to finished it looks, I realize just how much there is to be done yet.

Good thing I enjoy doing this!

[dub]

Just a quick update...

When I broke down the front suspension to adjust the ride height, I screwed up the paint on the strut tower with the CA de-bonder. (careful with that stuff; heed the warning on the label!)

so I masked her up and shot 'er again:

...that's better!

Next, I figured a test fit of the interior with side panels and dash in place was a good idea.

You can see a little of the headliner color on the left above.

Lookin' good! Just needed a tiny bit of shaving off the top of the firewall to clear the dash.

I'm not too worried about the glass changing the fitment because they attach to troughs on the outside of the body.

Here's a progress shot of the interior:

Just need to finish the dashboard assembly and the controls and I can call the interior done.

Closer and closer....