The car
I bought the car back in 1999, it was very different to how it looks now.
Mechanically it was standard but visually a bit different, it had the extra front and rear valences and the S1 stickers.
Shortly after buying it I crashed it, just a wee bump, but that was the start of the modifying journey which still hasn’t ended.
Modifications
So after getting the car repaired the S1 stickers came off as did the valences.
After that the first performance mod to be made was the exhaust. This was forced upon me sooner than planned due to the tailpipe falling off.
I choose a Mongoose stainless steel exhaust system comprising 2.5" bore from the turbo back and a rolled out 4" tail pipe. By adding the exhaust to the standard setup I gained about 5BHP taking the car up to 119BHP.
Next on the list was some engine work, so a wee trip to AVA in Glasgow was arranged to discuss what mod's could be made and the cost involved. I went for a Piper T282 high lift cam combined with turning up the boost pressure from standard to about 14psi. All this done I gained 34BHP taking the car up to a more respectable 153BHP. To compliment the higher boost setting I had a Bailey dump valve fitted.
With this increase in power I thought it would be a good idea to uprate the brakes. I choose EBC Greenstuff discs and pads for the front but left the rear drums and shoes as standard. There was a noticeable difference in stopping power over the standard brakes especially at high speed. Also I replaced the standard flexible brake hoses with stainless steel overbraided teflon brake hoses from Goodrich.
Further mod’s include getting it lowered so I went to a local aftermarket parts dealer and bought some cheap shocks and a set of PI lowering springs, these were fine at the time but after 30,000 miles the were knackered.
Time to replace them. "Koni Equipped" is what they say so that's what I did. I installed a set of Koni adjustable shocks and lowering springs to keep the ride height down 25mm and keep the aggressive stance. At the moment all the bushes on the car are standard and need replaced, I still haven’t got round to replacing them but when I do they’ll get replaced with a set of Powerflex bushes.
With the old CVH knocking on 120,000 miles it was starting to get a bit tired so I decided I needed to do some serious work on the engine so what were my options? First things first speak to someone in the know - AVA.
The options were:-
1. Rebuild the 1.6 CVH and strengthen it to cope with more power.
2. Replace it with a 1.8 zetec.
3. Go for the bigger 2.0 zetec.
The choice was easy…2.0 zetec please…so off it went to AVA.
The whole job comprised rebuilding a black top Mondeo Series 2 Zetec block, wire-ringed head gasket, modded T3 turbo, a custom built intercooler, a Helix paddle clutch, also the gearbox was overhauled while the engine was out.
Several weeks later I got the phone call I had been waiting for, time to pick the car up.
Getting behind the wheel for the first time of the RST/Zetec hybrid was quite exciting, I had been told the power output of the new engine was 174BHP. At the time I didn't think that was much an increase in power, however, when I got it on a straight bit of road and planted the right foot "oh my god!!" it was quick, for only 21BHP increase it felt extremely fast.
As with all power upgrades I got used to the power fairly quickly so I needed more, so back to AVA to turn up the boost from a measly 8PSI to 15PSI, this was enough to increase the power figure but another 22BHP to give me 196BHP.
Bodywork
Unless the car has been very well kept the chances of having mint bodywork is slim, mine was no exception a few bad areas of rust to worry about but no dents or bashes. time to call in a favour, I knew a guy who could do me a re-spray as a homer, he is a panel beater/spray painter by trade so I knew I could trust him.
Having looked at the condition of the bodywork I was advised to replace the bonnet, two front wings, two doors and the tailgate. It sounds like the car was falling apart but it wasn't as bad as it sounds the worst affected areas was the drivers door and front edge of the bonnet. This is the same bonnet that had been fitted after the crash roughly 2 years before.
Over the last few years I have purchased small items to improve the appearance of the car which I fitted myself these include registration plates with a RS Turbo logo on the left hand side, clear front indicators, clear side repeaters and smoked/red rear light lenses.
More recently I have cleaned up some of the original parts including the cam belt cover, air box, ignition coil, wiper motor cover, door handles and door locks and petrol filler cap. To do this I removed them from the car gave them a good clean with a degreaser and in some cases like the air box I gave it a sanding with wet and dry sandpaper, then sprayed them with Halford’s car paint and refitted them. It works out cheaper than buying new parts and they look just as good.
Most recently the mod’s I have done include a set of 17" Dezent Type `E' alloys finished in hyper silver, Racing mesh behind front bumper cut-outs, under bonnet detailing including chrome fuel pump cover & bracket, chrome coil cover & bracket, chrome suspension tops, chrome bonnet stay, coloured silicone tubing and finally I had the rocker cover powder coated blue.
Interior
Inside the RS is fairly standard with the exception of 3 new gauges from Auto Gauge so I can keep an eye on the volts, oil temp & oil pressure.
I also installed a set of Lockwood white dials.
The standard instrument cowl has been modified to house a boost gauge and engine start button.
The standard steering wheel was replaced early on with a Momo top power 300mm dia leather wheel, a total nightmare for doing 3 point turns but makes the car feel more like a go kart. Also a Momo leather and chrome gear knob was fitted.
I bought a Panasonic head unit from America a few years back which saved me a few quid.
In the boot is installed 2x500W rms Pioneer subs powered by an Alpine amp and I also installed JBL components in the front.
The very last mod I made was fitting a set of parking sensors to the rear bumper. These were painted to match the cars colour.
