Something just wasn’t right with my first SVT, it wasn’t over heating, and it wasn’t loosing coolant, but the system was not building pressure after a long drive. I decided to just tear into it as a preventative measure. Low and behold I found my problem. The car was still equipped with it’s OE water pump, and the housings are known for the water flow ring to separate. That is what happened here, however I caught it soon enough that water was still flowing, but very slowly. So slow that the only flow was to the heatercore, which may be why the engine is still fine, as it had been very cold lately and I had the heater on. But with it warming outside now, I wanted to dig in and find the problem.
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Awful never fails to live up. Rear caliper bolts are stripped, toe arms are mangled. Strut mounting bolts are rounded off.
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These things are sent to try us. Perks of old cars, you never know who’s been there before.
However, sounds like you could use a visit from famed UK based super hero Angle Grinder Man - yes, an actual person.
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doesn’t he just remove parking boots though? 
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Yeah but I reckon he would still be able to assist with Lordred’s nuts.
When not saving people paying parking fines anyway.
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At this point Awful has no more loose, missing, or stripped hardware. It is 100% back to it’s factory glory in terms of performance and handling aspects.
I’ve replaced every bushing, ball joint, link and so on on the suspension. I did a huge re-gasket and coolant overhaul, and I’ve removed the entire A/C system from the engine bay. I now need to install a set of Focus SVT brakes on the front, and get a 4 wheel alignment. Then Awful should be ready to hit the track in March!
Man, these last two months of just ripping the Awful apart to fix it up, my garage has been an absolute disaster, I’ve had to park the Focus outside at night way more than I ever wanted to (I know, woe is me, parking outside) It’s nice to be able to fit both cars in the garage again.
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I need to get a wind sock, it is very windy out here, almost all the time.
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3L Block out of a '03 Ford Escape, heads are in the scrap pile, block is now pulled bare. I will be taking the block to a machinst to have it checked for true bores, and to find out if I need to order OE, or oversize pistons. Crank will be inspected. I’ll be ordering all new rods, one of them were bent in this engine.
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I’m starting the real work now, these intake and exhaust ports on the factory castings are frankly, awful. The fact that these things are rated at 200hp with the 2.5L, and these have port quality like this. Well there is just HP on the table here waiting to be taken.
I mean this is like -5 quality on heads in automation bad.
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Crikey that really is a poor finish, that’s like the stories you hear about BL castings - just that this doesn’t still have casting sand laying around.
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Waiting on my pistons for the engine. Still porting heads, but the weather is nice, I’ve taken the side dingers off the doors, and still love how the car looks.
I know it may sound odd, but this car is more comfortable than the Focus, has a better sound track, is quieter on the highway (despite being louder on the outside), but gets a solid 5-10mpg less on avg. Is slower, and is not quite as nimble as the Focus. However with each passing mod, that gap gets tighter and tighter. I’m now considering doing paint corrections instead of a re-spray to the car, and the Red wheels just really fit the vehicle to me no matter what anyone else says. It is thoroughly my car, with it’s black hood, pre-face lift trunk and tail lights, two tone interior.
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Looking good, I’m not surprised about the comfort. I own a '94 Taurus SHO and I’ve got more headroom in that than a modern focus, fiesta, or fusion.
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Angry V6 Crackle noises
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I tried having the volume control on Automatic this time, I don’t like the result, I’ll have to try again on manual like I did before. Still learning, but here is how #2019 sounds.
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I got my block back from the machinist. Bore aligned, honed to 89.75mm (Final displacement 3018cc, up from 2544cc) and a completely balanced rotating assembly.
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I’m sure you guys get bored to death of me and my Contour, so how about I keep the pressure up?
I’m selling Awful, I’ve made the executive decision to no longer pursue turning the car into a dedicated track car. Instead I have found another SVT, in the best color, in amazing condition, and only owned by one person who took amazing care of it. So Awful will leave my fold, and another SVT that I will keep as a show piece, possibly even an investment, as I think the value of these is on the rise, will take it’s place.
So today I assault you with some nice photos of #2019 after spending way to much time detailing and cleaning it, a much cleaner exhaust video, and the suspense of what is to come.
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