Hey guys! So for the past year I have been preparing my 2003 Focus zx3 2.3l for stage rally. I always intended on posting stuff about the car on some forums during the build, but I never got around to it. After I finished up preparing the car and competing in my first stage rally, Gorman Ridge, I have some more time. The engine is mostly stock except for a Fswerks cold air intake (replaced the stock one because I didnt have enough underbody protection and the stock airbox got ripped off at a rally cross) and an fswerks race exhaust. The best part of the car is the suspension, I have custom bilstein inverted coilovers build by Doug Naggy at Streetwise Motorsports. The rear has been converted to coilovers rather than the stock spring and shock being separate.
I bought the car 3 years ago off craiglist for $800 with no car experience, just knew that I wanted to do rally. I set my sights on competing in rallycross and going to the California Rally School (If anyone is in California I would highly recommend taking that class). The cars life quickly got rough when the car got hit by a mail truck attempting to drift while it was parked (crazy I know). The post office paid out a pretty good settlement and the evolution to a full race car began. Ill post more detailed information regarding the car later. Now the car is finished and I have successfully completed Gorman Ridge Rally I figure I should get more active in the focus community. Im needing to do some engine and transmission work soon and need some help from some Focus experts. At the race I had some pretty bad overheating issues due to poor airflow so we finished the last half of the race without a hood!
I bought the car 3 years ago off craiglist for $800 with no car experience, just knew that I wanted to do rally. I set my sights on competing in rallycross and going to the California Rally School (If anyone is in California I would highly recommend taking that class). The cars life quickly got rough when the car got hit by a mail truck attempting to drift while it was parked (crazy I know). The post office paid out a pretty good settlement and the evolution to a full race car began. Ill post more detailed information regarding the car later. Now the car is finished and I have successfully completed Gorman Ridge Rally I figure I should get more active in the focus community. Im needing to do some engine and transmission work soon and need some help from some Focus experts. At the race I had some pretty bad overheating issues due to poor airflow so we finished the last half of the race without a hood!
![[cheers]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_cheers.gif "Cheers [cheers]"){kind=icon}
