Readly RF Feb 20

FIESTA XR2
oil pump, fuel pump, alternator and all necessary
pipework replaced. The car also and a complete
silicon hose kit fitted before getting a coat of paint
to brighten things up. The gearbox hadn’t fared too
well after being left outside as a garden ornament,
so that was whisked away for a full rebuild before
being treated to a fresh paint job. It’s a real joy to
look in the engine bay, everything fits perfectly from
the black and silver finned ‘Burton’ rocker cover
to the twin 40-Dellorto carbs, barking away on full
chat, to the shiny manifold and exhaust system
supplied by Emmit Flanagan. He runs a modified
Fiesta over in Southern Ireland, and it’s been done
the proper old Skool way! But even before you get
to take in the wonders of that, it’s the outside that
grabs your attention more than anything. For starters,
the fitment of the arches is second to none, and they
blend in so well with the front lip spoiler, and if you
look closely, the eagle-eyed among you may spot the
early Fiesta spec skinny bumpers. “I went for those
as I prefer the look over the originals,” smiles Niall.
“I made the quarter bumpers out of a second-hand
front bumper and added new indicators.” Again,
the quality of work is top class and a real credit to
Niall. “I’ve also fitted new lights with the rears being
aftermarket ones as originals were far too expensive
and the fronts are Mk1 Escort items as I just couldn’t
find the correct XR2 lamps. To look at you’d never
know. It’s all the little detailed bits like those which
make such a massive difference to the finishing
touches of any project, knowing you can improvise
gives great satisfaction.
“I’ve loved every minute of the three and a half
years that the project has so far taken,” says Niall
grinning from ear to ear. “It’s like building a big
Meccano set, slowly fixing it all together, finding
little tricks to getting jobs done and searching for
those hard to find parts. It all adds to the fun, I
think.” Talking about fun, there was some to be
had in between the hard toil of undertaking such
a build. “One thing springs to mind,” laughs Niall.
“My wife and I had talked through what colour to
get it painted, and we agreed it would have to be
Ford Performance Blue, the one that the modern
Mk7 ST comes in. We even had the paint delivered
to the paint shop. However, after speaking with
Finlay (before starting), I changed my mind and
went for black, but I didn’t tell my wife!”
“I was working away at the time, so she had to
drop off the doors and bonnet. On seeing the car,
it gave her a shock that he’d painted it the wrong
colour! We had a right giggle although she still says
to this day that it should be blue.”
Everyone needs some light-hearted moments
during a big build. “I’m glad to say the car didn’t
really throw up any major headaches, the welding
was my biggest challenge, but I learnt as I went
along. Any minor issues were solved with help
from members on the various Facebook Fiesta
group pages, so I thank all those people along with
everyone else who was involved. I would like to
thank my wife, Ann, for putting up with me! Finlay
Cameron Auto repairs, HBR fro the powder coating
and my brother in law Kenny.”
It just goes to show no matter what you’re faced
with, time and hard work can evolve a car (which was
near to being scraped) being reborn to live another
day. For now, all that remains is for Niall to get out and
enjoy the Fiesta he always wanted and planned. n
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