[bringler26]

OK guys here's my idea. When I graduate from college I want to make my car a rwd beast. The thing is I would much rather use my zetec with a turbo of course. I guess what I am asking is what would I do for a transmission/ drivetrain? I would like to have a 6spd tranny if possible. If no 6 spd isnt there a bell housing you can buy to bolt up some years of the mustang's trans?

I was also thinking about retaining an IRS setup in the rear. Any input would be nice I would like to start a parts list and a source for those parts. I know lots of custom work would need to be done. I have alot of ideas if I can figure a way to make this work.

The reason I want to use the zetec is because thats what I have now and I feel it would be easier to not have to deal with making a custom wiring harness.


I hope someone on here can help me and any help will be appreciated.

Please dont tell me about how hard it will be or that I should go with some other engine.
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[trailbikerider]

I'm not sure if anybody's ever done a RWD conversion using the Zetec. I don't even think the Zetec is even setup to be able to use RWD.

 

[cjmartinyzx3]

actually it can be used RWD, the lotus 7 guys use the zetec. your going to need alot of work but it can be done.

 

[bringler26]

Sweet Now I just need to find the trans theyre using and where theyre getting it from andI may actually have a start beyond this thread.

 

[bringler26]

anyone else?

 

[age]

yes its cool to have something different and a rwd focus is definitely cool- if there was one available i'd buy it. but the cost and hassle involved would far outweigh the cool factor in my opinion. but thats just my opinion and im sure you've considered all of that so i wont say any more other than best of luck on the project.

i might just add one more thing. the focus is loved for the handling (mostly due to independant rear suspension). but the fwd layout is a bit of a liability so naturally, a rwd focus would appear to be perfect. But on the rwd v8 conversions i've seen, the independant rear suspension is replaced by a live axle. thus a big part of the cars' handling advantage is gone. suddenly, a rwd focus isnt as great as one would have hoped. i dont know if you can keep the IRS if you use the zetec engine. if you can find a way then a big well done. if it cant be done then its just another factor to be aware of. either way hope you achieve what you want.

i think you should start by finding diagrams or even a real life example of the full drivetrain used in the lotus 7 or any other car that uses a rwd zetec. take a real good look at how everything works, take measurements and see if that system can be modified to fit in the focus. this will be much easier than trying to find a mix and match of gearboxes, drive shafts etc. then look at how the suspension or drivetrain can be modified to keep the irs.

oh and i just remebered i've seen a thread somewhere about a guy with an RS who did a rwd conversion with the standard engine. it had full pictures and everything from start to finish. i think it was on a different forum but im not sure. i think a google search should find what you need. sorry but i dont remember if he kept the irs.

 

[pzev04boy]

www.Quad4rods.com makes a rwd bellhousing to accept a t5.




Raceline make a water rail to relocate the thermostat housing.

Motor mounts too(good starting place to modify from)

Kugel components makes the kit to bolt in an 8.8 rear end.

Also the front cross member will be needed.

Engine cradle.

Some custom power steering & coolant hoses will be needed, as well as a different oil pan with a sump on the flywheel side. But it can all be done. Different rack & pinion & steering shaft are needed as well.

Expect to pay about 6000-8000 for the parts alone to swap it to rwd.

A mild 300whp rwd zetec would be fun. Keep in mind that the handling won't suffer too much because a lot of the issue with the v8 swap is it puts a lot of weight in the front of the car.

 

[bringler26]

Awesome finally getting somewhere. Thank you everyone for helping me out. The price tag really doesnt bother me as it will be a multi year process and something I want to do as much by myself as I can. What would I do about a clutch for this since I obviously couldnt use the mtx-75 clutch but would I be able to find one that would match up to a zetec flywheel for the t-5?

 

[bringler26]

Sticking with the zetec should help handling as someone mentioned as well because it is much lighter than a big ass v-8 being stuffed in that is something that must be taken into consideration. something I was just thinking of to retain the irs would to modify something off of a mustang that has an irs these are all things to be considered.

Right now I am just trying to figure out whether I will be able to do this in general and start making a list of parts it will have to wait till i graduate from school but I may start collecting parts now before they dissappear.

 

[G-forces]

www.Quad4rods.com makes a rwd bellhousing to accept a t5.

That's cool! Thanks soooo much for the link. I'm not doing the RWD conversion on my DD Focus, but knowing about them (all those pre-fabbed parts) might come in handy someday. :thumbup:

Bringler26... good luck with the conversion. Keep us posted on the build.

 

[bringler26]

I have to start collecting parts and that unfortunately wont happen till next summer unless I get a source of income while I'm here at school. Maybe Ill win the lottery which I dont play.

 

[LornesBored]

^^ we all have these 'after college' dreams, don't let it die.

I have similar aspirations, but starting from the ground up on a shell

 

[guitarseth]

What's to stop a person from doing a mix and match IRS? This is coming from a person who has very little idea what all is involved with RWD suspension setups. Custom axles can be built pretty easily, no? Any reason you can't find a rear diff off of whatever car you want, take spindles off a RWD vehicle and get shorter axles to fit the narrower Focus?

You might have to toss the whole Control Blade rear suspension the window and fab up a few new connection points, that's not really going to be that much of a PITA in conjunction with all of the other work involved in converting to RWD. Everyone talks about the X-type having such a similar suspension setup, you might be able to run the full IRS off of it, and just get away with shorter axles.

I'm probably all wet, but it doesn't really seem like that much of a stretch to be able to build your own rear suspension from a few random makes of car.:dunno:

 

[bringler26]

I never really thought about mix and match. Something that just popped into my head is what about an awd mazda speed 6 its awd couldnt I just take the rear out of that or any similar sized car. Once again I may point out that fabrication isn't going to be a big deal cause well lets face it your going to have to do some to make it work right. Who knows maybe I can track something down from our euro friends to make it happen The search will begin and so will the head scraching(sp?).

 

[bringler26]

^^ we all have these 'after college' dreams, don't let it die.

I have similar aspirations, but starting from the ground up on a shell

I dont plan on letting it die I am hoping to start an engine build to get off on the right foot. I figure this is as good as any place to start and if all else fails I will have a built motor to put into my car and leave FWD.