"Saving Ford's hot hatch from becoming a fridge"
A resource site for owners of the Mk1 & 2 Fiesta

Project Bobcat Ford Fiesta resource site

Full Mk1 XR2 Restoration

Leslie Haire

Author: Leslie Haire | Photographer: Leslie Haire

A huge thanks to Leslie (xr2000) for providing the words and images.

New parcel shelf

I didn't know how easy it was to get the back seat apart , car will be sorn end sept so that's the time to do it. In the mean time to hide the rust, the Postman brought me this mint mk2 xr2 parcel shelf with no speaker holes ,mk1 items are a bit hard to find now and as I already have mk2 xr2 shelf supports fitted it dropped straight in but there is a bit of a gap between the back seat now that I wasn't expecting, mk2 must be a bit different.

Image

Parcel shelf

I put the mk2 shelf supports in, (the car was stripped to a shell for painting anyway) when I got them with some mk2 rear seat-belts as most mk1's didn't have rear seat belts fitted as it wasn't law till 1986.Most of the mk1 shelf supports I had seemed to be cracked anyway . I still think the wooden parcel shelf MIGHT have been the original as this was fitted to pre-facelift cars and mine was built Jan 82 only 4 months after my supersport and that expensive low mileage 1.3 gl from kgf had a wooden parcel shelf too and its 1982. I have 2 mk1 xr2 parcel shelfs but one is badly split but no speaker holes, the other has 2 big 6x9 holes cut in it which I can't work out how best to repair yet .I was thinking fibreglass resin and some of that bulkhead underfelt might do the job if I put a good layer on it either side to toughen it up a bit, never used fibreglass before though ...I did buy some high impact polystrene sheet but it isn't really what I was looking for when it arrived.

Id like to try and fix the one with holes first as its already fooked. These are what I have:

Parcel shelf 1 looks better than it is, split right across and held together with a plank of wood underneath:

1976 Ford Fiesta parcel shelf

Parcel shelf 2 with speak holes:

mk1 ford fiesta parcel shelf speaker holes

Happy Birthday UAL

Nothing to report other than UAL is 33 years old today(from registration date) so went out for a drive to celebrate. One of the segments on my cool roof clock stays on when it shouldn't so a 5 looks like a 6 so I get times like 5:60 instead of 5:50

MOT pass

Tightened up rear bearings a little and changed air filter and got another years Mot

Kilbroney Classic Car Show

Had a long drive to Kilbroney classic car show yesterday (218 mile round trip ) and one of the guys took this pic which I think looks well and we won club stand of the show

row of mk1 xr2's at kilbroney classic car show

Brembo discs and pads

Got the oil changed and put too much in and was burning oil so had to take a bit out again today. I decided to put the brembo discs and pads I got on instead of the green stuff pads as I had terrible vibration on braking for a long time now and getting worse which was doing my head in ,you can see pad transfer on the disc ,turns out I was sent escort discs which are thicker and have a different offset. Just fitted the pads for now but cleaned and remounted the discs to make sure then were sitting flat for and see how it goes ,left the red dot discs on for now but if the vibration doesn't go they will have to be changed.After 5 years the discs just lifted off thanks to a smear of copper grease before fitting.

green stuff pads and brembo discs fitted to fiesta mk1

Coolant leak

Got taxed up and away for mot , got nicely warmed up and into the centre was halfway though the test when I saw the steam rising from the bonnet, then it dropped a load of coolant in the centre, made a right mess in the engine bay and melted the coolant tank lid!

Fan failed to kick in , got it home and the fuse has melted into the side of the fan relay ,fuse not blown but a bit purple !

Oh and it passed!

coolant leak Image melted fan fuse

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Page Last Updated: Monday 18th of June 2018