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.....Running between the engine and the axle is a five-speed Quaife unit, which has been as reliable as the rest of the car. With around 170 bhp atthe wheels, Craig's Fiesta has the potential to be something of an upstart. It has won a rally sprint and gives more modern (and much more expensive) machinery a run. According to the owner, "It holds its own, it's fun to drive and anyway, I'm a sideways driver."
Talking of steering, there's a quickrack and Capri crossmember, and they've stood the rigours of Welsh rallying without any hiccups. Continuing the budget theme, Craig managed to grab a full roll cage out of Motorsport News for £70. It was a lucky find because, as he points out, Fiesta cages don't crop up all that often.
Inside it's pretty basic, as you'd expect. There's an OMP steering wheel and lightweight seats, but the original dash board has been retained. It's a surreal experience to see the contrast between the original, factory-fitted parts and Craig's rally additions.
Meanwhile, because of the Fester's straight body, Craig laid on some Ford Imperial Blue, the colour used on Mondeo ST200s. In some lights it's almost purple, and it really suits the car. In fact the night before we met up for this feature, Craig had repainted the bottom half to keep up its top-class appearance. "I think rally cars need to look good - we're ambassadors for the sport after all. If someone turns up to a rally and sees scruffy cars it's not presenting a good image, and that might not encourage people to get involved," Craig says.
There's also a set of MC Rallying GRP2 wheelarches to keep the rubber covered, but, "I didn't fit the sills as I thought they would make the car look too townified." However, don't for one moment think Craig's afraid of using it the way he intended. "I've had some big offs in it. The first time was in a local event, when the tyres were too wide. We were doing 80 in third when it started aquaplaning, so basically there were two passengers on board. We ended up sliding off the road, breaking a half-shaft and sticking the wheel right up in the arch. Mind you, I try not to make a habit of it," he says.
Quite right too, because while the Fiesta might see plenty of action, it would be a pity if it ended up as a pile of bits in a Welsh ditch. Hopefully that won't happen, but if you're down in West Wales and happen to catch a rally, don't be surprised if you see this little terror giving the bigger and more expensive cars a run for their money......
Captions -
Top-Right - 2-litre Zetec dumped the injection and now breaths through Webers and has a custom exhaust system exting throught the offside rear wing.
Middle - We ended up sliding off the road, breaking a half shaft and sticking the wheel right up in the arch
Bottom - REAR DRIVE The XR2 delivers the Zetec's 170 brake through a Quaife five-speed box down to an English axle. The choice of axle is simply down to weight, as the more common Atlas is heavier.
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