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.....found the owner's website which contained lots of useful information to enable him to successfully install his new Mondeo engine.
"The engine is slightly longer so you have to cut the chassis rails to clear the pulley and all that," he explains. "While I was doing the new engine I thought I'd better go for a five-speed gearbox instead of the four-speed 1100 Fiesta one I was using. This is a five-speed Fiesta item."
Aside from the chassis alterations Ronnie also had to fabricate his own exhaust manifold and engine mountings and fit a Formula Ford alternator - the only one he could find which was small enough to fit into his cramped engine bay.
So did Ronnie experience any problems with the build? "Nothing I couldn't sort with a grinder or welder," he says with a smile. That's what we like to hear, a man who knows his tools, although my personal weapons of choice are cable ties and Super Glue - and you'd be amazed what I've achieved with them.
"There was nowhere to run a distributor with the Zetec so I needed to buy engine management as well," he points out. "I bought a Dunnell kit with the management, a part loom, the inlet manifold for the Webers and all the fitting kit." he explains
But although he'll happily knock up his own roll cage, Ronnie is not so confident when it comes to electrics and called an autoelectrician to do the fancy stuff. It was money well spent as the car fired up straight away and has been good as gold ever since.
"It's a bit of an animal on the road," Ronnie confesses." It understeers when you put the power down and it's a lot of power for the chassis. It's got 127 bhp at the wheels, so that's about 155/160 at the flywheel," he continues. "My next plan, when I've saved more money, is to get some head work and change the cams to take it up to 190 bhp, or even the magic 200."
Because the project took so long to get finished Ronnie only managed a couple of outings at Knockhill during the 2003 season, but he plans to make up for it this year with regular outings from March to October.
When he first started his track days his lap time was 72 seconds, that came down to 62 with more powerful engines and experience, and now with the Zetec he hopes to dip under the minute barrier.
So when you were sitting down to the Great Escape or Goldfinger on the telly over Christmas, Ronnie was probably pouring over the in-car videos he takes at his track days, to work out where he can shave fractions of a second of his lap time. Now that's commitment.
TECH SPEC
Body
Mk1 Fiesta, full strip and respray, bumpers removed, new wings (inner and outer), new front panel and bonnet, rolled arches.
Engine
2-litre Mondeo Zetec, Fiesta oil and water pump, baffled Escort sump, Dunnell lightened flywheel, ARP rod bolts, Dunnell engine management, powder coated rocker cover, 45 DCOE Weber carbs, Mkll XR2 radiator and expansion bottle, hoses from assorted cars, custom-made oil separator and swirl pot, Formula Ford alternator, DIY exhaust manifold, Scorpion exhaust, approx 127 bhp.
Transmission
RS Turbo 220 mm clutch, XR2i 16-valve starter, five-speed gearbox with top secret ratios, Quaife Torque Biasing diff.
Suspension
Leda height and camber adjustable shocks on the front, Leda 24 position adjustable shocks on the rear, 6 inch rear springs, 10.5 inch front springs, uprated polybushes all round, TAS spherical bearing top-mounts.
Brakes
Mkll XR2 servo, master cylinder and pedal box, braided hoses, brake bias, XR2 discs on the front, standard callipers, Mintex 1155 brake pads, standard Lucas drums on the rear, Lucas Dot 5.1 brake fluid.
Wheels And Tyres
Revolution RFX five-spoke 6x13 inch alloys with 185/60x13 inch tyres, either Yokohama or Dunlop, depending on conditions.
Interior
Stripped interior, custom-made roll cage, Sparco bucket seats, Willans harnesses, alloy pedals, Mountney three-spoke steering wheel, Stack rev counter, additional dials.
Thanks
My wife Lorraine, Jimmy Canthay, Garry Dawson, Neil Dunbar, Dunnell Engines, Brian Fletcher, Hydrasun.
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