How To Make A Ford Focus ST Lookalike

By
James Simpson
– 15 December, 2009Posted in: Tutorials / How To's

I get asked on a daily basis how I turned my car from a standard Ford Focus Titanium into a Ford Focus ST Lookalike (Replica). This process is pretty easy, but can be expensive (although I managed to get my bits rather cheap as no one had done this before).

Anyway, this is how my car first started off life (photo taken from dealers website):

This was just a basic 2.0l Focus Titanium Duratec Spec (the highest standard focus spec you could get), which features Alloy Wheels, Power Assisted Steering (PAS), Auto Headlights, Auto Wipers, Sony Stereo (plus audio upgrade), Top Storage Pocket, Fog Lights, 3 Spoke Steering Wheel, Air Conditioning, Heated Front & Rear Screen…

What You Need

To be honest, there isn’t THAT much which needs replacing to create your very own ST Lookalike. Below I have listed all the parts needed to change on a MK2 Focus (There is now a face lift – MK2.5 which is different completely), I have also added the Ford part numbers and guide prices for these products brand new from Ford (prices change all the time):

Front

  • Front Bumper – 1378131 ≈ £125.00
  • Upper Grill – 1421597 ≈ £13.92
  • Upper Grill Seal – 1367135 ≈ £4.50
  • Lower Grill – 1369475 ≈ £22.67
  • Fog light Cover Left – 1370340 ≈ £9.62
  • Fog light Cover Right – 1366989 ≈ £9.62
  • Fog light Surround Left – 1386652 ≈ £9.89
  • Fog light Surround Right – 1383371 ≈ £9.89

Side

  • Wing Mirror Indicator Left (only needed if you do not have indicators here already)
  • Wing Mirror Indicator Right (only needed if you do not have indicators here already)
  • Wing Mirror Cover Left
  • Wing Mirror Cover Right

For a 3 door Focus (side skirts are different for 5 door Focus’s)

  • Side Skirt Left – 1387282 ≈ £94.00
  • Side Skirt Right – 1387281 ≈ £94.00

For a 5 door Focus

  • Side Skirt Left – 1387288 ≈ £112.30
  • Side Skirt Right – 1387287 ≈ £112.30

Rear

  • Rear Bumper – 1424081 ≈ £176.36
  • Fog light Cover Left – 1378129 ≈ £7.54
  • Fog light Cover Right – 1378128 ≈ £7.54
  • Fog light Surround Left – 1406907 ≈ £9.89
  • Fog light Surround Right – 1406906 ≈ £9.89
  • Focus ST Spoiler – 1554920 ≈ £71.05

Interior

  • Focus ST Steering Wheel – 1438921 ≈ £307.55
  • Focus ST Turbo Pod (you can only have this if you have a top pocket on your dash – usually only in Ghia / Titanium models)
  • Focus ST Seats (Recaro)
  • Focus ST Gear Knob (I replaced mine with a Fiesta ST gear knob as standard Focus’s only have a 5 speed box – unless you have a diesel) Fiesta ST Gear Knob – 1341488 ≈ £48.12
  • Focus ST Pedals (have not fitted these to my car as there is so much hassle)

How To Fit It [COMING SOON]

You will need to set a day aside to do this.

Front Bumper Removal
The front bumper can be quite tricky and fiddly. You will need to jack the car up and remove the two front wheels, you will then need to remove the front wheel arch lining (these are held on by Torx screws), once this is done, there are two bolts each side holding the front bumper in.

You will now need to open the bonnet, and remove the slam panel (this is held in by a few positive plastic screws). Once you have undone the screws, the panel should just lift off.

Now you need to remove the front grill, BUT THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, DO NOT PULL AND TUG AT THE BONNET LOCKING MECHANISM, THESE UNITS ARE VERY FRAGILE AND A FEW OF US HAVE BEEN LOCKED OUT THE BONNET. Carefully pull the clips on each side of the locking mechanism and slide the lock out slowly, while pulling the grill out. (DO NOT LET THE LOCK HANG DOWN, I DID AND GOT LOCKED OUT OF THE BONNET, USE A COKE CAN OR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO KEEP THE LOCK HORIZONTAL)

You will now need to remove the headlights from the car, these are held in with one torx bolt on the top of the light, and these will just slide out and unplug

You will now see there are plastic type clips holding the bumper in place, starting from one end, just push the clips down and pull the bumper out at the same time and the bumper start to come out.

You will now need to unclip the fog lights (if fitted to your car)

Front ST Bumper Fitting

Here’s the image of how the front bumper goes together.

Rear Bumper Removal
The rear bumper is one of the easiest parts to fit. First you need to jack the rear end of the car up, and remove both rear wheels (use axle stands to hold the car up).

You will now have to remove the rear part of the wheel arch lining (these are held in by Torx Screws) once you have undone these, if you look straight up, you will notice two bolts holding the white plastic bumper support to the body of the car (this is either 10mm or 12mm – cant remember off the top of my head)

You will then need to crawl under the back of the car, and you will notice two plastic positive screws holding the bottom of the bumper in, these just unscrew.

Once you have un-done both sides, you will now need to open the boot and unscrew the two bolts either side of the boot.

Your standard bumper should now just pull off.

Rear ST Bumper Fitting
First here is an image of how everything goes together:

If you got your bumpers from a scrap yard, you may be lucky and have the support brackets already fitted to the bumper, if you got your bumpers direct from ford, you will not have the support brackets attached to the new bumper, which means you will have to drill the rivet out of your old bumper (holding the white plastic supports onto the bumper) and attach them to your new bumper (not forgetting the spacer you need to add to the bottom of the bracket – see above image)

Once you have the brackets on, you can now fit the bumper, this is pretty much the reverse of removing the standard bumper (you may need a friend to help you get the bumper in position) then first start by putting the sides in first (Don’t add the bolts under the boot lid just yet) and make sure the bolts are tight, and that the gaps are straight and level.

Now you can lift the bumper up at the back and add the two bolts under the boot lid now (this will now hold the bumper in place and all your gaps should be equal)

Now you will need to add the support brackets under the bumper (these brackets stop the wind catching the bottom of the rear bumper and pulling it away from the car), these are pretty straight foward to fit, but you will need your own nuts and bolts to fit these (if you need to go to B&Q to grab some, just zip tie the bottom of the bumper to the body brackets for now)

Side Skirts Fitting
There are a couple of ways to do this, one way (i would say the best way) is to use bolts under the car and double sided sticky trim tape (can get this from Halfords or a local body shop) and install this along the top edge of the side skirt. No need to drill any holes, everything should already be there for you.

If you look under the car, you will notice bolt holes, this is where the ST Side skirts bolt onto.

Completed Project

Here’s the most famous picture of my car, in its finished state, taken in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne at the Sage in Gateshead

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