BlazingCopper_ZX3

2005 Ford Focus ZX3

This is the story of a little 2005 Ford Focus ZX3 SE, that became the Ford “Bullitt” it is today.

I picked up this Blazing Copper jewel late in 2004. Originally I was looking for a different one on the dealers lot but the salesmen and I couldn't find it. I stumbled across this one and while it didn't have all the options I was looking for, it had enough and the price was right. So coming in short of my target price I was a happy camper. I had my basic commuter car.

I had heard of a “cabin air filter” that could be installed for a few dollars. My first Mod I thought. Alas it was not to be... Ford removed that in the 2005 model.
As time went on and my wounds healed I discovered other Mod that were possible on the 2005 model. Such as the “Fog Light Mod” that allows the fog lights to operate without the headlights being turned on. So you can run with fogs and running lights only.
The “Door lock LED mod” was next. This one allows the LEDs already installed in the door lock switches to light up. This is a simple case of wiring the LEDs in the door lock switches to a power source like the one in the window switches. Sweet the Door Locks now light up at night.

Next was the Chrome Grill Surround. It had to go. It's the only piece of chrome on the whole car, inside or out. I bought a silver one from the ST model and had it color matched to the body at the same time as the factory rear Mid-Wing Spoiler. After that the yellow side lights looked out of place. Their a different color than the body and don't quite match anything. So clear ones were in order, from eBay. Now these match the headlights and give the car an up-scale look.
Of course then the lower Grill Bar screamed to be painted Wrinkle Finish Black to match the fog light surrounds. And give it an aggressive look in the front.

After discovering the “Lifetime Air Filter” and six foot intake tube it was time for a Cold Air Intake. After some inspiration from the internet and a little poking around under the hood I developed the Stealth Cold Air Intake as an inexpensive alternative to others on the market today.
Then in the summer of 2005 I found the entire Sony Audiophile sound system on eBay for cheap and installed that. So with rockin' tunes and some more zip it was time to turn to the suspension.

The stock setup just didn't keep the tires stuck to the road during cornering as I would have liked. It was too easy to slide during hard cornering. So in the Fall of 2005 the SVT suspension was installed. As this was an SE model and the rear sub-frame doesn't have sway bar mounts the anti-sway bar was not mounted at the time. A 4 wheel alignment and camber adjustment was done to bring everything back to factory spec. This produced a much better feel during cornering.

Early in 2006 a Ford Racing Performance Products Strut Tower Brace was added to stiffen up the front end and help keep the tires flat on the ground. This combination worked well to keep the tires flat and square on the road during hard cornering.

A Short Throw Shifter was installed next to give the MTX-75 transmission a little better feel and quicker shifts.

During the Spring of 2006 the new rear Sub-Frame Member with easily adjustable camber and Anti-Sway Bar Mounts was added along with the SVT sway bar and a fresh new set of 17" EAP rims and BF Goodrich G-Sport KDW tires.
Another 4 wheel alignment and camber adjustment was preformed to square everything up and provide maximum tire contact during cornering.

Next it was time to turn to the binders. Since it now goes around corners pulling .75g’s it is time to make it stop quick enough to pull the eyeballs out of my head.
Russell Stainless Steel brake lines and EBC Green Stuff brake pads did the job.
A custom MagnaFlow exhaust an the SVT center console without the arm rest rounded out this build nicely.

So much for my basic commuter car. It's a real canyon carver now!