November 1998

30.11.98
Discovered two pairs of front hub assemblies at my parents. I've now dismantled one of them, and I now have a painted, ready to be reassembled near side front bearing carrier. Bought a pair of front hubs from the Ford dealer. They had a new Cougar parked outside. Looks alright I suppose. Not quite as ugly as the new Focus though. Got a price for a pair of 40DCOE's. £203+VAT each! Yipes! Compomotive Wheels are looking at supplying me with details on their five spoke MO (Motorsport) range. I want to fit 4-pot brake calipers, so I'll have to use 15" rims. But I want to go wider than 6J, hopefully I'll be able to get some 7" or 8" wide rims in the arches. I'm awaiting their reply on availability, fitments etc. The old Lancia Integrale's had 5 spoke rims, and I think they'll suit the car quite well.
27.11.98
Bought some Plus Gas, which is used to loosen fasteners that have rusted. I've left the driveshaft soaking in it, and I'll try removing the hub over the weekend. I painted all the front suspension parts with red oxide primer. Visited the Ford dealer to see how much new front hubs cost (I've heard that they are known to break, so I want to use new ones), and they're £71.55 each (Part no. 6078997) The bearing carriers are no longer available, which is a shame. I do have a load of front suspension spares round at my parents, so on Monday I'm going to collect them. Hopefully I've a spare near side front bearing carrier, because if I cant remove the drive shaft from the one I've got, I'll need to use another one. As far as I know, the carriers on the XR2 Mk1 are the same spec as for all the other Mk1 Fiesta's. The blue Fiesta in the Gallery was reshelled in to the red XR2 shell, hence the abundance of spares.
24.11.98
Sheared the bolt from the hub puller! Tried another bolt. Even heated the hub with a blow torch, for about 15 minutes, but its not going to come out. Removed the bearing carrier assembly and placed it vertically in the vice. I've filled the top of the hub with WD40, on the off chance that the oil will seep down through the splines, and free the drive shaft. Its still under pressure from the puller too, which should help.
23.11.98
I cannot get the front hub off. I bought a puller from Halfords on Sunday (they had some new ones in stock), and no matter how much I tighten the bolt up, the hub doesn't want to budge. I've even put a piece of scaffolding on the end of the tommy bar, and jumped up and down on the end of it, but its not going to shift!
Its war tonight!
20.11.98
I've managed to track down "Baines Racing Engines", at last. They've an advert in this weeks Motoring News. I called them, and they were sooo helpful. Not! Apparently, the body work on their Fiesta was hand made from sheet steel, and if I want the same panels, it'll cost £2000. And believe me, I had to really work for that information. Now I know why they don�t advertise every week. Well, they dont want any business from me anyway. Failed to get a hub puller. I tried Halfords, A1 and even Goodes, and none of them have one in stock. Hopeless. I'll order one from Demon Tweeks today.
Removed offside front suspension, and removed the bearings from the bearing carrier. Removed all the rust from the carrier, and the TCA and tie-bar, and painted with red oxide paint.
18.11.98
I cant remove the nearside drive shaft. Broke my hub puller trying! I'm going to buy a new puller on Friday, as I've a day off work.
17.11.98
Jacked the front of the car up, and removed both front wheels. Removed the drivers side drive shaft from the front hub, but struggled with the passenger side, as its rusted in place. I've left it soaking in WD40 so it comes out easier tomorrow night.
13.11.98
Fast Ford magazine want me to send in some photos of the car, so maybe its going to be featured in a future issue...
11.11.98
Have you seen the December issue of Fast Ford? They've taken my idea of the Zetec Inside logo, and have copied it for a Cossie Inside and Turbo Inside logo! Imitation is the greatest form of compliment, I suppose....
10.11.98
Today I ordered the Gp.A drive shafts. I'm also having new outer CV joints, as the original ones are 15 years old, and are due for replacement anyway. Delivery date is w/b 7th December. I had to provide the length of the shafts, with the car sitting on its wheels, and with the car jacked up, with the wheels hanging in the air.
Called Rally Design re:the top mounts. They're still out of stock, so I may have to wait another couple of weeks. No hurry!
07.11.98
I've found a supplier for the drive shafts. I can't use shafts from another Fiesta, because the track on the Mk1 XR2 is apparently not the same as later Mk2 and Mk3 Fiestas, (the Mk3 is definitely wider, and therefore the shafts would be too long) so I'm having two Gp.A spec shafts made to length. Lead time is four weeks.
03.11.98
Ordered a pair of Spherical Bearing Top Mounts from Rally Design. They're for the AVO adjustable shock absorbers that I've bought.