My RS2000 2WD - Updated!

[massivewangers]

Thought I'd start a little thread on this. Not a major project, just a nice, fun daily drive while I build the ZT saloon. No major plans at this stage for this, just tidy it up in places and make it a bit nicer. The Civic I've been using has been a great every day car, but a hatchback just makes life a bit easier, and I've been craving another one of these after having to sell on the aubergine example I had.

Picked it up last week, was advertised on PistonHeads. I went and viewed it, knocked a good bit off the asking price, and that was that. Red was never my first choice, but hey ho. It isn't the best example out there, but for the money I paid, you can't argue too much. Here's a few snaps I took last week, once I'd got it home:









It's covered 90k, came with a fair bit of history, has been owned by an RSOC member at some stage. It's standard with the exception of a Powerflow exhaust system, which is deathly silent. Has a good few months of MOT left too. Options wise, it's pretty basic; no passenger airbag, no heated front screen and no air con, but it does have an electric driver's seat, which my old one didn't have, despite having every other option ticked. There's also a Ford CD player fitted, but I'm not sure if that's factory fitted, or whether someone has added it later.

One of the main visual issues is the paint of course, which is a bit faded, specifically the spoiler and bump strips. I'll whip out the cutting compound and see what I can do with it. There are a few bits that will need sorting, but they can wait until the summer, when it's warmer and I can be bothered!

I've already removed the clear side repeaters and refitted the originals, as the clears were faded and cracked. I may change to smoked or clear again eventually, but I don't mind the ambers really, as I quite like the standard looks. Inside, as you can see, it doesn't look too bad. It's in reasonable condition. One of the B-pillar trims is broken, but I've orded another to replace it. The parcel shelf supports also look like this:







Deeply uncool, but I won some one ebay for a tenner, so hopefully they'll be here soon, so I can solve that issue. I also need the little studs that hold the shelf chords up, so will order those from Ford soon enough.

Other issues to note, are the lower arms being a bit on the rubbish side, the brakes are pants, as the disks look a bit worn, and the engine is a bit tappy. This does seem to come and go a bit, so it could well be the oil pressure relief valve. I've ordered the bits for this, and they turned up Friday, so hopefully it will be changed soon, along with an oil and filter change (which I also have). If it still taps, that just means a goosed lifter or two, so that can always be dealt with later. The radiator fan is a bit noisey too, so I might well replace that when I take the rad off to do the exhaust manifold modifications I plan.

Like I say, I don't have many modification plans as yet. Perhaps an exhaust change for something like a Mongoose, remove the APS system from the exhaust manifold, and probably switch to a Zetec coilpack, as on the F2 cars. Outside that, I'll see how I go. It will just be getting it up to mechanical scratch initially.

[massivewangers]

We even have our first little update! I got this from someone over on the RS2000 forum, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 16V RS2000:



I picked up some Puma door handles cheap on ebay. Think they smarten up the interior a bit. Here's one fitted:



The only other interior modification I'd really like to do is to change the gearknob. Just struggling to find one I like at the moment. I want something pretty simple, just with a silver insert or something, as I'm not keen on the standard one. Will have to see what comes up, as I don't want an aftermarket one, that's not my scene.

Like I said in the first post, I've ordered the bits to have the oil pressure relief valve sorted, and also have the following on order:

Parcel shelf supports
Passenger B-pillar upper trim

I may have sorted a couple of other bits too, but I shall keep that under wraps for now!

[RST-Steve]

Nice

[Daz-cos]

looking good. i like a nice rs2000. i knew you couldnt resist the RS bug for long.

[RST-Steve]

Forgot to say, that CD player will have been added later Jon, the standard was the RDS5000 radio/cassette like i had in mine......... the bloke who bought mine later put in the RDS6000 unit like what you've got

This has made me look at them again on pistonheads 

[massivewangers]

Get that Mondeo sold and get another Steve! Why have one RS when you can have two!

Great every day car I reckon. Though mine will be better when some niggles are fixed 

[massivewangers]

**8th February 2011**

Minor update! Nothing too major, but just fitting a couple of little tidy up bits.

First off, parcel shelf supports have been replaced, so the rear now looks like this:



A big improvement I feel. The alloy in the boot has a flat tyre. I was given it with the car. I may have a uni-directional tyre fitted and use it as the spare methinks.

Also, the rear wiper arm seemed a bit odd. Wasn't the right shape so sat funny on the rear screen. I raided the parts supply and found a replacement, so we went from this...



...to this:



I also got an OBD port cover out of the parts bin, as that was missing, but I didn't take a picture, as it isn't massively interesting!

And I've just got a quick pic of all the new parts to sort the oil pressure relief valve:



That should be sorted Saturday morning, meaning I can stop driving it like such a nancy  I'll be doing an oil and filter change Friday morning too, as the oil is black as night, so clearly hasn't been changed for a good while. Hopefully this and the work being done Saturday will help quieten it down a bit anyway.

Whilst driving back from Lauren's on Monday morning, the car started to misfire quite badly too. This seems intermittent, as it went away again after a couple of miles. I suspect it's the coilpack loom, as this was something my old one suffered from. Not a major worry, but will need addressing. I do know someone who makes reproduction looms, but I don't think I'll be going down that route, as I'm not a fan of the coil-on-plug system anyway; it suffers from heat damage far too much. So, instead, I'll be doing some very minor wiring modifications, and fitting a Zetec coilpack, a la RS2000 F2 cars, which should solve the problem, and make it a bit easier/cheaper to look after. New coilpacks are quite pricey, but Zetec ones are plentiful, and it shouldn't need replacing if I fit one. I'll just need to ask Mountune nicely to get hold of some F2 leads. And then bend over for the payment of course  I have the rest of the stuff I need in the shed anyway, so that's all good. The only real issue is fitting it all in. But I'll be removing the APS system from the exhaust manifold which will free up some space, and then I'll just have to modifiy the inlet bits to make some room. No big deal!

And finally, I need to make a list of parts I need from Ford to sort a few niggly issues. Mainly bolts and things for now, ready for doing exhausts and lower arms and things like that. I'm sure it will all add up though!

That's all for now...

[RST-Steve]

Get that Mondeo sold and get another Steve! Why have one RS when you can have two!

Great every day car I reckon. Though mine will be better when some niggles are fixed 

haha dunno about that but i totally agree, mine was a cracking everyday car...... and my only car at the time

That's the problem, i'll struggle to get one that good again should i one day get another 

[massivewangers]

I know of a couple of nice ones going.

There's a petrol blue one for sale at the mo, with diamond cut RS7s on I do believe. Only wants a couple of grand for it 

[RST-Steve]

Link please 



pmsl!!

[massivewangers]

Haha I think all was not as it seemed I'm afraid. Sounds like it turned out to be a cat C

If I see any others, I'll send you the links 

[cozmeister]

As long as it's not been repaired with blu-tak and double sided sticky tape it should be fine

[massivewangers]

Yes but we know Steve is a fussy so-and-so 

It does look a nice motor though to be fair!

[RST-Steve]

Yes but we know Steve is a fussy so-and-so 

You know it!

[massivewangers]

Gave it an oil change this morning. Old oil was black as night, doesn't look like it's been changed for a long long time!

Pressure relief valve is being rebuilt in the morning too, so hopefully it will be a bit happier after that 

[cozmeister]

As long as it stops, goes and generally gets up the noses of cocks in BMWs I wouldn't care if it were a write-off

[massivewangers]

Oil pressure relief valve rebuilt this morning. Engine is now quiet as a mouse  Chain does look like it needs doing, so will be looking into that soon. Next on the list however is a Zetec coilpack to try and cure the intermittant misfire.

Also picking up a spare exhaust manifold tomorrow, so the nasty APS gubbins can be removed and hopefully free up a couple of ponies 

[cozmeister]

Misfire?  Surely not...

Only when cold/hot etc?

[massivewangers]

Misfire now considerably worse  Stopped off at B&Q earlier and when I left, it wouldn't run without throttle, and won't sit at steady revs at all. Stinks of fuel as well. Goes away under load, but is there the rest of the time.

Coilpacks are being removed this week and a Zetec coilpack fitted, so will see what it's like after that. It could just be that the coilpack loom has broken down, so the Zetec swap will fix that issue.

If the misfire remains, then further investigation is required!

[cozmeister]

TPS OR map...

[massivewangers]

Coilpack loom will be the first port of call, as this is a hugely common problem and causes no end of running issues. After that, I'll start looking into other things 

[cozmeister]

Keep us posted, be rude not to

[massivewangers]

**Update 24th February 2011**

It lives again! Now running on a Zetec coilpack instead of the standard RS coils. A Bit bodged together at the moment, but the APS system is preventing me from mounting the coilpack where I really want it. But, it seems to run ok on the Zetec stuff. I've borrowed the leads from my CVH MK5 just to get it running, as Zetec leads don't fit. Had a coilpack laying about luckily, as well as the wiring for it. I'll be changing it around again soon, but need to get rid of the APS system so I can reposition the coilpack. No pics of it fitted yet, but the one below shows two of the original coil wires in a bad way, with bare cable showing:



Further to all that, with the APS needing to be removed; take one exhaust manifold:



Attack it with a grinder for a bit and remove these bits:



And you're left with this:









Then after a bit more of a clean up:



I want to get the mating face skimmed a bit as it's a bit pitted and nasty. The holes will be welded, and then it will be smoothed a bit inside and maybe fettled a bit more to ensure it's nice and free flowing. Then will heat wrap it and fit to the car. This should allow me to mount the coilpack where I want it, meaning I can neaten up the induction system whilst hopefully freeing up a bit more oomph as an added bonus.

Also, took a road trip to see a guy off another forum last weekend, where I picked these up:



Not entirely sure if I'll fit them to be honest, but I couldn't say no to them. If I do fit them; they'll be modified a la Group A cars and have RS2000 sidelights mounted in them, used as indicators, so I don't have to mount the indicators in the bumper or somewhere.

I also took his lower arms, which have Powerflex bushes fitted, as the arms in this are a bit ropey, so they'll be fitted soon, just need to order the new bolts, and I may fit new ball joints as they've sat for a while, so makes sense to do it while they're off the car.

That's all for now folks...

[massivewangers]

**Updated 9th March 2011**

Nothing too exciting to report, just been driving it lately really! Did spend a bit of time yesterday playing about with a few bits though, mainly inside. I replaced the gear gaitor and surround as it was broken, and also fitted a few clips and screws to the dash surround as they were all missing for some reason. This meant it was rattling a good 'un, but should hopefully be better now. No pictures I'm afraid, but it doesn't really look any different!

Also spent a bit of time messing with the windows, as the driver's side has a bit of an issue. This looks to be down to the tabs in the plug being bent back giving a poor contact. I did bend them back, but they soon worked their way out of shape again, so I may end up having to replace the plug, or just the connectors inside it if possible.

One thing I did take pictures of is the B-pillar, which has been broken since buying the car, like so:



The seatbelt height adjuster was broken, as well as the trim, so I removed the belt and broken trim, as seen here:



Fitted a new height adjuster that came from my girlfriend's old GTI:



Then fitted the new piece of trim (thanks to Parky for that):



And refitted the belt:



I need to get the little cover for the bolt, but didn't have one to hand. I'll pick one up at some stage, but it looks better than it did. That's most of the interior niggles sorted now. The driver's seat base has collapsed which is annoying, but I had suspected it for a while. Just need to whip the driver's seat out and refit the wire support by the looks of it, so I'll do that tomorrow possibly.

The only other thing to report is that I've still been having some misfiring issues, despite fitting a Zetec coilpack. I had only replaced half the coilpack loom, but I made up a loom right back to the bulkhead last night, so I just need to fit that on and see how that fares. It had been an intermittent problem, so I'll fit the new loom and see how it goes. If there's still issues, I'll have to look elsewhere to see what's causing it, but we shall see how it turns out!

[RST-Steve]

Looks to be coming on really well Jon, nice work with the manifold too

One thing tho, step away from those morrettes mate............. not a fan at all as you know lol!