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Modification Modification
Car: Ford | Fiesta | CX (Mk3) | XR2i | Hatchback
Engine: BUB | 3189 | V6 | (15º V6) | N/A | Petrol

Exterior

2000 badge

I'm not really a big fan of sun strips/spoilers etc as I think this portrays a certain kind of image of the driver! It also draws unwanted attention from vandals/thieves/police. In my opinion the car looked really nice as standard, I was particularly happy with the colour as it was one of the more classy shades I've seen on a Fiesta. With this in mind I was never going to radically modify the exterior of the car.

Respray

The rear

The first thing I did was to remove the body kit/bumpers, door handles, mirrors, filler cap door and spoiler. I flat these down myself and had them all re-sprayed to bring them back up to as new condition. While these were being done I got the door handles sprayed to the body colour.

Clear rear light clusters and Mk4 Wiper

Clear rear clusters, I'm not keen.

At the rear of the car I attached a mk4 rear wiper, I was careful to align everything as most of the mk4 wipers I've seen on a mk3 face downwards towards the end! I also affixed a '2000' below the XR2i badge (I replaced these badges too with brand new items). The Ford badges were still in perfect condition and being a 1995 car they are of the later, smaller dark blue design.

I've added some clear rear light clusters to the car, this picture doesn't do them justice so I'll wash the car and get another picture when I have some free time

Bespoke rear light clusters

Custom rear lights

No amount of cleaning was going to make the clear rear clusters suit the car, they just don't follow anything on the car, the car needs a line on the rear lights to compliment the other lines on the tailgate. It also serves to make the car look more purposeful. I had my friend Al from DJStalker add bands of red at the top and bottom, which is a big improvement.

They don't look a million times better than the stock lights, but they are unique and make a nice change from the standard lights.

Clear side repeaters

Clear oval repeaters

The photo left shows the first set of clear repeaters I fitted to the car. They are just a clear copy of the standard Ford oval. I must admit that I was never really keen on these, they look a little sterile and very lost on the car.

VAG Side repeaters

VAG repeaters

The clear oval repeaters never sat too well with me so I looked elsewhere, however I definitely needed clear repeaters of some kind to tie in the new rear lights with the headlights and clear indicators up front. I had to look no further than the VAG range of cars, the particular units I chose come in around 7 different styles, ranging from orange, to smoked to various styles of clear. I chose a semi opaque version to suit the headlights and rear lights, which are not fully 'crystal'.

Fitting involves grinding out the correct shape in the Fiesta wing. A Dremmel is the perfect tool for the job. Make sure all surfaces are prepared afterwards to prevent corrosion.

Lower spec model side mouldings in body colour

Colour-keyed side strips

My opinion is that the side of the car looked very bare as standard and didn't really follow the lines of the bumper, to make the sides flow a little better I've had some plain side mouldings sprayed - the effect is subtle but just 'sets off' the car.

© Mark Stewart, Friday 15th June 2001
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