Hoses

Every post seems to be starting like this, but it seems you can only find upper and lower cooling hoses in the US.  But there is a company in the UK that makes full hose sets for the MK1 Fiesta XR2, and most of the hoses will fit right up.  I also ordered 3 meters of vacuum line.  Don't bother getting them off of ebay.  They just drop ship from the manufacturer and you can order it there yourself.

Roose Motor Sports makes these to order, in your choice of colors, from silicon or a classic black fabric wrap.  It takes a few weeks to make and another week or so to get it to the US. You will have to pay import duty of about $12, plus the price of the hoses.

Now that the engine is in, I can start mounting all the goodies I've been collecting for the last 2 years.

Cooling System Complete

It has been a busy summer.  I've completed a couple things on the car and it's running pretty well.  The Struts I mounted last fall are already shot, so I'll need to look for a different solution.  I got them from Rock Auto, and they only have a 30 day warranty, so money wasted.  I imagine the seals on NOS just don't last.  I've got a line on some out of Europe, and since the fiesta is very popular over there, I imagine they are newer and will likely operate as it should.

I completed the cooling system, although that turned out to be a very expensive project.  Seems the days of $100 radiators are gone.  So instead I had my brass radiator re-cored.  It's like new now, and even though the cost was more than I expected, the guys at Orr Radiator in KC did a great job on it. 

After a whole lot of grinding and painting on the shroud.  I had every dog in the neighborhood barking as I was grinding away at the rust. 

I lucked out and the warning sticker peeled off after 30 years, and I was able to stick it right back on.

Ready for Reassembly

Spring Projects - Cooling System

I've ordered a few more parts so I can complete the the cooling system project, But the radiator seem to be a rare beast.  After calling a number of junk yards, radiator shops and ebay listers that all have parts listed on their site, but no actual parts, I was starting to think it was a lost cause.  I should have checked on the fiesta blog to begin with, since it was no problem finding one there.

Betty will be receiving a new water pump, new hoses, a new radiator cap, new radiator, new 160 deg thermostat and of course new gaskets.  That should keep her cool in the hot summer months.  Picture to follow when we rip it all apart.