I bought a 2005 Focus LX 6 months ago at 87k miles. It had flood damage which caused spark plugs to seize which I've fixed, had the coil springs and arm changed, service (it hadn't been serviced in 30k miles before I bought it). Got a bit of body damage, nothing major. 

Is it worth restoring to basically new? I'm not loaded with cash, just a family man wanting a lovely car to be safe for my family. Mk2 focus is my favourite of them all, and with the ban on new petrol cars from 2030 I think a restoration could be worth it. But it has to be done in stages to fit family budget. 

Already been advised to change cam belt, brake discs/pads, and get new front bumper and wing due to cosmetic damage. 

Not interested in mods for car, just restored. Love this car, drives great. 

Thoughts? 

 

I also have a 2005 LX. Is yours the 1.6 petrol?

There are a lot of these being scrapped at the moment. Panels should be easy to find on ebay at cheap prices.

Yours looks to be Aquarius blue which was a popular colour. There are a lot of panels around in that colour.

Matching used front bumper here on ebay for £50: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305971302184

Brand new front wing ready painted in the correct colour: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134449233203

Sets of alloy wheels can also be found quite cheaply if you want to upgrade from the steel wheels.

 

Hi yes 1.6l petrol, automatic. I'm determined to keep it on the road. I did a check and noticed the number of them has basically halved in past 6 years. 

Thanks for the links for panels, I'll definitely have a look. I've ordered some touch up paint for now, then will replace panels now you've pointed me in right direction. 

Not sure about alloys? What's the benefits apart from looking better and slight improvement on acceleration? I know steels can take a knocking but are heavier. I've got most of rust of these steels and was thinking replacement steels? 

Open to alloys just not sure what the difference would be. 

3 hours ago, AntonovAN12 said:

I also have a 2005 LX. Is yours the 1.6 petrol?

There are a lot of these being scrapped at the moment. Panels should be easy to find on ebay at cheap prices.

Yours looks to be Aquarius blue which was a popular colour. There are a lot of panels around in that colour.

Matching used front bumper here on ebay for £50: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305971302184

Brand new front wing ready painted in the correct colour: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134449233203

Sets of alloy wheels can also be found quite cheaply if you want to upgrade from the steel wheels.

 

Hi yes 1.6l petrol, automatic. I'm determined to keep it on the road. I did a check and noticed the number of them has basically halved in past 6 years. 

 

Thanks for the links for panels, I'll definitely have a look. I've ordered some touch up paint for now, then will replace panels now you've pointed me in right direction. 

 

Not sure about alloys? What's the benefits apart from looking better and slight improvement on acceleration? I know steels can take a knocking but are heavier. I've got most of rust of these steels and was thinking replacement steels? 

 

Open to alloys just not sure what the difference would be. 

I too own a 2005 LX, As well as general mechanical maintenance, replacement rear sub frame, etc etc, I've replaced both front wings, and rear arch rust which I fully expect to return. It's a lovely car, with great handling if not blistering performance. 1st car ever I've had with steel wheels, which I love, don't have to pump air in them from one month to the next, and don't lose sleep if I kerb one. I intend to keep it on the road as long as I can...

 

5 hours ago, Eli_P said:

Not sure about alloys? What's the benefits apart from looking better and slight improvement on acceleration? I know steels can take a knocking but are heavier. I've got most of rust of these steels and was thinking replacement steels?

Steel wheels are less likely to be damaged by potholes.

You should be able to get a set of steel wheels very cheap. The breakers I use throw them all into a skip and weigh them in for scrap.

You could have the spare set grit blasted and sprayed black to look like new for a reasonable price.

If you want to keep it original, the LX was originally fitted with 8 spoke plastic wheel trims like this.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176699503232

 

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

I too own a 2005 LX, As well as general mechanical maintenance, replacement rear sub frame, etc etc, I've replaced both front wings, and rear arch rust which I fully expect to return. It's a lovely car, with great handling if not blistering performance. 1st car ever I've had with steel wheels, which I love, don't have to pump air in them from one month to the next, and don't lose sleep if I kerb one. I intend to keep it on the road as long as I can...

 

What a wonderful job you've done there. Little bit of inspiration I must say

1 hour ago, AntonovAN12 said:

Steel wheels are less likely to be damaged by potholes.

You should be able to get a set of steel wheels very cheap. The breakers I use throw them all into a skip and weigh them in for scrap.

You could have the spare set grit blasted and sprayed black to look like new for a reasonable price.

If you want to keep it original, the LX was originally fitted with 8 spoke plastic wheel trims like this.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176699503232

 

Will definitely get the wheel trims. Car came with 2 and someone knicked them. I'll look into grit blasting, thank you. Really appreciate your help

8 hours ago, StephenFord said:

I too own a 2005 LX, As well as general mechanical maintenance, replacement rear sub frame, etc etc, I've replaced both front wings, and rear arch rust which I fully expect to return. It's a lovely car, with great handling if not blistering performance. 1st car ever I've had with steel wheels, which I love, don't have to pump air in them from one month to the next, and don't lose sleep if I kerb one. I intend to keep it on the road as long as I can...

 

Used Back to Black on your plastic on outside and inside of car? I've tried it on mine and it looks great. Faded plastic annoys me so I tried it and my plastic looks a bit neater. 

 

 

8 hours ago, Eli_P said:

Will definitely get the wheel trims. Car came with 2 and someone knicked them. I'll look into grit blasting, thank you. Really appreciate your help

If you're fussy (!), treat the wheels to a couple of coats of smooth black hammerite, you'll notice the improvement as wheel trims do show some of the wheel...

3 hours ago, Eli_P said:

Used Back to Black on your plastic...

 

I'm a huge fan of TurtleWax Black trim dressing (smells lovely too!), used 'back to black' for ages before discovering it.

Also, that steering wheel lock looks impressive, but sadly any self respecting scum-bag can use a cordless angle grinder to slice a small section out of the wheel and remove it. If you want to properly protect it, you'll be needing a DiskLock to protect her...

12 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I'm a huge fan of TurtleWax Black trim dressing (smells lovely too!), used 'back to black' for ages before discovering it.

Also, that steering wheel lock looks impressive, but sadly any self respecting scum-bag can use a cordless angle grinder to slice a small section out of the wheel and remove it. If you want to properly protect it, you'll be needing a DiskLock to protect her...

I'll look into these, thanks for the advice 🙂

Someone who lives near me has these wheel trims on a mid 2000s VW Golf.

As plastic trims go, I think these look better as they hide most of the steel wheel. A few cable ties will usually deter anyone from stealing the trims. You can buy silver coloured ones especially for that purpose.

The downside of alloys as I have found is that they need to be frequently washed. Dirty or corroded alloys look awful.

https://www.gsfcarparts.com/products/vegas-wheel-trim-x-4-16-rinrwt1633

 

 

My LX came with standard Ford trims as shown. I later acquired a set of brand new silver trims from a ford van, which I had professionally painted gloss black. (I'm a fan of black, over silver)