Panther Black 5 Door Titanium Build (1.0 125) ZABIAN

[Iam2deck]

Hello,

Thought I would introduce myself through this way as it seems alot more on topic! I recently bought my 13' plate Fezza about a month ago and so far I'm loving every minute of ownership. I was originally looking for a fiesta in standard spec with 5 doors, but influenced by my friend's titanium (with dress up kit) I opted to look for this as well. Ended up buying a     Panther Black Titanium Spec 1.0t Ecoboost with the additional 25 bhp, the 125 version.

The quality is bad for these first photos, it was raining

 

I loved the concept of having such a small engine (3 cylinder and 1 litre) but having that boost of the turbo, and it's a completely different drive to the old fiat punto diesel I had

It didn't last long before I thought about changing things with the car, as although it looked flush, it also looked standard and basic for a titanium model.

The first thing I did was stay up late searching eBay, and alas I found an ST spoiler in the desired car colour and decided there and then it was a good shout, as the company was selling fairly low due to ordering the wrong one.. but I clearly wasn't complaining.

I took some before and after photos to show the difference, and it really does change the appearence imo

Original;                                                                            ST;

                                

Much better and a sportier feel... My main aim is to get the dress up kit, as you don't see many 5 door titanium models with them cruising around!

Next addition was of course, to let everyone know that I'm part of Fordownersclub.com, so I purchased some club stickers and have them on both back tinted windows and they look sharp in person

 

Next modifcation was onto footwell lighting, I want my car's theme to be black & red but I opted for blue LED lighting as it's just cracking visually!

Footwell lighting;

Awesome if I don't say so myself.. I eventually want to put red lighting under the seats, have the lights already (credit to pwperformance & Richard Patch on Facebook) but are yet to install them!

Spent some time cleaning the car and took a few shots of admiration..

Actually want to use carbon fibre wrap to cover the chrome on the boot, will post up when that actually happens!

Next mod was wind deflectors; now I advise these for everyone, they are great & very functional and gives the car an extra edge.. can even pinstripe them to make them stand out, i'll post up photos of that when completed!

Clean front end, looking at replacing the grills to the honeycombe set though!

Next is a BIG modification in my eyes, and one that turned out really really well!

WHEEL COLOURING! DIY STYLE!

If anyone has any questions about this, feel free to message me! But I'll try to put a few photos up of the process as we go along..

Originally my wheels were factory silver, and I didn't want black on black so I went down the middle (well kinda) I went for Ford's Graphite Grey and I used products from Halfords (Yes the spray paint too) to do this. The key to this transformation is patience, prep work and not layering coats to full. It took me and my friend roughly 4 hours to do the 4 wheels but we did other jobs inbetween which i'll also show...

Original look;

We spent a lot of prep work and time washing the wheels down, and then sanding them with wire wool to make loads of scratches in the wheel (both inside and out for a full job and full wheel colour). Spend time here, it will pay off at the end.

Using sticky notes, we slid them inbetween the wheel and the tyre to cover the tyre from getting sprayed. We then masked them down in place, and proceeded to stretch carrier bags to cover the tyres from being sprayed.

Then it was onto spraying, we did 3 coats of Ford Graphite Grey and then a clear coat on top.

(That's my friend giving it a go whilst I took photos for your pleasure)

Came out pretty well if you ask me.. and all for a fraction of the price. £50 worth of product for 4 wheels. It's normally around £80 PER WHEEL.

The difference is just a tad bit noticeable.. :P

As I said before, we also did other things whilst the wheels were off the car and being sprayed or drying off..

we tackled CALLIPERS and I wanted them red to fit the theme of my car.

Again we masked off and taped off the brake system and left just the calliper to be painted. IMPORTANT; If you attempt to do Calliper painting make SURE you use HEAT-RESISTANT paint or else it will fade very quickly.

The excess paint will come off as I drive around :) and already has with the help of some cleaning ;)

And for a shot with it on the wheel..

I didnt mention earlier, but I got gel badge overlays (black and red) for all of my badges including my wheel covers which can be seen here

Now to see the finished look on the car, I did another photo shoot :D

I then got my hands on some red footwell matts to match my theming.. and also some gel heater rings which are red and can also be seen in the picture below!

Had some time with the way it was, and then met up with my friend again to add some more modifcations :D These are the best kind of days!

This is both our cars together :)

First job was to tint my back lights to give it a blacked out look, you can see a comparison on both the cars above!

We used fly eye tinting technique, which is supposedly fully legal as its a mesh with perforated holes that doesnt affect light output/beam pattern.

It is a bit of a !Removed! job to do and it's not easy, it looks it in videos but it really isn't..

Close up shot

Can see the difference between the fly eye on left tail light, and standard on the right.. Didn't stop there, done the bottom reflectors too.. Figured most cars don't even have them so not a major visibility issue.

Side shot of both the light and reflector done in harmony!

 

Next job was some fine detailing, and that came in the process of pinstriping. I used 6mm pinstripe (ebay) in red to highlight my car and make it stand out. I used it on the wind    deflectors and think it looks pretty pukka? opinions welcome tho!

Next job came in the form of interior.. and involved some more red theming! Sprayed my steering wheel steering trim in Ford's Colarado red!

Took some night time shots the other day, looking pretty fresh

As mentioned earlier, was looking into getting the honeycombe grill set for a more blacked out sporty look. Well I found some, they RRP around 200 from new and I managed to find a great deal. I got both grills, and fog light covers for a mere £60 as the guy was putting his titanium to standard to part x for an ST. Bargain they are virtually brand new, 1 months use.. Will get some photos when I put them on, but in the meantime take a look at the car I was parked next to whilst waiting for the seller! Honda Civic Type R, quite nawty..

Got more plans for next week, including 1 or 2 major changes to the back end.. I'll keep you posted and hope you've enjoyed my starter thread thus far.. Cheers - peace out!

 

 

 

[b4zz]

looking good so far fella and look forward to seeing next weeks plans

[Tom-B64]

Looks good so far

[Iam2deck]

Cheers guys appreciate the feedback, got a few updates and mods done recently so putting them up underneath!

Okay so I mentioned before, about the grill set for the front to change the appearance from chrome to the darkened sports honeycome set!

Got them for £60;

Put them all on yesterday, much easier with trim tools than  just pulling like everyone says...

Before and after shots...

Before;

And now for the after (have filtered these a tad xD) ;

              

Much sportier & agressive looking right!?

On top of the grill change I also got a few more bits done, but at the opposite end towards the rear!

I wanted to change my car from the bland boring standard diffuser to the facelift zetec S one, so I bought a whole new rear bumper with parking sensors from a 2014' black edition which also came with the spat attatchments needed to clip onto the new diffuser (the tiny side attatchments under the rear reflectors).

The process involved taking off the rear lights and the whole of the rear bumper to replace the old for the new bumper with the spats already attatched. Few screws/bolt/clip removals later and finally managed to get it all done..

Before ;                                                                                                          

After;

Really pleased with the different look, much prefer it to the ST rear valance, and this way I don't like i'm trying to make my car something it's clearly not aha!

Whilst removing the old rear bumper, also removed the rear lights to make it a tad bit easier. Whilst doing this I changed my reverse bulbs to some strong LEDs again from PWperformance. Here is some shots of them close up;

Don't know how to spin the photos round the right way >.> but that's the light there :)

And some in use shots..

 

Let me know what you guys think, got some more mods and ideas in the pipeline :)

Changed my insurance over to a specialised modifying insurance company so I can begin my performance mods now too not just the cosmetics :)

[Iam2deck]

Update!

Done a few more bits to my car :) I mentioned previously I wanted to get rid of the chrome bar on the back and I've managed to do that!

Was a bit fiddly removed the tailgate, but was much easier to wrap once off the car. I used dark carbon vinyl to add some detail (gonna be doing more carbon). To my surprise, the ford badge was only held on with a strong glue so that came off to make it even easier.

Really like the way it's darkened out the chrome, and adds some detail when up close :)

Quite a cool angled shot;

Just need to find some 5 door side skirts now :/ seem to be such a hassle finding some, having no luck!

Made a few more purchases;

Got an engine cover for £12 not bad ;D

Going to be trying to customise it to make it flair out the engine bay. It's a rubbery material though which may pose a problem :/

I also thought I'd try out the wing badges, and do them carbon as well to add detail.

This is what they looked like, but didn't actually like them when on the car to be honest so they're off now and up for sale if anyone wants on the fairly cheap lol only been used for 2 drives.

Made one last purchase which was 3D carbon domed pressed plates that cut off the annoying EU sidemark on standard plates;

Bought myself some carbon number plate holders too, I quite like the look of them on the rear but not the front. Now i've got to decide whether I keep them as they come, or wrap them in the dark carbon to match the chrome bar above it..

Will take pics of all of these on the car when I get them fitted! Lemme know what you think! Peace out!

[b4zz]

loving the new mods you have done what a difference the zetec s rear valence has made to the rear end

[Willy]

 

Looking good there.

I have a titanium x and did similar mods.

 

[Iam2deck]

Thanks guys good to hear opinions! Ah I know Cookey, the standard rear ends are horrible. Looks completely different now, which I'm so happy about. Saved alot of money sourcing the bits myself :)

Hey Willy! Am well aware, I've been through your threads and seen some of your project work! Very good to reflect off, as like you say, we have similar model cars and are endevouring for the same kit & finish almost :)  thanks for your comments!

Got a new addition in today;

Hydro-dipped carbon wing mirrors :) Should be looking fresh once on along with my carbon plates. Need to start cracking on with wrapping more of the door pillars though to match up with the back chrome bar I did in dark carbon. Then the theming will start to work. Only question is, will doing the wing mirrors force me to get some carbon wrap on my roof?! Potentially!

Washed the car the other day and got a nice glossy finish, without even polishing!

PS I really can't find where to edit these photos to crop out the black etc, and turn photos different ways. If anyone knows and could pass that on I'd be really grateful!

Will be posting up some more later on or tomorrow once I get my new bits & parts on! Watch this space :)

Peace

[Iam2deck]

Yo! Update time, managed to get a few things done yesterday!

Started off with the wing mirror covers as I was dead excited to whip them on;

 

Tried to use the selective focus option on my phone to show the detail of these and it came out pretty good!

                                                      

They look ridiculously good in real life, I was worried that the patterns would be different as they are hydro dipped and not wrapped, but they are absolutely bang on and I can't fault them at all. If anyone is looking to get something hydrodipped, I strongly recommend Ukdipping. They can be found on facebook, I got mine done          personally through the owner but I didn't know him. His name is Stephen James Mills on facebook if anyone wants to give him a message!

Next modification to add was the 3D pressed plates!

Didn't want a number plate holder on the front, as it looked too much for a smaller car;

    

 

Then moved onto the rear, which Is where I wanted to try a number plate holder. I ordered a carbon one, but it wasn't actually that nice of a design when I recieved it. So I took on the task of wrapping it to match the wrapped dark carbon bar (instead of the chrome) on the tailgate I did the other week. It turned out well!

  

 

Not the greatest of shots but they were all done in a rush to get other jobs done ;)

Got a few more additions lined up in the pipeline, hoping to get some performance modifications coming along very soon!

Thanks again, Matt

[b4zz]

liking the carbon touches you have added looks like it is coming along great fella keep it up

[Iam2deck]

21 hours ago, b4zz said:

liking the carbon touches you have added looks like it is coming along great fella keep it up

Thanks b4zz mate, it is coming along great in the time I've had it! Got a few more mods already to go on so will be posting up tomorrow or something once fitted!

Appreciate the ongoing support and interest, thought I'd see if you had done a project thread and I found it! The mk2.5 focus right!? Looks like you done a good jobby on that one, what made you go fromm Carbon to Gloss Black? Just fancied a change mate? Hope to see you post some more on it will be following!

Cheers, Matt

[b4zz]

yea thats the one cheers for the comment, yea just fancied a change and have seen other focus with gloss black grills and thought that looks good. yea I will be posting up more as I have a carbon effect rear zetec s style diffuser to go on but will wait until the weather improves once I have given it a good clean I will get some better pics.

look forward to seeing your other mods for you fiesta

 

[Iam2deck]

23 hours ago, b4zz said:

yea thats the one cheers for the comment, yea just fancied a change and have seen other focus with gloss black grills and thought that looks good. yea I will be posting up more as I have a carbon effect rear zetec s style diffuser to go on but will wait until the weather improves once I have given it a good clean I will get some better pics.

look forward to seeing your other mods for you fiesta

 

Ohhhhh the carbon effect diffuser sounds like it could be worth the wait.. Not thought along those lines yet ;p Interested to see what that will look like eventually!

 

[Iam2deck]

UPDATE: Got my first ever performance upgrade! Comes in the form of a Pumaspeed R-Sport Induction kit!

Old Airbox with no induction;

Got the new one fitted with no issues, quite an easy process tbh!

New R-Sport Induction Kit;

 

Much less restricting than the old airbox, smaller piece of kit but so much more open to allow that cold air in! Can feel a slight increase in turbo spool and more throttle response/less turbo lag. Also has a sweeter air suction noise as I'm sure you're all aware of! However to get this working fully functional gonna have to invest in some silicone induction pipes and combine it with a new sports exhaust; am thinking Milltek Non-Res cat-back however have been suggested to go to EMP performance and get a custom build..Thoughts anyone?

Still struggling with how to edit these photos and turn them about etc.. really annoying!

Peace for now boys!

 

[b4zz]

liking the induction kit fella and yea the rear diffuser I got will defo be worth the wait ha ha just need some fine weather and the time off work to fit it now then all will be revealed

[Iam2deck]

Quick small update; changed a few lights in the car and also got up ridiculously early for dawn to get some good photos!

Changed from blue interior lights all round to a mix of red, blue and white.

Red Footwells from PWperformance, great little panels full of LEDS beaming!

 

Changed the map lights from the blue to a more functional colour to see things aha! Kept the blue in the middle to show for unlock ;)

Okay so photoshoot! Actually had quite a lot of fun doing this shame on me?

Never the less;

       

     

     

  

     

Worked out how to flip photos now! Doh! But that also means I've now worked out that photos come out best landscape like the last two! Especially for getting them on this thread! Let me know what you think :D

Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[b4zz]

looking d and love the pics

[Tom-B64]

Photos are awesome mate, nice quality :) Jealous of your LED DRL's as well!

[Iam2deck]

4 hours ago, b4zz said:

looking d and love the pics

Cheers for the support as usual b4zz!

3 hours ago, Tom-B64 said:

Photos are awesome mate, nice quality :) Jealous of your LED DRL's as well!

They didn't come out half bad did they :) Just standard phone pictures, would love to have something better to shoot some on but hey ho will have to wait as mods need doing first aha! Do love the DRLs, look sophisticated! They're worth surprisingly alot, which puts me off modifying them at all incase I break them! In the long run I want to get the headlight housing painted black or dark grey to tint out the headlights without losing light output!

[joeyjameslewis]

Quality project - love it mate. Will look forward to more updates! Subscribing now.

[Iam2deck]

17 minutes ago, joeyjameslewis said:

Quality project - love it mate. Will look forward to more updates! Subscribing now.

Thanks mate, as you already know; I've checked your project out and looking good. Subscribed back, thanks for the support :) more mods coming very soon!

[joeyjameslewis]

On 4/4/2016 at 5:16 PM, Iam2deck said:

Thanks mate, as you already know; I've checked your project out and looking good. Subscribed back, thanks for the support :) more mods coming very soon!

Cheers man - quick question... How hard was it to wrap the rear boot lip in carbon? I have the wrap at home now, I want to attempt it on my Focus. Just wondering how you got around the Ford badge? did you cut it to size before and cut around the badge? 
Thanks!

[Cookey09]

Honeycombe sport grille kit for £60?? 

Used im guessing? I want a kit, but they're £200ish... 

 

[Iam2deck]

On Thursday, April 07, 2016 at 10:48 AM, joeyjameslewis said:

Cheers man - quick question... How hard was it to wrap the rear boot lip in carbon? I have the wrap at home now, I want to attempt it on my Focus. Just wondering how you got around the Ford badge? did you cut it to size before and cut around the badge? 
Thanks!

Hey man sorry about the slowness havent checked back in a while!

It wasnt too bad, I seperated the chrome bar from the car first theres some screws and pieces to do with the wiper arm motor. After thats off I took the ford badge off as it came apart really easily I think it was just bonded on originially? No I didnt cut the vinyl to shape before hand (only to have a little bit of excess to work with), just put it over the top of it then use a heatgun/hairdryer around the edges and the vinyl should start to stretch around the piece. I recommend pre stressing/stretching the vinyl beford applying it can watch a video on that too. Also recommend a squegeee for any vinyl work helps get creases out mate!

On Thursday, April 07, 2016 at 1:05 PM, Cookey09 said:

Honeycombe sport grille kit for £60?? 

Used im guessing? I want a kit, but they're £200ish... 

 

Yep the entire grill set for £60. It was used minor for about 1-2 weeks I think the guy said. It was a gumtree seller, his son and had literally just bought this and then wanted to trade the car in for an ST. It came in pretty much brand new condition! Often gumtree sellers have no idea what they're selling ;) its up to people like us to take advantage Cookey ;)

[Cookey09]

Lucky man! Cheers buddy, if you ever come across anything let me know. I'll have a gander at some point!