SUBTLE ST

When modifying a car, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking bigger is better. You might start off by upgrading a few parts here and there and feel you have things under control, but attend a few shows with like-minded petrolheads and you soon get caught in a cycle of unending oneupmanship, where no spoiler or eye-popping graphics are quite wild enough.

And while there’s nothing wrong with this overtly attention-seeking approach, it’s certainly not the only way to make your car stand out from the crowd.

Dan Freeman, the 39 year-old owner of this immaculate Electric Orange Focus ST admits. “I’ve modified every car I’ve ever had. In fact, the ST was originally bought as a daily driver while I restored an S550 Mustang that I’d bought as a project. But I soon got carried away with this one too.”

At first glance, you’d be forgiven for wondering what Dan is referring to. His Focus doesn’t exactly scream its modifications from the rooftops, with only the 18in Autostar Legend alloys the obvious hint that there’s more going on than meets the eye.

Dan says, “I like to think of original ways to make the car stand out but keep things looking subtle. I think it’s very easy to go overboard with exterior styling, stickers, and crazy add-ons to make a car loud and brash.

“But I prefer to keep a standard OEM look and focus on lots of little unique details. And, of course, a suitably powerful engine, as part of a more complete modifying package.”

Dan credits much of his modifying skills and style to his dad, who has worked in the motor industry for over 50 years as a coachbuilder and now works for Dan as part of his successful vehicle accessory and security business. So, it’s clear to see there’s some serious modifying pedigree running through Dan’s DNA, which he has used to great effect to create his own slice of automotive perfection with his Focus.

“I bought the ST back in December 2018, when I saw it on the forecourt of my local Ford dealership,” Dan says. “But it very nearly didn’t happen, not only as I had to persuade my wife to let me by another car, but also

“The KMS Section 18 system was immense, and I loved it. But the 6.30am cold starts meant the neighbours were less impressed”

because the dealer was hesitant to sell it, as it was too old for them to give a warranty.”

Luckily, Dan doesn’t give up too easily, and after badgering his missus for two days straight and numerous pleading phone calls to the dealership, the tangerine machine finally ended up on his driveway.

Dan laughs, “I started the modifying process by ordering a Group A induction kit, full Mongoose exhaust and a GFB diverter valve before I’d even collected it. By New Year’s Day it also had a Kenwood head unit, an OEM-style reverse camera and even a Vibe Audio sub banging out bass in the boot.”

So, he was off to a strong start, but it was when Dan joined the ranks of the Electric Orange ST Owners’ Club (EOSTOC) that things really started to escalate…

Dan remembers, “I attended a local meet with the club and met Rob Hughes, an equally passionate Electric Orange ST owner, who was at a similar stage with his build.

“To cut a long story short, three weeks later, Rob started working with me and, from then on, we spent much of our working day discussing mods we could do to our cars and bouncing ideas off each other.”

This two-headed attack meant the build started to snowball with even greater urgency and Dan’s Mk2 was soon graced with a set of anthracite Bola B1 wheels, a Maxton dress-up kit, new door speakers and a Reiger rear diffuser. These were then joined soon after by a Superchips Bluefin handset, a 3in downpipe, hydro-dipped engine covers, an Anembo inlet plenum and a K-Sport big brake kit, which Dan managed to bag as a second-hand bargain.

He laughs, “I also went through three different exhaust systems at the time. The KMS Motorsport Section 18 system was immense, and I loved it. But the 6.30am cold starts meant the neighbours were less impressed. So, I eventually settled on a 3in Scorpion Red Power system with 4in tailpipes, which still sounds great, but is a bit more civilised on start-up.”

It was then that his mate Rob made the jump to run new software, a move that prompted Dan to follow suit and upgrade to a set of larger 440cc injectors.

Dan recalls, “I was never happy with

BARS AND BRACES

With 400bhp at his disposal, Dan has ensured all of the ST’s extra ponies can be used to the full with a host of transmission and suspension upgrades. The ST clutch has been upgraded to a beefier RS item and a Quaife ATB drafted in to transmit all the extra torque to suitably torture the tyres. Add to this a mixture of Hardrace anti-roll bars and drop links and a JW Racing strut brace to help keep the ST on the black stuff and out of the green, and Dan’s Focus has all bases covered.

OEM-plus ST3 cabin is stacked with details

TECH SPEC

MK2 FOCUS ST

ENGINE 2522cc five-cylinder, 20v turbo, steel ductile liners, Wiseco forged pistons, K1 conrods, King main bearings, Anembo plenum, 550cc injectors, RS spark plugs, DeatschWerks fuel pump, Pro Alloy crossover pipe, Pro Alloy aluminium radiator, Pro Alloy RS-spec intercooler with alloy boost pipes, Airtec Group A-style air filter, orange and black Pro-Hoses boost and coolant hoses, RS oil cooler, Airtec header tank and power steering reservoir, GFB diverter valve, Turbosmart actuator, RS turbo and all genuine Ford lines, genuine RS vacuum lines, 3in downpipe, de-cat, Scorpion Red Power 3in exhaust system with 4in tailpipes, hydrodipped engine covers in carbon-fibre finish, carbon under-bonnet plates, Airtec gearbox torque mount POWER 400bhp (owner’s estimate) TRANSMISSION Focus ST M66 six-speed manual gearbox, RS clutch, Quaife limited slip differential SUSPENSION Yellowspeed Racing coilovers, JW Racing front strut brace, Hardrace drop links (front and rear), rear arms and subframe painted gloss black, Powerflex rear trailing arm bushes, Whiteline rear suspension arms, Whiteline anti-lift kit, Hardrace rear anti-roll bar, corner weighted by SCC performance BRAKES Front: K Sport eight-pot callipers with 356mm M-Tech grooved discs and EBC Redstuff pads; rear: standard discs and pads; Goodridge braided brake lines all round WHEELS & TYRES 8.5x18in Autostar Legend alloy wheels with Custom centre caps, ET35, 5x108, with 235/40x18 Uniroyal Rainsport 5 tyres EXTERIOR Electric Orange pre-facelift Focus ST, factory plastics (front grilles, fog surround inners) painted in Ford Magnetic Grey, fog surrounds painted matt black, Reiger rear diffuser finished in Magnetic Grey, rally flaps to rear, Maxton matt front splitter and side skirt splitters, Red 5 carbon-fibre badges and B-pillar replacements INTERIOR Black Recaro CS front bucket seats from a Focus RS with matching rear bench, custom-trimmed door cards to match boot build, Red 5 carbon-fibre gearknob insert, leather gear gaiter, leather centre console cover, modified and trimmed Royal steering wheel, air vent boost gauge, A-pillars finished in black alcantara, custom parcel shelf with ST logo and LED accents, Red 5 carbon-fibre door sills, full custom boot build, Kenwood 8019DABS wireless Car Play head unit, Audiotec Fischer Director in centre consul, Audiotec Fischer Helix P Six DSP amplifier, Audiotec Fischer M One X subwoofer amplifier, Audiotec Fischer Helix Q 12 W 12in subwoofer in custom sealed enclosure, Vibe CVEN63C-V4 three-way sound quality component speakers, Ground Zero and Vibe cabling, Anti Vibe sound deadening, Synergy RVC10 OEM-style reverse camera

Bomb-proof build tickles out 400bhp

All tanked up

Shiny PAS cap

Cossie-style 18s add OEM-plus appeal Quality and quantity: audio install reflects the ST’s intention DRIVER SPEC DAN FREEMAN

AGE 39 JOB Owner of South Essex Automotive Accessories FIRST FORD Mk5 Pumapowered Fiesta FAVOURITE FORD “Got to be a three-door RS500. Although a Mustang with a supercharger would be fun…” WHAT’S NEXT “More carbon and a full freshen up of the paint” THANKS “BRC Performance for their patience in the engine build and Robert Hughes for the constant badgering to work on the car, not to mention Martin Goode and Rob for persuading me to get silver wheels. Also thanks to Paul at Gibbos Garage for all his help and advice along the way, Ryan at Airtec Motorsport, Chris at Pro Alloy Motorsport, Alan at Midbass distribution, and of course, the long-suffering wife deserves a mention too”

the performance of the car at this stage, as it didn’t feel anywhere near as potent as I expected. And this feeling was confirmed after an EOSTOC dyno day revealed the car was only making a paltry 299bhp, which was way down considering the supporting mods at the time.”

Disappointed, but far from beaten, Dan continued his quest for ST perfection, and used the enforced downtime of the first Covid lockdown to get cracking on his own car while his business was shut.

He started by renovating the ST’s underside with a full set of polyurethane bushes, painting the subframes and installing a set of Yellowspeed coilovers. The engine also got a makeover, with a Pro Alloy intercooler, Pro Alloy radiator and a host of dress-up parts from Airtec, plus carbon bonnet plates and Stealth LED lighting. The lack of grunt was still an issue, so Dan decided it was time to bite the bullet and go for a hybrid turbo.

“The new blower needed 550cc injectors and a custom remap. Unfortunately, that’s when the issues started,” Dan sighs. “Driving it home, there was smoke coming off-boost and a slight misfire. It wasn’t looking good.”

Dan enlisted the help of his mate Paul from a local garage, who tried new plugs, a new water pump and even re-timing the cam belt to try and rectify the issue – as it was found to be one-tooth out – but unfortunately nothing seemed to rectify the problem. So, with winter on the way, it was decided to take the car off the road and focus on building a comprehensive custom audio install instead.

While the interior was out for Dan to install new sound deadening and run the wiring for the new system, he acquired an ST3 leather interior, which found its way into the car along with retrimmed door cards, A-pillar builds and a custom parcel shelf.

Dan says, “The audio system was all hand-built and has been designed and set up with sound quality in mind, not just outright quantity. But it’s still plenty loud enough when I want it to be.”

But as much as he was enjoying his car’s latest aural addition, there was still the engine issue that was spoiling the driving experience, so Dan dropped the car at BRC Performance to get to the root of the problem.

Dan shrugs, “After a thorough inspection, the fault was traced to cracked cylinder liners. So I was forced to make the choice between either breaking the car for parts or shelling out on an expensive rebuild of the engine.”

With so much already invested in the car, Dan made the wise choice to stick with his ST and instructed BRC to rebuild the engine with steel ductile liners, Wiseco forged pistons, K1 rods and King bearings. This bulletproof bottom end was then joined by an RS-spec turbo, a high-flow DeatschWerks fuel pump and a Turbosmart actuator, all controlled via MSD400 software and a host of other supporting modifications.

“The car came back from BRC with the poor-running issue sorted and a brutal 400bhp under the bonnet,” Dan beams. “It is so much quicker now and has transformed the way the car drives, so I celebrated by installing a set of RS Recaro CS seats and the 18in Autostar legend alloys, which I feel suit the car perfectly.”

Dan is now ecstatic with his subtly-styled but shockingly fast ST, as it has been built exactly how he wants it to be.

Without bowing to the pressure to follow the herd and live up to the ASBO orange paint, he has shunned the lairy life of constant one-upmanship for slice of cool OEM-plus attitude where the devil is most definitely in the details.