Hi all! I'm pretty new around here but have been in and around the automotive aftermarket for nearly twenty years. Anyways, this year I'll be putting together my first Ford, a 2014 Ford Fiesta ST, and I'm pretty stoked to get started. The car just came in a few days ago but I already have a handful of parts waiting with some more goodies on the way.
Current list of parts here :
Air Lift air suspension
3D Carbon rear spoiler
Baer Brakes 6P brake caliper / rotor upgrade
Cobb Tuning Ford Accessport V3
Cobb Tuning rear engine mount
Cobb Tuning cat-back exhaust
Cobb Tuning intercooler
Cobb Tuning air intake
Cobb Tuning downpipe
Eibach anti-roll kit
Falken FK-453 tires - 215/35/18
Coplus LED fog light / daytime running lights
LightWurkz One-off projector headlights
Scosche magicMount
Sony audio components
The day after it came in, I brought it to work to have the custom two-piece 18x8" 35mm US Mags wheels and 215/35/18 Falken FK-453 tires mounted up so we could test fit everything. Sorry I'm not showing the wheels yet, just a few small things I'd like to keep under wraps until the car is complete. The design is a love it or hate it look, I'll leave it up to everyone to decide.
While the wheels and tires were being mounted, I measured the OEM brakes to get specs over to the folks at Baer Brakes for a custom brake upgrade they're working on for me.
A day or so after the test fit and pulling the US Mags and Falken tires off, I dropped it off at LR Autobody in Anaheim for a full color change, engine bay, jams, etc.
I had the chance to pass by the body shop after work and they had everything apart and they're supposed to start preparing the jams to be sprayed tomorrow. I also had the chance to pick up my headlights which I'm sending to LightWurkz to hopefully have a projector retrofitted into. I had a set of 2013 Ford Fusion headlights sitting around so I figured why not give it a shot. They've done great work for me in the past and was told that this may be doable.
Here's the two in a side by side for comparison, the top is the Fusion set and the bottom is the Fiesta set.
I had the chance to run by the paint shop after work to get some updated pictures - everything's apart and the insides of the doors, under hood and rear hatch have been sprayed with a custom Axalta mix. Next up, the body which should be happening this weekend.
Christmas in August! I've been going back and forth with the guys at Cobb Tuning and I got the notification that some of my parts had finally arrived at their SoCal location and were ready to be picked up. I passed by yesterday after work and opened everything up as soon as I got home - the craftsmanship on these parts is incredible, much better than a lot of piece work I've seen and been around.
Anyways, here's what came in - full cat-back exhaust, downpipe, rear engine mount and of course, the Ford Accessport V3.
... the Cobb Tuning Ford Accessport V3.
... the Cobb Tuning rear engine mount.
... the Cobb Tuning downpipe.
... and the Cobb Tuning cat-back exhaust.
Finally got back into town a little while ago and got some pictures sent to my phone from the body shop. Everything was reassembled this weekend and should be ready for pick up on Tuesday... supposedly. Here's a sneak peek:
I'm back at work on Tuesday so I'll have some pictures of the Baer Brakes and Eibach sway bars soon! I also got an update from LightWurkz and they were able to do a dual projector set up which they're finishing up as we speak!
Received some LED fog lights / daytime running lights from a buddy overseas - matched them up to the OEM ones and looks to be a perfect fit.
Also, just got these in today from a buddy overseas - LED fog lights / daytime running lights:
I took some pictures of the Baer Brakes 6P brake calipers and rotors when I got to work earlier, pretty stoked with how they turned out. I sent Baer one of my headrests and had them match the calipers almost exactly to the orange/red Recaro fabric and finished them with white logos.
At lunch, I took a trip to the body shop to check on the progress hoping that I'd be able to pick it up today but that didn't happen. I did manage to get a shot of where it sat as of a few hours ago and was promised it would be done tomorrow.
I was also able to do a quick mock up of the LED fog lights and as expected, they bolted up and fit perfect... don't mind the cover, it's just sitting over the top.
I finally picked the car up from the body shop - it's about 95% done, just waiting on my lip kit and rear spoiler to be sprayed and then installed. Here's a picture right before it left the shop when they were cleaning it and waxing it.
Also, finally got around to getting some pictures of the some of the new parts, below is the Eibach anti-roll kit which includes the front and rear sway bar:
Here is most of the Air Lift air suspension, missing a few things because it's pretty obvious what they look like.
Here's a close up of the front air bag detail:
... the front camber plate adjustment:
... rear adjustment:
... manifold and ride height controller:
... and lastly, the harness, lines and miscellaneous fittings:
Sony audio components - subwoofers, amplifiers and component speakers:
I also received my headlights back from LightWurkz and I think they came out awesome. They weren't able to use the Fusion headlights that I had but they were able to retrofit a new projector and shroud into the headlights and refinish them all black for me. I love how they came out.
Lastly, a Scosche magicMount for my COBB Tuning Acc
Okay, so unfortunately I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to get working on the car this weekend but we made some good progress. Most of the Air Lift parts are in, front shocks and bags, rear shocks and backs, tank, compressor and the rest will be done soon. While most of the suspension was torn apart I installed the front and rear Eibach sway bars that I had powder coated to match the brakes and also the Cobb Tuning engine mount. More updates coming... hopefully soon.
A few more minor updates - only having two or so hours a day to work on this is making this Air Lift air install take longer than expected but it's almost done. All of the air lines are run, compressor is mounted, electrical is run through the compartment and just has to be finished up in the engine bay and lastly, just the tank has to be mounted. Soon!
Front shock/bag set up:
Rear shock/bag set up:
Overall view of the rear which also shows the Eibach sway bar and Cobb Tuning cat-back exhaust.
Air Lift dampening adjuster:
Cobb Tuning engine mount:
The underside of this thing is completely filthy so once it's all done, it's getting back on the rack and getting cleaned... I can't stand how dirty it got during ride over from Detroit.
Anyhow, I had a little time on my lunch break to yesterday to install the Cobb Tuning intercooler kit. I figured I'd change it up a little bit and had it powder coated black to match all of the piping that comes with the kit so that's why it may look a little different.
After getting the bumper off, it was maybe a twenty minute install between removing the stock one and installing the other one. Easy installation to say the least.
Cobb supplied stencil laid down:
Committing.
Done...
... and done!
... just got home from putting in a few more hours on the Air Lift kit and it's almost complete. Everything is mounted and now it's time to fine tune the height and get everything calibrated. Below is a picture of how the rear sits right now and it still has room to go quite a bit lower.![[hihi]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_hihi.gif "Hi Hi [hihi]")
Another day tomorrow to get everything set up and then I can finally cross the air install off my list.
I just got home from a few more hours putting the car back together and found this at my front door - the Cobb Tuning intake and exhaust hanger kit.
finally fine tuned the ride height on the Air Lift kit, we had to move the camber plates in to clear the fenders allowing it to sit lower... and before anyone asks, no, these are not the wheels on the car.
Since Ford will be releasing their press materials today, I figured I'd share some more pictures... like I said, some will like it, most will hate it... in the end, I just wanted to do something different.
The 18x8" 35mm US Mags wheels - custom step lips and finished in all white:
The rear hatch when it was sprayed in a custom Axalta finish:
As most of you know, SEMA was this past week and the car made it's debut in the Ford booth. We were fortunate enough to be placed right at the front of the booth alongside my brother's Expedition and the foot traffic through the booth was insane from opening day.
Just as expected, there were some that loved it and some that hated it but at the end of the day, doing something different was the main objective.
I have to give a huge "THANK YOU" to everyone that helped out with the build, this wouldn't have been possible without their help:
Air Lift
3D Carbon
Baer Brakes
Cobb Tuning
Eibach
Falken Tire
Coplus
LightWurkz
Scosche
Sony
I plan on doing a full shoot soon so once those are done, I'll post them up. Thanks again to all of you that followed the build, I really appreciate the feedback... good or bad!
In the mean time, if you want to see a few other pictures, be sure to check out @tjinedition on Instagram!
So boredom, a few minutes to spare and the addition of an LED light bar I had sitting around led to this... and yes, I know it's still ugly and disappointing.![[thumb]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumb.gif "Thumbs Up [thumb]")
Sorry I've been MIA for a while, things have been a little hectic. Anyhow, I had some studio time this weekend after I finished shooting another car so I figured I'd get some new pictures of the car. I washed it earlier in the day but the drive down there got it a little dirty so excuse some of the dirt on the front end.
Also, if you're in Toronto and plan on attending the Toronto Auto Show next month you'll be able to check it out in person - it'll be on display in the Ford booth!
I plan on posting all of the pictures and updates in this post to make it easier to follow along so be sure to check back.
Current list of parts here :
Air Lift air suspension
3D Carbon rear spoiler
Baer Brakes 6P brake caliper / rotor upgrade
Cobb Tuning Ford Accessport V3
Cobb Tuning rear engine mount
Cobb Tuning cat-back exhaust
Cobb Tuning intercooler
Cobb Tuning air intake
Cobb Tuning downpipe
Eibach anti-roll kit
Falken FK-453 tires - 215/35/18
Coplus LED fog light / daytime running lights
LightWurkz One-off projector headlights
Scosche magicMount
Sony audio components
The day after it came in, I brought it to work to have the custom two-piece 18x8" 35mm US Mags wheels and 215/35/18 Falken FK-453 tires mounted up so we could test fit everything. Sorry I'm not showing the wheels yet, just a few small things I'd like to keep under wraps until the car is complete. The design is a love it or hate it look, I'll leave it up to everyone to decide.
While the wheels and tires were being mounted, I measured the OEM brakes to get specs over to the folks at Baer Brakes for a custom brake upgrade they're working on for me.
A day or so after the test fit and pulling the US Mags and Falken tires off, I dropped it off at LR Autobody in Anaheim for a full color change, engine bay, jams, etc.
I had the chance to pass by the body shop after work and they had everything apart and they're supposed to start preparing the jams to be sprayed tomorrow. I also had the chance to pick up my headlights which I'm sending to LightWurkz to hopefully have a projector retrofitted into. I had a set of 2013 Ford Fusion headlights sitting around so I figured why not give it a shot. They've done great work for me in the past and was told that this may be doable.
Here's the two in a side by side for comparison, the top is the Fusion set and the bottom is the Fiesta set.
I had the chance to run by the paint shop after work to get some updated pictures - everything's apart and the insides of the doors, under hood and rear hatch have been sprayed with a custom Axalta mix. Next up, the body which should be happening this weekend.
Christmas in August! I've been going back and forth with the guys at Cobb Tuning and I got the notification that some of my parts had finally arrived at their SoCal location and were ready to be picked up. I passed by yesterday after work and opened everything up as soon as I got home - the craftsmanship on these parts is incredible, much better than a lot of piece work I've seen and been around.
Anyways, here's what came in - full cat-back exhaust, downpipe, rear engine mount and of course, the Ford Accessport V3.
... the Cobb Tuning Ford Accessport V3.
... the Cobb Tuning rear engine mount.
... the Cobb Tuning downpipe.
... and the Cobb Tuning cat-back exhaust.
Finally got back into town a little while ago and got some pictures sent to my phone from the body shop. Everything was reassembled this weekend and should be ready for pick up on Tuesday... supposedly. Here's a sneak peek:
I'm back at work on Tuesday so I'll have some pictures of the Baer Brakes and Eibach sway bars soon! I also got an update from LightWurkz and they were able to do a dual projector set up which they're finishing up as we speak!
Received some LED fog lights / daytime running lights from a buddy overseas - matched them up to the OEM ones and looks to be a perfect fit.
Also, just got these in today from a buddy overseas - LED fog lights / daytime running lights:
I took some pictures of the Baer Brakes 6P brake calipers and rotors when I got to work earlier, pretty stoked with how they turned out. I sent Baer one of my headrests and had them match the calipers almost exactly to the orange/red Recaro fabric and finished them with white logos.
At lunch, I took a trip to the body shop to check on the progress hoping that I'd be able to pick it up today but that didn't happen. I did manage to get a shot of where it sat as of a few hours ago and was promised it would be done tomorrow.
I was also able to do a quick mock up of the LED fog lights and as expected, they bolted up and fit perfect... don't mind the cover, it's just sitting over the top.
I finally picked the car up from the body shop - it's about 95% done, just waiting on my lip kit and rear spoiler to be sprayed and then installed. Here's a picture right before it left the shop when they were cleaning it and waxing it.
Also, finally got around to getting some pictures of the some of the new parts, below is the Eibach anti-roll kit which includes the front and rear sway bar:
Here is most of the Air Lift air suspension, missing a few things because it's pretty obvious what they look like.
Here's a close up of the front air bag detail:
... the front camber plate adjustment:
... rear adjustment:
... manifold and ride height controller:
... and lastly, the harness, lines and miscellaneous fittings:
Sony audio components - subwoofers, amplifiers and component speakers:
I also received my headlights back from LightWurkz and I think they came out awesome. They weren't able to use the Fusion headlights that I had but they were able to retrofit a new projector and shroud into the headlights and refinish them all black for me. I love how they came out.
Lastly, a Scosche magicMount for my COBB Tuning Acc
Okay, so unfortunately I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to get working on the car this weekend but we made some good progress. Most of the Air Lift parts are in, front shocks and bags, rear shocks and backs, tank, compressor and the rest will be done soon. While most of the suspension was torn apart I installed the front and rear Eibach sway bars that I had powder coated to match the brakes and also the Cobb Tuning engine mount. More updates coming... hopefully soon.
A few more minor updates - only having two or so hours a day to work on this is making this Air Lift air install take longer than expected but it's almost done. All of the air lines are run, compressor is mounted, electrical is run through the compartment and just has to be finished up in the engine bay and lastly, just the tank has to be mounted. Soon!
Front shock/bag set up:
Rear shock/bag set up:
Overall view of the rear which also shows the Eibach sway bar and Cobb Tuning cat-back exhaust.
Air Lift dampening adjuster:
Cobb Tuning engine mount:
The underside of this thing is completely filthy so once it's all done, it's getting back on the rack and getting cleaned... I can't stand how dirty it got during ride over from Detroit.
Anyhow, I had a little time on my lunch break to yesterday to install the Cobb Tuning intercooler kit. I figured I'd change it up a little bit and had it powder coated black to match all of the piping that comes with the kit so that's why it may look a little different.
After getting the bumper off, it was maybe a twenty minute install between removing the stock one and installing the other one. Easy installation to say the least.
Cobb supplied stencil laid down:
Committing.
Done...
... and done!
... just got home from putting in a few more hours on the Air Lift kit and it's almost complete. Everything is mounted and now it's time to fine tune the height and get everything calibrated. Below is a picture of how the rear sits right now and it still has room to go quite a bit lower.
Another day tomorrow to get everything set up and then I can finally cross the air install off my list.
I just got home from a few more hours putting the car back together and found this at my front door - the Cobb Tuning intake and exhaust hanger kit.
finally fine tuned the ride height on the Air Lift kit, we had to move the camber plates in to clear the fenders allowing it to sit lower... and before anyone asks, no, these are not the wheels on the car.
Since Ford will be releasing their press materials today, I figured I'd share some more pictures... like I said, some will like it, most will hate it... in the end, I just wanted to do something different.
The 18x8" 35mm US Mags wheels - custom step lips and finished in all white:
The rear hatch when it was sprayed in a custom Axalta finish:
As most of you know, SEMA was this past week and the car made it's debut in the Ford booth. We were fortunate enough to be placed right at the front of the booth alongside my brother's Expedition and the foot traffic through the booth was insane from opening day.
Just as expected, there were some that loved it and some that hated it but at the end of the day, doing something different was the main objective.
I have to give a huge "THANK YOU" to everyone that helped out with the build, this wouldn't have been possible without their help:
Air Lift
3D Carbon
Baer Brakes
Cobb Tuning
Eibach
Falken Tire
Coplus
LightWurkz
Scosche
Sony
I plan on doing a full shoot soon so once those are done, I'll post them up. Thanks again to all of you that followed the build, I really appreciate the feedback... good or bad!
In the mean time, if you want to see a few other pictures, be sure to check out @tjinedition on Instagram!
So boredom, a few minutes to spare and the addition of an LED light bar I had sitting around led to this... and yes, I know it's still ugly and disappointing.
Sorry I've been MIA for a while, things have been a little hectic. Anyhow, I had some studio time this weekend after I finished shooting another car so I figured I'd get some new pictures of the car. I washed it earlier in the day but the drive down there got it a little dirty so excuse some of the dirt on the front end.
Also, if you're in Toronto and plan on attending the Toronto Auto Show next month you'll be able to check it out in person - it'll be on display in the Ford booth!
I plan on posting all of the pictures and updates in this post to make it easier to follow along so be sure to check back.
![[twothumb]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_twothumbs.gif "Two Thumbs [twothumb]"){kind=icon}
