I missed it in my first read-through, but can we talk about this line from the article? :
"Ford Racing made a small batch of inverted coil-over struts, but not many were sold. If you can find one on the used market—they’re rebuildable—expect to pay around $1500."
I (think) have a set of said coil-overs, who are they referring to that can do the rebuild?
The little Escort that can was out at Road Atlanta this past weekend, had a fantastic time.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3mJAdhpdRkkztCKg7
In reply to FSP_ZX2 :
I was wondering when you'd chime in on this thread....
In reply to accordionfolder :
What took me so damn long?!
I like mine. Great on gas and reliable. 5 speed, short throw shifter, 21mm rear sway bar, strut tower brace, iceman intake, modified air cleaner, k&N filter and under drive pulley. JBA shorty header and NGP0 ecm on the shelf waiting for me to install one day. 
Ford for awhile sold a kit to enlarge the the mount and eccentic bolt. I had the kit on my zx2sr.
I think the suspension on the SR along with a hefty rear bar, 2.5 neg camber, more caster made for a good track car as well as dd.
Anyone looking to sell a stock ish zx2 SR? It looks like they still qualify for G Street autocross.
In reply to arthuruscg :
Where are you located ?
I’m in Palm Bay FL
Have a 2000 Red ZX2 S/R
95,xxx miles
Clean Interior
Pioneer Radio and Speakers
Faded Florida Paint (may be painted soon) Zero Rot/Rust
LMK
jj said:
Also despite the huge rear spring I still couldn’t get it to rotate.
Que?
Stock as-delivered-to-plebes ZX2s would rotate like there's no tomorrow.
Thanks for the write-up.
My '99 (not .5) has been fun for the last year. Bought off FB marketplace. Neglected but not abused - as it needed tires/tune-up/tbelt kit/brakes/tie-rods (all DIY), but the clutch, trans and engine are still good. Added some lowering springs, new struts, and that bigger GT RSB. And had to fix a grounding issue to get the speedo and cruise to work.
Before teamzx2 went down (just about the time this article came out) I found all the cheap/free mods & my bu++ dyno says it's picked up a few.
May see what the Focus Zetec community has for a small turbo install. I don't want a (nother) $$ pit.
I hit the Auto-X last season (PNW) and it was fun. I need to get more seat > time.
This has been a cheaper alternative to all the overpriced late '90s Civics on CL.
The interior is still in good condition, AC blows cold, the rear seats fold-down and I can haul my skis, road bike, etc back there if needed, and I may be one of the few that thinks it looks OK...kinda/sorta/maybe like the old Gen1 SC-series Lexus.
Anyone have some advice on decent easily available struts for these? Mine needs some soon
These were great to steal parts from for my Escort hatch..
In reply to captdownshift :
Why ? I have had both. Since stock they produce near the same power. Didn't notice a lot of difference from the '94 GT to the '98 ZX2.
ssxt
New Reader
5/30/19 4:06 p.m.
In reply to Antihero :
HI you can buy the Quck-struts for these online. They're the 'all-in-one' option. I think Monroe makes them.
SS
iceracer said:
In reply to captdownshift :
Why ? I have had both. Since stock they produce near the same power. Didn't notice a lot of difference from the '94 GT to the '98 ZX2.
The ZX2 had a noticably stiffer chassis, though (as it should given the design changes) and the rear suspension was infinitely better if you ever needed to actually adjust it.
I like BPs but the Zetec in the ZX2 was a wonderful little mill. Note the qualifier: the ZX2 got a different engine than the Focus or Contour got.
ssxt
New Reader
9/26/19 7:50 p.m.
In reply to Knurled. : the ZX2 got a different engine than the Focus or Contour got.
All had the same block at least for the '98-2003 years that the ZX2 lived. The ZX2 S/R was also the same, just a tuned PCM.
Only in the Focus' heads was there an obvious difference. The ZX2 had the VCT on exhaust Camshaft and a more aggressive Cam profile, vs the EGR system on the Focus, based on the Focus forums I've read.
Contour/Mystique were the same. I saw one at the local PullnSave w/the VCT stamped right on the VC.
If there other differences please state them...The Zetec name was thrown around by Ford, but these 3 had the same 2.0 DOHC engine, except as noted above.
Note: The non-ZX2 Escort and the non-Zetec Focus shared another SPI / CVH 2.0 engine, which although not really down much on HP, was an older design and had reliability issues.
Those are the differences. The ZX2 got a ZX2 specific cylinder head, and minor detail changes related to chassis fitment.
If it was ever used in the Contour, I'm unaware of it. Every four cylinder Contour that I'd seen had the non-variable cam engine that was later used in the Focus.
The bottom end IS a CVH engine, at least in design. People in the UK, where 1.9 and 2.0 CVHs were never used, will sometimes put CVH heads on Zetec bottom ends to get a healthy little bump in displacement. Apparently they sold way more turbo CVH engines there than they did here (what was it, one or two years of EXP got the turbo?)
wondering how a cylinder head increases displacement ?
iceracer said:
wondering how a cylinder head increases displacement ?
They never got CVHs larger than 1.6, but they got plenty of 2 liter Zetecs, so slapping a 2 liter Zetec block under a CVH head to make a "ZVH" is a thing that happens. Some interesting videos if you search for "ZVH rolling road" on YouTube. Yes, it's only a 2 valve head, but it's a hemispherical head with huge valves and decent ports, and it allows one to use the existing manifolding and other ancillaries.
I also understand that for a while, people were importing American 1.9 engines for performance builds. Must be the equivalent of Americans importing weird stuff from Japan.
Hey I drive one of these. But mines not as nice..
