My Love For Cars Expanded

Cars have been a big part of my life ever since I was playing with my Matchboxes and Hot Wheels on the mat in my room. I have always dreamt of owning fast, cool looking cars. One of the ones I was particularly intrigued with during that time was the somewhat newly released Ford Focus ZX3.

I had no clue at the time that this was a Ford, or even a domestic car for that matter. I thought it was a sleek Japanese hatchback, for a while, I actually thought it was a newer Honda Civic. I saw the sleek, curvy body lines and how to me as a young child, the car looked like it could easily take down fast American muscle with just slight modification.

I saw these cars when they were brand new off the lot and was immediately in love.

For a while, I started to absolutely obsess over Mustangs. Man, did I LOVE Mustangs. My favorite one as an uneducated car enthusiast, which actually still is one of my favorite body styles, is the 2007-2009 body design. My friend's dad had and still has one with a Super Snake kit. I loved the deep, throaty growl of the V8. I thought, that is the definition of a man's car.

Back then, I obviously didn't know much of anything about cars. I didn't know how engines worked, how transmissions work, how the suspension worked. All this knowledge and enthusiasm has come within the last 4-ish years of my life, particularly the last year and a half.

My mom got a 2004 Focus ZTW wagon back in 2007. In 2014, after my first car, a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, was...um...put out of commission, I got to drive this wagon. I LOVED that car. That was my first real car that I got to drive for more than 2 weeks. It didn't feature as sleek of body lines as the hatchbacks, but for me it was close enough. I had a car very close to the ones I dreamt of owning all those years prior. It didn't take long for me to begin making payments to buy the car off my parents.

As a kid, I always thought that wagon was sporty in its stock form...HA. When I got it, I knew it was nothing super special except for the rare 2.3L Duratec platform engine it sported, unfortunately with an automatic transmission (for those that don't know, the ATX in the Focus is an absolute slushbox). So I knew if this was to be my unique, fun, cool wagon, I needed to modify it.

This is when I got into modifying.

Well, "modifying." My first move was to dip the wheels. They were stock 15" alloy wheels, but I wasn't rolling on stock steelies at least. The next move was a resonator delete on the exhaust. I then moved to remove the crappy, restrictive PZEV airbox and put a pod filter on for better throttle response. I had a black front bumper cover because the stock one was smashed up from a ditch dive the previous winter. Black out the tails, interior LEDs, all the things a high school kid does to mod their cheap cars.

Finally, I got my head on straight and did some things right. I completely deleted the muffler and resonator and made a side exit exhaust. Having 2 catalytic converters, it actually was pleasant sounding, with lots of popping and gurgling and hardly any drone. I had plans to put 17" Focus SVT 5 spoke wheels on, lower it about 2-2.5", and work towards building a faster car with a MTX-75 manual.

I didn't realize it, but I was delving into a world of great people. I joined WCEC and immediately was happy with that decision. After I was rear ended, I got a Focus SVT, and my love for cars and modifying them is as strong as ever.