My Transit Connect

[RS Grant]

Firstly, this is a slow project... in every way.

I did a deal plus cash for my ageing Mondeo ST200 (Thread Here) which was starting to require some money spent on it to keep it looking it's best, which I couldn't justify given I'd driven it about 1500 miles in a year. So when I got offered this van, it made sense to let go of the Mondeo.



Details of the van:

2008
T200
1.8 TDCi (75bhp version)
67k miles
Full Ford/Iveco Service History
Only two previous owners

Wasn't sure whether to do a thread on the van or not, but since I'll be doing wee bits here and there then I guess it qualifies. I'll throw up pictures from time to time too... just don't be expecting to see crazy big BHP Focus RS conversions or anything like that, it's a daily driver, so it'll be staying a 1.8 TDCi.

When I got the van, it had already been lowered with an axel flip kit and front lowering springs because it looked like an off road buggy with the 19" Focus RS wheels fitted, haha. Yes, it's lost some load carrying ability given the suspension/wheel choice, but for me, it's still capable of being very practical... two Labradors, mountain bike or two or some boiler suits/boots/tools is about as loaded as it'll get with me.

Here are a couple of photos, I've just finished upgrading the sound system in it actually, but I'll sort those photos out and post another update about that in a wee while.





...and the downside of having no bulkhead:






Cheers,
Grant

[woolf]

Looks tidy that mate,colour abit different too

[paul2012]

I can upgrade your ECU with a factory 90ps calibration. Much better than 75ps

Done this for few members on here already

[RS Grant]

Looks tidy that mate,colour abit different too

Thanks mate, yeah the colour is nice.. could do with a wee polish just now to bring it out a little more and maybe some back to black too!!


Cheers,
Grant

[RS Grant]

I can upgrade your ECU with a factory 90ps calibration. Much better than 75ps

Done this for few members on here already

That would be fantastic Paul... I'm in Scotland, would this mean taking my ECU out and sending it to you??

Also, I assume you're familiar with coding etc, what is/isn't needed to code another key to the van.. I would like to have another key cut for the van, but think it'd need coded too??


Cheers,
Grant

[Cal1990]

I can upgrade your ECU with a factory 90ps calibration. Much better than 75ps

Done this for few members on here already

That would be fantastic Paul... I'm in Scotland, would this mean taking my ECU out and sending it to you??

Also, I assume you're familiar with coding etc, what is/isn't needed to code another key to the van.. I would like to have another key cut for the van, but think it'd need coded too??


Cheers,
Grant

Paul id probably be intrested in this aswell mate and also in Scotland pm me prices what's needed ect

Grant where you from mate I'm just outside edinburgh

[RS Grant]

Grant where you from mate I'm just outside edinburgh

I'm just outside Dundee in Fife bud, not a million miles away... I was working through in Tranent at the tail end of the summer though, lovely area.


Cheers,
Grant

[RS Grant]

So made a few wee alterations to the van to rectify areas which I wasn't happy about.

First off, decided to carpet the load area because I wasn't a fan of the bare wood floor and it should stop the pups getting any splinters!!



Next was a really basic but very effective upgrade. Fitting LED interior bulbs to brighten up the load area mainly, because in the dark the standard bulbs were absolutely rubbish. So after a quick eBay session, I had some upgraded bulbs on their way to me... three bulbs for the interior lights and two replacement bulbs for the number plate lights (one needed replaced anyway) too.

Interior Bulb (Never took one of the number plate 501 bulb!):



Results:






Cheers,
Grant

[woolf]

Looks tidy that mate,colour abit different too

Thanks mate, yeah the colour is nice.. could do with a wee polish just now to bring it out a little more and maybe some back to black too!!


Cheers,
Grant

Get them painted mate,the back to black wont last long
Carpet looks better but wont be good to clean if the pups tiddle

[Cal1990]

Looks tidy that mate,colour abit different too

Thanks mate, yeah the colour is nice.. could do with a wee polish just now to bring it out a little more and maybe some back to black too!!


Cheers,
Grant

Get them painted mate,the back to black wont last long
Carpet looks better but wont be good to clean if the pups tiddle

I fitted out Dundee City council offices with all furniture and desks and stuff mate!

Tranent is 2 min from me!

Don't use back to black mate better with the permenant die or cheaper autogly bumper and trim restorer

The autoglym is what I used on mine in This photo you can see front has been done but side and back hasent

[RS Grant]

Carpet looks better but wont be good to clean if the pups tiddle

Haha, I am keeping my fingers crossed on that score.. they're good boys but you can never say never!!

Get them painted mate,the back to black wont last long

Don't use back to black mate better with the permenant die or cheaper autogly bumper and trim restorer

The autoglym is what I used on mine in This photo you can see front has been done but side and back hasent

Autoglym looks to do a decent job in the meantime... but I am considering taking the Connect for a wee trip to the bodyshop in the new year for some colour coding of the arches, but knowing what I'm like, that trip may escalate with 'can you paint x/y/z while you've got it' type conversations... and I really don't plan to go all out on it!!

I fitted out Dundee City council offices with all furniture and desks and stuff mate!

They're surprisingly good at carting around furniture, there's a big wardrobe, two chests of drawers and other random things in the back here. I couldn't believe it all went in.


Cheers,
Grant

[Cal1990]

Carpet looks better but wont be good to clean if the pups tiddle

Haha, I am keeping my fingers crossed on that score.. they're good boys but you can never say never!!

Get them painted mate,the back to black wont last long

Don't use back to black mate better with the permenant die or cheaper autogly bumper and trim restorer

The autoglym is what I used on mine in This photo you can see front has been done but side and back hasent

Autoglym looks to do a decent job in the meantime... but I am considering taking the Connect for a wee trip to the bodyshop in the new year for some colour coding of the arches, but knowing what I'm like, that trip may escalate with 'can you paint x/y/z while you've got it' type conversations... and I really don't plan to go all out on it!!

I fitted out Dundee City council offices with all furniture and desks and stuff mate!

They're surprisingly good at carting around furniture, there's a big wardrobe, two chests of drawers and other random things in the back here. I couldn't believe it all went in.


Cheers,
Grant

Mines just used for running back and forward from a to b just now had to use mostly a company for Dundee council as was 2000work stations and chairs to match! Haha a lot of boxes!!

[RS Grant]

Mines just used for running back and forward from a to b just now had to use mostly a company for Dundee council as was 2000work stations and chairs to match! Haha a lot of boxes!!

Haha yeah that would have taken quite some time using a Connect!!


Cheers,
Grant

[RS Grant]

Wheeled the van into my friends unit:



Cue the music...

The first thing to go was the standard headunit, big, bulky, low powered.. replacement is a Pioneer DEH-4600BT (Link Here, I'd fitted one of these headunits into my old Focus RS and was really impressed by the amount of features, ease of use and quality of it for the money; so there was no doubt about buying another one for the Connect.

Needed the usual aerial adaptor, ISO conversion cable and facia adaptor. There were a few options for the facia adaptor, but eventually went with this one however bought it from a local audio store for a chunk less than Halfrauds were wanting for the same bit of kit.

Here is the headunit all fitted up:



..and given that it's Bluetooth enabled with calls coming through the front speakers, it obviously needs a microphone fitted somewhere to let you talk back!! I decided to put it in the same place that I had fitted one in the Focus and it works fine, telephone calls are nice and clear both ways.



With just the headunit fitted, the standard speakers (front only) sounded 10? 20? times better than they did with the standard headunit... so much so that I wondered if I should really bother fitting upgraded speakers!!

But since I'd already bought them and the standard front speakers were better but still not capable of being left alone, it seemed stupid to take them back. I went for some Fli 6x9 speakers (Clicky Link) after reading a few reviews and comparing them to much more expensive speakers, I didn't see the point paying almost double for what I was wanting them to do.

Now if you could try not to notice the amount of dirt/dog hair that I discovered in the next few photos that'd be great, it's gone now, promise!! ...I unscrewed the centre console around the gearstick/handbrake so I could run the cables for the speakers down the dashboard and tuck them up underneath the centre console for as tidy an installation as possible.





Next section to follow...

[RS Grant]

...here we go:

The wires supplied with the speakers weren't going to be long enough to reach the rear doors, which is where the 6x9's were finally mounted. So using bullet connectors, extra wires were added to give the length required. MDF was cut to the shape of the door sections and then covered in some black vinyl that my mate had lying around in his unit, it's a bit bubbly in places and doesn't quite cover it all... but it looks better than bare wood.



Keeps them nicely out the way and also if/when the van is used for days at park/beach/camping trip, then it gives the opportunity to fling open the rear doors and direct the music outside too. Happy days.

Here are a few pictures showing how I routed the wiring from the front to back. The passenger side is all hidden at the front end, it runs under the side door step, into the small plastic panel at the door opening and into the sides same as the drivers side. Wiring from van into the rear doors used existing grommets etc... time will tell if this is working out, but so far it seems to be fine.




How it reached the rear doors:




The next/final part of this upgrade was the addition of a subwoofer, something I got talked into by a friend who said that I 'might as well' if I was pulling the headunit out... so while I was in Halfords, I saw a special offer on one of their Fli active subwoofers (Clicky Link) which would negate the need to mount an extra amplifier somewhere as the sub and amp all came in one box. I read a few reviews (granted from people under my age range ) and it seemed a good piece of kit and came with all the wiring needed, so I bought that too.



Not sure if I'm going to bother upgrading the front door speakers, they handle what they're asked to handle pretty well and the 6x9's take care of the rest with a nice wee kick from the subwoofer low down... overall, I think it cost me around £220-£230 and the difference is massive. If you're thinking about upgrading but not sure if it'll be worth it, then do it, you'll not regret it at all.


Cheers,
Grant