"SVTyler" (svtyler)
10/28/2016 at 18:10 • Filed to: Stockholm Syndrome, Sappy Bullshit, This Is Probably What People With Serious Drug Addictions Sound Like
15
12|
"SVTyler" (svtyler)
10/28/2016 at 18:10 • Filed to: Stockholm Syndrome, Sappy Bullshit, This Is Probably What People With Serious Drug Addictions Sound Like | 15
| 12 |
On this day five years ago I made arguably the worst decision of my life up to that point and bought this 2003 SVT Focus as my first car. In that time our relationship has had its trials, mostly due to it being a horrific piece of shit; I’ve spent too many weekends and too much of my life’s savings nursing it back to health in a hot, cramped garage, trying to convince myself
this
was the last thing the previous owner never got around to fixing before he sold it (it never was), spent hours and hours of my nights and weekends on the phone and computer sourcing parts and information from England to Australia, sweat each and every new noise it makes to the point I lost sleep, and more than a few times contemplated unloading it on some other poor soul just to save myself even more heartache and anxiety. It’s been a constant source of worry and distraction during the worst time in my life for it and even today I don’t fully trust the car, paranoid it’ll bite me in the ass for the umpteenth time every time I get in and turn the key.
And yet...
As I look out my apartment window overlooking the parking lot, there’s no other car in the world I’d rather see sitting in my spot. Even as I’m typing this I can’t keep myself from smiling. It was the car I learned stick on, spending the half-hour between school and work for weeks mastering the third pedal, overjoyed when I could finally launch the car without bogging down or roasting the clutch and ecstatic when I nailed a heel-and-toe downshift for the first time. It transported me to and from high school my senior year, where I was proud to park it amongst the Mercedes and BMW’s and Mustangs of my classmates. It served as the vehicle of choice during my pizza delivery driving days as we logged uncountable hours together traversing neighborhood roads and side streets, back roads and highways, the car just as glad as I was to be out for a drive regardless of whether it was a beautiful summer evening or whiteout blizzard in the middle of January.
It’s heard the laughter and stories shared by the best of friends during midnight runs to Steak N Shake and late movies and other friends’ houses on the weekends; hell, in a way it
is
some of those stories, like the time we tested the effects of weight distribution on handling by putting five people in the trunk and did handbrake turns in the snow, or how we would go ‘drifting’ (aka just driving slightly fast enough to get the rear tires to break a little bit of traction) down this shitty gravel road just outside of town when we were feeling particularly stupid. The car took me to college and my first apartment, its trunk swallowing all my life’s possessions with zero complaint, just as happy to carry me down the highway at 85 as it was to bound down twisty back roads.
And above all else, despite the lows, it’s brought me indescribable joy. It’s made me grin at how well it grips on perilous, winding country roads taken at speeds I’d previously thought far too quick for a lowly hatchback to handle, roar in maniacal glee at how easily it slides its back tires under hard cornering, and shake my head with a smile at the incorrigible, insistent exhaust note that sounds equal parts indignant puppy and Orange Amplifier and rally car. Even just driving around town, being jostled by the stiff suspension and inconvenienced by the six-speed and terrible gearing, the car still gives me a zen-like peace I’ve yet to find elsewhere, a feeling like, at that moment, I belong in the driver’s seat more than I do anywhere else in the world. I don’t really know what else you could ask for in a car.
So thanks for the last five years, you piece of shit, my life would be nowhere near as interesting without you. Here’s to another five. And five more after that.
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> SVTyler
10/28/2016 at 18:27 |
|
Ahh...the familiar despair, I mean joys of owning an SVTF.
I miss mine.
Damnit.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> SVTyler
10/28/2016 at 18:37 |
|
Ford sure knows how to shoddily put together a car that you can’t help but to obsess over.
|
SVTyler
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
10/28/2016 at 18:37 |
|
Can’t have the good without the bad, though I will say you were smart enough to get out when you could. Speaking of which, how’s GTI ownership been going? Saw you’ve been looking around for mods and stuff.
|
SVTyler
> Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
10/28/2016 at 19:21 |
|
Good to hear the ST’s are continuing the tradition lol. Ford has the hard part of building brilliant little cars down, it’s just dumb little shit that shouldn’t be a problem (like your car getting dented with acorns) that they somehow seem incapable of doing. They’re like an American Alfa at this point.
|
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> SVTyler
10/28/2016 at 19:35 |
|
So far the reliability on these have been fairly good, it’s just the little stuff that they just kind of gave up on.
Aero
> SVTyler
10/28/2016 at 20:16 |
|
Oh, SVT ownership... I love mine, but the frustration of finding parts has turned it into a garage queen. However, it still puts a smile on my face when I drive it, so it’s not going anywhere.
|
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> SVTyler
10/28/2016 at 20:20 |
|
Short answer; it’s good. Similar ownership experience though. I will elaborate later.
I am happy to drive the GTI though.
|
SVTyler
> Aero
10/28/2016 at 21:09 |
|
Out of curiosity where do you get your parts from? Seems like the aftermarket and Steve Powell (bless that man) have a lot of the bases covered for now, just don’t know how long that will be the case.
|
Aero
> SVTyler
10/28/2016 at 23:11 |
|
Mostly eBay and Craigslist. There’s lots of people that went from their SVTs to STs and are selling brand new discontinued parts that they have laying around. I’ve started stockpiling the rarest parts, such as bumpers and camshaft phasers, but it’s only a matter of time before the supply dries up. My girlfriend’s SVT was just totaled due to no insurance grade front bumpers being available. We had to buy it back and deal with the repair ourselves.
|
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> SVTyler
10/29/2016 at 09:53 |
|
Okay, I am using my PC and not my phone to reply so I can actually type this out without wanting to hurl my phone across the room.
Compared to my SVT the GTI is a much nicer car, obviously. Being newer is only the beginning. The interior is a much better place to be. All the controls are exactly where I want them. It just feels far more grown-up than the SVT.
Having actual torque is addictive. I loved needing to wind out the SVT to get anywhere. But being able to pass people quickly mid-gear is truly wonderful. The tuning potential is also just entirely different. The SVT is pain to tune, being old doesn’t help. The GTI has such a strong tuning community that I can pretty much go any direction I wish and there will be someone who makes parts or kits for that idea. Nevermind that I can spend ~$300 and get an extra 50HP and torque for ‘free’. Spend a little more and you can get another 100 torques on stock engine and piping. Of course doing that will make you need a new clutch since VW didn’t over-build that part of the drivetrain.
But they are very similar in terms of quirks. I already have to take it in for a recall, and want the dealer to address the rubber grommet that covers the shifter gates since it is torn already and I don’t even have 9k miles on the car yet. To replace the shift knob, I have to take the entire stock knob, boot, and trim piece out of the car and take it apart. The stock knob doesn’t screw on the shift lever and instead held on by a plastic sleeve and metal clip. Yeah...
My sunroof rattles, but I bought this rubber sealant that is supposed to cure that. I just haven’t had the time to apply it yet. The rubber window seals leave marks on my rear windows.
So I basically have a newer version of my old car, only it’s German now. The potential of the platform is greater, and there are actually people who make parts to help my efforts at making it ‘mine’ this time around. Parts are still more expensive than they should be, but I can at least get them readily.
I am happy with it despite all my complaints. Because when traffic clears and I get to drive it how it should be driven, it’s very, very good.
Echo51
> SVTyler
01/24/2017 at 16:02 |
|
Nice looking Foci, especially in that red!
|
SVTyler
> Echo51
01/24/2017 at 18:54 |
|
Thanks man!