ITC Fiesta Wheel & Tire Size?

Hi, New to the forum. I just bought a 1980 ITC Ford Fiesta that was last raced in the 1990s. The owner prior to me used in on the street/for autocrossing. The existing wheels (alloy mesh-style) on the car appear to be 5.5" x 13" with 165/65 x 13" tires which are shot. I have a NOS set of "pepperpot" 6" x 13" wheels that were on the European MK1 XR2 Fiesta, which came with 185/60 x 13" tires. The previous owner said my car was lowered about 2" and the fenders have been rolled. What is the typical wheel and tire size on an ITC Fiesta? I would like to use the pepperpots with 185/60 x 13" tires but I don't know if things will rub, especially at full lock. Help!! 13" tire choices are limited. Kurt

Having owned 3 Fiesta and raced one in ITC I can tell you that 185/60X13 is the size you want and of course 13X6 inch wheels. I know of a friend who has a street Fiesta that ran 205/60X13 but he has the Euro wheel arch flares which are not legal on an IT car. He also had the car at a street ride height.

There a a number of racers here who have raced Fiestas in the past and perhaps a few still do. Feel free to contact me for advise on what works, etc. Hubs are the weak point of the cars. Use only new ones and change them out every few races to have them checked for cracks. This is a problem that is common with a number of FWD race cars and not a Fiesta only problem.

I'm not sure of what parts are hard to come by as I sold my last Fiesta back in 1995. Funny I just saw a clean 1980 for sale last week on CL that was in my state. To bad I just don't have the room for it. I still miss my old race car.

Parts will be tough.

Actually, given the car's popularity in Europe, you may have to inquire in Europe for hard parts.

It was known as a MkI Fiesta.

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Originally Posted by joeg

Parts will be tough.

Actually, given the car's popularity in Europe, you may have to inquire in Europe for hard parts.

It was known as a MkI Fiesta.

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Agreed!
http://www.batinc.net/fiesta.htm

BAT used to be the go to source here in the US for hard to find Fiesta parts. You should contact them by phone and ask for "Eric". That's who I talked to over the years when I owned/raced my Fiestas. I even got to talk to him at the PRI trade shows when BAT had a booths there. A very nice guy. If the parts are still available they should be able to get them for you and if not perhaps point you in the right direction.

As said, since the car was very popular in Europe parts like hubs, calipers, rotors, etc should still be around. One thing easy is front wheel bearings! It uses a common tapered roller bearing that is like what you find on older cars. It just uses two of the same size. If you keep good grease in them they will last 2-3 race seasons! A lot longer then the hubs will that's for sure. Not like the sealed doubble row ball bearings that most FWD cars get.

Depending on where you live there may still be some on the street and/or in the junk yards. Here in the Chicago area I haven't seen one on the street in say 15 years and only 1-2 in the pick-n-pulls. I have however seen 3-4 for sale on the internet at sites like CraigsList, Grassroots Motorsports, and the like. There is one ITC Fiesta that races in the midwest with Midwest Council of SSC, mostly as a rental. At one time there were 4 active ITC cars here (Early 90's), one of which was mine. My old car is still around but is now a GTL race car but hasn't been raced in 2-3 years.

Now I haven't run a Fiesta since 1993! 13x6 with 185/60/13's. It used to be that the SRF's tires would work. But I don't know what they run now. Probably 205's. Parts were tough even back then. I would agree Bat and trying to find a european source. Facebook has a page Old School Fords Never Die. I just found that a week ago. Lots of great pictures. Maybe someone within that can help you. I still talk to a couple Fiesta buddies who run them still here. Most of them are Prod guys now. Attachment 2664

OK....I'm going to mount 185/60 x 13 Toyo R888s on the 6 x 13 "pepperpot" wheels. The car is going to be used primarily for hillclimbs and time trial events. Regarding spares, I have a spare car (also a 1980), it is very rusty but mechanically sound, so that will help. Also, some spares did come with the car, heads, hubs, bearing carriers, etc. Yeah, I have bought some items from BAT recently but it doesn't seem like there is much left in their inventory. I also have a 1967 Ford Cortina Mk1 so I am familiar with part sources in the UK for Euro Fords. I get a lot of stuff from Burton Power...and ebay, especially ebay UK can be a good source for Fiesta MK1 parts.

Hello, and welcome to that special sort of hell which is trying to race a fiesta! sorry for my slow respnse. only check this site from timt to time. I run an itc fiesta. Neohio. Nelson ledges and midohio. Car is fun, can turn with the best of them, but lacks torque out of the corners and is down about 5-10 mph on the straights. Bat, eBay, and burton are the prime options for parts. I've accumulated a fair amount of spare parts, so contact me if you have a need. [email protected].

Good luck!

The two things that really made my old race car go was the change to a 4.06:1 final drive and at the same time a Quafe diff. I'm sure the diff is still available but I bet it's not cheap. The 4.06 should not be a problem as I think it was a stock gear for the transaxel in lower powerd Fiesta that Ford sold in Europe, like the 1.1L & 1.3L Kent engined cars.

I agree with the 4.06, although there was also a 4.29 I believe. Very hard to find. Maybe Europe, not available here as best I can tell. Can't tell you how important the Quaiffe is. I have one, but also found a Cosworth viscous unit which I find "feels" better. Not sure if its faster, or not. Re: tires - I've never been able to get anything bigger than 185's under mine (and that's with some creative fender well massaging!) There are lots of 185 (and 205) cast-offs from the spec racers. The car is amazingly easy on tires. Killer car in the wet.
Good luck!!

Swiftin,
Seems like the tire option is basically skinny but tall, or short but fat. I used a Hoosier 185 for a while but they are so tall I had to raise the car to keep the tire from hitting the frame/wheel well area. I went to a Kumho V710 215/50 which took a lot of offset precision to work but finally got it to work and lowered the car back down. They are crazy wide, but seems to be my best option since they have a good contigency deal. Howerever, Toyo's have worked good years ago for me but the tire got outdated... BUT, I've seen a picture of a new Toyo (not sure of available sizes though) which might be an option. Oh, and a friend of my got caught using the spec racer tire and almost got tossed out of the track - Something to do with it not being DOT.

Gary,
If you ever come across a source for a 4.29, let me know. I actually bought Randy Pobst's old car just to get the 4.06 from it.

Good morning. I saw your post and thought you might be interested in a set of Hoosier A6 185 13's. I bought them last year to run on my vintage Datsun B210 only to learn that they have been declare illegal by Vintage Race Group. They have never been on the car and still have the stickers. I live in Lansdale and know the Fleetwood area. Ran by first hillclimb there more years ago than I want to remember! If you are interested call me at 215 361 7555 or email me at [email protected]. I would like them to find a good home because I cannot obviously use them.

Regards,
John Payne