Slowly dragging one to the grave....

[scotman]

I finally got the time to drag the front half of a vandalized 2012 Fiesta sedan onto the hoist and remove the engine and transaxle. It runs and drives great, but the body was too mangled to save. The rear of the this one is being slowly converted into a gas grill (on a retractable arm out of the trunk compartment ) and a C02 fed keg beer tap system in the front! So, this party car is destined to be a party in front and back! I have added a towing tongue to the bodytub after welding the rear doors shut. I'm still working on the lid over the former back seat area. It's a lot of work.

 

[HeatonJL]

That sounds pretty cool. Are you going to share photos of the grill build?

 

[scotman]

That sounds pretty cool. Are you going to share photos of the grill build?

Yes. I will. But, it won't be a how to build tutorial. I originally bought the vandalized Fiesta sedan specifically for the front crash beam, core support and coolers. The car was basically half cut up by it's owner who decided that he no longer needed to take his anti psychotic medications, the end result of it all being one 68 thousand mile 2012 Fiesta with a huge hole in the back, no roof air bags or center roof panel, no back window, no package shelf, no trunk lid or hinges, no tail lamp wires, no back seat. You can imagine a worst case scenario short of it being undrivable and you are pretty close to what I have to work with! The idea of a Fiesta party grill/trailer is slow to happen because of how butchered the tub is. My primary focus is on building a Fiesta hatchback into a beach style, open car for a family friend who lives in Naples, Florida. Where a car like that is perfectly in its element. The grill is just a way to recycle some leftover Fiesta stuff.

 

[manbearpig]

Have you made any progress on this?

 

[scotman]

Hello. Yes! I have built an articulated arm for the grill top that will allow the cooking surface to be swung out and parallel with the left side of the Fiesta body tub. I had to do that because I don't want to be cooking meat inside the trunk compartment and having to clean up that nightmare later!
This project is going slowly because it is just a way to use the leftover Fiesta parts. It's not a big priority. If scrap metal prices had been higher, I probably would have taken it to the shredder and bought a twelve pack of my favorite beer.
I used the subframe from this Fiesta to do a pictorial install demo for poly bushings on the front anti sway bar, in the Suspension and brakes discussion area.

 

[scotman]

I started with a new Charbroil grill. I am only using the broiler top, lid and fuel supply lines. I would like to try to keep the (not shown) side burner.But it would have to be made to fold up close to the cook top. These are comparison images of the almost finished lighter " faux" cardboard dimensional model and the real deal. The actual grill top has a lethal number of sharp edges that makes handling it very difficult and potentially bloody.

 

[scotman]

This is the base and primary swing arm before I drilled it for the bolt/pin with bronze bushings.
I am thinking that I will swing out the grill and pull it over about 12 to 14 inches from the rear bumper cover. I don't want to melt the cover. Plus, it looks bad to catch the damn thing on fire just to cook a few burgers.
I originally wanted to feed the propane line through the arm and then to the front of the tub. But, the line is not that bendy. And I think I can wrap it in heat shield and tether it to the underside well enough that it won't interfere with the swing path in/out. That remains to be seen.

 

[scotman]

This is/was the raw material for the grill trailer. I have the trunk lid. But, the hinges and reinforcement beam below what was a back window are completely and crudely cut away!
This problem, along with the tailamp and tailpan being heavily chopped up, mean that I might be better off getting another sedan tub for parts that I can much more easily cut and change into a BBQ Fiesta grill. This one is ok for fabrication purposes but that missing rear bulkhead and trunk hinges are a huge problem ( IE; the body shell is not dimensionally correct anymore) I also could use a hatchback rear section. The shorter stowage area is offset by the greater headroom which not having a trunk lid provide me to not need to cut down the grill lid height in order to get closure.

 

[Handy Andy]

Hey!

Are you going to use a "Ragtop" for the roof section then?

 

[scotman]

I plan to use the stock sedan trunk lid to gain access to the grill. The forward area is going to have a hinged, rigid cover. Like the hard tonneau cover for a pickup truck.. can't find a better description than that. I will need the hinged cover so I can reach the gas bottle and cooler chest. Probably also a small bin for tongs, spatula, and cleaning equipment. I hope that I am correctly understanding your question.

 

[Handy Andy]

I thought you were going to make the Grill "portable" in the effort of a tailgating party vehicle with a convertible roof...

At least - that's what I was thinking... - sunglasses et.al.

 

[scotman]

Nope. I took the coolers, front crash beam and sensors for another project Fiesta hatchback. The Rear of the body tub, minus the roof, is going to become a trailer.
This one is not a high priority to complete. A Fiesta grill was on my want list. But I have a involved project for a Hatchback that is the main reason for buying the parts car in this thread. But, I am looking forward to using it at meets! How many enthusiast owners get to cook lunch on the same brand of grill as the car they drive? It should be a huge hit with the other Fiesta owners.

 

[manbearpig]

When and where are these meets taking place? I'm guessing everything is on hold until the virus is under control.

 

[scotman]

Plans are not yet defined. But there is the Woodward dream cruise and other large events in the region. I also thought it would be possible to offer the use of it to some non profit organizations for an event they might have use of it for.
I'm sure that it will be busy in the summer months.