2000 Mondeo ST200
Steve Mangham is best known for restoring countless Capris but he has a soft spot for a Mondeo too. This stunning, rare ST200 LE in Imperial Blue may be a generation or so younger than his usual candidates but it still required a huge amount of work.
Steve Mangham, known to many as Steve Capri, has been restoring old Ford models for 25 years and in that time, he has built up a sizeable following, though it hasn’t all been plain sailing. After learning the art of bodywork repairs at college, before progressing to employment at an accident repair specialist, Steve made the wise decision to broaden his skills to include every aspect involved in rebuilding a car from ground up.
“I went on to learn about upholstery trimming and interiors” he says “All of this gave me the confidence to branch out and focus on a business of my own.”
In 2009, SM Classic Cars was born, and Steve’s timing was perfect.
“Back then, classic cars were gaining in popularity and I rediscovered that many owners were willing to put money into restorations which they wouldn’t have considered a few years earlier.” Steve says “Thankfully, SM Classic Cars has remained busy ever since.” SM currently has no less than 25 Capris awaiting their turn to be restored which will be all carried out in-house inside their extensive and suitably-sized workshop.
Despite Steve’s strong connection the Capri, some reading this might be surprised to hear he has quite a varied taste in old cars – Novas, Cavaliers & XR2s to name a few – many of which ended up modified. Yet there was one particular model that hit the mark at the time and Steve regretted selling it on as quickly as he did.
“Years ago, I bought a Mondeo ST200 and I can’t have had it long as I never added any mods, but I remember I was left impressed.” After the Mondeo’s sale, normal service would resume and any thoughts of buying another placed on the backburner. “That was until I woke up one morning and decided I needed another ST200 in my life,” Steve laughs, “I started looking straight away!”
Strictly limited
Not one to put off by an example needing some work, Steve opted to take a closer look at a rare 2000 ST200 Limited Edition saloon “It had been off the road for many years,” he says, “but this was a very original unmolested car with full history, and the price was good too.” Despite not seeing Tarmac for quite some time, Steve was pleased to discover the 2.5-litre V6 ran smoothly, though the brakes required some serious attention.
“I wasn’t expecting everything to be perfect and the bodywork was certainly rough around the edges, but I was relieved to hear that V6 running as it should,” he smiles. Back at SM’s HQ, work commenced stripping down the Mondeo’s shell to find out how far any corrosion had spread. Unfortunately, the news wasn’t ideal as pretty much the entire floor section would require major graft. “Just pulling the interior out revealed a horror show,” Steve says. “People still think of a Mondeo as a relatively modern car, but they’re still highly susceptible to rust!”
Putting his workshop skills to good use, Steve fabricated himself both front and rear floor pans along with a rear seat floor pan and a boot floor. “Frustratingly, none of these panel were available to buy off the shelf,” he adds. In contrast, the necessary replacement inner and outer sills along with rear arches are all still available to buy which helped save some time. Once the mammoth welding spree had been completed, Steve chose to purchase a set of NOS doors and wings which he managed to pick up for a bargain price. “That was one huge advantage to finding parts for a car that isn’t yet on a restorer’s radar,” Steve smiles.
“It took some time, but after some prep work and the addition of a sunroof, the shell was finally ready for paint at Doncaster-based Sandal Car Care.”
Fresh from the showroom, you’ll probably recall Mondeo ST200s in Imperial Blue always boasted an especially classy appearance, so it’s great to see an example, such as this, looking resplendent in its trademark colours once again.
Blast first
The floor pans had suffered badly from rust and the same could be said for most of the underside components too. “I salvaged as many parts as I could and had these blasted and powder coated, but everything else had to be bought new,” Steve points out. This included full suspension components, brakes, callipers and brake lines along with fuel lines and tank. “The ST200 came with 30 mm H&H springs, and I managed to get hold of a replacement set.” Steve explains. “The brake callipers were obsolete, so I had these refurbished and I was fortunate to track down replacement bottom arms in the USA as these are specific to this model!”
As work progressed building the shell back up, Steve brought in Mondeo specialist, Stephen Birch to help with the loom and
wiring. “Stephen was also able to supply a replacement full stainless exhaust.” Steve says, “I tried desperately to find a genuine
NOS ST200 exhaust but only found one section, but this will do for now.”
Further NOS parts would arrive in the shape of lights, badges and door and window seals helping to breath new life into that instantly recognisable ST200 exterior. Meanwhile, the factory 17 inch multi spoke rims were refurbished and treated to a set of NOS centre caps. Luckily, the ST200 Limited Edition interior which came with those unique black Recaro seats complete with blue inserts had somehow remained intact. “I was relieved when the entire interior came up well after a good scrub,” Steve adds.
Six appeals
That highly capable V6 had only covered 83,000 miles and appeared to be in very good heath so Steve made the sensible decision to reinstall the engine and ‘box without committing to any further work. “I plan to rebuild the V6 and gearbox when I get time and the engine bay will be freshened up too,” Steve adds, “but I’m happy with how the car drives for now, so it’s not a major priority,” There’s probably not that many blue oval fans who would go to such lengths in order to resurrect a Mondeo, but with such a great motorsport pedigree surrounding it, we’re sure it’s time will soon come. Unusually, for a Ford resto, Steve found many of the necessary components either very easy and surprisingly cheap to get hold of while others were impossible to track down. Either way, thanks to Steve’s perseverance and passion for these often overlooked yet highly capable saloons, he’s somehow managed it. In fact, he already has an ST200 hatch waiting for a similar makeover!
TECH SPEC
MONDEO ST200 LE
Engine: 2544cc 24-valve Duratec V6 with dual-phase induction system Transmission: MTX-75 five-speed manual gearbox
Suspension: (front) MacPherson struts with H&R 30 mm lowering springs and uprated dampers, lower A arms, (rear) Quadralink suspension with independent struts
Brakes: standard callipers with 278 mm vented front discs and 253 mm rear discs
Wheels and tyres: 7×17 inch multi-spoke alloys with 215/45R17 tyres
0-60: 7.5 seconds
Top speed: 141 mph
Price when new: £23,000 (approx)
CATCH THE SUN SWAPPING THE ROOF OVER
You may recall before air conditioning came along in all new cars, sunroofs were highly popular as a way to help occupants keep cool inside. Often plagued by leaks or seized mechanisms, most petrolheads never shed a tear at the passing of the trusty tilt-and-slide sunroof, but Steve remains a true fan. “The UK ST200 LE never came to the UK with a factory-fitted sunroof, but I really had to have one in my car,” Steve says. “This meant sourcing a NOS roof skin complete with sunroof aperture along with a manual sunroof and cradle.” As you’d expect, swapping to sunshine spec required a colossal amount of work which Steve could easily have avoided, but the benefits out on the open road on a warm summer’s day made all the effort worthwhile.
Sensibly, Steve has retained the original roof skin and headlining in case anyone wishes to return the car to factory spec in the future, but for now, this is one of just two Mondeo ST200 LEs in the UK to boast a tilt and slide sunroof. All that’s needed now is some sunshine!
