Convertible Mondeo SCI to SUV
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2026
I know I'm probably a little late, but...
A 2003 1.8 SCI Ghia X saloon with low mileage and two prior owners who couldn't pinpoint the source of a very intermittent miss fire (Ford didn't want to know) was purchased by my son two years ago.
Before the timing chain came loose and the valves said "hello" to the pistons, the car was running smoothly for us.
It didn't take long for us to figure out that the SCI was one of Ford's blunders; we searched high and low for a replacement engine, but to no avail—not even in Latvia, the European capital of SCIs.
We began looking for a replacement engine because the exterior of this vehicle appears to have just been manufactured.
An engine bay harness, fuse box, five speed box, and electronic control unit (ECU) were all part of the 2 litre HE power unit that we found a few months later; the engine had 30,000 miles on it.
I devoted days to studying wiring schematics in an effort to fix the numerous problems with the new indirect injection system that replaced the old direct injection system.
Ultimately, the electrics weren't too complicated to sort out, but there was a tonne of unused wiring and plugs because the SCI is a fly-by-wire throttle pedal.
Switching from a 6-speed to a 5-speed gearbox was a breeze because the HE ECU and engine loom handled all the electrical connections for the boxes. All that was required was a new gear lever and cables.
In order to avoid running additional wires through the bulkhead, the HE and SCI halves of the fuse box were nearly identical, with the exception of two data wires that were redirected to pins 2 and 10 of the OBD2 port via the now-redundant throttle pedal wiring.
In conclusion, some other outliers:
successful first-time MOT
A single sensor went unused in the HE engine's exhaust system.
There is no longer a £70:00 fuel filter.
The original SCI drive shafts are used.
Everything on the SCI Ghia X, including the speedo and instrument cluster, is working as it should. The only thing left to do is to get the air conditioning to turn on.
It was entertaining in a strange way; the mechanical parts kept my son, who is 32 years old, sharp, and the electronics tested this 77-year-old's mind.
Changing the ST220's driver's door is the next task.
A 2003 1.8 SCI Ghia X saloon with low mileage and two prior owners who couldn't pinpoint the source of a very intermittent miss fire (Ford didn't want to know) was purchased by my son two years ago.
Before the timing chain came loose and the valves said "hello" to the pistons, the car was running smoothly for us.
It didn't take long for us to figure out that the SCI was one of Ford's blunders; we searched high and low for a replacement engine, but to no avail—not even in Latvia, the European capital of SCIs.
We began looking for a replacement engine because the exterior of this vehicle appears to have just been manufactured.
An engine bay harness, fuse box, five speed box, and electronic control unit (ECU) were all part of the 2 litre HE power unit that we found a few months later; the engine had 30,000 miles on it.
I devoted days to studying wiring schematics in an effort to fix the numerous problems with the new indirect injection system that replaced the old direct injection system.
Ultimately, the electrics weren't too complicated to sort out, but there was a tonne of unused wiring and plugs because the SCI is a fly-by-wire throttle pedal.
Switching from a 6-speed to a 5-speed gearbox was a breeze because the HE ECU and engine loom handled all the electrical connections for the boxes. All that was required was a new gear lever and cables.
In order to avoid running additional wires through the bulkhead, the HE and SCI halves of the fuse box were nearly identical, with the exception of two data wires that were redirected to pins 2 and 10 of the OBD2 port via the now-redundant throttle pedal wiring.
In conclusion, some other outliers:
successful first-time MOT
A single sensor went unused in the HE engine's exhaust system.
There is no longer a £70:00 fuel filter.
The original SCI drive shafts are used.
Everything on the SCI Ghia X, including the speedo and instrument cluster, is working as it should. The only thing left to do is to get the air conditioning to turn on.
It was entertaining in a strange way; the mechanical parts kept my son, who is 32 years old, sharp, and the electronics tested this 77-year-old's mind.
Changing the ST220's driver's door is the next task.