When I first purchased Mike from his previous owner, it quickly became apparent that there were quite a few little jobs that needed attention. Although nothing was particularly serious, there was certainly plenty of room for improvement.

The rear bumper had suffered some damage, leaving large areas of missing paint and a broken mounting bracket underneath. The front grille also needed some attention, while there were various scratches and dents dotted around the car. Poor Mike had clearly lived a little before coming to me. To add to the list, there was also a slow puncture and, rather surprisingly for a 2011 car, no Bluetooth.

I started with the rear bumper. After finding the correct paint code, I removed the bumper and attempted to tidy it up myself. The right-hand side had a large area where the paint was missing, exposing the grey plastic underneath. I ordered a replacement mounting bracket directly from Ford, along with a hand rivet tool, and set about putting everything back together.

The end result certainly wasn't perfect. My painting skills left a little to be desired, and the bumper still doesn't sit completely flush with the bodywork. I'm assuming there may be some underlying damage to the bumper mounting or frame, which I will investigate further at some point. However, it was a huge improvement over how it looked when I bought the car, and for a first attempt, I was reasonably happy with the result.

With the bumper looking considerably more presentable, my next job was the slow puncture. I booked Mike in at my local Halfords for a new tyre and decided to take advantage of their free brake check while I was there.

I remember thinking, "Great, the brakes should be fine."

About an hour later, I received the call I was secretly hoping I wouldn't get. I was told that pretty much everything brake-related needed replacing, with a rather eye-watering bill of around £850.

Silly me paid for the work before really considering whether every component genuinely needed replacing immediately. Looking back, some of the parts may well have had another year or two left in them. But there was a positive side: I now knew that the braking system had been thoroughly refreshed, and I could drive away knowing Mike's brakes were in good condition.

It wasn't exactly the cheapest start to my ownership, but these early jobs were all part of getting Mike back into shape. And, as I would soon discover, this was only the beginning of the journey.

After digging out all my old CDs and filling every compartment I could find with them, I decided there had to be a better way to enjoy the music I love without constantly changing discs. I also wanted access to full playlists, maps and a few other useful features.

I looked into various CarPlay systems, both built-in and standalone, as well as Bluetooth adapters for the cigarette lighter socket. Then I had an idea: why not use an old Android tablet I already had?

I set it up with a car-friendly home screen and tethered it to my phone's hotspot. After trying a few different launcher apps, I found CWG, which quickly became my favourite. There are loads of themes to choose from, including seasonal ones, so I could make the tablet feel much more like part of the car.

I connected it through the Fiesta's 3.5mm jack and haven't looked back. I now have everything I need in one place — my favourite music app, maps for longer journeys and even a dash cam app.

It doesn't connect directly to phone calls, but I can use meeting apps to control who can contact me while I'm driving. I even have a few TV apps installed, which come in handy when we're sitting in the car waiting for the boy at football and catching up on our latest TV binge.

For an old tablet and a bit of experimenting, it's turned out to be one of the most useful upgrades I've made.

Chrome is lovely when it’s clean and polished, but I wanted Mike to stand out from the other Squeeze Green Fiestas driving around. There seem to be more of them appearing in my area since I got Mike, so I wanted something that would make people think, “Yep, that’s Darryll’s one.” Mainly so my granddaughter can spot him from half a mile away!

After spending far too much time looking at cheap ways to personalise Mike, I still couldn’t find the perfect set of eyes and horns to finish off his Mike Wazowski look. So, I started with what I could find: trim tape, a satin black rear light tint and yellow tint for the front lights.

I also spent what felt like several years researching the legality of tinting headlights. After many conversations with AI, plenty of reading and probably more research than was strictly necessary, I think I’ve finally worked out what I can and can’t do. Please remember, though, that my research is just that — always check the current UK rules yourself before modifying your lights.

Starting at the back

The rear lights were my first attempt at wrapping. I managed to find some satin black tint and, feeling like a proper professional, decided to give it a go.

Of course, I didn't own a heat gun.

What I did have was a very hot day, so naturally I decided that was basically the same thing.

Somehow, it worked! I managed to get the bubbles out, cover the lights without removing the fittings and, most importantly, not completely ruin them. The satin finish turned out to be a really good choice and immediately gave Mike a much more personalised look.

Yellow up front

Next came the headlights and fog lights.

After plenty of research, AI conversations and probably far too many attempts at convincing myself I wasn't about to mess it up, I decided to try a yellow finish. Against the Squeeze Green, I think it looks fantastic.

I also used AI to create some mock-ups before actually doing the job, which definitely helped. Seeing the finished idea beforehand made me even more determined to get stuck in.

The front headlights were considerably harder than the rear lights because of their shape, but for a complete beginner at this sort of thing, I'm actually pretty proud of how they turned out.

A little shade and a lot of black

I added a honeycomb-style sun strip next, partly for a bit of shade on those bright mornings driving to work and partly because... well, it looked cool!

Then came the de-chrome mission.

I worked my way around the car, covering the chrome window trim and continuing along the boot. I then tackled the front grille, only to discover that the grille itself was already damaged.

And, for once, it wasn't me! 😂

I started looking for a replacement PFL grille and quickly discovered that an OEM one wasn't exactly cheap. Eventually, I found one for just under £30, so I ordered it.

That was a month ago.

I'm still waiting.

So, if anyone sees a small package wandering around Essex looking slightly confused, please send it my way.

While I was waiting, I carried on with the black theme and found a black Fiesta badge, which went straight on.

The transformation

With the de-chroming, tinted lights, black badge and wind deflectors, Mike started looking completely different. Nothing massively expensive, nothing particularly complicated — just lots of little changes that have made the car feel much more like mine.

And that's really the whole point of this project.

There is still loads I'd like to do to personalise Mike, and I'll be sharing every step of the journey as I go. Some jobs will probably go brilliantly, others may involve a fair amount of swearing, but that's half the fun!

For now, though, I'm pretty happy with how he's turning out.

Well... I am anyway. That's all that matters, right? 😂