Of springs and summer
THERE’S BEEN a huge gap between the last report and this one and the simple reason is that I needed the space for my Mustang restoration, so the Cossie had to winter away elsewhere.
Work didn’t stop, though. I wanted to substitute original springs for the lowered and uprated items that mine, as with the majority of surviving RS Cosworths, had acquired over the years. Problem was, nobody makes them. But then some research took me to Alpha Springs in Sheffield, who made race springs for the Sierra Cosworth back in the day and kept a record of the free length and rates of the standard items first. Bingo!
Alpha made a fresh set for me and Richard Upton at ITG Motorsport fitted them over the winter while I cracked on with the Mustang. Meanwhile, I’d managed to track down some original Ford data on the front springs, which confirmed the new Alpha springs were accurate – but the car was still low at the front. Richard soon figured out that the spring seats on the uprated front struts were mounted lower than standard items and the aggressive rear shock absorbers were jacking the car up at the rear.
I needed to bring forward the plan to replace all four corners with standard shocks but originals are very rare and likely to be worn anyway. After a visit to his local ‘old school’ motor factor, Richard found standard items were still listed and available for £186 the set.
I retrieved D990 for the summer and I’ve been having fun running in the still-fresh engine. Finishing touches to the engine bay included a set of stickers, right down to an original period Motorcraft sticker for the battery that I found on eBay. I’ve also replaced the missing digital clock that had been displaced by extra gauges, and found and fitted a pair of mint rear wheelarch liners, which typically disintegrate with age. Another eBay discovery, they came from Serbia!
Next, I’ll continue fettling some of the finer points and I’ve yet to clean the carpets and thoroughly detail the whole car. Then it should smell as good as it looks.