ADE BRANNAN
CONTRIBUTOR
Lockdown v3.0 wasn’t going to get Ali McMillan down — instead he threw himself into a 500 hp Saph project as Ade reveals on
Being in and out of lockdown for the last year or so has done unusual things to the classic car scene. For a lot of people, the desperation of confinement has encouraged a certain lethargy, leaving them with little energy beyond trying to complete Netflix with an endless stream of takeaway pizzas. But for a hardcore of car enthusiasts, we’ve seen people turning their frowns upside-down by squirrelling themselves away in the garage, pouring all of their passionate efforts into building top-flight motors.
A keen example of this is Ali McMillan’s Sapphire RS Cosworth project which, as you can see, has been advancing very well over the last few months. Purchased as a stripped shell back in March 2020, he’s been reimagining the project according to the specific blueprint in his head. Of course, it helps that Ali’s the sort of fella who thrives on being in the garage anyway, elbows-deep in various icons of the RS genre. A few years ago, sister-mag Fast Ford featured his Sierra RS500 Thundersaloon, a period Wolf Racing creation that he painstakingly restored ready for fresh track exploits, followed by a Group A RS500 Touring Car studded with genuine Rouse parts. With Ali’s automotive endeavours woven into the DNA of MJ Racing up in Motherwell, we’ve more recently seen MJ’s bright orange Escort RS Cosworth race car doing the rounds, along with Ali’s own Escort Cossie track weapon, another ex-Wolf Racing build. Safe to say he knows his onions, then. So when Ali fancied a project to keep his hand in through all the Covid weirdness, a Cosworth of some description was inevitable.
How and where did you find this car? I found the car for sale on Facebook Marketplace, a 4x4 Sapphire shell in a pretty sorry state. It was only a few hundred Pounds, and I couldn’t help myself — another Cosworth rescued from the crusher!
What condition was it in when it arrived? It was all stripped out when I got it, with rotten floors and so on, all of which has been remedied now. The previous owner’s welding needed a little tidying up, shall we say… the floors were totally rusted through, so they’ve all been cut out and replaced, and it’s had new sills and everything it needs. Having put it on a spit to fully assess it, there was a bit of work to do! After a fair amount of effort to get that all completed, it was then etch-primed and Raptor coated underneath.
What sort of spec and power will theYB engine have? I’ve built a 2.4-litre stroker engine for it which should be making somewhere in the region of 550 bhp. I’m as yet undecided on which turbo I’ll be using; it’s currently fitted with a hybrid T4 unit. The engine’s got high-lift cams, a ported head, coil packs and a big-wing motorsport sump. I had a choice of plenums to go for, and ultimately decided on an RS500 unit by Hart with 1000cc injectors. It’s got race engine mounts, an oil cooler and a remote oil filter, and it’s been converted to run the six-speed Getrag gearbox from a BMW M3.
You know your way around a race car — is that sort of thinking going to inform the chassis set-up? I’ve tried to keep it as road-spec as I can with minimal mods to the running gear and chassis; however with my background in racing cars I do find myself getting the urge to fit race stuff, I can get carried away! The car’s fitted with Leda coil-overs and compression struts, and the front brakes are Jaguar Alcon six-pots with custom brackets, 2wd Group A bells and 365 mm discs; the rear callipers are stock with grooved discs. All of the main components have been blasted and powder-coated, and I’ve just gone with polybushes instead of fully Rose-jointing it. I’m basically making it a high-spec road car without going full-race, if that’s a thing!
How about the inside? The interior will be fitted with the standard leather Recaros, with the addition of some control gauges and so on. Again, it’s a road car, not a track toy — so we’re talking full dash, doorcards, carpets, all the right bits.
What will the exterior look like — subtle and standard-looking, or something a bit more extreme? Well, the controversial part is that it’s been painted in Frozen White rather than Diamond White! The body’s all finished; I couldn’t find a decent Cosworth bonnet so I made one. The car’s got the classic Sapphire look with amber indicators and all the correct trim, and there’s a touch of motorsport with the wheels: old-style 8x18 inch Group 4 Compomotive M06 with 225/35 tyres, extended studs and Group 4 conversion nuts. Like I say, I do get the urge to fit the race stuff.
“I COULDN’T FIND A DECENT COSWORTH BONNET SO I MADE ONE...”
Have you been doing all the work yourself? All the work has been done by me — it became a lockdown project to keep me sane during the pandemic.
What are your plans for using the car once it’s finished? It will be used as per normal, I’m not a show car guy and I believe cars like this need to be used properly — so look forward to some tail-out action on my YouTube and Instagram channels!
You can keep up to date with progress on Instagram at @m_j_racing, or search for MJ RACING on YouTube.