‘In typical Mcrae fashion it got rolled and re-shelled’
1989 Sierra Cosworth Craig Robb, Inverness
Is this the real thing?
Oh yes – it’s a genuine Colin Mcrae three-door Cosworth ex-rally car, so quite a rare beast. It’s still going strong and still getting used. It’s on a 1989 plate but was originally a 1986 car – in typical Mcrae fashion it got rolled and was then reshelled, which is why it’s on a G-plate now.
Colin did two full years in the Scottish Championship in it, as well as the odd event down south, so it’s quite a well-known car. I bought it in 2014 and have all the history with it. I’ve used it at lots of local events but have pretty much changed everything consumable on it.
It was still an original car when I got it but had been parked up for more than ten years, so everything was seized and it didn’t run. Parts had broken over the years and been replaced with standard stuff. It needed a thorough going through to get it up to proper order again.
So what’s original on it?
Plenty – including all the bits that really matter. It’s still got its original paint and its original paint wounds, but the decals were re-done because they were all faded. The company that did the work reproduced them using original photographs as a reference.
This is the car I grew up with
– age 15. It was my dream car in this colour scheme because Colin and his dad Jimmy both rallied in these colours.
To get a car you have always dreamed about, to be able to drive it and to know that all the bashes and scrapes are all still there, and that you’re holding the actual steering wheel that these legends held is a huge thing for me. You could never restore it because it would lose everything; all its history. You can see where it has a roofweld; it’s all part of its story.
And under the bonnet?
It’s got the original engine with the upgrades – different cams, different heads, different turbos, straight-cut gearbox and plated diff… so it is proper quick. All the local lads know that, so they know there’s no point in racing me coming off a roundabout. That’s the other thing – even the youngsters know what this is. They still think it’s cool. And that includes my co-driver, my daughter Alyssa.