My 2wd Sapphire Cosworth - Full Spec, rolling road graph, pics. Update 2/7/09

[CossieRich]

Having wanted a cosworth from a young age, I finally bought one and picked it up 6 years ago, on my 21st birthday. Knowing nothing about them, i went to view it blind so to speak. Turned up in my Mk2 Golf GTi 16v and was kept waiting for 3 hours until i was taken for a test drive. Think the dealer i was buying it off was used to idiots turning up, booting it and then walking away I was hooked immediately. The seller muttered something about a stage 1 chip, i could see a big exhaust, he showed me the file of receipts and HPi certificate and i said I will buy it. £5800 of my hard earned handed over and the keys to a 2wd Flint Grey Sapphire Cosworth were in my hand. Next day i called Mark Shead from MAD. I had met Rod 2 months before in his old engined 500 bhp saff and he had given me Mark's business card. Asked if i could pop over for him to check it all over for me and make sure it was running right as it had a slight mis-fire. No drama i thought, he will sort it. Turned up and the previous owner had wound the actuator right in to the limit so my t3 turbo and standard injectors were trying to cope with circa 20 psi . Mark said good job you bought it over to me and haven't given it a 150 mph booting. I said i have, i just drove through the mis-fire . Luckily no damage done. Boost was set back to standard as Mark didn't have a -31 on him. Couple of months went by, trouble free, i was getting used to rwd and boost and putting oil into it every week . switched her off one night and could hear a slight hissing noise. Thought that sounds like water hitting a very hot part of my engine. Fuck it, went to bed, got up next day and had a nosey around the engine bay. Couldn't find anything so forgot about it until i heard it again. This time in the day light so popped bonnet and could see drips of water hitting the exhaust. Called Mark, yep sounds like you head gasket has gone in the common place at the back of the head turbo side. Took car down to him, he had it for a day and called me. "Your turbo is on its last legs, more than acceptable play in the shaft. Do you want a new one. So a t34.48 was ordered, big cone filter and a -31. Mark put new head gasket on, set the correct boost and i was once again excited to drive it. Drive home was certainly enjoyable. 1 bar boost and the noise from the cone filter was great Another 8 months or so pass, driving it every day, going to cruises, racking up countless pointless miles but enjoying every second of it. Petrol stops were frequent but so was topping up with oil . Yet another call to Mark. How much oil per thousand miles Rich. About 2-2.5 litres . that more than normal and its only going to get worse Rich So decision was made to rebuild it. Familiar territory for most of you with cossies i expect. Got a brand new unfinished 200 block, 4x4 pistons, high flow oil pump, greens, 3 bar map sensor, Ahmed Chip from Woodford Garage. Dropped car to Mark and asked him to build be a good one . Told him to get any other parts he needed and add it to the bill. Bigger intercooler needed so another £300 gets spent in a matter of seconds 1 week later Mark calls. Car is ready (yes 1 week ). Drive it carefully for 1000 miles. Ive unplugged your amal valve. Come and see me when you have done 500 miles for oil change and check over. All is well and i complete the 1000 miles running in lark. Back to Mark's to put the greens on, 3 bar and chip. Set up on the road. 1.5 bar boost. I'm over the moon. Car felt so fast. Mark says its running a bit lean, you need a new fuel filter. So i get one, go back to him and he turns boost up to 1.7 bar. Even better i thought So with the engine sorted, i want some new wheels. Diamond cut RS 7 Spokes are big and popular, i liked them and Maxest from here i selling them. Bought them, put some decent ish tyres on and drove around trouble free for the next 2 years with plenty of sideways action out of roundabouts, 100 mph wheelspins in the wet etc. Car was rapid for a stage 3. I had been in some others by now and they didn't feel as strong as mine . Couple of trouble free trips to Le mans and lots of shows with Surrey RSOC and i was enjoying it. Was costly on petrol, insurance and servicing but i didn't care. It was my hobby and i loved it. Fancied a change of wheels as i wasn't overly happy of how the car handled and behaved with the rs 7 spokes on. As luck would have it a good mate of mine was selling the OZ Super T's off his 3 door, so i snapped them up and sold the 7 spoke to someone on here. With the car now looking nice on the new wheels, i thought it was time to sort out the suspension as the standard stuff was well past its sell by and the car handled shit. twitchy on the corners and loads of body roll. Quick call to Mike Rainbird had me convinced to go the Koni shocks with Ahmed spring route, so they were promptly ordered along with some of the shims he sells. Felt a big difference once the suspension and shims were fitted. Turn into corners was sharper, much less body roll and a much firmer ride all added up to a big thumbs up from me. By now i was more than used to the stage 3 power and started to look at ways to increase it. As Mark was getting good results from Autronics i seriously thought about having it done but the cost was just too much. Called Stu at MSD and asked what he could do for me whilst still retaining the standard ecu. Greys and one of his chips done to my engine spec was his answer. Mark suggested also getting a BD14 inlet and vernier pulleys as i had large enough pockets in my pistons from the rebuild and that was the biggest cam i could use with the standard valve springs. Phone call to Phil (bosch man) got me a set of greys and an 044 fuel pump. Woodford supplied me the cam and Stu sent the chip. Was all ready for a decent power hike. Mike R also suggested replacing the 48 exhaust housing on the turbo with a .55. Best of both worlds. Quick spool up and being able to hold onto the boost higher up the rev range. Took his advice and ordered from TT. the next trip to Marks proved an interesting and exciting one. Housings on turbo were swapped, greys put on and cam dialled in to Marks settings, new cam belt put on, fuel pump replaced and re-wired properly for decent and constant voltage. All that was left was to fit the chip and set it up. ST few stabs of the accelerator showed a peak boost of 2.1 bar. Felt soooo much quicker and more lively than before. Was over the moon. that wasn't enough for Mark or myself though. Quick bit of fettling with the actuator got to 2.2 bar and then no more adjustment with the -31. Need a -34 said Mark. Back down to Marks the following week and we saw 2.3 bar boost and the car felt rampant . I was like a kid at Christmas again. Cam gives a lumpyish tickover which would annoy some people but i love it. Le mans was looming again and i wanted to stiffen up the front suspension a tad so went to my mates garage to make sure all was ok and last minute adjustment. Booting it home on the motorway and engine cut out. No warning, just died. Panic stations for a few seconds and then quickly realised there was no smoke out the exhaust or from under the bonnet. Cant be engine failure, must be electrical. Sat at side of motorway for half an hour with a dead car and then suddenly back to life. Called Ryan the next day to oder a new loom The costs of owning and wanting a fast car were mounting up. Bit the bullet and ordered a SECS monitor as well to keep an eye on sensors, voltage and water temps. Ryan kindly fitted my loom and i fitted the SECS monitor. Voltage was very good at 14.2 which meant fuel pump would also be seeing the correct figures 2nd day into Le mans trip. Car was feeling great. Very fast, no dramas and then existing a roundabout, engine dies. SECS monitor didn't show any alarms so was puzzled. Popped bonnet, no boost pipes off, no obvious signs of anything wrong, until i looked under the cam belt cover. Oh dear. Belt not there (nearly real tears at the time. In the middle of France) Cam belt cover came off quick smart to reveal the damage. What had happened was: The top alternator bolt that you tighten when the belts are tensioned correctly had come loose, dropped down behind the cam belt cover, gone round the belt and lodged itself under the exhaust cam pulley and thermostat housing. This stopped the pulley from moving and th belt had snapped under the strain. Had stripped some of the teeth of the pulley and the blot had bent the top of the cam belt tensioner also . Game over in France. Had to get car recovered to England. Once back got it towed to Marks thanks to Dave (YUM). Mark had said i could do the work myself under his supervision. Head came off to reveal 8 bent valves. No damage to the pistons though. Valves were sourced and Mark set about showing me how to remove bent ones and lap the new ones in. Was good fun and i learnt a lot in the coming month about engines and how they work and how they go together. Vernier pulleys were good for only scrap so a new set were ordered along with cometic metal head gasket and everything else needed to put it back together. Was slightly nervous turning the engine over for the 1st time but it spluttered into life. Job done i thought. Na out on road test and boost wouldn't go abut 1.7 bar. No matter what was tried it wouldn't go up. Mark said if i could get hold of a .63 housing we could try that. So i dug deep and ignored the sensible side of my head and ordered a brand new one through Mike R. Fitted it and the result was instant. Boost had actually increased to a peak of 2.5 bar, with 2 bar being held to over 6500 rpm. Car was the quickest it has ever been and not many cars could get close to it. No idea on power as it hadn't been on the rollers. Next problem reared its head whilst out driving steadily. SECS monitor started alarming say low battery voltage. Thought thats strange and then plumes of smoke started appearing from behind the dash. Shit myself, pulled over, switched off and prayed that the whole thing wouldn't go up in flames. Gave it a few mins, clicked ignition to position 1. stereo came on, so wasn't that. Clicked onto position 2 and smoke started pouring out of the dash and the smell was horrid Turned it off and called AA. They towed me back and i phoned my mate Stu again Lol. He came round and took my dash apart to find this: Phone call to Paul at North Yorks soon had a whole car loom winging its way to me and Stu yet again saved the day by cutting out the burnt stuff, matching it up to the loom from Paul and then soldering and re-looming the whole lot behind the dash with in-line fuses just in case anything like that was to happen again. Cant thank him enough That was 2006 and 2007 out the way Onto this year and the ever looming Le mans trip. Was fed up to the back teeth of warped discs and a diff that only span one wheel, not to mention the fact i couldn't get the power down in 1st and 2nd gear even with 215 section tyres on the rear. Sometimes even RD gear created wheelspin. Had to be sorted as i wanted a car that i could use properly, and not go sideways all the time. That is fun but i wanted more. With the OZ wheels being only 7 inch wide i was limited for tyre choice. Decided to look at new wheels that were 8x17. Martin H posted up the new wheels he would be getting cast from Comp. they looked the part. Proper motorsport with plenty of room for big brakes. Few phone calls to Martin and i ordered the wheels, AP 330mm four pots and after advice ordered toyo 888 tyres all round. By this time I'm nearly bankrupt Drove to Birmingham to collect all this from Martin H: Back to my mate Stu's workshop to have all this fitted. Had found some lost enthusiasm for the old girl and couldn't wait to get it all on. In the mean time whilst waiting for the above parts to be ready, I spoke to Marco about diff options as he is the man in the know. Various options were discussed before i settled on an uprated Diff from Bara. Viscous coupling is beefed up and with the super sticky 888 going on i was sure my standard crappy diff wouldn't last. Another drive up North to pick the diff up from Marco: So with all hands on it me and Stu got to work. New diff on with one of Mike R diff hangers: Old manky worn out standard one: New Brakes going on: Here you can see the standard brake caliper hanging next to the new AP one New wheels: Rear with 235/40/17 Toyo 888 Front with 205/40/17 And finally back on the ground and out of the workshop : At last my Cosworth was looking great, had decent power, could stop well and could drive out of corners with the limited slip diff actually doing its job or at least thats what i thought Test drive with new wheels on revealed that the rear tyres were fouling the arch big time. . Turns out the 235 wide tyre from toyo actually measures 243 wide. So an extra 8 mm wider than we thought. No wonder it was rubbing so hardcore. Great for grip but not for my poor arches and tyres. The fronts measure 212 wide despite being badged as 205. So almost a 215 at the front. The fronts cleared the arches ok though Martin had ordered the wheels in ET35 offset so i put a shit set of wheels on the back and drove back to Birmingham with the cossie for him to take a look. He agreed to send the rear wheels back and get a new pair in ET40, which would push the wheel further in by 5mm. Few weeks went by and wheels were ready shod with the 888's. Back to Birmingham. Put wheels on and jack suspension up so the wheel actually sits in the arch. Cleared the arch by a couple of mm at the most. Journey home proved difficult as even though the wheels cleared when static as soon as bumps on the road and camber came into it the tyres were scrubbing again . I want going to be beaten by this as i knew once sorted the grip would be great. So, another mate of mine who is good with things like rolling arches was drafted in. He did whatever he does best and my car came back with no rubbing issues. cheers Calum Now it was time to actually use the car. What can i say, the latest mods (brakes, diff, wheels and tryes) have completely transformed the car. Brakes: Everyone with big brakes will appreciate the difference over standard setup. Its night and day difference and so confidence inspiring to know when you press the brake the car will begin to slow without the steering wheel trying to jump out of your hands. Push the pedal harder and the car really does begin to slow down quickly. Stamp on the pedal and you are almost sent through the windscreen No fade, no juddering, just proper braking force that is needed with these cars at this level of power. Diff: Very noticeable difference when pulling away from a standstill either normally or if giving it a bit. Both wheels turn instantly as the diff locks. Not one wheel that makes the back twitch dramatically and then the diff locking and turning the other wheel. Coming off the power doesn't induce an unstable back end or a clonk or clunk. A very good upgrade on my car and for those not wanting to pay for a quaife unit this is a good choice. Speak to Marco Wheels and Tyres: Apart from looking the absolute dogs danglies (IMO) and making my saff look hard as nails its nice to be different. The tyres are in a different league to anything else i have tried. I knew grip would be improved but not to this level. No longer do i come out of roundabouts and have to wait until i put my foot on the loud pedal as i want to go straight and not sideways. I can plant my foot before the exit and come out straight with grip and true acceleration. Even tried it in 1st and it wouldn't go sideways or wheelspin. Mighty impressed and i recommend these tyres to anyone who wants to improve grip. Next on my list is to get it handling properly. No point in having grip if the car wont actually handle through the twisties. So a rear beam from Ahmed, 3 door front hubs and adjustable track control arms are on the list and as i want to actually be able to use the car without fear of loosing my license i am going to put it on a track day. Big wing sump is on order with Mike. Pics of how it looks now all clean and tidy: Concours condition it isn't. Mega powerful its not, but i love it and the grin it puts on my face Updates will follow when new parts arrive. Big thanks to Mark Shead, my mate Stu, Mike R, Martin H, Stu at MSD, Dean at MAD, my mate Calum, and Marco. Without these people i wouldn't be enjoying it today Hope you enjoyed the read.

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[Benni]

Looks fantastic on the new wheels. Will be really good when you have some better handling.

Benni.

[AquariousRS]

Great read, love the wheels.

[CossieRich]

Originally Posted by AquariousRS

Great read, love the wheels.

cheers bud

[robocos]

Good read. High's and lows are what it's all about.

[Staffi_]

Great thread Rich, good old Sheady a?

Car looks superb on those rims too Rich.........

[KSA-Cossie]

Love reading these stories,car looks superb m8,bet it goes well.

[rickbartlett]

NICE STORY MATE.NICE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT.

[Slevin Kelevra]

I do like those wheels!

[Sticky.]

Great read Rich....

[Franco]

Good little read there Rich!

[lamb chops]

enjoyed that car looks amazing on the wheels! i cant wait to get my engine rebuilt now and start enjoying it again after reading that. need to get it out the car first though

[CossieRich]

Thanks for the comments guys. I forgot to add in when the wiring loom started smoldering behind the dash. I have pics of the burnt stuff. May add it in later. It's amazing how long that took me to write last night

[Steve the Plumber]

Great read bud, nice spec and looks good too.

[bigryrs]

looks mint on them rims mate good story as well i would have gone mad and sold it halfway through the trouble you had but it must be worth it in the end keep up the good work

[rsnissan]

Nice write up mate and car, cant remember is i have ever seen the car at a middx meet back in the day.

[Porkie]

Good read thanks mate. Wheels look spot on

[CossieRich]

Originally Posted by Porkie

Good read thanks mate. Wheels look spot on

Ahhh lee. The hater of Saff's. I hope one day to see you at a track day mate and hand you the keys to my pride and joy. Hopefully you will come back in not hating saff's quite as much. The plan is to make mine go, stop and handle very well but not end up spending mega mega bucks as i havent got it to spend.

Yes wheels look great. I'm very happy.

[Cossie Helen]

Good read Rich !


Now get to Surrey RSOC meets and enjoy driving it there and back !

[Mad Matt]

Wow, nice story there mate. Quite lot of bad luck, but surely great memories. Congrats, your car look nuts !

Not to mention I love the wheels (thank you Rossie )

[Daxcossie]

Nice read : )

[Lambchop]

nice story mate! i didnt know too much about your car but i do now

its in the best colour and has plenty trick bits. one day mine will be back

[CossieRich]

Originally Posted by Lambchop

nice story mate! i didnt know too much about your car but i do now

its in the best colour and has plenty trick bits. one day mine will be back

Chop,

yes i hope to read about yours one day mate

[Lambchop]

Originally Posted by CossieRich

Chop,

yes i hope to read about yours one day mate

worst thing is i have all the underside resto pics now but never been arsed to make a post

as soon as my new bushes come i will deffo start the ball rolling and get some inspiration for building an engine!

[CossieRich]

Originally Posted by Lambchop

worst thing is i have all the underside resto pics now but never been arsed to make a post

as soon as my new bushes come i will deffo start the ball rolling and get some inspiration for building an engine!

that took me hours to write last night. toruble is once you start writing it, you cant stop and then more things pop into your head and you go back and edit

Get one going with what you are up to now and the comments people leave will keep you motivated

[hai07222]

Good read, the saff looks great on thoes wheels

[Daxcossie]

Rich,

On your rebuilt engine, what did your oil consumption go down to per 1000 miles ?

[CossieRich]

its done 18k now since it was rebuilt. Even now at silly high boost i never have to put more than half a litre per thousand miles. And i only have to put that much in after serious abuse. Normal spirited driving means i put next to nothing or nothing in.

[fezzajsy]

looks good

[cossiegreg1]

cracking read . nice to know im not the only one with cosworth problems. lol

[Simmo]

Great story... I'll be keeping an eye on this!!!

Originally Posted by CossieRich

the comments people leave will keep you motivated

How true...

[CossieRich]

Originally Posted by simmosaph

Great story... I'll be keeping an eye on this!!!



How true...

Will be a few more updates throughout the coming months, with one particularly good one hopefully. Thnaks for the comments mate

[MadRod]

Rich is proper Cossie petrol head, his Cossie is the very best that his budget can afford & hes as proud as f**k of it. Love you car Rich & the manner in which you use it.
Now get your butt to the Surrey meet on Tuesday & let us all have a look.
All the best
Rod

[CossieRich]

Rod,

Thanks foir the kind words mate. I WILL bring it to the surrey meet. If you havent already spoke to Mark about the plans for mine, please do so. A certain something is on its way to MAD HQ. Cant bloody wait

Been out in this and wow a very well set up car


And the best thing about this petrol head club is l have made a very good friend

[Charlie Chalk]

I'm itching for a Saph, But I keep saying no


Lovely car mate, and a good read... Think you need to type a little bit more though

[marco polo]

great work richy fair play to you mate


cheers marco

[Nash]

Rich really nice car mate. Mine is going the same sort of spec when it comes back out right down to the R888's. Outer archs will be flared and rolled slightly and have a lump hammer at the ready for the inner archs, already some rubbing on the inners with 235 T1-R's so will defo be worse with R888.

I would love a passenger ride out in it if possible just to see what mine would roughly be like.

[CossieRich]

Thanks for the nice comments lads. Makes it all seem more worthwhile when people take an interest.

[K420RS]

Glad your happy rich its taken blood,sweat,tears and gallons of coca-cola!