RichardPON

Having seen all these restoration posts, I thought I'd start my own, going right back from when I bought the car, and then updating it with the pics of the new build...........

So from the beginning.................................

Bought this Sapphire Cosworth back in 1999 - standard looking 2wd with a few bits:







Came with the 4x4 bonnet, twin lights, and was Stage 3, running a 200 block, and 4x4 head.

I didn't give a lot for the car as the paintwork was ropey, but since I knew the car was gonna be resprayed, I thought I'd buy it anyway.

The car had rust on the arches, and really bad rust on the tops of the doors where water had collected:







So I sent the car in for the respray, only to collect it again the next day, when the bodyshop told me they weren't prepared to do the little bit of welding I wanted doing under the car.

I collected the car, brought it home, stripped the back end out to find:

Diff - all the bolts to the driveshaft had been fooked over by a person eager with the chisel.



One of the rear trailing arms bent, and all the rear bushes totally knackered.



Also found a little bit of rust on the rear chassis rails. Got prodding with the screwdriver and the result was:

wimwerf

OMG...that's gonna take a lot of work mate.

good luck

RichardPON

Whilst the back end was out, I took the opportunity to replace:

All the rear bushes.
Both trailing arms.
Both rear chassis rails.
Diff bolts, and mount.
Rear calipers and discs swapped for 4x4 ones from original 2wd.
Fuel pump cradle, fuel pump, and filter.

Basically every nut and bolt under the back end was replaced, all the bushes were changed for polybushes, everything was cleaned up.

Whilst the car was being welded, I undersealed the back end to prevent the onset of any more rust.

After doing such a large job on the car, bearing in mind it was on axle stands on the drive, and I'd never worked on a cossie before, I thought I'd rip the grey 2wd dash out, and replace it with a facelift dark dash to match the leather that the previous owner had put in.

Ripped the dash out, and found a mess of wiring:



Replaced the dash, tidied up the wiring, and it was off for the respray. No need to explain - just check out the pics:

RichardPON

The pics just don't do the car or the job justice.

The old paintwork was so bad - it had that horrible Diamond yellow effect to it, so when it was resprayed, I chose to have the colour chaged to the brightest Ford Diamond white I could get.

I also didn't bother to repair the doors, binning them instead after finding 4 delocked doors for Ł50!

After the spray job, I finally had a car I was proud of. I was 21, and driving a mint looking 2wd with stage 3 power, so I did the honourable thing, and took it to a few shows, and Santa Pod:





Also found a nice carwash





All that was left was a bit of gauge action for the interior, so I snapped up one of the first SECS monitors to be made:



Matched it with some 60mm Defi gauges (Boost, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure):



to end up with:

RichardPON

Whilst everything else was looking good, under the bonnet looked awful!

I really wanted to respray under the bonnet, so when I needed a clutch doing, I took the box and engine out, so I could tidy everything up.

Unfortunately, I got left with:













Old engine mount on upside down



The resultant spray job ended up looking like:

Tony Ryan

Nice one mate , you cannot believe the work that goes into doing this to a car , real labour of love !

Lee @ Fusion

Good luck mate , brings back memories that

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

Top work Richard

RichardPON

Engine going back in:













Enjoyed the car in its finished state for about a year until one day.......





Turbo let go big time, throwing an exhaust blade, and scrapping the whole turbo in the process.

What else could I do except go out and buy a T34 with .63:









Ran the car about for a bit, did the occasional track day, until deciding more buftying was required.

Purchased loads of Bailey bits, Ramair filter, silicone hoses etc etc

The green rocker cover was pissing me off, so off it came, along with all the metal engine parts, and off they went to be fettled:

Thermostat housing:



Throttle elbow:



Inlet manifold:







Throttle cable bracket:



............. resulting in:

K3V HA

Looks great, wish i could do that to a cossie!!

RichardPON

With the engine bay all but finished, I turned my attention to the interior again, and with Mike Rainbird's (& Ben) help, we came up with this dash:







It was stripping the car out for National Day on track last year that led me to find:



















... and the scary one:



That's the seat mounting point

RichardPON

Once again, I got the necessary repairs done, so I could enjoy the summer:







By this point, I had got seriously addicted to track days, so left the cossie stripped out, and sourced two Sparco bucket seats, and went tracking!

RichardPON

Well after the rust incident, I began to lose heart in the car.

I promised myself I would build the car into a track car, but I wasn't convinced that this shell was the right one.

I felt like I'd always be chasing the rust, and it was not a good basis for a cage or a track car, so it had to go. It didn't help that loads of track days on slicks had cracked the rear shelf.......................

So I broke it!











..... and this is what was left:









I had to get it disposed of, so off it went



You'll see in this pic, it has no transmission tunnel. That is because Brom came round with an angle grinder and chopped it out so he could use it on his 3 door





Well, that was the end of my old Sapphire Cosworth. Four years, plenty of fun, loved the car.................

................ but it paved the way for something better!

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

Good read mate

N1C4T3N

man i was not expecting that ending so ya getin a new shell or summit ??

Tony Turbo

At time of looking mate, loads of pics were just red X's. Will have a proper look later mate

Mr C

iTrader: (2)

MORE MORE, and so, what next PON? I didnt think it would end like that either, i dare not take my carpet out incase i find something nasty GULP!

Adam_BlackRS

Nice one Rich

Alot of work went into it then

Now post up what ya working on now

Kissmyass

This has been a great thread Rich
So whens the next instalment

RichardPON

Bearing in mind I was a regular contributor to the Norfolk Group newsletter, I thought I'd give you an idea of the day to day modifying that the car received

Cossie Update – Part 2


One month on, and to be honest, I haven’t had that much time for the saff. You know what it’s like – crap weather, long evenings etc – all a bit depressing really. Having said that, some fairly major changes have taken place, and whilst they’ve been mostly cosmetic, I’m laying the groundwork for some major transformation.

So first up, the wheels. In last month’s instalment, I told you all that I had a set of 17s sitting at home ready to go on, so whilst in London this week, I thought I’d take them to be fitted with the old rubber boots! Size: 225/35/17. Why? Cos they’re nice and wide, with a low enough profile that the sidewall wont flex too much. They shouldn’t tramline either…….., which is nice! Make: hmmmm…. Interesting one this. People often have their own brand of tyre which they swear by, and I’m no different. Avon ZZ1s for a low performance car, cos they’re hard wearing, and I can get them sooo cheap! Goodyear Eagle F1s or Michelin Pilot Sport for a high performance car, cos they have fantastic grip, and come very well recommended.

Only problem at this point though, is that I can’t tell you what tyres are on the car, if any at all. You see, it’s Sunday evening, I’m sitting in front of this screen with a cup of coffee, and my wheels are sitting next to me still in their boxes. Why? Well I just haven’t had the time to sort them out. I never thought I’d say this, but it wasn’t really a priority. So tomorrow, I’m going to have my tyres fitted….. maybe…..probably….ah, you’ll see. So why the procrastination? Well, I jacked the car up at the beginning of this week, to find that the design of said wheel didn’t fit over the 2wd caliper, and that the studs would be too short. So I threw a temper (Charlie B style), and stuck em up for sale on the RS bb. Well, I had a rethink, and do actually like the wheel, so decided that a spacer and some longer studs were the order of the day. I can’t, however, write about how that went, cos I’m doing it tomorrow morning, and then coming back to Norwich in the afternoon…… so I’ll put that in next month.

I also managed to source that late spec dash I wanted from Pete at Ashfield Motorsport. Although Pete’s business is in Derby, my brother is at Uni. in Loughborough which isn’t all that far away, so he selflessly picked it up for me, with matching centre console, and A pillar trims. The dash itself was fairly easy to take out, since there were no hindrances such as airbags, or complex wiring looms. Whilst the dash was out, I decided it would be sensible to run the boost pipe for the ACT gauge, which was duly done in a few seconds, but more of that later. With the dash sitting in my parents’ kitchen, I made up a panel for the Rockford Fosgate EPX RDAT. This fabulous piece of technology is part of the stereo system, and in short, controls the sound for all the speakers that are soon to arrive in the car. I mounted this firmly in place of the clock and fuel/washer warning lights in the dash, and made up a piece to cover it, tidying up the installation. The top half of the dash was very easy to fit, just needing six or seven bolts to hold it in place. The only problem encountered was that a rod came off the heater controls, and was quite simply, a pain in the arse to fix. The bottom half of the dash was less than easy to put in, since it involved moving a couple of wiring looms and ECU-type things (technical term!), but it went in eventually.

The ACT gauge was put in where the dash illumination switch goes. Admittedly, not the most original of places, but it’s only temporary – I’ve got big plans for the instrument panel in the car. The ACT gauge is a piece of the proverbial to fit, especially when the dash is outJ, and I’m well pleased with it. More info about the ACTs I’m reading next month as I’ve hardly driven the car this week.

Unfortunately, that’s about it. Polybushes have arrived, and will join the pile of ‘things to be fitted to the car’ in my bedroom. The brakes have been put on hold till after Crimbo, which gives me plenty of time to get the money together. So priority for next month is a to get the car’s suspension completely sorted. This means all the polybushes will be fitted, and I’ll have to have a look at the steering rack, and all the gaiters on the car. Clutch has just started slippingL, so that could be up for replacement soon, but I must get the car to Harvey very soon. Group A headgasket is calling my name!

Richard Nathan.

RichardPON

Cossie update part 3

Well you haven’t heard a peep from me since November, and a lot has happened since then. The last you heard was that the car had returned from Harvey with a Group A head gasket, Spec-R oil breather kit, and some polybushes fitted. Unfortunately, Harvey did inform me that he wasn’t prepared to fit the rear beam mounting bushes, as it was noticeably rotten around the mounting area. It was with this in mind that I took the car to AVPM on the Rackheath Industrial Estate (well recommended), to have this area of the car cut out and welded.
That was 3 weeks ago. I dropped the car off on a Monday, only to receive the dreaded phone call on the Wednesday – “Mr Nathan – we think you best come and have a look at the car.” I made my way down there on Wednesday afternoon with Mike, to find my car up in the air, and Ivan with a very sorrowful look on his face. On further inspection, it turned out that the rot under the car was far more widespread than I could possibly have imagined, and that some of the brake lines had rusted. He also took the opportunity to point out that the rear callipers were very ineffective, but more about that later. However, I told AVPM that I would have to take the car away, as they informed me that the bill was going to far exceed the original quote, due to the large amount of extra work.
I decided that I would therefore drive back to London, so my father and I could strip the car down to assess the state of play. Left Norwich nice and early in the morning, and I was flying down the A11 until the car just cut out, and stalled at 85mph! I managed to get onto the end of a lay-by, and push the car back in, whereupon I looked to the sky, and made some fairly abusive comments regarding the car. As if in some sort of godly response, the heavens opened, and I had to investigate the problem in the pissing rain! It was very similar to the problem Mike had suffered a few weeks earlier, so I tried all the things we had been recommended to do then. However, it is a little difficult to check for a spark whilst turning the engine over, with the bonnet up in the pissing rain on your own. As such, I called the RAC out, and then put in a call to Danny, as I was fairly local to Thetford. Danny answered the phone with a grunt, which clearly meant he was still in bed, and I informed him to get his “lazy punk ass” out of bed to come rescue me. It turned out that this was the best thing I could have done, as the RAC man turned out to be fuckin’ useless!!! I will be officially complaining to the RAC about his behaviour, as he was totally unhelpful, and more concerned about stuffing his face with a ‘Rat Burger’ from the roadside van than helping me fix my car. However, he did win ‘comment of the day’, since when he and Danny pulled up in the lay-by at near identical times, he amusingly asked Danny whether his car was “supposed to have flames coming out the exhaust?” Danny however, was an absolute life-saver. After we had checked all the fuses and relays, I had the idea that it might have been a fuel pump problem. I crawled underneath the rear of the car to find the positive feed for the fuel pump hanging loose. Before I could get out from under the car, Danny was there with a pair of crimpers, and a couple of connectors. Two minutes later, still freezing cold and pouring with rain, Danny had fixed the problem, and we retired to the roadside restaurant (Rat Burger van) for half a pound of sizzling shit in a bun. One coffee later, we parted, and went our separate ways. I cannot stress how helpful Danny was to me in that situation, and I owe him big time. So, if you see him at the meet, go up to him, and give him a hug, just to let him know we all appreciate him. Seriously though, Danny – thanks mate. I’m thinking about paying you Ł120 per year instead of the RAC as this is getting to be a bit of a habit! Once again – cheers mate.
That calamity over, I got back to London some 3 hours late. The next day, my father and I cleared space in the drive, and jacked my car up to see what the underside of the car looked like. After removing the wheels, and not being able to see an awful lot, we decided that if we were going to do it properly…… so we decided to drop everything from the rear end of the car. We secured the car with 4 axle stands, 2 jacks, and 2 ramps (can’t be too safe!), and set to work removing parts from the vehicle. Off came the calipers and discs, followed shortly by the hubs. The rear bumper was removed, along with the rear number plate surround, rear light clusters, spare wheel, and exhaust. Whilst the brakes were put to one side, we could really go to work dropping the suspension. Not quite following the Haynes manual, we dropped the trailing arms off whilst still on the car, disconnecting any brake pipes on the way, and obviously removing the dampers and springs at the same time. With these out the way, the main beam, diff and driveshaft assembly was free to drop off the car. The fuel pump cradle literally disintegrated in my hands (yes, that rusty!), so all the fuel system was removed including the tank. With this out the way, the anti-roll bar could be dropped off, and we were left with a virtually clear underside.
It was then that things got pretty ugly! Out came the screwdriver and hammer, and we just started digging to find the rot and rust. And find it we did! Both beam mountings were completely rotten through, both spring locators had rot and rust forming, and both sills were rotten for about 8 inches along their length. Fortunately, my father knows a specialised chassis welder, and after we had cut back as much of the rust with an angle grinder as possible, he came and plate welded all the sections. His work looks superb, and you wouldn’t even know it had been done. It would appear that we got most of the rot out the car, even if parts of the chassis had come away like papier-mâché! With that all done, the task of undersealing the car was taken out, so we purchased a spray gun, hooked it up to my father’s compressor, and are, as I write this, sealing the whole rear end of the car to prevent as much rust returning as possible.
The task was then left to us to replace what was faulty, rotten, or broken. At this point, we had a look at the rear callipers, and decided they were knackered – handbrake mechanism seized, and pistons immovable! - so replaced them with 4x4 calipers, and discs, sourced from the North London RS Centre. In fact, nearly everything was found there, and they were extremely helpful and cheap in providing bits for the car. My father had some pads lying around that happened to be for my car, so result there! He was also able to make up the metal brake pipes for the car, and with that, we had to replace the compensator and t-piece as they had both rusted beyond salvage. Braided hoses were sourced from Mr. Rainbird to replace the original rubber ones, and the handbrake cable was salvaged as it was in good condition.
Next o the agenda was suspension, or more specifically, the bushes. Whilst Mike had supplied me the complete set front and rear in poly, bar the trailing arms, I decided that I was going to replace the trailing arm bushes with poly as well. These were ordered direct from Superflex, and not Powerflex, as they have slightly more give in them with their lower ‘Shore’ rating. The rear beam mounting bushes were replaced with Ford rubber ones to give a less abrasive ride. On this note, there is some debate as to vibration caused in saffs by putting polybushes in the rear. From extensive arguing with people, I have come to the conclusion that rear beam mounting polybushes can make the ride too hard, but trailing arm bushes in poly will have no negative effect. It was good that I decided to replace these, since it is probable that they haven’t been changed in 15 years, and when investigating their condition, one of them pushed out by hand. Upon further inspection, I noted that the passenger side trailing arm was in fact bent some 20 degrees out, so a replacement was sourced. Both arms and the beam were then placed on the workbench, and taken back to bare metal to remove surface rust, and then sprayed with several coats of black hammerite for protection. The same process then was applied to the fuel tank strap, fuel pump cradle, and anti-roll bar.
Investigating the fuel system meant finding out that the fuel filter was knackered and had to be replaced, and that the fuel tank had a leak from one of the seams. The tank was pressure tested to confirm this, and a replacement tank was sourced. All the hoses were changed for new on the fuel system, and all electrical connections were checked and re-wired where necessary. Shock absorbers were fine, as were the springs which were recently purchased. The driveshaft and diff combination was left well alone, although the driveshafts have seen better days, and will need replacing in the future.
On a more positive note, I managed to get the tyres for my 17” alloys. They are 225/35 Goodyear Eagle F1s, and I’ll tell you what they’re like when I’m at the meet. The alloys do need a 3mm spacer to clear the front callipers, but that is ready to go on, as are the ˝” longer studs that I need to get sufficient turn on the wheel nuts for peace of mind. However, as I’m sat writing this, the majority of the car still has to be put back together, and it may be a close call for the meet. If I’m there, you know it’s all finished, and I’ll be a happy chappy.
So, close to Ł1000 spent over the past couple of months, and the car’s no quicker, and no prettier. But, it might actually go round corners without rear wheel steering…. which is nice. Plans for the next month include stripping down the front end, and replacing the steering rack, alternator, power steering hoses… the list goes on. Also on the cards is a respray, brakes for the front, some more Spec-R stuff, and an interior transformation including ridiculous gauges!! In preparation for the respray, I’ve sourced four de-locked doors from another Saff, and a new rear bumper, new fog lights, front indicators, side repeaters, new rear lights and number plate surround, and other little touches.
But for now, I’m mostly broke, but at least the car is beginning to come together. Deadline to have the car ready for show is May 13th (my birthday), so I best get a move on and earn some more money. Laters J!

RichardPON

Cossie Update Part 4

Two months!! I’ve not driven the cossie in two months!! Having said that though, it’s all coming together very quickly. There’s not a great deal to report this month, except that the car is nearly all done. As I write this though, I’ve still got to get the car on its wheels, and put the exhaust system on, start it up, and make sure it runs!

So, what’s been happening? Well, the last you heard was I listing all the things that had been bought for the car, and the fitting of most of them. So what’s new? Take a look in the dash on the car, and you’ll see! Three of the most beautiful gauges ever created, monitoring Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, and Boost. Made by Defi, and supplied by New Age Motorsport (through Mike obviously), the gauges have a 270-degree sweep, peak recall and memory function, all controlled by a small ECU. The three gauges were, quite frankly, a pain in the arse to fit, because the centre vents on a saff are not really designed to take 60mm gauges. I had a panic trying to find something to make the gauge panel out of, but an old number plate has been sacrificed in favour of my centre vent display! Aside from that, they were a piece of the proverbial to wire up. The temp. sensor is taking from the sump through a 1/8 NPT fitting, which I got Harvey to put in when the car was last there. The pressure sensor comes off the side of the block where the pressure switch is located, and the boost gauge takes from the inlet plenum in the normal fashion. All the gauges are analogue readout, with what is effectively a digital take off, but all I’m certain of is they look the bolloxJ!

Having fitted those, it was time for more gauges - well, not so much of a gauge, but an ECU monitor. I got a phone call from Mike a couple of weeks ago, sounding all excited – delirious in fact. After I suggested that Wham were in fact not re-uniting, he went on to tell me about the S.E.C.S monitor that he had just purchased. The monitor studies all the reading that the engine takes at the ECU, and has a readout for Air Charge Temp, Throttle Position, Coolant Temp, Manifold Absolute Pressure, and Battery Voltage. The unit also has high and low warning facilities that are user-selectable, and has peak recall facilities, and also looks…. the bollox! I hadn’t even had a chance to tell Mike during this phone call that it sounded pretty cool, but was told that I was having one, and that he would pop by the house later to drop it off! This was a worthy investment, since it also has the facility to control water injection (for the future), and is upgradeable for oil temp and pressure.

So that’s about it on the gauge front, apart from selling my redundant ACT gauge to my brother, for less than it cost, with free fitting! The dark 90 spec dash that I’d always wanted is in (finally), so I have a complete 2wd grey dash lying around if anyone wants it. Not a lot else to report really, since the car’s not yet been for its MOT, and this will decide whether the car will be at the meet tonight. It’s all about plans for the future of the car now, with show season looming ever closer, so after it’s back on the road today, it’s going off the road tomorrow – respray time! I’m having the car stripped down – interior out, windows out, four new doors, new rear bumper, and new lights all round. ETA or the car to be back is the weekend of the Central meet, so it’s gonna be close. Having said that, this time next month, the car will be nearly finished, and it’ll be time to spend some money making it stop better, and go faster. Can’t have my brother in a quicker car than me now, can we? For now though, it’s all about the Renault Savannah!!!! Another month driving that should be a real laugh – it does 90 mph flat out in 5th, and keeps up with lorries and everything! Also up and coming is another trip to Harvey’s for a clutch, and a new gearbox that is sitting there waiting for me. Might see if I can grab some brakes before then and have them fitted at the same time. But for now, that’s it….

By the way, excuse the state of the car this evening – it aint gonna win any car of the night, but the respray’s at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. See you all next monthJ!

RichardPON

Cossie Update - Part 6
Richard Nathan

Whilst I was hoping to have the car back earlier this month, it appears all is not well with my cossie. It is in the bodyshop at the moment, having been stripped right down, rubbed right down, and resprayed. It was during this process that the car was found to have an inconsistent gap between front passenger side wing and door, and it was suggested that a new wing be put on. I haven’t seen the car for a week or so, but I did get to see it when it had been rubbed down, so if I have it back for the meet, you will all be able to see the quality of work for yourselves.

There isn’t really that much to report unfortunately. Since the car has been off the road for nearly 4 months, not allowing the 5 days I had it back for, money has been going out the bank account with a lot less going back in to compensate! I have spent a small fortune on the car so far, and am hoping that the spending will slow….. but I know it’s unlikely.

I did, however, take the opportunity with the car at the bodyshop, to remove some interior bits and pieces, to get a better idea what I am doing with the dash etc. I have inherited a Stack dash for the car, and some other bits and pieces, so am redesigning the interior as we speak. I can’t let on what’s going to be done yet, but suffice it to say, it will be mental!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have already flush fitted the EPX2 RDAT - car stereo parametric eq and active x-over (don’t worry Mike, you don’t NEED to know ) into the sun visor, and have only the speaker cabling and amp mountings to take care of to get ahead with the ICE install.

I shall tell you more about the respray when I have seen the car, and more about the interior and ICE next month. And brakes. And suspension. And hybrid turbo. Etc etc ………………………

In the meantime, I have bought myself a run-around! Peugeot 1.9 205 GTi. It barely qualifies as red, but it’s 2 owners from new (!), and cost me less than 2 green injectors! It’s a little flyer, and I love the handling! I know the 205s very well, since my brother has two of them, so I have found them really easy to work on. As long as it starts, and gets me from A to B, then I’m a happy bunny; although it did need a new clutch this week. Thanks to SCC for doing that for me (didn’t have the time), and cheers to my Dad (again) for helping me get the car sorted for the MOT test. Now, about that lift-off oversteer…….

Till next time……..

RichardPON

Cossie Update Part ?
Richard Nathan

What with the approach of National Day, and the fact that a track pass had fallen into my hands – cheers bruv – I had to get on the case and get the car sorted sharpish! I wasn’t prepared to do any track day, let alone my first one, on standard brakes, so a mad panic was on to get both them, and other bits ready in time.

At the Ten of The Best day, I had managed to purchase a set of AP 5200 4pot callipers from Sean Bicknell. Sean now runs the old engine out of Martin Hadland’s Escort Cosworth, and was moving to six pots, so sold me the four pots at very very good money. The only problem was that I had no discs, no bells, and no spacer brackets…. And time was running out.

A few phone calls here, there, and everywhere, saw me coming up with untold amounts of loose ends. Some people were recommending one thing, some another etc etc….. A quick call to Mike confirmed what I’d known all along – the size to go for was 335mm x 32mm discs on bells. Expert persuasive techniques saw Mike get Hi-Spec to make the discs and bells up for me, and saw me driving round the M25 to Dartford to pick them up at 5 p.m. on Thursdsay night!

So I had discs, bells, and calipers, but no spacer bracket for the calliper, and no pads. Things were not looking good for National Day, but I was determined to get them sorted out, so Friday saw me driving up the A1 to see Steve Scott at A1 Rally Sport. Some of you will recognise the name, as it’s Steve who owns the RWD Cossie powered Focus, that has impressed all at every outing. Anyway, Steve had told me that he had the correct spacer bracket for my caliper, and I turned up at 4 p.m., all prepared to pick up the brackets, and do an all nighter fitting the lot. After trying the whole set up on a 2wd hub assembly in a vice, and after a few minor adjustments, we got the right combination, and I somehow managed to persuade Steve it would be a good idea to fit it all for me!

So by 7 p.m. I was on my way home, with the whole front braking set up ready to go, since Steve had chucked some secondhand Pagit carbon race pads my way from his rally car to see me through the track day. He charged me absolutely next to nothing for the brackets, the pads, and the fitting, and I could not have been more grateful. Steve will certainly be seeing more of me for upcoming suspension mods, so friendly and helpful was the service!

A far as road pads are concerned, Mike sorted me out with a set of Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads, which are of a lower compound rating than the race spec jobs – this should hopefully give my discs a bit more life, whilst allowing me more than incredible braking efficiency. So the brake mods that I’ve been harping on about doing have finally come to fruition, which has left me with a set of cossie 4 pots, and 285mm discs. These have been provisionally sold, which gives me back a bit of money towards the huge cost of the complete package. Having said that, it’s set me back nowhere near as much as buying a complete AP kit, which is due largely to Mike for helping out once again. National Day next year, and the car will probably be badged up as an R&B motorsport demo car!

The other thing that I wanted ready for track was a set of full harness belts. Mike offered to lend me his, since he’s not using them now he’s turned into a concours bufty, so all I needed were the correct mountings. A seat belt manufacturer near my parents’ house in London came up with the goods, and I took the car to SCC for them to be fitted. We replaced two of the original seat belt mountings each side with these harness bolts, and then drilled out a big enough hole in the inner section of the seat to take the belt clasps. All it needed was Mike to turn up with all the harnesses on Saturday before National Day (almost 100% correct Mike), and the job was a good ‘un!

That about rounds it up for this month. The car seems to be smoking a lot, and using a lot of oil, so it’s time to check that out, and after the 15th September at Santa Pod, the car comes off the road for a front end rebuild to match the work done on the rear. Over the winter, I’ll be going for an engine out job, so I can put in a new engine loom, and sort some of the electrical problems that aren’t terminal, but just bug me in my quest for the perfect cossie! Stereo plans can wait till the depths of winter, cos I want to get some money together and come back with something a little wild! Somebody once said to me it’s only worth spending money on it if it makes it go faster, stop better, or corner more quickly, and after the track day at National Day, this has rapidly become my ambition….. still, might be able to get a few speakers and tv screens in there somewhere !

RichardPON

National Day 2002 – On Track!!!!!!
Richard Nathan

After my brother James had decided to go travelling the world, which he is currently still doing, it left his track pass up for grabs. Incidentally, when you next see my brother, ask him about shooting cows in a field in Thailand with a bazooka – it’s worth hearing! Anyway, I bought his track pass from him for cost price (good boy J), and proceeded to forget about the day entirely. As you’ll read in my cossie update, I had to get a few things ready for track at the last minute, so I’ll bring you straight forward to the Sunday morning of National Day….

Myself and the missus, and Mike and Jen had stayed the Saturday night up in Derby, so Sunday morning was an early start for me. I was up at 5 a.m., and we were on the road by 6.15 a.m. It didn’t take long to arrive at Donnington, and as soon as we got there, we were directed to the paddock. I parked up, and Sophie and I set about taping all the lights on the car up, and making sure everything was prepared for scrutineering. I then proceeded to scrutineering, where they checked the general form of the car to make sure nothing was too untoward, and made sure that the crash helmet and seatbelts were fit for use. I was quite surprised that the checks didn’t last longer than the two or three minutes it took, but the car was obviously in track worthy condition, and no problems could be found.

I then proceeded to sign on, where I just had to take my indemnity form, and collect my photo pass stickers, track number, and paddock passes. After these were put on the car, I had a little time to kill before the drivers’ briefing, so I had a quick wander round the paddock. There were some incredible cars in there, ranging from a full race spec RS500, to a 4x4 zetec turbo powered focus. The best cars in the paddock were without a doubt Paul Bailey’s Cossie powered Mk2 Escort, Bruce Read’s new 500, and Gareth Lloyd’s Escort Cossie. Camaraderie was high in the paddock too, with quite a few people who were attending their first track day, mixing with those who were seasoned veterans. I bumped into Scott with the Series 1 in the paddock, as well as a few other faces I recognised.

8.15 a.m. marked the drivers’ briefing, and it was there I met up with Big Nige, Jay B, Lee Manning, and Sean Bicknell. It really helped to have a few familiar faces around, especially since Jay and Sean have been doing track days for a while now, and both are well versed in the way to apply your skills to the track. We all sat through the briefing, which was the mandatory explanation of etiquette, behaviour, and safety procedure – an important briefing that you have to attend no matter how experienced you might be. After getting our wristbands, we proceeded to the paddock, where Nige and Jay had nabbed one of the empty garages, so I dived in there as well (cheers boys!), finding plenty of room to dump the boot full of stuff I had.

What with this being my first track day, I had taken the decision to put myself in the intermediate group, knowing that I had a modicum of awareness and procedure on a racetrack. Our first session came up at about 9.30, and since I had already checked the tyre pressures, oil, coolant, and brake fluid levels, I was ready to go. I warmed the car up, and proceeded out onto circuit. I had decided to go out on my own, just to familiarise myself with the circuit, because even though I had revised the corners thoroughly in the preceding days, there is no substitute for driving the course.

We were instructed to do 2 laps with no overtaking, and this gave me a chance to get some heat into the tyres and brakes. As we came around the pit straight for the last of these two laps, the pace of the convoy seemed to pick up as everybody anticipated the all clear, and before I knew it, we were off. Now they do stress that it’s not a race, but some were more eager than others… as such, a big fuck you to the twat in the black fiesta, who thought he’d undertake me into the first corner under very heavy braking. Still, as much as I love all RSs, it was nice to see you parked up with problems all day, whilst I enjoyed a full day racing! Because of the sensible rule employed at every race circuit open for track days, that you only overtake on the left, I kept to the right, and let a lot of people through, as I wasn’t ready to go blatting round like an idiot just yet. After about two or three laps at what can only be described as a gentle pace, I decided to put the hammer down, and explore the limits of the car on circuit. I’ve been racing karts since I was 10 years old, so track craft was no stranger to me, and I soon picked up the lines and braking points really quickly. The last few laps of the session were quite quick, and I was really exploring the handling characteristics of the car as I had never done before.

When I came into the pits, I was grinning like an absolute monkey, and was so excited by the prospect of a whole days use of the circuit. There I no description for how good those laps were. You can drive twice as quick as you ever could on the road, because there’s a relatively large safety margin, and there’s so much space involved. I couldn’t wait for the next session, and it came round very quickly. I had my first passenger of the day lined up in the form of Willie Rae, one of the Scottish lads, and when I got out on circuit, I really had the bit between my teeth. I was on a flyer, with the tyres really working well, providing me with more grip than I could ever have imagined was possible out of my saff. The session was over far too soon, but I realised I was sweating buckets, as I was in a crash helmet with 30 degree outside temps. I also realised how hard the car was working, since if you’re not braking, you’re always on boost, and my charge temps were through the roof! It was also pointed out to me that since I wasn’t running a turbo heat shield, I was likely to find my brake fluid boiling by the end of a session, so I went on the hunt for some heat tape, to coat the brake fluid reservoir with. Sean and Rich came to the rescue, and I covered the reservoir and clutch cable with loads of the tape, just to be on the safe side.

The next session I went out, I was determined to really push hard, and coming into Redgate, the first corner after the pit straight, on the second lap, I had a bit of an incident! I was braking nicely for the corner, got into third, and entered the corner on a trailing throttle. I clipped the apex, and fed the power in nice and early, provoking a beautiful power slide. The only problem was I gave it a little too much throttle, and the back end was really hanging, and I was running out of lock to keep it on the track. As the slide got more and more extreme, the back end touched the rumble strip on the exit, and the back end just broke away, sending me spiralling across the grass, and coming to a stop, right by a huge bank of spectators. I got my obligatory round of applause, and glad that I’d hit nothing, I carried back out onto the circuit, taking it easy for a few laps to get my confidence back up. After that, I was determined to have some safe fun, and was provoking the back end at all the spectator positions – well why not?!

The next session saw me take Neil Stockton out for a ride, and this is where it all came together. Where before I was braking too early for some corners, and turning in too early for others, in this session, I just nailed every lap as far as I was concerned, with just the right amount of showboating for good measure! Let me take you through a lap……

Across the start finish straight, you touch 5th gear towards the end, and then it’s hard on the brakes for Redgate. Into 3rd, Redgate is a long sweeping corner, angled about 120 degrees, with a double apex for good measure. You go wide on the first one, clipping the second, and accelerate out onto the rumble strip, grabbing 4th as you exit. Keep it in 4th as you hit Hollywood, which is a flowing right-hander, and then you’re into the craner curves. Still in fourth, you’re going downhill, up to the old hairpin, which is a 90 right. Brake hard for this, into 3rd, loads of power, and fling the car in for a great power slide exit. Into 4th, and up the hill under Starkey’s bridge, you get on the right of the circuit for the left-hander. Clipping the apex, you’re straight on the brakes, and into 3 rd as you hit the crest of the hill. The right-hander is gentler than it appears, and you can hold a beautiful power slide on the throttle all the way from the exit of McLeans, and into the massively sweeping Coppice. You grab 4th on the exit just before hitting the limiter, and you’re flying down the back straight. You get 5th, but not for long, as you’re massively hard on the brakes for the 2nd gear chicane of goddards. Hold second, turn in, clipping the first apex, then miss the second, giving full throttle for the big power slide, arse out moment in front of the grand stand, and exit grabbing third, and start all over again!

The session after saw me take Mr Steven RW out for a ride, and out of all the passengers, his was one of the opinions I was truly interested in, as he can drive a little bit . He was more than complimentary, and was whooping like a baboon after the first lap, tapping the dash every time we nailed a corner, and laughing his arse off every time we held a power slide. For the last lap, I gave it something extra, and discovered exactly how to hold a proper, rear wheels spinning powered slide, controlling the angle purely with the throttle. Steven went apeshit, and even I was grinning, and to celebrate, I exited goddards with far too much right foot, and caught the most fantastic arse end out moment, right in front of the grandstand. Fortunately, RW will have a 2wd soon enough, so we shall see how he fairs on circuit next year!

The last session saw me take out Steven Lamb, or Chop as some of you may know him. This session was much the same as the previous, me really going something to try and push both myself and the car, but I soon discovered what it means when the tyres “go off”! We came barrelling up to McLeans, I braked, grabbed 3rd, and turned in, to find nothing but understeer. Then the car started moving around as though the tyres were greasy, which in fact they were. We did a couple more laps, and then I called it a day, since I was running low on petrol, and the tyres were beginning to blister.

Well what a day!!! Condolences to AndyRS who span his RS500 into the pit lane entrance, and banged the wall. Speaking to him yesterday, he will be back – bigger and better. Cheers to Mike for helping me get the car ready on time and for the loan of the harnesses, cheers to Steve Scott for prepping the car, and thanks to Sean Bicknell, Rich, Monte, Jay B etc etc for advice and help on the day. Cheers to my girlfriend Sophie for telling me I looked REALLY good on circuit, but refusing to come in the car with me – she was, though, so supportive all day.

If you’ve never done a track day, don’t do one. You’ll end up hooked like I now am, and I cannot wait till I’m back on circuit again soon. Hmmmm… Trax is only a couple of weeks away!

RichardPON

Cossie Update Part 10… or something
Richard Nathan

Well it’s been an interesting past few weeks with the car, since at the beginning of this month, I had absolutely nothing to do on the car! It was misfiring slightly, but that wasn’t anything a set of new spark plugs didn’t sort out.

After having the car on the road, and actually enjoying it, I was able to give the car a proper 7 hour clean…. I kid you not! I went round the entire car, and it turns out that the front end paintwork has been damaged by being on track, so after taking it back to APVM for some proper touch up on the paint, it will be going back in to them for more work (see below).

All was going well, until I was using the car on Friday night of last week. Myself and the missus were out for dinner, and as we drove away from a nice London restaurant, the car cut out and died! Battery voltage was showing 8 volts, so out came the RAC to get me started and get me home. The guy who came out was a top chap, and kept me laughing all night… the real sarcastic type, but a fun lad nevertheless. He stuck a battery booster on the girlfriend’s lap, and ran the cable through the roof, and into the bonnet. A less than dignified exit from London…. In fact, we must have looked quite stupid…. but to be fair, I didn’t care too much, as I knew there was an empty house, two bottles of wine, and an appetite to satisfy… see, there are some things in life that are more important than cars !
Anyway, the RAC man had identified the alternator as being the problem, and suggested I get it changed first thing the next morning, so it was on the phone at 9 a.m. to Ford, to find a 90 amp alternator in stock at Ł160 exchange. The deal was done, and I rushed down to SCC Performance in St. Albans to get it fitted. Rob, the top man there, did the business in no time at all, and bearing in mind I arrived 1 minute before they closed, he did the job for very little cost. I would highly recommend SCC for any work relating to cosies and RSTs, since there’s always at least two or three RSs in at any time, and the quality of their work is second to none.
Unfortunately though, with the car up in the air, I noticed that the rear tyres were dangerously worn on the inside edges, even though they’d been okay only a few days previous. So it was off to my tyre supplier for some new 225/35/17s…... He didn’t have my usual Goodyear Eagle F1s, so I went for some Dunlop Sport 9000s. They seem to be just as good as the F1s in the dry, but my sideways launches, and unmodified rear beam mean they probably wont last that long! After the Pod on the Sunday, I had alternator problems again (see Pod article), and had the problem traced to a loose battery to alternator wire. It would appear that due to the severity of the launches and tramping at the Pod, the nut holding this lead on had actually undone, leaving the wire to flap free! The RAC man who rescued me on the Sunday night turned out to be a former cossie owner, and suggested a nylock nut on the alternator, which he duly fitted.
Also this month has been a month of electrical problems. I have no electric windows, and the cooling fans no longer work, the fuse having melted in the fusebox! As such, I have a new wiring loom on order, and am going to strip the interior out, and check all the wiring in the car. To rectify the fan situation, and still allow me to use the car, I wired up the fans to a 30 amp relay direct from the ignition, so that the fans are on permanently. This is only a temporary solution until I cure the problem.
The only other problem I have resting on my mind is the fact that my diff may well be on its last legs. I’ve been getting what appears to be massive clutch slip, but there’ a massive thud when the car engages properly, which leads me to believe it’s diff related. If I can afford it, I will be going for a Quaife diff, instead of replacing rear diffs time and again – prevention being better than the cure or something like that.
So the plans for the next few months are these:
I’m taking the car off the road for a while, and taking out the engine. The front end will be stripped down, taking out the entire front and including all the suspension, rack and power steering system, rad etc etc, and replacing everything for new or better. I have a new loom to go in, and will route this in a better manner than that originally specced for the car. Before the loom goes in, the car is going to be trailered to APVM to have the engine bay and boot floor rubbed down and sprayed, so that the car is minty mint come next show season. I have a few touches to be done with the paintwork on the front end after I hit something on the track at National Day (object, not car or barrier!). The entire engine will be stripped down and overhauled, replacing the oil and water pumps, all the belts, and all the metal bits for nice shiny chrome versions. The cam cover will be off to Mike R to be painted, and if there’s any money left in the bank, I may well ship the engine up to Harvey for something a bit extra ! I have to replace the fusebox, and rewire the inside of the car, which means ripping out the interior…. and no Charlie, you can’t buy the leather from me! I have to replace the entire power steering system, and am looking at some trick rally spec adjustable top mounts for the Bilstein coilovers I may have on the way. All nuts and bolts will be changed for new, as will all hoses and clips etc…… As such, the car may well be off the road for a good few months, but I want a magazine feature on the car, with 420 brake (can’t have Kev beating me), and it fully finished by the summer next year. Also, the wheels on the car will have to go, after many non-complimentary comments, but I may have a buyer for mine, so we will have to see…….
I’ll keep you all informed on how it goes…. Watch this space!

RichardPON

Cossie update Part 11

Hey, I’m back, and I’m broke! The car is costing me a fortune at the moment, but it’s getting better very quickly. When I wrote my last cossie update in September (?), I was just getting a few electrical problems sorted…. In fact, to remind you where I was up to with the car, this is what I wrote in Spetember:
So the plans for the next few months are these:
I’m taking the car off the road for a while, and taking out the engine. The front end will be stripped down, taking out the entire front and including all the suspension, rack and power steering system, rad etc etc, and replacing everything for new or better. I have a new loom to go in, and will route this in a better manner than that originally specced for the car. Before the loom goes in, the car is going to be trailered to APVM to have the engine bay and boot floor rubbed down and sprayed, so that the car is minty mint come next show season. I have a few touches to be done with the paintwork on the front end after I hit something on the track at National Day (object, not car or barrier!). The entire engine will be stripped down and overhauled, replacing the oil and water pumps, all the belts, and all the metal bits for nice shiny chrome versions. The cam cover will be off to Mike R to be painted, and if there’s any money left in the bank, I may well ship the engine up to Harvey for something a bit extra ! I have to replace the fusebox, and rewire the inside of the car, which means ripping out the interior…. and no Charlie, you can’t buy the leather from me! I have to replace the entire power steering system, and am looking at some trick rally spec adjustable top mounts for the Bilstein coilovers I may have on the way. All nuts and bolts will be changed for new, as will all hoses and clips etc…… As such, the car may well be off the road for a good few months, but I want a magazine feature on the car, with 420 brake (can’t have Kev beating me), and it fully finished by the summer next year. Also, the wheels on the car will have to go, after many non-complimentary comments, but I may have a buyer for mine, so we will have to see…….
I’ll keep you all informed on how it goes…. Watch this space!
There you have it – my plans as they were nearly six months ago, and nearly six months later, how have I got on? Well I decided I was going to turn the car into a total weapon, so as soon as I started working at SCC, I started removing things from the vehicle! My diff worries worries have yet to be rectified, as I haven’t driven the car in four months, so here’s what’s been going on in that time…..
The car came off the road in November after the clutch has started slipping. I was a little disappointed in this, since I’d only put an Alcon six paddle and new cover and bearing in about 6000 miles previously. However, I’d been doing a lot of Santa Pod, and it also appeared that the main oil seal had gone, contaminating the plate. When the clutch came out, the sight I was greeted with was very interesting! The driven plate was absolutely on the rivets – so little material was left, it be hard to describe it as a clutch! The flywheel though, was worse – there were massive heat spots on it, and when it went off to be skimmed, I was told by the engineering firm, that it had to have about two mill ground off it to get a good surface. Whilst it was there, I had the flywheel balanced, and then had to put new dowels in, the old ones having to have been drilled out.

With the gearbox out, and the clutch ready assembled, I then made a decision that would see the car off the road for longer than intended. I could see that the engine bay looked rather grotty, and since I had taken out the box, it was relatively easy to lift the engine out complete. And so I started taking off all the ancillaries, and deciding what I was going to replace when it all went back in. Once all the hoses and wiring were off, it was very easy to take the engine out, so out came the hoist, and out came the engine complete. What I was left with was a total mess! The wiring loom was in a horrible state, the paintwork was so yellow, and even the passenger side engine mount was on upside down!
After stripping the entire bay out, I then got a little silly, and stripped the interior of the car. You see, I’ve had loads of electrical problems, with windows not working, and fuses continuously blowing, so I though I’d get it all sorted once and for all. With the entire dash out, I decided to remove the engine loom, which is relatively straight-forward, and because I had a new engine loom to go in. I stripped back the new engine loom, and cleaned it all up, re-taping it in what I considered a better way. With that done and to one side, I started on the engine bay loom. Everything that could be undone and cleaned was, and I then proceeded to wrap all the wiring down the driver’s side in a thermo-shield wiring wrap (cheers Christian for supplying it). The reason for this is because a customer’s car that had recently come into us had seen all the wiring down that side melted due to the heat of the turbo. I wasn’t going to suffer the same fate, so I started heat proofing everything around the turbo and exhaust, including the brake resevoir, and heat wrapping the exhaust (cheers Christian again!).
After this had been done, I took the car to our local sprayers to have the engine bay painted. I wasn’t after a concours job, but just something to make it look nicer, so I spent about twenty hours prepping it ready for paint. When it came back from the spray shop, I was well happy with the results, so I got back to the process of putting it al back together. Just as I was contemplating putting the engine back in, I decided to remove the power steering pipes, and purchased myself a small 9 row cooler to replace the crap metal pipe that routes near the bumper. Whilst I was getting these pipes sorted, I purchased a nice bit of kit in the shape of a 19 row Mocal oil cooler. Now because I am looking to do some track days, this became a bit of a necessity, with previous oil temps in the 130 degree area at Donnington in August, but this wont be fitted till next month as I’m still awaiting the arrival of my remote filter head – you have to move the filter as the sandwich plate for the cooler causes the filter to hit the engine mount.
The engine then went back in, after I’d replaced the tired old engine mounts for new ones from Ford. I then slowly started replacing every ancillary for new, and binning the old stuff. The header tank went in the bin, as did the power steering resevoir, to be replaced with Bailey items. I then purchased new boost hoses, due to mine having a split in two of them, so I now have lots of shiny bits under the bonnet! The cam cover is away to be painted blue to keep the theme going, and I’ve replaced everything I can think of for new items! The new engine loom was put in, and routed under the inlet manifold to keep it out the way, and I junked all the unnecessary parts of the wiring like the headlamp wipers etc.
Well that’s where it is right now. I’m doing a track day at Bedford on 1st March, so I’ve bought myself some pukka FIA approved 4 point Sabelt harnesses and fitted them, and also bough myself another Defi gauge in the form of Exhaust Gas Temperature – the other two should be with me in a few weeks (fuel pressure and water temperature). I’ve also got a set of AVO Coilovers on order, and will be looking to fit some crazy suspension in the next couple of months. We’ll see whether my diff is shot soon enough, and in which case, I’ll be looking for something stronger – maybe quaife, maybe not…. Watch this space as the car is transformed…… and I’ll be running interesting boost via a bleed valve on Saturday to try and give my knackered old T3 a pasting, so I can blow it up, and justify the T4 I’m about to buy!
Laters,
Richard Nathan.

RichardPON

Well here it is!

The current project!

These pics are from the day I went to look at the car. I only needed a shell, as I had the old drivetrain, ancillaries, and engine to go in.

Bought the shell after some deliberation from a guy I met off this board called Two Cossie Bob. Some of you might recognise Bob, as he's been around the track day and racing scene in his Blue and White Escort Cosworth, and is one of the most trustworthy guys I've ever had the fortune to deal with.

Bob even trailered the shell 75 miles down to work for me, leaving it almost as you see in the pics:

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

Did you phone about the History of the car Richard

Im sure it's the Miki Biasion car

Keep the updates coming mate

RichardPON

Paul - not yet. Will do when I get a chance.

RichardPON

Bob dropped the car off at work, and here are some pics of the car the following morning:

RichardPON

As of 6p.m. this evening (March 8th), the car is really coming together......

It's gone from this:





to this:

















with a boot full of left over shit!

RichardPON

After a good night's work on the car (May 24th), it's really starting to take shape:

Engine loom in:



Engine bay looking empty:



New Radtec rad:



New Radtec 500 cooler:





Fans on new rad:



Underside all undersealed:



My bling new rear springs



.............. and of course the MOST important thing to buy when your car's got no engine, brake lines, fuel lines, interior etc is:






Off to ZOO soon for the rest of the work, but engine should be in this week, and the rest should follow soon enough

Fozy

Thats a quality post. Keep it coming. should keep me extremely entertained at work.

cossieman

Beautiful work...
I make a similar project in France... I have also the wheels... Can you send all the photographs to me which you have on your arch, with dimension if you can... Cossiepower@msn.com
I thank you...
Come to make a turn on... http://www.fordrs.fr.st

Mr C

iTrader: (2)

Quality post PON, keep us updated, really interesting. what cost are you talking for the shell mate, can you PM me a rough cost? cheers.

N1C4T3N

man that second shell looked a state when ya got it like but its lookin amazing now keep the updates commin

N1C4T3N

updates?!?!?!!?

RichardPON

Updates are coming later on tonight - done a fair few more niggly little bits........

wimwerf

real nice story.