Picked up Cosmo with new Bilstein B4s all round, ARB bushes, tyres, diesel filter, thermostat and a year's MOT. Saw 90˚C for the first time earlier and hoping to get fuel consumption back to miles per gallon rather than the other way round with the new filter and new diesel pump refit. Interestingly, with the 195/45 profile Uniroyals (I have 195/55 Uniroyals on my daily Tdi) and the spring swap (my Tdi's original front springs and B3 rears) the ride is remarkably similar to our 1.4i - feels much lighter over road imperfections than 'my' Tdi - the tyres themselves felt a lot lighter than I was expecting. With the smaller sidewall I was expecting slightly harsher ride but the reverse is true. A few small jobs to carry on with but feeling quite satisfied that the running gear appears nicely sorted out.
Thanks also to everyone who has assisted thus far, in particular
@lvsghost who very kindly passed me on Cosmo as a running concern with many months MOT - amazing deal and very chuffed to have been able to keep things going to resurrect Cosmo.
@rosscanning for the seats and meeting me at an ungodly hour on the M6,
@A2Steve for the door soon to be fitted,
@timmus for the headlamp connector refit / fuel mileage readout and many other folk for parts and advice far and wide.
There have also been a couple of questions about plans. Right now as my normal daily needs a driveshaft or CV joint and some other bits including
@depronman 's extended 5th gear for the long family trips north and south, Cosmo is being pressed into increased daily commute use to limit the strain. The next objective - since there is already an A2oc mission for 200k - is 300k. I'm a couple of years away by my reckoning, while I am aiming to get my other half's car's injectors sorted to try to achieve 200k on a singularly abused AUA that is also being refurbed over time.