On my "modern" Focus, the spacer ("coil spring isolator") goes at the top of the spring, and is hidden up inside the hole. It doesn't just "drop out" when you remove the springs, as it's wedged in there fairly tight.
My car absolutely needs new shocks and springs (it failed PA Inspection for that reason and a few others...like the smashed windscreen, the leaking cam cover gasket, and the ruined left side motor mount), and I have contacted this company, whose owner replied to me incredibly quickly:
Classic car suspension springs
The owner emailed me back and told me they would custom-make me a set of four springs in, and I quote, "any height, any size, any spring rate", for 190 GBP with an additional 60-ish GBP for shipping to my address in Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia). At today's 1.64/dollar exchange rate, that amounts to around $410 for all four springs custom manufactured and wound, shipped. Not too shabby.
They maintain a database of stock (including Esprit) spring winding/rates, and can make lowering spring that, at least according to their web site and their owner, do more than just look nice--they are lowered with performance in mind, not just trailer queens and show cars that never see a bumpy, frost-rippled stretch of asphalt.
Cheers,
Scott