That seems unusual, I've got a very early one that I bought secondhand, a very well used one. The only real problem that it had was slop in the hinge, I just fitted some shims to take up the slack and it's now spot on. The cylinder lock-up and timing are just perfect (I was very impressed when I first got it) and haven't noticed any change in that so far.
I'll keep an eye on mine, just to see if it goes the same way though. I'm wondering if the cylinder stop was travelling too far on yours and causing the timing issue, caused by wear and tear on those moving parts. As for the spring, that may well just deform again over time, the next time it happens it might be an idea to re-shape it, heat it up to the correct hardness, quench and then heat gently to temper it (to remove the brittleness from hardening it). It's either that or make a new spring.