Hello and welcome to my blog about my latest project, a 1972 Ford Cortina MK3 and other bits and bobs too. I'll try my best to post updates of work and shows and just write general car related nonsense. It's another way for me to keep a journal of my car stuff so in years to come I can look back and bore myself instead of my wife... friends.... colleagues !
So why did I choose a Cortina? Ford made over 1.1 million MK3's between 1970 to 1976 Although not a common sight today they were the UK's best selling car at the time, in-fact the Cortina was probably just as common to see on the roads during this time as a Ford Focus is now so to some people the Cortina was perhaps just a disposable automobile and not as glamourous as an E type Jaguar or as desirable as an Aston Martin.
However I think they are one of the nicest looking cars Ford have ever produced for the UK market, and while I really like 60's - 70's cars like Mustangs, early Camaros, Dodge Challengers, Cudas, Chevelles and Rivieras I simply cannot afford that type of car here in the UK, so for me this is a little slice of what I like - a British take on that cool coke bottle American styling from the 70's!
My godfather instigated my interest in 70's classics, he owned a Plymouth 'Cuda (among other stuff) when I was a kid and he used to buy models of Muscle cars, build them and give them to me as gifts when I was a toddler, I probably didn't appreciate how delicate they were at the time but amazingly I still have a couple of those models! This is why even now, I just think WOW when I see American cars from the 70's.
This was his Cuda AAR replica which he owned when he moved to Seattle.
Getting some sort of American looking car is quite hard, there isn't that much choice in the UK, a gen 1 celica (TA22 or RA28) or a Vauxhall Victor was probably the closest I was going to get, I didn't even know about Cortinas to begin with. My friend bought a brown XL 4 door Cortina Mk3 and we used to enjoy seeing just how far the car could be pushed reenacting tyre squealing maneuvers normally reserved for episodes of the Sweeny but at a somewhat slower pace. That was it! I was sold on the looks.. and the slightly dubious handling.
Back in 2000 I took a trip out one day and coincidentally spotted a Daytona Yellow 2 door Cortina Mk3 on a garage forecourt, I enquired about it a couple of times and £500 later it was mine with a fresh MOT too. You'd be lucky to get one for that sort of money now, here she is:
I did really love that car with it's yellow paint and American looks and it was a great car while I was a student at University, I spent what time and little money I had doing work on it. It was a great runner and a really fun car taking me and my girlfriend (now wife) out to various parties and even doubling up as our camper for the night at a music festival, comfy and warm it was not.
When I finished uni I found a job at the other end of the UK and my old Mk3 sat parked up in a friends barn awaiting my return. Unfortunately the barn started to deteriorate and along with various other things, and possibly even a few chickens, the car had to be vacated so it was sold by my parents when it became clear I was too busy to do anything with it.
So ten years of looking on Ebay, Gumtree, Car and Classic, Autotrader and various car forums (I wasn't obsessed honest) I spent (wasted...) many hours daydreaming about owing another Cortina whenever they came up for sale. Eventually in April last year I took the plunge and bought this one on Ebay, much to the delight of my wife..
"You Have won this Auction" wooot!!!
Now, I can't suggest buying a car unseen from halfway across the country on Ebay unless you are willing to take a gamble, for me it paid off but there was every chance I could have bought a right dog.
The car had featured heavily in a mockumentary TV series for Men and Motors called Randomball Run and still wore it's stickers from the series. In some respects I wish I'd have left the stickers on the car for a couple of years and taken it to a few shows like that but I was keen to see the condition of the car under them.
On the way back home.
At the first show I took her to at Gaydon Heritage Motor Center summer 2012.
So look if you are still here and haven't dropped off your twig with my tedious ramblings check back for some updates. There will be, rust holes, paint spraying, trim repair and possibly engine swaps and performance mods and definitely a lot or swearing as work progresses. This blog is for hard core Cortina lovers, what a strange, sad, lonely bunch we are...
