Yay! After a 3 month wait after selling the Kadett I've finally found a new replacement!, This 1974 Cortina 2000 XL MK3 that I won on ebay last night.
It's only done 83000 mile from new, never been welded or needs any from what I can see, but does sadly have a couple of dents which I hope can knock out and a lot of "old man" areosol repairs which let it down a bit, but the body is so rust free that I think it would make a well worthwhile respray project.
Anyway, what a long day!, I left my house in Ipswich at 8.30am this morning, Dollywobbler pointed out ot me last night that the A14/M1 Catthorpe Interchange was closed this weekend so that decided that my route would be this way.
Only 3 1/2 hours to ETA!, So we dropped the dog off at the inlaws on the way past Colchester, We stopped midway at Beaconsfield Services on the M40, this was the trusty stead for the day (It done nearly 400 miles by the end of the day!)
On route to Evesham to collect my new Cortina by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
We saw a few old cars on the way.
1992 BMW 735i SE on the M25 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
1990 Citroen BX 14 RE in the Cotswolds by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Rover Metro by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
1969 Morris 1300 on the A40 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Drove though Stow on the Wold which was very pretty.
Stow-on-the-Wold by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Not long now!
Stow-on-the-Wold by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
This Transit was amazing, it was just around the corner from the Cotina owners house, I haven't seen a working Mk2 for years.
1984 Ford Transit Mk2 Van in Evesham by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
We eventually arrived at the owners house at 12.30pm where we was greeted by the Cortina in the driveway, First impressions was a little disappointing, it has a bit of a donk on the o/s/r 1/4 by the bumper which wasn't in the ebay add and the paintwork was very patchy in the flesh, unlike the photo in the advert.
I had a look around the car and it was very straight and solid though with no rust that I could see what so ever, Steve the owner and his wife spent a while chatting to us and made us a coffee (No offer of a roast dinner though :cry: ), He also owns a 2000E and a Crayford Cortina as well
, I think the story behind the XL was that a old boy had owned it from 1976 until last year were he was retiring from driving and the car was offered to the MK3 owners club which is where this guy bought it from.
Anyway after paying up for it we went to Morrisons to fill up (£65!)
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
and popped to Maccy D's for some grub and a few photos.
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Nice hey!, As you can see the bodywork is acceptable but a bit "worn", Still bloody good for a 38 year old Ford though!.
The interior is very tidy, all the clocks and lights work, even the glovebox light and dash dimmer!, It's has had Alfa Romeo front seats fitted which are so comfy but sadly the bloke has painted the rear seat to match the front, It should be a dark blue like the door cards, Something I'll need to look into fixing if I can?
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Poor photo but it still has it's dealer sticker on the glovebox and a dealer plate on the slam panel but with a 1975 date on it?
I spotted this old boy in this Mini near by, what a stunner!
1976 Austin Mini 1275 GT Clubman in Evesham by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
So the long drive home started, One thing I can tell you is that this 2.0 Pinto really flies!, It just kept going!, If you floored it from 50 to 70mph in 4th and just growled at you and flew, have these got twin carbs?, either way I was really impressed,
Less impressive was the brakes though, when I braked the car pulled violently to the right which made it hard to drive, I was quite nervous driving home on the motorway as I was worried that if I brake quickly I'd end up in the central reservation!
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Driving back through Stow on the wold, half the street just stopped to look at the car! ;D
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
As I needed a wee stop I pulled over on the A40 to take a couple more photos.
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
The rest of the journey was quite uneventful, It was just like driving a modern car really but with poor brakes!, I've left it at my dad's for now in Colchester as he's going to take it to the garage to get the brakes fixed for me, I can't use it as it is at the moment sadly.
Jobs for the future, well brakes of course, the exhaust blows slightly and rattles on the transmission tunnel, I'd love to retrim the interior in the dark blue to match the door cards but I guess that won't be cheap and I really need to invest in a respray to make it look fresh again, oh and change the Philips radio to another that doesn't just play BBC Radio 4 MW!
;D
It's only done 83000 mile from new, never been welded or needs any from what I can see, but does sadly have a couple of dents which I hope can knock out and a lot of "old man" areosol repairs which let it down a bit, but the body is so rust free that I think it would make a well worthwhile respray project.
Anyway, what a long day!, I left my house in Ipswich at 8.30am this morning, Dollywobbler pointed out ot me last night that the A14/M1 Catthorpe Interchange was closed this weekend so that decided that my route would be this way.
Only 3 1/2 hours to ETA!, So we dropped the dog off at the inlaws on the way past Colchester, We stopped midway at Beaconsfield Services on the M40, this was the trusty stead for the day (It done nearly 400 miles by the end of the day!)
On route to Evesham to collect my new Cortina by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
We saw a few old cars on the way.
1992 BMW 735i SE on the M25 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
1990 Citroen BX 14 RE in the Cotswolds by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Rover Metro by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
1969 Morris 1300 on the A40 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Drove though Stow on the Wold which was very pretty.
Stow-on-the-Wold by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Not long now!
Stow-on-the-Wold by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
This Transit was amazing, it was just around the corner from the Cotina owners house, I haven't seen a working Mk2 for years.
1984 Ford Transit Mk2 Van in Evesham by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
We eventually arrived at the owners house at 12.30pm where we was greeted by the Cortina in the driveway, First impressions was a little disappointing, it has a bit of a donk on the o/s/r 1/4 by the bumper which wasn't in the ebay add and the paintwork was very patchy in the flesh, unlike the photo in the advert.
I had a look around the car and it was very straight and solid though with no rust that I could see what so ever, Steve the owner and his wife spent a while chatting to us and made us a coffee (No offer of a roast dinner though :cry: ), He also owns a 2000E and a Crayford Cortina as well
, I think the story behind the XL was that a old boy had owned it from 1976 until last year were he was retiring from driving and the car was offered to the MK3 owners club which is where this guy bought it from.Anyway after paying up for it we went to Morrisons to fill up (£65!)
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
and popped to Maccy D's for some grub and a few photos.
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Nice hey!, As you can see the bodywork is acceptable but a bit "worn", Still bloody good for a 38 year old Ford though!.
The interior is very tidy, all the clocks and lights work, even the glovebox light and dash dimmer!, It's has had Alfa Romeo front seats fitted which are so comfy but sadly the bloke has painted the rear seat to match the front, It should be a dark blue like the door cards, Something I'll need to look into fixing if I can?
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Poor photo but it still has it's dealer sticker on the glovebox and a dealer plate on the slam panel but with a 1975 date on it?
I spotted this old boy in this Mini near by, what a stunner!
1976 Austin Mini 1275 GT Clubman in Evesham by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
So the long drive home started, One thing I can tell you is that this 2.0 Pinto really flies!, It just kept going!, If you floored it from 50 to 70mph in 4th and just growled at you and flew, have these got twin carbs?, either way I was really impressed,
Less impressive was the brakes though, when I braked the car pulled violently to the right which made it hard to drive, I was quite nervous driving home on the motorway as I was worried that if I brake quickly I'd end up in the central reservation!
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Driving back through Stow on the wold, half the street just stopped to look at the car! ;D
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
As I needed a wee stop I pulled over on the A40 to take a couple more photos.
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
The rest of the journey was quite uneventful, It was just like driving a modern car really but with poor brakes!, I've left it at my dad's for now in Colchester as he's going to take it to the garage to get the brakes fixed for me, I can't use it as it is at the moment sadly.
Jobs for the future, well brakes of course, the exhaust blows slightly and rattles on the transmission tunnel, I'd love to retrim the interior in the dark blue to match the door cards but I guess that won't be cheap and I really need to invest in a respray to make it look fresh again, oh and change the Philips radio to another that doesn't just play BBC Radio 4 MW!
;D
)
, those Rostyles suit it down to a T, great write up and pics of other cars too, i like the way you pulled out infront of the 1275GT to get his pic ;D 
