1966 Barn find MK1 Cortina *mx5 engine install*

[gumpy]

I've always been a fan of old fords and the Cortina has always been on the top of my ford's to own list. When my friend posted a picture on Instagram of a barn find 'tina i was full of envy!, a few days went buy and he had called me to say its up for sale and if i was interested. not having he funds so close to christmas a deal was made with me and the wife's capri and we said good bye to the old girl and hello to an even older girl.

















its been hidden away since 1983! not much history other than it was converted to GT spec from a 1200 deluxe possibly used for road rallying as it has an inch thick alloy skid plate uprated master cylinders and nice 1500 gt pre xflow with some fancy bits. it is complete with a few boxes of spares.

I've begun to strip it down ready for the new year to begin a welding marathon , the plan is to get the body solid ,respray ,upholster the interior and pop in a modern 16v engine as this is going to be used regularly so i'd like something with a bit of power and reliability. I'm considering the mazda mx5 1.8 unit for low cost and reliable power. here's some pictures how its sitting so far.

[jonsey]

Nice project. Love a weldathon especially on an a Cortina. I welded my mk2 for 2 years. Mk1 owners club does a lot of the usual suspect panels. Keep us updated.

[jim]

Nice find! It's good to see another mk1 on here, it looks like it has some good bits on it

[gumpy]

Dec 30, 2017 21:27:22 GMT jim said:

Nice find! It's good to see another mk1 on here, it looks like it has some good bits on it

Yeh I couldn't let this go, it's likely it would've gone to somebody who would've broke it for parts. Yeh the 1500 xflow is a nice touch I checked today it's still on its standard bore size including the original 4 branch manifold and weber carb so I imagine it's worth a few quid.

*edit I've been following your cortina thread really good work on the bodywork !

[cortina64]

Very nice find, I will be following your build as I have a 64 pre-airflow that I am slowly rebuilding.
Cheers Warren

[gumpy]

Dec 31, 2017 9:34:31 GMT @automatik said:

Nice new beige leather steering wheel!

You´re a man who knows how to set priorities!

Adds instant mojo to the build 😉

[jim]

Thanks enduring my rammel!

Standard bore is rare! Mine has had 2! The selector is worth a few ££ too. I like the mx5 idea I've seen one in a mk2 so this will be special

[gumpy]

Dec 31, 2017 15:24:48 GMT jim said:

Thanks enduring my rammel!

Standard bore is rare! Mine has had 2! The selector is worth a few ££ too. I like the mx5 idea I've seen one in a mk2 so this will be special

Any build thread on the mk2? I have 2 of these selectors heard they fetch a bit.

I enjoyed the thread dude hopefully I can have my floors looking as good as yours haha

[jimspolicev8sd1]

Who’s is the metro?

[gumpy]

Jan 1, 2018 0:17:10 GMT jimspolicev8sd1 said:

Who’s is the metro?

That's mine , it's off the road as it munches through clutches due to a knackered crank taper. I'll be doing a mid engine conversion on that one day.

[gumpy]

Jan 1, 2018 9:35:49 GMT @automatik said:

Dec 31, 2017 11:02:06 GMT gumpy said:

Adds instant mojo to the build 😉

Bet you´re hoping for a self cure effect?!

When Arnie Cunningham started his TLC programme with a new pair of wiper blades, Christine took care of the rest soon...

If the magic welder fairies could make an appearance whilst I'm at work that would be terrific. 😂

[gumpy]

It's been a while since an update, with organising my wedding and a new job I've had little time(and money) to really go full speed on the Tina build. But I've managed to chip away slowly. So I acquired a race prepped 1.6 mx5 engine from my previous workplace aswell as some Cusco zero skyline coilovers rescued from the scrap bin !(any slight damage to parts often got replaced).

The engine is in very good condition, ported head etc also very similar looking to the lotus twin cam so I paid homage to the cam cover And 3d printed the lotus emblem's and set in place with resin. I have an Arduino based ECU built up called speeduino and painstakingly stripped an entire mx5 loom down to just engine sensors and fuse box, the engine will be running a set of motorcycle throttle bodies once mapped should be a nice revving powerplant that's not overly powerful and reliable as I want to use the cortina most days.

Although the engine pretty much fits on the standard xflow mounts it's a tall engine and bonnet closing would be impossible. So likely I will chassis mount it although I want to keep the steering box setup so will have to do more measuring.







Those gtr Cusco coilovers are fully adjustable and the best bit is they were a perfect fit to the cortina stub axles. Once welded they were given a coat of zinc primer and satin black.






The body has been partially stripped back to bare steel and alot of rust found what needs replacing are floors , boot floor , fuel tank , both rear arches , outer sills , some patches in the engine bay and some patches on the roof. Luckily I work for a restoration shop and have access to metal working equipment , I started making the floors and hopefully in a few weeks can start on cutting the rust out and replacing.







.

[shampooefficient]

That's a proper barn find. None of this "just rolled off the line, the barn is air conditioned and carpeted, honest" malarkey. Love it.

[cavboy80]

That's some work ahead but certainly different. 4 doors, MX5 unit.
This is going to be interesting, looking forward to updates. Bookmarked.

[grizz]

You just made me smile.

In fact, grin madly.

Busy doing woodwork as I looked at my trucks fenders earlier today and decided woodwork was an easier option.


Thanks for the update.

I hope you get the time and cash you need to get this job done.

[gumpy]

Jul 22, 2018 16:34:49 GMT grizz said:

You just made me smile.

In fact, grin madly.

Busy doing woodwork as I looked at my trucks fenders earlier today and decided woodwork was an easier option.


Thanks for the update.

I hope you get the time and cash you need to get this job done.

Thanks grizz, I'm hoping my boss will allow me to store it at the shop for a few weeks which will allow me and the fabricator to pull some late nights getting it solid and hole free. There's nothing more frustrating than making measurements of things making them at work getting home and finding out it doesn't fit. Woodwork.... I'll take rust and metal over wood haha

[gumpy]

Had a few hours spare today so started chopping the floors out, fair bit of rust in the box sections so will likely cut out and replace.also test fitted the floor panel I made. Still haven't got around to getting gas for the welder yet.










Looks like I'm going to have to lose the heater box and put a big tunnel In as playing with engine fitment I've got a few options,

A. Try and source a front bowl sump from an mx3 (rare) and modify the oil pickup and dipstick

B. Convert to rack and pinion , expensive and I'd really like to keep the steering box setup.

C. Cut the bulkhead and fabricate a large tunnel and lose the heater box , I'm going to go with this idea as it leaves me space for the radiator without any cutting up front. if anybody has ideas for a space saving heater and blower setup I'm all ears.

Hopefully this doesn't put the gear lever far back out of reach I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. My boss has agreed a date in January where I can bring it in and get the metal work all done so for now I'll concentrate on the engine fitting and mechanical bits.

[jonsey]

I think I'd be changing the sump to a front bowl if it was mine. Moving the engine back gives to many knock-on problems. Like you say gear stick, no heater, possible pedal problems. With the sump change it's just that and the pick up pipe. Ok even if it's an alloy sump and you have to pay someone £50 to weld it back up, it's hell of a lot less work. You might get away with cutting the sump flange off, spinning it around and welding back on.

[gumpy]

I agree jonsey, it's only now I've sat and thought about it that even with a front bowl sump the bonnet still wouldn't close. These Mazda engines are pretty tall! And factor in that the bell housing bolts up to the sump I think modifying it would be a hefty task. Other than scrapping the Mazda engine idea I'm sure I'm gonna have to cut the bulkhead, albeit only slightly there's no pedal interference only losing the heater box which is a big ol' unit.

[jonsey]

Aug 5, 2018 18:31:11 GMT gumpy said:

I agree jonsey , it's only now I've sat and thought about it that even with a front bowl sump the bonnet still wouldn't close. These Mazda engines are pretty tall! And factor in that the bell housing bolts up to the sump I think modifying it would be a hefty task. Other than scrapping the Mazda engine idea I'm sure I'm gonna have to cut the bulkhead, albeit only slightly there's no pedal interference only losing the heater box which is a big ol' unit.

Before you do anything, take the sump of the engine. Sit it on a bit of wood on the crossmember at the lowest point you think you will get away with and the refit the bonnet. I reckon there will be heaps of room. I doubt there is much difference in height compared to a zetec and there were a good few at Stratford Race course today. They even have them in mk1's with pretend Lotus rocker covers that are huge and sit over the cam pulleys effectively make the front of the engine really tall. The front of an mx5 isn't tall looking side on. Try it first
Here's one in a mk2. It's tall and fits in a mk1