1981 Ford Cortina 1600 L

[will]

I have a new motor

It seems fitting to kick off with a link to the stinkwheel rides thread of old as this Tina has history on RR >>>retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=display&thread=79164

Had the Cortina a week tomorrow and am a very happy man indeed. L spec includes a nice clock in the dash and some fetching brownness inside. It's got a Webber carb and k+n filter witch adds a nice induction roar and it sits pretty (beauty in the eye of the beholder) on some Saxo steels and shiny red lowered springs. Could do with some new shockers out back methinks but not too bad a ride at all.
Few snaps from the journey back home v v v



Just over a 100 miles door to door and a fault free comfy journey with only a quick stop to check fluids some 30 miles in.
Blackwall tunnel rolling phone snap, nearly home.

i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af137/fambang/lastpicsonangesphone149.jpg[/img]

Progress so far has included lots of driving and... well, not alot else really.
All I've done to date is fixed the dodgy drivers side window mech (nice 0 budget repair with epoxy, zip tie and a lashing of gaffer tape) and fitted a 8 ball to the gear lever which was kicking around in my van. The window needs a new mech really so I'll keep an eye out as and when, sure plenty of racers have spares for these.



Gave it a wash with the lance at a local garage and decided to get busy with the T-cut too.



Whilst giving it a scrub I noted what will need attention soon body work wise which is not alot considering it's a Ford of a certain age. Front wing and A post has seen some stinkwheel attention already and the good chap that he is chucked in the nearside wing with the deal. The nearside needs the same repair as the off side on the A post and fingers crossed that will be a fresh ticket in the bag .
The bottom edges of the back end need some tidying as does the front doors and around the grill and front valance. As with any rolling project what needs doing will come to light some enough.

After a long drive in the heavy down pour we had the other night I also noticed that my foot was getting rather wet (what was I just saying ;D Further investigation reveals a small hole in the most inaccessible part of the bulkhead which will also needs some swift attention too. MOT fail? not sure.

Apart from the wet foot a drive in the rain was great fun, it's been a good few years since having a RWD car and after many years of the oil burning Transit and Golf this Cortina on lowered springs feels quite the race machine ;D

Many thanks to stinkwheel for the pleasant transaction and for the work done to the car in his ownership. It really does run rather sweetly which is a credit to the previous owners and the hard work and or money they put in.

Right, must remember to take photos as I go with this one, cheers for reading. Any tips on Cortina 80 ownership greatly appreciated.

Peas out

[will]

Took a few more non phone pics today so here you go v v v


I like the steels and may get them banded when I have some cash. That said slots would work well here too though they also require money I ain't got. Paint is cheap, just I'm not sure what colour would work with the sierra brown, was thinking maybe more sierra brown with crome centre caps, maybe. Or just redo them black not sure.





Need to have a proper look underneath as the exhaust hangs low causing it to scrape more than I would like on those pesky island speed bumps. One of the nice things about buying a car here is it comes pre-stickered

[Deleted]

For the colour of the steels why not try cream or metallic brown, or even copper with a red stripe on the rim and red or black hubcap/wheel nut details? I remember my Dad was given one of these in blue as an emergency car back in the 90s, when we took it for the MoT we discovered the floor was mostly held in with the underseal it came out of the factory with.

[ben1]

Nice Cortina , abit of a newb question is this a mk3 or 4 , ethier way i like it , give it a polish paint up the wing , band thoose steels and slam it.
Very nice motor hope to see updates.

[ThePollitt]

Aug 25, 2010 15:22:39 GMT ben1 said:

Nice Cortina , abit of a newb question is this a mk3 or 4 , ethier way I like it , give it a polish paint up the wing , band thoose steels and slam it.
Very nice motor hope to see updates.

It's neither, it is in fact a Cortina 80 (or a MKV).

Chris

[ben1]

Thanks Chris - learn something new everyday

[stinkwheel]

Nice thread mr familybanger and ta for the namecheck in there too Haha.

The foot watering bulkhead hole will not be an MOT fail mate, I'm pretty sure its just that bit i pointed out to you before that will need the only weld.

I'm actually gutted i never polished it, cos it looks really damn good that.

As per usual ive been and bought a car with a load of issues, damn.

[bortaf]

Looks pretty clean to me mate and a bit of rust is mandatory with them
get used to changing rear bushes year exercise with them (top axle ones it is anyway) ;D

[will]

Cheers for the comments and advice all, keep them coming
450 miles in and still very much enjoying the 'tina. Nothing done of any note yet (I'm a slow worker) + if it ain't broke don't break it. Although I have added a 8 ball gear knob as I like the feel of them and have a handy supply ;D v v v



Got a nice Mountney leather and alloy steering wheel today in the post from a very nice chap on here, cheers Noel. Just need to find the right boss and that shall be bolted in. Also got some sheet metal from a mates scrap pile to weld in on the A post which I'll do soon before putting it in for an early test sometime next month.

Exhaust still hangs low and catches on the drive , fingers crossed for some time tomorrow to see to this. Should imagine it will take longer to pull the ramps out of the garage than do the repair, that place is in constant need of a sort out as it's a dumping ground for everything that gets evicted from the flat.

Have had a decent camera for the last few days so thought it silly not to take a snap or two.

The raw 1600 pinto powerhouse (wants some clutch to break loose on the roundabouts)


These red curly fellas have spax written on them, man I'm going up in the world. Seem to remember from stinkwheels thread that the shocks are KYB, must say they ride really well (I've requested a set of rears for Xmas ;D)


Primer wing side shot


Earning her keep


Joe appreciates the plush interior


And this last one just because I like it, so there.


Feeling the cream for the wheels (nice one volksangyl) think I'll splash out on some hammerite smooth for this as I've had good results with the stuff before. Banding would indeed be good though will need to wait due to lack off funds, might chuck a set of spacers on the rears as I've found somewhere local that does them cheap in 10, 20 and 35 mm. The fronts sit quite nice and flush, ish, just the rears that could have a little more poke. I'm torn with going lower as the ride is nice as is, especially compared to the chopped spring Mk3 Golf that Ange drives as a daily, sorry love does look cool though.

[frankie28]

GO THE MK5 CORTINA'S!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Nice to see another one being sorted!!
For the slightly different but still standardish look, you could go for the deeper dish sports wheels from a Escort or Capri. Thats what i have done to mine as you can see in the pic below. fills the arches out nicely.
One of the first things I did to mine when it was a 1600 was take the old carb and inlet manifold off and throw it away! replace with twin choke Weber and Pipercross filter, then remove the exhaust and its manifold and replace with a 4 branch and Ashley exhaust system. made a big difference to the 1600. certainly felt a lot faster anyway and end out was quite easy. As you can see from the second pic, second gear in the dry picture from last years RR gathering before the 2.0 went in.
look forwards to following this thread.

Frankie

[will]

Nice crusader Frankie Think I'll be going the 2.0 pinto route at some point too, though money will dictate when and there's plenty of life in the 1.6 yet. Ain't gonna be going crazy modding the 1.6 with the above in mind but if a 4 branch fanny mold will fit both then it would be rude not too, scampers off to do research...

Tail out fun needs some practice and with a combination of my lack of skills and this being shod in the best set of tyres I've ever owned I'm a little shy. I've a set of part worn 14's in the garage though so those will be going on soon enough and I am on the lookout for some practice space to get them smoking.

Had it up on ramps today to sort the low slung 'zorst and had a grot check whilst there. Not too shabby at all TBH



The under belly has been well sealed but had peeled in a few places so I pulled of the flaky bits and got busy with a can of the black stuff nicely coating all the bits needed plus a fair bit on myself in the process. Know your enemy - Rust. Prevention is better than cure and there is enough that will need some MIG action soon anyhow.

Got some paint for the wheels too ;D I'll be pulling them off as soon as poss and will bring them upstairs and do the painting in the stairwell one night as there is family time to be had and plenty that I need to be seen doing elsewhere in the daytime. Ah, the balance of life.

[frankie28]

used the same manifold from the 1600 on the 2.0.
Got it from one of those rally spares places, can't remember which one it was but it was about 80 pound brand new. was not a Cortina one, I think its for a Capri. I shall try to find the recipt and have a look.
The Wifes Black 2.0 has a Ashley manifold bit that's nearer 160 odd pound mark.
Both of them have electronic ignition, the red one has burton fast road vaccumless one andd the wife has a H&H vaccume dizzy. that made a difference to them too. if you can , Get it poly bushed. corners much better. Yours does look better on the 14's
Keep coming with the Piccies. have a look on BuySellCortina site too. Its good web site for Cortina's and the spares.

Frankie

[will]

Cheers for the info Frankie, would be interested to know were you got it if the receipt turns up.
I've got my sights on a efi pinto currently sitting in a Transit, I know the history and it shifts in the van body so I think it would work well in the Cortina plus I've a mk5 Transit too, so spares a plenty if it comes off (fingers crossed).

[will]

Sneek peek



Think this might just work on the car though will need to wait till the morn (unless there's any keen photoshoppers out there ) as they need another coat, not to mention 2 more to prep and paint. Think I'll have a beer instead of doing more work TBH ;D

*edit*
Front 2 fitted before breakfast this morning



Rears off for some late night treatment when I get home.

[will]

All four done Behold the colander spec steels v v v





They work for me and shall do nicely whilst I decide and save for some ultimate wheels of win.

I need to do some long put off DIY in the flat to address the car/home balance and then I'm back underneath exchanging the slightly higher, though still scraping center box for a straight bit I've found in the garage.
Still torn on what to do with the springs, a coil off fore and aft may be coming soon, anyone got experience of chopping spax springs on a 'tina?

[theboymike]

Looking good - wheels suit the colour nicely, and it looks so much better now the paint's had some attention.

Should look really plush when you've got that wing sorted

[will]

Sept 5, 2010 15:29:56 GMT theboymike said:

Looking good - wheels suit the colour nicely, and it looks so much better now the paint's had some attention.

Should look really plush when you've got that wing sorted

Cheers mate, spent £10 on some proper polish the other day. Definitely worth the money IMO, made the job easy and more rewarding finish too.



Also in shot my new steering wheel, the boss kit took ages to be posted out and came with horrid looking cross head bolts for holding the wheel on, found a few allen bolts which look much better IMO. Swapped the 8 ball gear nob with the number 14 which was in the van and done lot's of adjusting of the exhaust to stop it hitting the deck. Now the centerer section runs slightly higher but rattles more considering doing away with the troublesome twisty bit over the axle and running straight underneath it. Getting on for 1000 miles since purchase now, been used daily since picking it up

*edit*Sorry folks, don't know what is happening with the other Photobucket account. One minute it is there, next it's gone, then back then gone again, sometimes a few pics from it are visible although not all of them

[skinnylew]

looking lovely Will, pm coming your way....

[will]

Winter works (mot looming)

Step 1 blag workshop, well if you can you would



Brakes today, front end looks fine so I'm under the back wrestling with seized fasteners and brake pipes. Drums have plenty of life left so it was just new shoes + cylinders as they had gone a bit squishy. The pipes were copper so had been done before and were predictably seized into the connectors so they span around and snapped, not sure how I could of got round that so I went up the local factors for a flaring tool and returned with 2 x copper pipes he made up for me

All fitted and now pulls up straight with working handbrake too

Step 2 stop the rot



This wing looked not too shabby, well a blind man on a horse wouldn't have spotted the horror that lies within I removed the wing (and a chunk of thumb nail : thinking a mid sized flat patch would be a good intro into automotive welding, yeah right. Lots of CAD resulted in this V V V


A nice little exercise into how to make a corner of your cortina, great learning curve and like my 2 year old I like a bit of cutting and gluing ;D Although the wing will come of again for further work this is the bit that needed doing for a mot and all I had time for today.

Cleaned up with the grinder then painted it up and undersealed and chucked the wing back on as I was late for a dinner date, slightly rushed refitting the front winker and bust the fragile plastic mounting. For a good while I thought I'd be driving home with the wing still off so minus a indicator and bumper end cap ain't too bad.

MOT early next week, wish me luck.

[capriscort]

Liking the cream wheels. I just think it needs lowering, then enjoy driving it