1970 Mk2 Ford Cortina Wagon - No progress, more distractions

[ironmighty07]

Thought I'd pull this up from the annals of history for a little edit and and update The original waffle rotates around various thoughts and plans for the Cortina Mk2 Wagon - with various changes and mojo loss along the way

Well since I've actually started this project now it seemed the right time to start posting(and in the absence of both job and wife I have more spare time currently ) about the long term project. The hearse is goingnow gone this is going to my focus(alongside a rebody of the camper).


I got the cortina through this very site in September last year from onlyrwd(2007??!!crikey!), and picked up the RX a bit earlier. The intention was to take the RX to the track since Cadwell is so near but it for some reason I can 't remember I decided not to. The cortina came up at the right sort of money so I went all impulsive and it was soon in the yard...where it sat until last week.

Thus over winter a plan started to hatch, put the rotary engine into the cortina, different to all the zetec/pinto/v6 versions out there.

So this weekend, in spite of the snow I began the process of taking out this

And put something a little more pokey and pistonless in its place, like this


There's a lot of work to do, and I might take the plunge and convert to rack and pinion as well before the engine goes in as the steering box/header clearance looks at first instance a little on the marginal side. Fortunately the body isn't too rotten, the rear arches/front valance/sills(but only the ends) and the o/s front wing need work.

I'm going to bin the lever arms on the back and convert to telescopic dampers(probably cortina Mk4/5 units) mounted off capri spring plates.

Brake conversion, both front and rear will be on the cards hopefully starting with capri units up front(subject to suspension upgrade parts), but upgrading to 4 pots when funds allow and the rear will go to disc using either granada or mazda parts.

In the absence of gainful employment it might take a while but its gonna be fun!

[ironmighty07]

Started chopping away some of the existing metal today, the front wing and bumper being the first off.The bumper is quite manky so I can't decide if to leave it off or find another when I need one


Impressively the inner wing and rail isn't too bad, a little scabby but no major work. Dissapointingly the A pillar is more crispy than I would have hoped but it's all accessible and easy to shape correctly to let in the new metal and the very top of the bulkhead has crumbled away.


Will need to replace/repair this section as well, the valance is shot but I think repair will suffice for the closing panel(will possibly fabricate that in heavier gauge to accommodate the replacement radiator and oil cooler set up.


Hopefully I'll whip the door off tomorrow and cut out all the old and tack a new piece in place so fingers crossed.

[Stu_B]

whoooo!! Gonna be a beast mate, good luck!

[DutyFreeSaviour]

Best of luck with this one - rotary wagon...... definite winnar

[jizzy gillespie]

interesting! good luck with that.

[ironmighty07]

Got round to whipping out the old suspension and steering in readiness for the capri rack conversion last weekend



The 'new' parts waiting to go in(thanks to scaryoldcortina with these)


With the struts out I thought I'd have a look at the tops from the underneath, with the wings showing signs of been plated in the past I was fearing the worst but I've been very surprised...


Trimmed the original engine mounts off the crossmember since firstly they're in the way and secondly I won't need them since I'm mounting the engine off the chassis rails.

Need to get some 4mm plate and fabricate up new mounts since this sits in a different position to the original, hope to use at least one original mount with the new brackets

Just checking out the position(thanks to Hellblue off BSC for the primary dimension)


Still having a few problems with the struts(top mounts won't line up!) but have decided to convert over to coilover adjustable struts and eccentric tops to provide the adjustability in the system. Whether I go adj. TCAs I'm not sure yet, very tempted but then it's all about the cash.

More pics when I get it mounted up and start connecting the steering up.

Later!

[grizz]

Lots of hard graft here.

Go for it mate.

[ironmighty07]

Well after what feels like an eternity(well nearly 2 years since the last post) of lost inspiration due to a whole heap of stuff that masquerades as real life I'm back to actually enjoying working on cars again

Went back in the garage finally starting clearing the curse word out the way and found the cortina where I left and decided to pull my finger out. Last time out the intial mountings for the cross member were too far forward, so I moved these back a couple of inches, only to find the column was then nowhere near, so a different approach was need. Couple of trips to the local breakers(thankfully still a walk around!) unearthed a suitable(with a little modification) alternative to the capri column - from all things a Fiat Punto. Mocking it up fitted perfect but I've decided to remove the adjustability feature - there just isn't room - and now I need to find a local machinist to turn down the steering shaft to weld in the bottom to meet the escort UJ on the rack itself!

Once the steering is in place then I can get an engine/box offered up and off the garage floor and stop falling over it! After that I can think about sorting the bodywork once again - but so much is needed sadly.

Also readying myself to start modifying the hubs to take Sierra vented disc - originally was going a four pot route but money now dictates a combination of Sierra discs and Mondeo calipers hidden behind Citroen Picasso 4 stud wheels(15") painted cream with chromed hub caps and trim rings

So question anybody know any small jobbing machine shops in the Scunthorpe/Doncaster/Grimsby areas to help sort the bits needed.

Will get back to putting some pictures up over the weekend which demonstrates a bit better how I'm doing it all!

[ironmighty07]

Crikey - is it really nearly a year since I actually did anything in the garage - must be looking at the last posting date.

After a major mojo roller coaster and selling off the rotary engines and a couple of other projects I decided it was time to knuckle down and actually make this happen this year and try and get that front end welded and the steering conversion completed.

So in the absence of the an engine now I'd been thinking about what unit I could fit - struggled for a while - can't really afford a zetec and can't be bothered paying over the odds for a Type 9 box either. Plus the steering conversion gets in the way of exhaust manifolds on the right hand side - so out went numerous choices(including the rotary option(although a turbo might have made re-routing easier).

Then I had the vision again - Mazda power - but this time the MX-5 engine and gearbox - reliable and economical with lots of options to tune(including supercharging....one day...perhaps) and motivation returned from the wilderness - so look out in the wanted thread of a northern monkey seeking a rotten MX-5(either 1.6 or 1.8) to pillage for it's heart!

Also measured up and a BMW E30 320i radiator is needed to supply cooling capability - am sure that it'll be more than upto the task(hopefully!!)

As a bit of a lift over the weekend however I thought I'd trial fit the steel wheels I'd got off the 'bay. Tyre size is all wrong, and for real I'll be going with 185/55's but for your temptation and my own inspiration....


With a couple of options on the machining side the steering and brake conversions should come together over the next month(unfortunately the good lady is going into hospital shortly) and then I will, I promise make some real progress on this..finally!!!!

[Deleted]

Nice estate! Keep up the good work - look forward to seeing it progress!

[eternaloptimist]

Can't beat a mk 2 estate

[qwerty]

Loving the Mazda Engine idea!

[Deleted]

Very interesting project, I'll be keeping tabs on this one. Hope the good lady fares well at the hospital.

[ironmighty07]

Can't believe this thread is over 4 years old now and there's so little progress(major mojo losses - but at least I never throw the towel in).Plans remain for the Mazda lump(just need a mega cheap donor to come up when I have the cash and either driveable or near enough to drag back to I'm towers)

There been another addition to distract me a bargain camper van - 1995 Renault Trafic Autosleeper. Came up for a price just too good to turn down whilst on holiday last year, the owners of the holiday cottage were upgrading their old unit and were selling private - it needed some work(welding and the most of the doors weren't great at opening otherwise a proper camper) for the money I could part it out or rebody the innards cost effectively.
Only 2 other problems, I couldn't get it until November and it was on the Isle of Man.





So on the 6th I found myself heading out to Morecambe on late trains and then Heysham ferry port for the 2am trip to Douglas, Operation Camper Caper, so in a trains/ferry/bus and then a 2.5 mile walk I, to put this in sat-nav parlance "reached my destination".

After crossing the previous owners palms with a suitable amount of silver the keys, documents and most importantly van were all mine - now just the simple matter of a 160/170 mile trip home.....

And sadly for all you roadtrip fans it behaved faultlessly - the biggest problem was of my own making, I elected to keep off the motorways as I wasn't sure how quick it would go when once I opened the van up it pulled remarkably well - slightly whiney fan and the radio didn't work but otherwise fantastic. It even nearly got home on the half tank of fuel it came with(did just drop £10 in about 10 miles from home.

As it wasn't a planned buy, but rarely do such things come up with great timing I pulled it into the yard and then worked on sorting a new daily. Dark nights, wet weekends played their part and it just got left until the last couple of weeks.



Am thinking webbing may be the way to support the foam going forward as I cannot find any fabric configuration close to what is the original materials - any thoughts/assistance would be greatly appreciated.

So then finally I got round to having a proper look at the corrosion, I'd been lucky a flick around body parts unearthed a s/h front crossmember for fair money and I knew they existing one was bad, but until I pulled it off(thankfully it's a bolt on unit, something that wasn't obvious until I starting stripping things back).


Which I thinks shows the extent of the problem - but fortunately easily fixed..

Elsewher, and mainly around the RH front corner an incredible amount of surface rust, sure the odd hole but nothing too heavy....

Sadly things went down hill from then.... I hooked off the outer wing which revealed a rotten panel which led to the inner wheel arch and more holes . All reasonably accessible with a welding torch but after the elation of earlier in the day a very disappointing end.

Perhaps a rethink is in order.....

[ironmighty07]

Crikey - unearthed this one, and I'm sure under a pile of tat in the garage there's a 'tina estate somewhere that still needs an engine!

So what's changed, in short nothing - so little work has been done it's terrifying but I feel I'm on the cusp of making something happen. Out will go the capri rack and crossmember, whilst it's functional I felt an escort rack with fabricated crossmember will be more suited. The rack is ready to go, the crossmember was delivered 10 minutes ok.

More crucially the donor unit has arrived - complete with surrounding Mazda MX5 bodywork alll 1839cc of twin cam pleasure will be prepared over the next few weeks thanks to Cobblers of this very parish. Couple of other jobs to do over the Xmas break but hopefully that's find it's way out amongst the other jobs then I'll trial fit it. Will need work to the inner wings and valance but decided I'd get then mounts etc sorted then do the bodywork to avoid damaging the new bits whilst pulling the engine in and out!

As for the camper it's doing a sterling effort to make it to the "let's see the abandoned ones" thread - having not being touched in near 2 years now - makes a handy storage facility but even that might progress next year. I've decided to rebody the unit - into something with a longer wheelbase to allow storage of bikes etc inside behind the camper interior, and also handy for the tools etc as a race van....

[Clement]

Good news then! Cortina estates are undeniably cool, glad you got some help to work on it

Thread bookmarked, waiting for the next instalment! Haha

[eternaloptimist]

Bookmarked - much love for a Mk II estate. Years since I had one.

[cobblers]

Hows this going? Have you pulled the MX5 to bits yet?

[ironmighty07]

Haven't torn down the MX yet for its engine/box.Have got the correct crossmember now so will be getting the steering conversion complete then looking to get the engine offered up when I can get clearances etc checked.

Additionally I've bagged both headlight panels to replace the rotten ones and replacement rear passenger door!No bargains though.Just need front valance and slam panel.Got mondeo brake calipers(bar righthand carrier) for brake upgrade so just many of the parts required are here now.

[ironmighty07]

Holy thread resurrection(6 years), after a long and potted few years which have prevented me from spending the time & money on the Cortina it needed to progress it is high time unearth it from the bowels of the garage!!

Its still there, which is a start, although bizarrely the screen has shattered.The donor MX5 has gone and the engine/box has taken residence next to its new home and a rotisserie has been acquired to help with repairs. I have been buying spares gradually, changing to a tubular crossmember, repair panels etc including finding an A pillar repair which I couldn't remember buying, quick rack in order to get a long stem pinion(and then finding an old rack already in situ..doh!)

Accepting progress will remain slow the new "plan" is to have it ready for next spring, but equally I'm more focused on getting it right and to the standard I'm going to be happy with.