HERITAGE: Cortina 1600E
Amber Gold stunner returns to the road.
Original classic Fords: From dream car to screen star, Steve Brandreth adores his Amber Gold 1600E now that it’s been brought back to life after decades sat in the corner of a workshop.
Peering over the dashboard, a young Steve Brandreth has just met the love of his life. It’s 1977 and he’s exploring the cabin of his father’s newly-purchased Cortina 1600E for the very first time. “I got in, saw the wood and that was it,” he remembers. A lifelong connection was forming.
Together, father and son grew ever more infatuated with the Silver Fox performance saloon, only for disaster to strike. The Cortina was stolen and never recovered. “I was gutted. Dad was gutted. It was the first time I’d ever heard him swear.” One day, Steve promised, he’d have a 1600E of his own.
Four decades later, Steve discovered just such a Ford. Tucked in the garage of a trade associate, this Cortina was a rolling shell and he had to have it. A year later, the owner relented. “I’d been asking after the car every time I saw him,” Steve explains. “When he said I could have it, we brought round the recovery truck before he could change his mind!” Within hours, the pair were exploring the range of components stored inside the car’s cabin.
Everything was present but little was in good condition: a long path of refurbishment and replacement lay ahead. Work started with the 1600 Kent engine. Stripping down and measuring the major components, Steve discovered that the engine had never before seen internal work — helping to corroborate the odometer’s 44,000 mile reading — but the general condition correlated with two decades stood in a workshop corner. A full rebuild with a mild Kent Cams camshaft and a +20 thou’ rebore restored the inline four to working order. It’s matched by a custom stainless steel manifold and exhaust — both the work of Steve’s brother.
Refreshed body
While Steve worked on the motor, the rolling shell saw specialist attention. Refreshed and painted
under its previous owner, the Cortina was still in good shape but its Amber Gold hue had lost its lustre to workshop nicks and scratches. A respray was due. A drive for perfection also saw Steve refurbish the plated Rostyle wheels. Heavily corroded, each rim required shotblasting and a week of repainting to look its best.
Elsewhere, the Cortina wore its years well. A driveline rebuild required nothing more than cleaning, fresh oil, a new clutch and replacement cylinders, while the steering box only asked for two new joints. The remainder are well preserved originals and still wear their period Ford stamping. The rear brake shoes also bore a Blue Oval mark, leading Steve to believe they’re ’70s parts, though safety considerations led to their replacement. New master cylinders, pipes and front cylinders complete the mechanical restoration.
Moving into the cabin, Steve spotted one component which needed immediate attention: the walnut burr dashboard. Split and suffering from delaminated varnish, the iconic part was saved by the attentions of a local Jaguar restorer. “He comes into our workshop occasionally and he offered to take a look,” Steve explains. “By the
“IT’S VERY DIFFERENT TO THE RALLY CARS I’VE PUT TOGETHER IN THE PAST...”
time he came back, 13 months later, we’d almost forgotten about it but he’s done a really good job!” A thorough clean was all the trim and aluminium steering wheel needed to match.
More involvement was demanded by the front seats. The vinyl was still in the perfect, original condition it retains today yet, underneath, the rubber seat diaphragms had perished. Substitute parts are scarce, which lead Steve to whip out the failed components, design a template and fabricate custom replacements.
They’re not the only area where this Ford fan had to get creative. The headlamp trims are a perfect example. Noticing that online examples retail for around £500, Steve instead purchased cheaper, damaged rings and learnt to fix them. “It was the first time I’d had to work with the material; I’m quite good at working with aluminium now!” The shining circles required a full week of attention. Steve knocked them back into their original shape, before polishing them to a gleam. Return to splendour Searing with style, the 1600E returned to the road in 2018. The following months have been a whirl of activity, with everything from shows to weddings to quiet countryside drives. But this Ford was destined for bigger things. A chance message led to a recent appearance on the One Show, Steve chauffeuring Cary Grant around Rhyl as she interviewed Mike Peters from ’80s punk group The Alarm. The link? The chorus of their top 20 hit, 68 Guns was written on the rear bench of a Cortina.
It wasn’t the car’s only brush with greatness: a starring role in The Grand Tour Series 3 finale tops off the car’s recent history. Parked outside Hill House school in Doncaster, Steve’s 1600E sparked in the sun as Jeremy Clarkson proselytised about his father’s identical Cortina. “I took the car up and spoke with Jeremy,” says Steve. “His love of cars started with a gold 1600E, just like mine. One of the show’s drivers took it out for a couple of hours too, and it didn’t miss a beat: he called it a lovely little car.”
The Ford saloon deserves the compliment: it’s hard to believe this is Steve’s first full restoration. “It’s very different to the rally cars I’ve built in the past,” he says, “it was a long job and we had to be meticulous.” Stainless steel bumpers and possibly a vinyl roof lay ahead for the 1600E, but right now, the car is all about reliving memories. “The whole build is dedicated to my Dad. When I sit in there, looking at the clocks… it brings it all back.”
Thanks to: my brother, Mike at Powertune Motorsports in Widnes (0151 4235295, www.powertune.org) and also my other brother for the exhaust and manifold.