HOMEBUILT HERO
Off the road for two decades, Nick had a job on his hands when it came to rebuilding the Mk2.
The work was all done in a mate’s shed, and before Nick could weld on all the new panels he had to scrape off mountains of underseal from the underside — a job that took 20 hours all-in.
“The bodywork was definitely the hardest part of the build and I spent so long on it. My wife didn’t see much of me for three months — I’d go straight to the shed after work and be there until midnight, then be back down there most weekends, too. It had to be done, but getting things like the panel gaps right felt like a never-ending job.”
“Once I’d done the bodywork, I decided to do a dry build, so I put it back together to the point where it was running, then stripped the car back down again and took the shell to be sandblasted — I was relieved to see it came back absolutely fine and needed no more work.”
The Cortina was an unknown red when Nick originally bought it, but he already had a plan. “I always liked the Radiant Red on a mate’s Escort so decided to go for it — a friend, Barrie painted the outer panels for me, while I did the inside, underside and engine bay — I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I also painted the door frames satin black for the RS2000 look.”
Far from standard
With Nick’s track record of modifying cars, the Mk2 wasn’t going to go back on the road
Now the Cortina is finished, Nick’s moved on to rebuilding his Sapphire GLS.
completely standard. “My original intention was to drop a Fiat twin-cam in it, but then I decided to keep it Ford. A friend had a 1600 Pinto up for grabs so I went for it — it fills the engine bay rather nicely, I think. I did the valve stem seals and fitted a new oil spray bar but left the rest of the engine alone — and it’s turned out to be a good one. I also fitted a twin-choke and modified an Escort fourbranch manifold to fit.”
Mounting the Pinto proved easier than thought for Nick, too. “I didn’t need to touch the bulkhead or top of the transmission tunnel,” he recalls. “I did need to move the radiator mounts 8 mm forwards to allow room for the fan though. I probably made life a little easier for myself by retaining the standard struts, crossmember and steering box rather than switching to a rack-and-pinion set-up as is the norm, though this did mean I had to modify the sump so that it was a front-bowl.
That took a bit of time and working out, but nothing too difficult.”
Nick also elected to use the three-rail 2000E ’box rather than go for an obligatory Type-9 five-speed. “I had one in my stash of spares, and the ratios work really well with the 1600 engine,” he reasons.
Going under
Take a peak underneath the car, and you’ll find a superbly-detailed floorpan and set of running gear, with the struts now featuring GT inserts and uprated RS2000 springs, while at the rear Nick’s opted for Capri leaf springs, lowering blocks and Spax dampers, with poly bushes fitted throughout — a simple but, Nick reckons, effective set-up. “It drives really well — it’s as tight as a drum with no squeaks or rattles, and the 1600 Pinto is really responsive.”
It’s easy to live with on long journeys, too
(something Nick knows all about, living on the north coast of Scotland), thanks to the full interior which is a mix of original and uprated parts. “It had a pair of tombstones from a Mk3 when I bought it, but I managed to find a pair of the correct front seats in tan, so these were recoloured with Vinylkote. My Mum made up a new headlining in black leather for me too — it fitted perfectly at the first attempt.”
Next in line
So with the Cortina finished, is Nick able to enjoy the fruits of his labours? No, of course not — he’s got too many other projects on the go, including a Sapphire GLS currently undergoing a full-on restoration.
“Doing the Cortina has definitely raised my game — some bloke once said to me that I could talk the talk, but couldn’t go the extra mile and that fired me up to do it properly. It’s a lot of extra hassle, but it’s worth it.”