Grumpy, but spot on

Forgive me for the following: I’m trying to avoid becoming a grumpy retired engineer. Your column on the Cortina GT 500 kinda missed one important factor. The additional long range fuel tank was one large tank fitted across the rear of the boot and above the standard tank. While t his allowed the GT 500 to do 500 miles at Bathurst wit h just one ref ill, t he second filler neck allowed the same volume of air to escape as the regulated single fuel churn was up-ended on the other filler. It cut refuelling time in half. This was Harry Firth after all and his book, Ford and I, has many photos and detailed descriptions of the GT 500 modifications.

On another matter, Glen Torrens column on Aussie verses Yank car language committed the usual crime of saying you can interchange `engines’ and

“MAZDA FOURCYLINDER OWNERS WERE POURING AJAX DOWN THE CARBY”

`motors’. In engineering terms, an engine is f uel powered, such as petrol, diesel, LPG etc. A motor is electric only. So t here is no such thing as a petrol motor or a power window engine. Ernest Litera, Avonsleigh, Vic.