Ex-Mk2 track cr returns to the road.
Reader’s restoration: When Alan Lawson bought this Mk2 Lotus Cortina from a friend he didn’t realise quite how much work – and parts searching - would be involved before it returned to the road.
We’ve all been tempted to buy an unfinished project, and they can be a great bargain or an utter nightmare. For Alan Lawson his Cortina was a bit of both. “A friend called Mark has a lock-up full of old Fords,” explains Alan, “but doesn’t tend to sell anything. So when I happened to pop in one day in 2014, then asked about the Mk2 Lotus he had, I wasn’t expecting us to agree a price.” The Cortina was an ex-track car and had no engine or front end, “It was little more than a rolling project really,” admits Alan. “The paperwork stated it had 14 previous owners, but also that it was a genuine Lotus. I’d always wanted one. It came with a front valance and most of the interior, although the front seats
were from a 1600E.” Alan had a secret weapon though, “I’d been taking night classes in a restoration course at Liverpool College, which meant I was able to work on the Cortina, learn techniques and use their tools and facilities.”
“First I stripped off all the old layers of paint — and there were loads — using a DA sander. Then I began welding in new metal to all the jacking points, sorting rust around the rear arches and making up various repair sections in the boot corners and the base of the A-posts.” The supplied bonnet needed repairs to the front edge. “I drilled out the strengthening section, made repairs and put it back together with the correct mastic. It felt like it was never ending. By the time it was ready for paint I’d been at it for
“I TOOK NIGHT CLASSES IN CAR RESTORATION, WHICH MEANT IT WAS ABLE TO WORK ON THE CORTINA AND LEARN NEW TECHNIQUES”
two-and-a-half years.” Helpful as the college was Alan could only attend there for three hours a week. “And if someone else was using the tool I needed or had broken it things would became a bit frustrating,” laughs Alan.
Then Alan came across a twin-cam motor for sale. “A chap on the south coast was an engine builder and had a 1558cc twin-cam from a Lotus Elan someone had put into an Escort, blown up then never collected. He had all the necessary parts including Dell’Orto 40s, a reground crank, rings, shells, bearings and so on, so I bought it all and put it together myself. The only issue was when the water pump seal failed — it had a ceramic disc that split. Otherwise I was surprised just how nicely it ran.” Anything else mechanical came from Burton Power or QED Motorsport.
Smooth changes
The gearbox came with the car and required only a thorough clean and all new seals. One problem was a dragging clutch. “I phoned Lotus Outlaws and explained the pedal was soft, they talked me through things then had a look, it turned out I had the correct flywheel and release bearing, but the wrong cover. They sold me a new one for £30 — problem solved. The rear axle was treated like all the other parts; anything that I could strip apart was then cleaned, rebuilt and painted.”
As for the radiator that was another lucky find. “The seller had bought and recored it then decided to sell it for some reason.” Alan fitted all new hoses, too.
The missing suspension parts caused some head-scratching: “I had particular difficulty finding new front struts,” remembers Alan, “finally getting some at the 1600E Club’s Gaydon 2017 Autojumble. I rebushed the car with parts from the Mk2 Cortina Club and they had virtually everything else I needed apart from the anti-roll bar bushes and new chrome.”
“I made a new loom since the original one was burnt in places and a bit of a lash-up from its track days. I bought coloured wire and soldered on new bullet connectors to the original plugs then heat-shrunk them.”
“Mk2 Cortinas are hard to get parts for compared to Mk1s or Escorts, and decent headlight bezels were £600 a pair so I was forced to hunt every autojumble I could find for cheaper examples. The original sealed-beam Lucas headlights came from a Triumph Herald. Ironically my brother used to work for Ford and any slightly damaged parts that were going to be chucked away he used to keep. Sadly he then dumped them all a few years back…”
Fortunately, Alan’s friends came in useful: “I had a mate who ran a motor factors and was retiring so gave me a dozen sets of wheel bearings with oil seals. They need to be pressed into place but the college was closed for the summer so another friend helped out there.”
Inside story
When it came to the interior Alan phoned Aldridge Trimming for new doorcards and headlining, but had to get ingenious when it came to repairing the cracked dashboard. “I used plastic bumper filler,” laughs Alan, “once dried I sanded it with 40-grit paper then sprayed
“MK2 CORTINAS CAN BE HARD AND EXPENSIVE TO GET PARTS FOR I HUNTED DOWN EVERY AUTOJUMBLE I COULD FIND”
it with PVC paint. It was supposed to just be a temporary measure but it came out perfectly. The carpet was another bargain find while the steering wheel is from a 1600E. The leather had shrivelled so I bought a new surround sleeve, it was easy to fit but now everyone thinks I’m brilliant at sewing…”
Certain necessary compromises were made. “The handbrake should be mounted on the dashboard not the floor, but that had been changed when it was a track car.” And, after searching in vain, Alan actually now prefers the car without a front bumper. A stainless steel exhaust was purchased from the Mk2 club, while the RS alloys came from son, Andrew’s Escort when he sold the car.
“I was really pleased I did it all myself, even down to the paint, although my brother Philip kindly helped to sand the car,” says Alan. “I used cellulose; five coats of Ermine then two coats of Sherwood Green. It was scary painting the white with the gun hovering just 2 inches above the roof. The other issue was I only had 3 hours in the college booth but the stripes needed 2 hours of masking and 20 minutes to mix the correct green — I nearly ran out of time.”
“In all it took four years of night classes and I ended up passing the level three panel beating and paint refinishing course, taking my exam alongside all the these young lads — I even got a government grant to do it just before I retired. I‘d previously been restoring a 1958 Mk2 Zephyr, but put that on hold for the Cortina. Although I’ve also just bought a Mk1 Escort 1300XL with 29,000 miles that only needed new screen washers and a horn to get through the MoT.”
“I’m into driving, not polishing,” admits Alan, “I happily take the Lotus out in wet weather; I just drove my Escort 160 miles in the rain. At the time I just wanted to get the Cortina finished and on the road, I didn’t want it concours, just tidy. Having never owned a Lotus I didn’t know if things were correct or not. It’s difficult when a car’s been altered for racing. Now I’m leaning toward making my Cortina look more like the factory examples.”