READER’S RESTORATION: Mk3 Cortina GXL
Reader’s restoration: How do you make a once-rotten Cortina GXL even better? Give it to two Ford fans to restore then refine, that’s how.
1972 2-litre gets restored — twice.
As the years roll by, some car fanatics like to see themselves as progressing to a different era of car ownership. For long time ford fan, Michael Orton, the last 25 years he’s describes as being his fourth era. “Where I grew up, few people had cars at all and I was only the second person in my whole extended family to buy a car,” Michael laughs. “This was a £15 banger and I went on to own a succession of Mk1, Mk2, Mk3 and Mk4 Zodiacs and Zephyrs.” The American-inspired styling of these models was a particular draw for Michael as was their ease to work on. This was just as well, as Michael spent much of his time keeping them on the road — cylinder heads on the kitchen table, swapping clutches and still getting to the pub before closing time played a big part of his regular routine.
As his income improved, so did the cars with a succession of Capris, Cortinas and Granadas.
“The company car period came next with nothing particularly memorable to mention, and the kids were driving ratty old Datsuns, Seats and Cavaliers,” Michael recalls. “But the last 25 years have brought me back to classic cars, which I like to call my fourth era of car ownership.”
As a Ford man at heart, Michael’s first foray into the world of classics were Capris — a rare 2.8i auto and a Brooklands.
“Both needed quite a lot of work,” Michael recalls, “but I was still an American car fan at heart and soon embarked on a mission buying Camaros, Corvettes and a Firebird.” The switch to the Mustang was inevitable though, and to date Michael has owned three of the iconic cars.
“CYLINDER HEADS ON THE KITCHEN TABLE, SWAPPING CLUTCHES AND STILL GETTING TO THE PUB BEFORE CLOSING TIME PLAYED A BIG PART OF MICHAEL’S ROUTINE BACK IN THE DAY”
Flawless find
So, the move to a Cortina after a succession of Mustangs may seem a surprising one. “I wasn’t looking for a Cortina in particular, but I thought it would be nice to own a car like I used to have in my younger days,” Michael explains. “Then this 1972 Cortina GXL appeared, and it was a car I was familiar with as I’d seen it at a few shows.” In contrast to the ‘oh dear what have I bought’ scenario, Michael had become accustomed to, he was struggling to pick faults with his latest purchase!
The Cortina’s flawless condition is thanks to the talents of previous owner, Tony Bellamy who admits it must have been his turn to wear the rose-tinted specs on the day he bought this car! Just like Michael, Tony grew up surrounded by Blue Oval badged cars — his Dad’s JPS Mk2 Capri and Mk3 Cortina GXL being especially memorable. “I can remember sitting in it outside a working men’s club in Sheffield waiting for my pop and crisps,” Tony smiles. “I was fascinated by all the little switches and dials the Cortina had!” Around 20 years ago, Tony bought himself a
Mk3 Cortina into which he installed a 3-litre V6 so it’s fair to say he’s pretty fond of them.
“After a lot of searching, back in 2008 I came across this 1972 GXL and struck a deal over the phone for £650,” Tony recalls. “It came from a chap whose father had passed away.” The free MIG welder that came in the boot of the car provided a clue that this was going to be one mammoth project and as Tony began to strip the Mk3 down, his worst fears were realised. “I began digging at the offside driver’s sill and rear wheel tub which seemed to be the worst areas,” Tony recalls. “I’d forgotten how rusty these cars could be and typically this one had been subjected to bodged-up repairs using filler, wire mesh and tin foil back in the 1980s and 1990s.”
Panel game
As he delved deeper, the tinworm became more evident, the Cortina consequently needing inner and outer sills, floor sections, footwells, rear wheel arches, rear and front valance, jacking points, door pillar bottoms, wing rails and headlight supports!
Replacement wings, rear doors, front door skins also added to the list, there would be little of the original metalwork remaining.
Tony admits he’s a perfectionist when it comes to paintwork and spent many hours prepping the car before a fresh coat of Onyx Green could be applied. “I wasn’t happy with the door and wing gaps, so I made some aluminium shims to fit on before the door hinges, improving the lines,” he explains. “The original bonnet wasn’t at all flat and I spent around 50 hours working on it before I was happy.” Incredibly, Tony carried out the whole arduous process himself, other than for the topcoat which was applied by Mike at Trackside Auto Refinishers.
When it came to the vinyl roof, Tony had to admit defeat after three attempts and dispatched the car to Claytons in Sheffield. “They also recovered the seats, but matching the interior was a real challenge,” Tony admits, “I had to compromise and have the seats trimmed in half cloth and half vinyl as I couldn’t obtain the correct basket weave pattern and vinyl colour.”
“I WASN’T HAPPY WITH THE DOOR GAPS, SO I MADE SOME SHIMS TO FIT BEHIND THE HINGES, IMPROVING THE LINES”
As the rebuild progressed, Buysell Cortina and the Mk3 club would play an invaluable role when it came to sourcing replacement parts. The suspension joints, bushes, ball joints, dampers and brakes all had to be replaced and Tony wisely decided to swap the original engine for a later 205 block with an unleaded head, too. The subtle change in wheels is a neat addition, Tony selecting a set of Escort Mk2 Estate rims utilising Cortina 1600E chrome rings as he loves the deep-dish style.
Despite the amount of work involved Tony enjoyed the whole process from restoring the Cortina to the response he had showing the car until its sale.
We should point out Tony always swaps the plate to TIB 3300 for all his toys, so in case you were wondering if this car looks familiar, that may explain things!
Added extras
Since receiving the keys to Tony’s project, Michael has had to carry out very little work, which came as a relief and most of that has been through personal choice. “I’ve repainted the inner arches from body colour to light gunmetal Hammerite as it makes cleaning a lot easier and any rust developing shows up against the lighter colour,” Michael explains. “I’ve also fitted two auxiliary voltmeter and oil pressure gauges.” Other than a rebuild of a failed windscreen washer system, Michael has managed to spend the remainder of his time enjoying his latest purchase.
As for Tony, he’s not been put off by the endless rust the GXL had to offer and has already begun another Mk3 Cortina. Though this next one will stray far from standard as it’ll be powered by a 5.9-litre V8!
“DESPITE THE HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK INVOLVED, TONY ENJOYED THE PROCESS”