Simon’s Mk1 Cortina
With winter on the way, he could have timed it better, but the Cortina makes it back on the road after some fine fettling.
At the start of 2020 I made a promise to myself that the Cortina would be back up and on the road with its new running gear in time for the Classic Ford Show in June. This year has panned out in a way that I don’t think anyone expected, so you won’t be surprised to hear that both the show and the new running gear didn’t happen.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, and — just in time for winter — the Cortina is road-legal once again after being tucked away in various units and lock-ups since 2014. Being laid-up for so long caused all sorts of issues, and I had to call in the help of the always-awesome Dave Fisher of D&D Developments to get the Mk1 roadworthy.
After trailering the Cortina over to D&D, courtesy of Ashley at Golden Valley Automotive, Dave patiently went through the car sorting all sorts of problems, the biggest being the six-year-old petrol which had well and truly silted up the tank and fuel system. While Dave was at it, he also unplumbed the LPG — yes, really... — tank that had been mounted over the axle hump. Weighing in at a ridiculous 40 kg, removing the tank and its frame has now vastly improved the Cortina’s power to weight ratio. And with only 997ccs to go on, this Mk1 needs all the help it can get.
Try stopping
The next main job was to do something about the appalling brakes. Being an early Mk1, this one has front drums, which aren’t great even in good condition. Pulling the drums off revealed the cylinders and shoes to be completely shot, and while this would have been a good point to bring forward the planned disc brake strut swap, with time against us, we reluctantly decided to rebuild the standard set-up for now.
With a whole host of other, smaller jobs expertly sorted at D&D, the Mk1 romped through an MoT at Dave’s local, LydneyTyre & Auto Services and it was ready to make the 30-mile journey home. It’s the first time I’ve driven the Cortina further than round the block, and I have to say, the 997 isn’t as bad as I was expecting — as long as you’re not going up any hills — and it happily smoked along at 50-60 mph all the way back.
I’m now on a mission to pull together all the parts needed to complete the planned 1700 Crossflow and 2000E ’box swap so that it can go back to Dave hopefully early in the New Year and — fingers crossed — be ready for the 2021 Classic Ford Show.