READER’S RESTORATION: Cortina 1600XL Estate
Reader’s restoration: Estates often lead hard lives — even ones that have been dry-stored for years — as Glyn Dawson found out when he took on this Sapphire Blue Mk3 Cortina 1600XL.
On the hunt for a suitable Mk3 project, Glyn Dawson’s eye was caught by this Sapphire Blue Estate, now suitable restored.
When the conversation switches to Mk3 Cortinas, more often than not it’s the GXL model that springs to mind. Its legendary status, thanks in part to a few spells of stardom on TV has consequently led to the GXL being the one to have. Not everyone sees it that way though, and Glyn Dawson isn’t one to follow the crowd so when he went in search for a suitable Mk3 Cortina as a project, he chose an equally cool but much rarer 1600XL estate!
“Both myself and my wife, Christine have many happy memories of owning Cortinas in the past,” Glyn explains. “I have a real soft spot for them, and we knew an estate would add some extra practicality, too. I previously ran a Mk5 Cortina Carousel estate which was great to drive, but I’ve always preferred the looks of the Mk3.”
Some of Glyn’s previous Cortinas had been modified as so many were back in the day, others saw their last days gracing the oval when they became disposable. “I raced various cars of all shapes and sizes, but Cortinas were always a favourite of mine,” Glyn tells us. “Back then no-one wanted a rusty Cortina, they would just have been scrapped anyway and we liked to give them a final blaze of glory.” In fact, Glyn became one of the founder members of Team Stinkbridge, one of the best known and most feared teams in the North and like so many drivers and ex-drivers involved in the sport, he remains passionate about keeping the surviving classics he’s become familiar with on the road. “I did the usual thing of searching for a suitable car,” Glyn remembers. “There weren’t many Mk3 estates for sale as expected, but this 1972 XL caught my eye as the Sapphire Blue paintwork really suited the shape.” Incredibly, the one-owner, lowmileage Cortina had languished in a heated garage since being taken off the road in 1992!
“The original owner cherished the car but had become disabled after a bad accident at work,” Glyn explains. “He was hoping to drive it again one day, but that day never came.” It was only when both the original owner and his wife sadly passed away and their house was being cleared that the timewarp Cortina was discovered. Taking this
knowledge on board, Glyn had a quick look around the car before placing a bid. “I made an offer for what I considered it was worth, but was unsuccessful,” he recalls, “I was left disappointed, but I’d been fairly outbid and thought that would be it.”
To Glyn’s surprise, the vendor phoned up shortly after the auction to say the highest bidder was located in Ireland and that he couldn’t collect the car for another six weeks. “The vendor wasn’t happy with waiting that long, so he offered the car to me,” Glyn continues, “this was great news, I bought the car and collected it the following week.”
First impressions
At first glance, the 1972 estate appeared to be in good condition, the paintwork was reasonable and there were few signs of any rust. As we know, estate cars have often led harder working lives than their saloon counterparts and that’s why so few have survived, this one seemed to have had an easy life — or so Glyn thought. “When I started to look more closely, there were areas of filler showing, one wing had been fitted and painted without any primer so that wouldn’t have lasted long and there were many other bodges you’d not notice at first,” Glyn points out, “the rear nearside wing didn’t line up with the doors properly either.”
When he first viewed the car, Glyn accepted the shell would need a complete respray to bring the car up to his high standards. “I booked the Cortina in at a reputable paintshop, Ashfield Autobodies in Blackpool, for a complete strip-down and bare-metal respray,” he recalls. “As work progressed I was told various new panels would be needed and others realigned if the car was to be restored properly.” Corrosion was found within the inner and outer rear skirts, a common problem area on Cortinas and these had to be repaired.
“There was evidence of previous badlyrepaired accident damage on the nearside, probably from when the car was still relatively new,” Glyn explains, “but once these panels had been replaced or realigned correctly, the remainder of the restoration ran more smoothly!”
As expected, the inner wings showed signs of corrosion, but at least were repairable, while the bodyshop managed to track down a suitable replacement outer front wing. “There ended up being a lot more work involved than I’d expected,” Glyn confesses, “once the full respray in Sapphire Blue had been carried out, I could see progress being made and the car soon looked stunning once again.” Thanks to his long-time involvement with Mk3 Cortinas, Glyn knew where to find replacement front and rear bumpers, door handles, lights and trims for the 13 inch steel wheels, the few other necessary missing parts he bought online.
“THIS 1972 XL CAUGHT MY EYE AS THE SAPPHIRE BLUE REALLY SUITS THE SHAPE”
Better inside
In comparison to the deceptive exterior, the black vinyl interior of the XL had remained relatively unscathed with only two new clips for the original springs required to bring the driver’s seat back to life. “The original stereo is still in place as it would seem a shame to remove it, but I’ve installed a more modern stereo out of sight in the glove compartment which I tend to use instead,” Glyn adds. The 1600 Crossflow with just 43,000 on the clock fortunately also remained in good order, though Glyn has since swapped the points for electronic ignition to improve reliability.
“When I first put the car back on the road, I discovered there was a distinctive whine from the diff,” Glyn remembers, “I decided to swap in a complete replacement axle which solved the problem.” A few months later, attention turned to the brakes which were by now past their best and Glyn has now fully replaced the braking system with standard replacement parts. “I had to replace both rear door handles as they weren’t functioning properly and at some point, I’d like to respray the engine bay to make it perfect,” Glyn adds.
Typically, Glyn timed the completion of his XL estate just as the first lockdown began so shows were quite thin on the ground. Luckily, the favourable weather last Spring and for much of the summer meant Glyn and Christine had opportunities to take the Cortina out for a drive. “It gets loads of attention and admirers whenever I take it out,” Glyn smiles, “everyone recognizes a Cortina and they always comment on the gleaming paintwork and its condition.”
Next up
With only a few small jobs left remaining on this XL estate, Glyn’s hoping to track down a suitable Mk1 saloon to restore, again to standard specification. Once completed, this one will no doubt make its way on to the show scene too, though we suspect whenever there’s a sizeable load or big picnic to carry, Glyn will be picking up the keys for his Mk3 estate!