FREEDOM OF CHOICE
During the Spartan era most kit cars were, for better or worse, designed and styled by their manufacturers. As they were not trying to replicate another design, people who chose to build a Spartan were also free to change whatever they wanted on the car to make it their own. For example, the dashboard could be flat or curved in crackle finish paint, brushed aluminium, stitched leather, or burr walnut. The instrument cluster could be traditional-styled Smiths gauges or come straight out of the Cortina. Seats could be from just about any car. With no automotive purists to take offence, any part could be restyled or modified to the builder’s preference. When Spartan builders gathered together, they had a lot more to talk about than the authentic placement of rivets.
The car featured here is believed to be one of two Spartans in New Zealand. It started life in England as a father/son project in the summer of 1987 with a donor Mk3 Cortina. It was first registered in 1991 having passed the-then SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) system which is the British version of our LVVTA system. Its first trip once it had passed certification was from England to Scotland.
The family moved to New Zealand early in 1995, the Spartan arriving in March of the same year. Its first major task was to travel 6500kms around the South Island. On its return to Auckland, the car was resprayed to remove all the stone chips collected courtesy of the South Island roads. The family sold the car in December of that year, and it changed hands a few times before being purchased by Peter and Diana Schofield in 2010. Sometime before Peter bought the car, the engine was upgraded from a 1.6 crossflow engine to a Cortina 2-litre Pinto engine with a five-speed gearbox.