Modernising a MK3 'Tina...

Author
Discussion

texaxile

3,289 posts

149 months

Friday 24th June 2016
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Tuned 2.0 Zetec?. Chuck it in, ditch the leaf springs, close ratio gearbox straight through stainless and bob's your mum's brother.

You might want to take out some kind of life insurance though.

I've never been in a Mark 3 that didn't handle like a Pig on lino when given even the slightest increase in power.

Edited by texaxile on Friday 24th June 20:36

aeropilot

34,301 posts

226 months

Friday 24th June 2016
quotequote all
Little Pete said:
Back in the day I stuck a tuned crossflow in a MKIII Cortina having got a bit bored with the Escorts I usually ran. Wiser people than I tried to tell me I would never get it to handle. They were indeed wise people!
laughthumbup

aeropilot

34,301 posts

226 months

Friday 24th June 2016
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texaxile said:
Tuned 2.0 Zetec?. Chuck it in, ditch the leaf springs
Err......there aren't any leaf springs to ditch wink

bstark

204 posts

132 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
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Burton have this to say: here

texaxile

3,289 posts

149 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
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aeropilot said:
Err......there aren't any leaf springs to ditch wink
Oh bugger…you're right.

getmecoat

Skyedriver

17,667 posts

281 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
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texaxile said:
aeropilot said:
Err......there aren't any leaf springs to ditch wink
Oh bugger…you're right.

getmecoat
Bet you recoiled at that error.
Actually I think it was the change over to soft & soggy coils and poor location that caused it's downfall.
The Mk 4 and to a lesser extent the Mk 5 were pretty jelly like too IIRC.
You could pull up behind one as it slowed or stopped and watch the the rear end shimmy like your sister Kate.

deanobeano

427 posts

182 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
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Slightly OT but I would be more concerned with the Cuttlefish bone hardness of the overhead cam (regarding my 1.6 MkIV that I used to run)

eldar

21,614 posts

195 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
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Turn7 said:
V8 is always the answer, but it would take away some of the soul I feel. A good 4 pot/injection would be enough for my needs I think.
A v8 is really the answersmile Nice big engine bay, RWD and a Rover 3.5.
Plenty of power and torque to overcome the meagre gripsmile

4rephill

5,040 posts

177 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
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Skyedriver said:
texaxile said:
aeropilot said:
Err......there aren't any leaf springs to ditch wink
Oh bugger…you're right.

getmecoat
Bet you recoiled at that error.
I'm sure he'll spring back from it!

Skyedriver said:
Actually I think it was the change over to soft & soggy coils and poor location that caused it's downfall.
The Mk 4 and to a lesser extent the Mk 5 were pretty jelly like too IIRC.
You could pull up behind one as it slowed or stopped and watch the the rear end shimmy like your sister Kate.
I've often wondered why the MK3 Cortina was such an arse-wagger - And why Ford thought it was okay!

V8 Fettler

7,019 posts

131 months

Sunday 26th June 2016
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Standard Zetec for convenience and economy; mildly worked Pinto with twin DCOEs, 4 branch exhaust manifold and big bore exhaust for interest.

Turn7

Original Poster:

23,504 posts

220 months

Sunday 26th June 2016
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V8 Fettler said:
Standard Zetec for convenience and economy; mildly worked Pinto with twin DCOEs, 4 branch exhaust manifold and big bore exhaust for interest.
You get it !

CubanPete

3,630 posts

187 months

Sunday 26th June 2016
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I do like the coke bottle styling of the mk3.

If you can get it to handle (which sounds like the issue) then a zetec on bike cards would be awesome.

paulwirral

3,104 posts

134 months

Sunday 26th June 2016
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I owned one with a rover v8 mated to a 3.0 Capri gearbox in my youth , another guy from Durham carried out the conversion . It was as fast as a 3.0 Capri in a straight line and did surprise a few people , mostly passengers who were surprised how badly it handled , but i thought it was the dogs bks at the time ! Good luck , it's never gonna be a drivers car .

aeropilot

34,301 posts

226 months

Sunday 26th June 2016
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Turn7 said:
V8 Fettler said:
Standard Zetec for convenience and economy; mildly worked Pinto with twin DCOEs, 4 branch exhaust manifold and big bore exhaust for interest.
You get it !
The standard 98hp Pinto (and it was knackered so I doubt it was ever as much as 98hp) in my old Mk3 2.0GT 2-dr was still way more than it could cope with......laugh

I admire your sense of left field thinking, but.....



Maybe it's that I just can't get the memories of this sort of thing being done to Mk3's laugh




markymarkthree

2,236 posts

170 months

Monday 27th June 2016
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You don't buy a MK3 these days for its handling, you buy it for its dam good sexy looks.
The car was built for comfort and aimed at the family man and the sales reps.

If you wish to improve the handling, I would suggest 2.3 Cortina front and rear anti-roll bars, adjustable shocks, polybushes in the right places (but not the hard ones.





Turn7

Original Poster:

23,504 posts

220 months

Monday 27th June 2016
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Another one who gets it....

Rickyy

6,618 posts

218 months

Monday 27th June 2016
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Turn7 said:
Another one who gets it....
Lazy V6 would be nice I think. 2.5 V6 from a Mondeo? Should be nice and torquey, perfect for wafting.

2.0 zetec is a nice lazy engine aswell though. At least the one in my Mk1 Focus felt it!

S0 What

3,358 posts

171 months

Monday 27th June 2016
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As aready said cortinas were never ment to be anything other than comfy soft family cars, the upside is the are easy to improve laugh
S pack ARBs, decent shocks (gas on the front!), selective polybushing, vented discs and larger calipers/pads makes a big differance, lower it 2 inches or so and you have a totaly differant car, you can go further 5 linking the rear end to get rid of the halfway house void bushes and non parralell top arms or further still fit a sierra IRS ?

24v cossie lumps are fairly easy (try on buysellcortina, there's a few on there), pintos are ok when tuned a bit but the zetec is the best allrounder IMHO, mondeo V6 is a PITA to get a box for (mazda BH pattern) or even a sierra twincam will make a really nice daily driver that will keep up woth moderns and give good MPG on a run and wont impact the handling like a V6 can ?

Spottedlaurel

461 posts

168 months

Monday 27th June 2016
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Why not, sounds like a great idea. This one I saw a few years ago had worked out rather nicely:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/JztP58]
1972 Ford Cortina Mk3 2dr (5-litre V8) 2008[/url] by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/HDj7BK]
1972 Ford Cortina Mk3 2dr (5-litre V8) 2008[/url] by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/JztMLB]
1972 Ford Cortina Mk3 2dr (5-litre V8) 2008[/url] by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

The 2dr in particular has great styling. I love the way the door handle is placed in the middle of those coke-bottle curves in the waistline.

V8 Fettler

7,019 posts

131 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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Mk4 Cortina looks dreary in comparison.

Don't forget the 8 track.