Mk2 Cortina?

[iSore]

SiredR said:

There's a big following for these cars , now getting quite rare as they rusted so well It's the bulkhead and A post area that will define if it's a keeper but then there's all the chasis rails , inner sills , outer sills etc. It's actually easier to restore an E type Jag in terms of availibility/cost of panels.If it does become a breaker there's big demand for good trim and fittings and of course if it's in good nick the glass won't have rusted ! Nice colour by the way

Edited by SiredR on Friday 9th December 21:13

Series 1 1600E? Dragoon red...?

Pretty car, really lovely.

[S0 What]

Get on Buysellcortina, that'll go in a heartbeat, that is far from a breaker, shame it's not a higher trim spec but still somone will save it!

[imagineifyeswill]

The first pic showing just the bonnet made it look pretty terminal but in the later side on pic it doesnt actually look to bad will depend on underside but Im sure worse than that has been restored many times.

[sun.and.rain]

The Rootes-rear-engined 998 Singer-Cortina. Note, shorter wheelbase. This is a restored Series 2.

Edited by sun.and.rain on Saturday 10th December 18:14

[Cliftonite]

[LuS1fer]

My Dad's favourite car was a Cortina 1500GT Mk II in what looks to be the same Monaco Red but with painted Rostyles and a black vinyl roof.
Can't say the Mk II did much for me, beyond the looks and I turned down a 2 door 1600GT but later had a 1967 1300 pre X-flow in navy blue with a wooden dash and, later again, a pukka aubergine 1600E.
None of them really did it for me and I sold them on quickly.
I also had a Mk 1 1200 but that wasn't much cop either.

Anyway, some gratuitous Ford PR shots

[sjabrown]

Brief update. Put her up on stands this evening to have a look at the underneath. And it's much better than the topside! She'll need new rear jacking points both sides, new sills both sides, extensive repairs to the rear arches, some welding to an odd hole near the bottom of the rear screen/top of the boot, a small patch to the 50p hole in the boot floor, a repair to the panel above one headlight. And a complete respray.

But on the plus side the bulkhead has minor surface rust only, the floors are pristine, the rest of the boot floor is grand, the windscreen surround and A pillars are pretty good.

And to top it all off I found the V5 inside an old Haynes owner manual (it was presumed lost). It shows the name of the original owner, so officially a one-previous owner car!

A quick phone snap of a bit of the underside showing the coatings of black hydro pipeline paint the first owner coated it in:
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[stuttgartmetal]

Wish I had a Grey Cortina
Whiplash aerial, racing trim
Cortina owner no one meaner.
Wish that I could be like him.

[aeropilot]

sjabrown said:

Brief update. Put her up on stands this evening to have a look at the underneath. And it's much better than the topside! She'll need new rear jacking points both sides, new sills both sides, extensive repairs to the rear arches, some welding to an odd hole near the bottom of the rear screen/top of the boot, a small patch to the 50p hole in the boot floor, a repair to the panel above one headlight. And a complete respray.

Brilliant....

Most of them needed that sort of work between 5-10 years old...!!

Please retain that lovely original, yellowed with age, rear number plate though.

[LuS1fer]

When you say 50p size hole, the wheel well had a rubber bung in a hole at the bottom - probably to drain the water that always got in.

[sjabrown]

Some pics of the worst of it:

The edge of the bootlid hinge area...
cbootedge

O/S rear jacking point has long gone...
cosrearjack

N/S rear sill/arch rot
cnsrearsill

Rear edge of front wing:
coswingedge

Rot on edge of slam panel
cnsheadlight

bottom of wheel well
cwheelwell

[sjabrown]

And some slightly more encouraging pics:
Strut tops:
osstruttop

nsstruttop

Boot floor:
cbootfloor

Interior:
cinterior

oh look, the N/S rear jacking point is still there!
cnsrearjack

[swisstoni]

Doesn't look too bad at all.
I have a 1600E which I've owned since 1979. Due to life's ups and downs it's been in a garage since 1995.
Always meant to 'sort it out' but have never had the time. If it turns out to halfway solid as yours I'll be very happy.

Rust used to be absolutely nightmarish back in the day. Your car in its current condition would have fitted right into a late 70's street scene. That's what a lot of them looked like by then.

[Humper]

What's there is likely the tip of the iceberg, but still looks well worth doing?

[mac96]

I certainly drove cars in the 70s that were in a worse structural state than that looks to be, even if some of the holes were covered with newspaper and filler!

[datum77]

To answer your original question, (would it be worth it?) - it depends what you want as an end result. If you renovate it, even given the current climate for early Ford price rises, it is unlikely that a four door 1300 boringmobile Ford Cortina will ever give you a decent return on your labour and investment, if any at all.
If, on the other hand, you would wish to keep it for a good number of years and enjoy it - by the time you came to sell it, (assuming it was kept in the same condition as when you finished rebuilding it), it could end up being a worthwhile investment.
Alternatively, stick it on ebay. A whole lot less aggravation and grief...........

[iSore]

As above, Give it a good clean and a whiff of polish. Get it running as well - plugs out, WD40 down the bores, turn it over by hand. If it's free crank it over with the plugs out until the oil light goes out, refit plugs, add fuel and it'll go.

That will do £2000 if not more - that's about that last unrestored Mark 2 left and it would be a pretty simple resto.

[LuS1fer]

Value is the issue.
It's a 4 door, it's an arthritic pre X-flow 1300, even if it were converted to harness more power, it would need the "Lotus-tuned" 1600E brakes and suspension and they may prove hard to find and it would not be "an original".
Ultimately, I think the restoration cost would far exceed the final value, interesting though it is but not even nostalgia (I'm 57) would make this something I would want to buy.

[Humper]

Or alternately, just go for it, very few restorations will be a money maker unless you live in Wheeler Dealerville
I think the classic scene has suffered by creating investors instead of enthusiasts, it's a rare car, more so due to the basic spec, which admittedly would affect the final value, but if making money is your intention get it running and driving and sell it as the ultimate barn find.

[sjabrown]

I'm mulling over the options. I know it'll never be economically sensible to restore, but how many cars are? Maybe my 205 gti but that's purely luck with what prices have done in recent years compared to when I bought it.

My thoughts as to the possibilities:
1. Restore to entirely original standard. It does have originality on its side - the reg is an Argyllshire one, which is only a few miles from my house, and the car has spent it's life locally.
2. Restore to near original - keep the 1300 lump to one side so it can be made as-original if I wish, and slot in a 1600 for driveability.
3. Build a historic road rally car for events like Lejog. Might not be too daft if it's being taken back to a bare shell?? Probably the most expensive option.
4. Put something like a zetec under the bonnet, modern suspension and brakes and lose the originality but have a quick-ish car for the road.

Late last night I did manage to get the engine turning a 1/4 turn so it's not completely seized. Plusgas going in tomorrow once I carefully remove the plugs. Clutch is not seized!