RE: Ford Cortina 1.6 GL: PH Carpool

RE: Ford Cortina 1.6 GL: PH Carpool

Monday 1st June 2015

Ford Cortina 1.6 GL: PH Carpool

Man maths results in ... a beige Cortina and a feelgood factor off the scale



Name: Robert Cullen
Car: Ford Cortina MkV 1.6 GL (1981)
Owned since: March 2013
Previously owned: "VW Jetta Mk2, Mercedes C180, Volvo S80, Subaru Forester, Volvo V70 (daily driver)."

Cortina has had - and gets - plenty of love
Cortina has had - and gets - plenty of love
Why I bought it:
"I had paid off my previous car loan and decided that rather than buy one car, I was going to buy two; a classic and a daily driver. I'd been scanning websites for classic Cortinas for several months in advance and it came down to a choice between this beige car or a royal blue one. I went for the beige. The owner was very honest about it and wanted to see it go to a good home, so he didn't want or take any profit on it (he showed me his original receipt)."

What I wish I'd known:
"If I'd known the kind of reaction it would get, I would have bought one sooner! The car hasn't been faultless and problems with the wiring kept it off the road for almost six months (although that was traced to a poorly fitted 80s car alarm). Looking back I also might have gone for one without a dealer-fit sunroof, because the thing leaked like colander when I first took it out in the rain."

Once an everyday sight, now a bona fide classic
Once an everyday sight, now a bona fide classic
Things I love:
"I keep telling people 'any day I drive this car, is a better day' and I'm not lying. The 1.6-litre Pinto will not smoke the tyres, but it has enough grunt to keep up with modern traffic and has a beautiful exhaust note to boot.

"Everyone, it seems, has a 'Cortina story'. I've had so many people come up and say they, their parents or some member of their family had one. And, there are so few MkVs on the road, they make Ford Capris look like bicycles in Beijing.

"This particular car was meticulously cared for in the UK (before being imported to Ireland four years ago). I have a lot of history with it, including a brown hardback notebook which has details of every time the second owner went for petrol, including how much fuel he bought (in litres and in £) and what was showing on the odometer every time. I also have the original brochures from the car and all the old service bills and MoTs."

Two extremes of the weekend car philosophy
Two extremes of the weekend car philosophy
Things I hate:
"Not being able to drive it because of Ireland's horrible weather. Living on the North West coast of Ireland with its salty air, I'm also conscious of any minor spots of rust, which I will have to get treated this coming winter. If I let the car get wet, I genuinely feel like I've let it down, that I've failed it as an owner."

Costs:
"Tax and insurance are laughably cheap - 56 euros tax for the year and 240 euros for comprehensive, limited-mileage insurance - compared to my Volvo's 800 euros tax, 650 euros insurance. I will have to spend some money getting some minor rust spots treated, but none of it is structural. My mechanic, who deals with modern cars all day, loves to get his hands on this machine, so servicing is a bit cheaper than usual."

A time machine Doc Brown would be proud of
A time machine Doc Brown would be proud of
Where I've been:
"I live in a really picturesque part of Ireland, with mountains and narrow twisting roads criss-crossing the countryside. I've done one or two long trips (well, four hours one way) but mostly I just pick a direction and drive around the lakes and mountain tarmac for hours at a time."

What next?
"I won't be parting with my Cortina any time soon. I will put her into hibernation in October, but I might take the opportunity to get some work done on her. I'd like to fit an unleaded head to the engine and help it breathe better. I want to swap out the standard steel wheels for a set of wider banded ones. If the budget allows I will also get her resprayed, but that might have to wait until next year. In the meantine, I'll just enjoy her. As I say, any day I get to drive her, is a better day!"


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Author
Discussion

Scottie - NW

Original Poster:

1,284 posts

232 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
1.6 pinto was in my first car.

I recommend a twin webber and K&N filter, one of the best sounding upgrades ever and the engine responds so well to it smile

Itsallicanafford

2,759 posts

158 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Love it, IMO classic car motoring at its best.

Baryonyx

17,990 posts

158 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
It's great to see a car like this being given the love it deserves.

Turbobanana

6,160 posts

200 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Love it! Spent many happy hours in my granddad's 2.0 GL (same colour as this).

I recall the local taxi firm had first dibs on any that found themselves in "the big car park", such was the requirement for seats, bumpers and other consumables. A few years later it was Sierras. Then Mondeos. Nothing changes, eh?

molineux1980

1,197 posts

218 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Growing up, my dad had a maroon 2.0L Ghia. Great looking car, and then a few years later, a very tatty brown 1.6.

Well proportioned car.

georgezippy

413 posts

194 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Having a classic and a daily is the way to go. You save a little milage off your daily thereby reducing servicing costs and sensible classics like this Cortina (mine's a Capri) cost peanuts to run, so it shouldn't cost much more overall. You also always have a spare car if one doesn't start one morning!
I remember my 1.6 Cortina, my first car back in 1990.
Needed a little more go as I did quite a bit of motorway running so bought a 2.0 Capri a couple of years later... which I still have!
It too gets noticed, in a nice way.


gl20

1,121 posts

148 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
This car gave me speedo envy. Where my Dad's Audi 80 had a speedometer that went to 130mph, many a friend of mine had the upper hand with their Dad's Cortina clock going up to 140mph. Ergo it must be faster...

Loplop

1,937 posts

184 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Dad bought a 2.3 GL as he neared his 40th about 5 years ago. Seemed to believe he was 18 again every single time we went out in and proceeded to scare the crap out of me. I never was able to grasp how it handled as well as it did...

Lovely thing though! Was Oyster Gold iirc with RS4 spokes.

Steamer

13,846 posts

212 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
gl20 said:
This car gave me speedo envy. Where my Dad's Audi 80 had a speedometer that went to 130mph, many a friend of mine had the upper hand with their Dad's Cortina clock going up to 140mph. Ergo it must be faster...
hehe

Reminds me - one of our friend's moms had a 1.6 Capri... but because it had a bonnet bulge = Fastest car ever!

VR6 Eug

628 posts

198 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
I brought a MK5 2.3Ghia in dark metallic blue MGM194X, it was spring 1993 and I was 21 . The guy had installed a fuel injected 2.9 Granada engine, all on the 2.3 running gear "Big selling point at 21 years old, 2.9 engine fitted and running" It looked almost std apart from the 3inch drop on spax suspension and colour matched and polished rims xspoke 7j x13 Alleycat wheels with 195/55/13 rubber stretched over them. body work was sound, little bit of rust around the archers but nothing bad, The deal was done as soon as he started it up, that noise!!!"twin 2.5 inch pipes on to cherry bombs at the rear", £650 and it was mine, a small mount of work was needed for MOT which was done over the weekend, gained its years ticket and I was off terrorizing as many XR2, XR3i's and any other GTi's as I could. My girlfriend hated it, she said it was to loud and to bumpy....
Many an rs turbo driver at the time had a look of confusion on there faces when she slowly edged past them on the local duel carriage way/drag racing strip on Friday and Saturday nights, she even gave a friends 2wd sapphire a run for its money up to about 90 on drag from the lights one day, "90 was the end of 3rd gear", I was in no way winning but he wasn't getting away like he thought he would. I was very smug at the time as a cossie was something special to keep up with... its 1st 3 gears were its best work, it was all out for 125mph on the speedo in 4th,
Bombproof reliable but I was forever changing void bushes and it drank a LOT of 4 star.....2 years of the most fun motoring, mostly sideways especially when wet, i will never forget that little beast....

WarnieV6GT

1,135 posts

198 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
gl20 said:
This car gave me speedo envy. Where my Dad's Audi 80 had a speedometer that went to 130mph, many a friend of mine had the upper hand with their Dad's Cortina clock going up to 140mph. Ergo it must be faster...
Brilliant!!

This was always the rule! I was car mad as a kid and peering through the drivers window to see a 140mph speedo was amazing because that was how fast it went, right? At that time in the mid to late eighties for me the rover 3500vitesse was king around our way. That was the biggest engine and I'm sure the speedo went up to 150mph?

It ranks alongside walking home from school ribbing your mate he was going to die first because his birthday came before yours...just me thentongue out

J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
WarnieV6GT said:
gl20 said:
This car gave me speedo envy. Where my Dad's Audi 80 had a speedometer that went to 130mph, many a friend of mine had the upper hand with their Dad's Cortina clock going up to 140mph. Ergo it must be faster...
Brilliant!!

This was always the rule! I was car mad as a kid and peering through the drivers window to see a 140mph speedo was amazing because that was how fast it went, right? At that time in the mid to late eighties for me the rover 3500vitesse was king around our way. That was the biggest engine and I'm sure the speedo went up to 150mph?

It ranks alongside walking home from school ribbing your mate he was going to die first because his birthday came before yours...just me thentongue out
I remember that, i.e. the top speed on the speedo was how fast the car went, I remember telling my dad that his Capri wasnt as fast as next doors new 1.6L MK3 in beige as it had 140 mph and his was only 120 and him trying to explain that the speedo did not mean that is how fast it could go, in the same conversation he tried to explain this thing called "Acceleration" which sounded boring, its was all about that number on the dial.

remember looking in a Jag XJS and it saying 160 mph and my brain not comprehending that kind of speed.

In the Engine size stakes the winner was the flat brown Jag XJ at the end of our road, there was the 3.4, then the 4.2 but this said 5.3 litre on the back and had two fuel tanks, the lady that owned it managed to put it through the front of the Spar down the road somehow, and that was the end of that.

I remember next door getting a Silvia "Turbo" brand new, a 1.8 Auto and taking us for a spin to experience the awesome 130 bhp, it did feel quite fast I remember and it had pop up headlamps and a boost gauge.


Anyway, nice Cortina, get it painted blue for the full Father Ted vibe biggrin

My dad used to do all the repair work for the local taxi firm, was always these, coming in with clacking cams, he could do one in an afternoon, the Pintos inherent oil delivery design flaw provided us with holidays and Big Traks for Christmas. I used to root round in the fetid interiors looking for change, always found some as well.

Edited by J4CKO on Monday 1st June 16:52

cullenster

60 posts

146 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Great feedback guys. Thanks. Forgot to mention in the story, car had 39,200 original miles on it when I bought it. Now has 43,900. Hope to put a few more thousand on it this summer.

mcford

819 posts

173 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
I purchased a Crusader last year, planning on taking it to Cortina Day this weekend.

redroadster

1,729 posts

231 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
I had a dark blue one with a rusty fuel filler cap 2.0 petrol ,heater did not work never fixed it swapped it for a bright yellow 1.3 banger astra while I was doing up my first property brought back happy memories this story !

FlossyThePig

4,083 posts

242 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
When I worked for Philips, Dublin in the early 80's I had the luxury of a dark blue 1.3L (followed by another 2 years later) as a company car. Didn't have the strength to pull the skin off a bowl of custard but I still managed to get to places like Letterkenny and back in a day.

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
Keeping one of those rust buckets on the road won't be much fun!

GoodDoc

559 posts

175 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
If the car was imported to the Republic of Ireland four years ago, how did you get a pre-1987 style registration?

Ahh... I think I've just answered my own question. I though the number of digits on the plate was too high as well (I remember them only having four digits) so I googled it and wikipedia suggests that ZV can still be issued to cars more that 30 years old in place of the new style registration system. Didn't know that.

J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
mcford said:
I purchased a Crusader last year, planning on taking it to Cortina Day this weekend.
I used to get a lift to school in a blue Crusader, was brand new, seemed quite posh back then, nice velour seats and wood door capings.

Rumblestripe

2,916 posts

161 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
I won't bore you with another "Cortina Story" except to say my first car was a Mk3 in "Tawny Metallic" (a shade that seems to be returning to the forecourts at the moment oddly) and that I am jealous of your find.

Enjoy, sir, enjoy!