RE: PH Heroes: Lotus Cortina

[Octane63]

Are the contemporary pics at Goodwood and is your uncle Andy Middlehurst?

stanluxe said:

some pictures of 166 RUR

[stanluxe]

yeah . . thats the fella :-)

[stanluxe]

the line up of cars ! the 5 LC, where are they now ? I wud love 2 go an see those :-)

[scimmie]

Hi,

There are some fantastic pictures!!

My father had a MK2 Lotus Cortina for just over 25 years, but he sold it about a year or so ago It was to be my inheritance....

I spent many years cleaning it ready for car shows and got to see some wonderful Lotus Cortinas and meet some great people.

This was our car (It's now in Australia)




Here's some of my favourite Alan Mann LC's:

Mk1





MK2





I could never afford a Lotus Cortina and ended up buying a 1969 Scimitar GTE. It's good fun and very practical, but I do miss the noise my dad's car used to make

All the best

Dave Poole
www.sporting-reliants.com

Edited by scimmie on Friday 6th February 19:04

[carlovers]

mikebrownhill said:

The gearbox being referred to was from the Corsair 2 ltr V4 of those days - close ratio and straight cut gears - fitted to the 2000E and the now largely forgotten Corsair GT. I had a GT and the interior was a gem, lovely gauges, quality trim and the original small leather steering wheel...ahh, but the engine was a dog - I changed that many head gaskets I could do it by the side of the road in the end and then continue the journey - was it the same engine as in the Transit Van? They must have improved its cooling later if it was.

Mike the corsair 1725cc was my first car in 1973 ,7 years old and what a dog.HEAD GASKETS!! remember the last AA man who came out "this transit v4 engine is the worst ford engine made,do yourself a favour son and get rid of it asap."

[Cotty]

I really like Mk1 Cortinas, just never got into the whole lotus side. I have owned three Mk1's in various guises. My perfect Mk1 would be a 1966 (airflow) two door 1500GT saloon. I just love the GT dash.

[Yellabelly]

Have just found this thread and it is fascinating.

Thought you might be interested in my old rally car, it was NVW 239C, the Ford Works car which won the 1966 RAC Rally, driven by Bengt Soderstrom and navigated by Gunnar Palm. I had the car from 1967/8 to 1970 and another member of our local car club bought NVW240C shortly after I bought mine.
The car was bought from Johnsons of Gainsborough and was being rallied by young David Johnson, he sold it to me as he was taking delivery of a David Sutton prepared Mk1 Escort Twin Cam.

239C was sold through Coy's in the early eighties for £24,000 IIRC when I sold a large semi-detached house for £29k so you can see the relative values !!
Some of the guys on www.lotuscortina.net told me that it was now in Japan, not sure if it is still there or who owns it. Ah well, happy days thanks for the memories.
YB

[mybrainhurts]

Yellabelly said:

happy days

Indeed...

The sound of them approaching through the forests was pure magic....

[mybrainhurts]

Jim Clark in three-wheeler mode...

[Cotty]

Yellabelly said:

Thought you might be interested in my old rally car, it was NVW 239C,

Very interested. A fantastic bit of history to have owned.

[Yellabelly]

mybrainhurts said:

Yellabelly said:

happy days

Indeed...

The sound of them approaching through the forests was pure magic....

The twin Cam had a very distinctive induction roar which was evident on both the LCs and the Elans.

On the RAC, there was nothing like standing by a forest track in Hamsterley, or Keilder, on a frosty misty morning watching the cars coming up the valley, to the stage start and then listening to them as they worked their way up through the stage....the rumbling sound of a 240Z or the bark of a 911 on full chat still sends shivers down my spine or the Twinks, or Lancia Fulvias. It was a magic time and to hear them hunting through the forest at night before they blasted in to view with all lights blazing, spraying you with mud and gravel, before the blackness descended as quickly, but the sound lingered and then faded to be replaced by that of the next car....orgasmic. Then it was off the stage and a mad dash through the night across country to pick them up in Penrith or down to Grizedale. As young lads it was a brilliant time!

[mybrainhurts]

, oh

[Tob`s]

Love the Cortina, this is my first lotto car!!

[f328nvl]

stanluxe said:

Bizzarini said:

This may be of interest ?.......in one facility not far from where they were built. If needed I can go through the history of each of the five cars.

Where was this picture taken ? I'm pretty sure my Uncle owned 550 VAR and PHK 614D aswell @ some stage

JD Classics

[nikhoyle]

Michael, Was interested to see the photo of Sir John Whitmore driving JTW 497C as I am trying to research this cars history for a friend, who owns this car. Do you have any more info on it? Do you know where and when the picture was taken?

[Life Saab Itch]

I missed this article first time around.

Superb cars.

One of my "one day I'll get one of those" cars.

[GFWilliams]

I had a little shoot of this Lotus Cortina a few weeks ago for Elms. This example has been raced at the Revival by Sir John Whittmore











George

[Bebee]

Bizzarini said:

From another angle....



Closest car is the the most famous team Cortina of all PHK 614D. The Clark BRM fuel injected engined car. Very special suspension. Under the rear seats you can see all sorts of fabrication.

First car, an early pre-Airflow model, was owned by the 'master criminal' Bruce Reynolds..of Great Train Robbery fame.

Sorry for bump.......
Can I go and see these Cortina's, or is this a private collection?

[stuttgartmetal]

aeropilot said:

stuttgartmetal said:

aeropilot said:

stuttgartmetal said:

Simple days, being chased by Plod in an SD1 late at night around Stanmore Belmont Canons Park Harrow Weald and Kenton.
The roads were empty after 12, what a scream.
F*ck it, I feel old.

Hmmmmnnn.......might have to send a link to this thread to my mate who nows lives in California.
Belmont Circle is his old stomping ground.
He used to work at Rippy's in Pinner back in the very early 80's.
He also had a Mk1 'tina GT after his PA Cresta expired.

.

Is he a lanky bloke called ? Alan ?
He probably remember my old Escort Twin Cam.
Ripspeed was brilliant when it was on Pinner Green wasn't it.

No, it was Dave, he had black hair in a flat top.

Yeah, great old days at the Pinner shop

I remember him.
About 5'10
Chunky build

[coppice]

Amazing how many 'Lotus Cortinas' - Mark 1s anyway , never Mark 2s - are around in historic motorsport. As has been said -- 'of the 3000 Lotus Cortinas made , only 12,000 now survive '...