1968 Ford Cortina London-Sydney Rally Replica

Highlights

• Guide price: £15,000 - £17,500
• Replica of the original 1968 Lotus Cortina
• Professionally prepared endurance rally car
• Competed in the Road to Mandalay Rally
• FIVA identity card

Overview

The Ford Motor Company entered the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon with a Lotus Cortina driven by Roger Albert Clark with Ove Andersson as his navigator. Of the 98 who started and 56 who finished, Clark and Andersson managed an impressive tenth place, having been in the lead for the majority of the rally. They were beset by troubles when they reached Australia. A piston failure was solved by borrowing a replacement from another team car, then a blown differential required some powers of persuasion to purchase one from a passing local. After all this, it’s remarkable that they managed to finish at all, let alone in tenth place.

The car seen here is a recreation of the original London-Sydney car, and has been on its own rallying adventures, including completing the 2014 Road to Mandalay Rally, which traversed southeast Asia and finished in Myanmar.

It was subject to a huge amount of expenditure in preparation for this event, with invoices on file from Rally Preparation Services Ltd. running to many thousands of pounds in 2008/9. So it remains a strong candidate for use as an endurance rally car, or would be welcomed at many motoring events across the world.

History and documentation

• Registered 8 Aug 1968
• Known history all the way back to the first owner in 1968
• Photocopy of the original ‘buff’ logbook
• Extensive invoices from Rally Preparation Services
• Invoices total over £15,000
• FIVA identity card dated 9 Dec 2008
• DVLA number plate authorisation certificate for VWW 506E
• MOT and road tax exempt
• Owned by the current keeper since Feb 2011
• The last MOT expired in May 2015, with no advisories
• V5 present in owner’s name
• HPI clear
• London ULEZ historic exemption

Interior

• Corbeau bucket seats
• Four-point Luke racing harnesses
• The rear seats have been removed
• Full roll cage fitted, with foam padding
• The headlining appears to be original, with a few marks from use
• Drilled aluminium footplate for the navigator
• Brantz 2 digital tripmeter
• Moto-Lita leather steering wheel
• Dashboard-mounted fuse boxes
• Labelled toggle switches for the lights
• Carpets removed
• The footwells appear to be in good condition
• Original style vinyl-covered door cards
• The boot features a full size spare wheel and long-range fuel tank

Exterior

• Finished in white with a matte black bonnet
• Lotus badges
• The body panels generally look to be in good condition
• The car bears sponsorship decals from the Daily Express, Goodyear tyres and Castrol oils
• There is a little bubbling to be found, such as the leading edges of the offside front wing
• Sump guard
• The underside has been liberally coated with under-seal
• 13-inch Minilite wheels
• Cooper tyres
• Plenty of spot lights to illuminate even the darkest roads
• Front bullbar
• Towing points front and rear
• There is some surface corrosion to the suspension components

Mechanical

• 1,598 cc four-cylinder twin-cam engine
• The seller tells us that the engine was previously rebuilt, but they no longer have the invoices for this work
• Manual transmission, rear-wheel drive
• Uprated radiator
• Stainless steel exhaust
• Clutch reportedly new
• Uprated rear leaf springs with two extra leaves
• Foam long-distance fuel tank
• Alloy sump
• Polypropylene suspension bushes
• Engine tuned by Oselli

Summary

Whether you enjoy making speedy calculations on a regularity section, or mashing your foot to the floor on track, this Cortina offers itself as a strong all-round contender in a wide variety of events. It is a well-executed replica of the original London-Sydney car, which has itself been on some epic adventures around the world.

To arrange a viewing, please request this in the Q&A section. You can click through to the seller's profile and use the 'Email Me' function to arrange a viewing privately. This seller is located near Farnham, Surrey.