Astonishing Mark III Cortina restoration.
Discussion
This guy's work is incredible. Hot on the heels of a pair of 2000GXL's, here's another that was dragged out of a hedge after sitting since 1983. A rare 2000 GXL Automatic 2 door, originally silver with maroon trim. The current world situation has slowed it down but the shell is now at the paintshop.
About 3 years worth of Youtube videos, hard going at times but it's good to see this sort of stuff rescued and not the obvious/valuable stuff.
Starts here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqlJLl7D9wA
Such a great looking car.
About 3 years worth of Youtube videos, hard going at times but it's good to see this sort of stuff rescued and not the obvious/valuable stuff.
Starts here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqlJLl7D9wA
Such a great looking car.
Fords were shocking for rust in the seventies - the Escort was terrible and the Mark III Cortina much worse than the Mark II. The further you get into this series, the more it becomes obvious that Ford really threw these together with no regard for rustproofing.
Still fancy one but they are one of the rarest seventies cars left.
Still fancy one but they are one of the rarest seventies cars left.
Touring442 said:
About 3 years worth of Youtube videos, hard going at times but it's good to see this sort of stuff rescued and not the obvious/valuable stuff.
Starts here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqlJLl7D9wA
I confess I skipped quite a lot of the later youtube stuff. The latest one I looked seemed to be him driving around through Southport(?), with him complaining about the idiots driving around!Starts here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqlJLl7D9wA
Is it nearly back on the road?
Chap in the Ford overalls is yours truly. 
I first spotted the car about 10 years ago whilst exiting a building site opposite in a low loader. All I could see from distance was a yellow car with twin lamps and wasn't sure if it was a MK3 Cortina or a Capri. When home I goggle earthed it and saw that it was a MK3. I tried to buy it but the car belonged to their late mother and it was a bit sentimental to them. I passed the info on to Pete, he used his charm and the answer was still a no.
A few years later Pete got a call to say that the car was for sale as the land was being redeveloped by the council.
The car is now in paint and hopefully should be on the road this year but this corona thing may have put a halt to this.
As said there are plenty of great vids re this car and others Pete has restored, fill your boots up folks.
First pic from 10 years ago before the brambles took over and it was pushed back to the trees.
I first spotted the car about 10 years ago whilst exiting a building site opposite in a low loader. All I could see from distance was a yellow car with twin lamps and wasn't sure if it was a MK3 Cortina or a Capri. When home I goggle earthed it and saw that it was a MK3. I tried to buy it but the car belonged to their late mother and it was a bit sentimental to them. I passed the info on to Pete, he used his charm and the answer was still a no.
A few years later Pete got a call to say that the car was for sale as the land was being redeveloped by the council.
The car is now in paint and hopefully should be on the road this year but this corona thing may have put a halt to this.
As said there are plenty of great vids re this car and others Pete has restored, fill your boots up folks.
First pic from 10 years ago before the brambles took over and it was pushed back to the trees.
Edited by markymarkthree on Wednesday 1st April 10:08
aeropilot said:
As much as it was a pile of poo, and at only 7 years old at the time it riddled with ferrous oxide.....but I still have a soft spot for the late P-reg, Mk3 2.0GT 2-door I owned back in 1982.
My dear dad (no longer with us) bought one brand new car in his life, A 1972/L 1600L Mk3, XPO 672L. I was 1 year old at the time but remember it well from family photos.It looked a treat as had a black vinyl roof, black grill, red coachline, black rear panel, chrome wheel trims and mudflaps all fitted by the supplying dealer Target Ford of Crawley West Sussex.
Dad always described it as a 'Friday afternoon car' and it was a little disappointing for him, quite harsh and gutless (pre face lift x-flow) It was just this car, not Mk3 Cortinas in general, and I know that dad had preferred his earlier 1100 and 1300 Mk1 Escorts.
Anyway, the MK3 was fast succumbing to rust by 1979 and was 'tarted up' and sold on, ultimately replaced by a 3 year old 1977/R Bermuda Blue Mk4 2.0 GL, UGN 812R (Hubert Dees Croydon supplied) which was night and day incomparison to this particular Mk3. In fact, when replaced by a 1 year old Sierra 1.8L in 1986, the Sierra proved a disappointment in many ways compared to the MK4 !
Sorry, a little bored, and remembering some of dad's cars....
Touring442 said:
Fords were shocking for rust in the seventies - the Escort was terrible and the Mark III Cortina much worse than the Mark II. The further you get into this series, the more it becomes obvious that Ford really threw these together with no regard for rustproofing.
Still fancy one but they are one of the rarest seventies cars left.
I had a Purple Velvet Cortina MkIII as a company car - the roof developed patches of rust after 3 months! It was manufactured in Belgium - shipped to UK on the deck of a submarine? Still fancy one but they are one of the rarest seventies cars left.
Ford had assembly plants in Belgium and Holland that knocked Cortinas out on the regular occurrences that Dagenham were on strike. From memory, those had the little 'Decor' badges on the bootlid.
Ford launched the Mark 3 in late 1970 but due to a huge 8 week strike couldn't build any until 1971 - just as well because the quality issues were diabolical. I forget who told me about the Mark 3 launch in Belgium they attended but all the cars were in a shocking state, ill fitting panels and terrible wind noise, bits falling off etc. Ford used that down time wisely to get the actual production cars into a decent state.
EOT is a Hamphire plate. A pity DVLA don't offer the £5 past logbook copy service anymore.
Ford launched the Mark 3 in late 1970 but due to a huge 8 week strike couldn't build any until 1971 - just as well because the quality issues were diabolical. I forget who told me about the Mark 3 launch in Belgium they attended but all the cars were in a shocking state, ill fitting panels and terrible wind noise, bits falling off etc. Ford used that down time wisely to get the actual production cars into a decent state.
EOT is a Hamphire plate. A pity DVLA don't offer the £5 past logbook copy service anymore.
Yogioes said:
My first car was a rare version of the Mk3 (as far as I know)
It was a 1600GT which I think was only made for 1 year before being dropped.
Tombstone seats, four extra dials in the centre console and a fair bit of rust at 10 years old. Tax ran out in 1983.
That looks like Sahara Beige, which was a later Mk3 colour, so not original on a K-plate GT. My '75 P-reg GT was Sahara Beige.It was a 1600GT which I think was only made for 1 year before being dropped.
Tombstone seats, four extra dials in the centre console and a fair bit of rust at 10 years old. Tax ran out in 1983.
A lad that started where I worked had one of those 1600 GT 4-doors....bought it in around 1984-ish off his older brother who had owned it for about 5 or 6 years. It was Sunset Red, and in lovely condition, and way better than my P-reg had been several years earlier. He sadly didn't pamper it like his brother had, and within just a few years it was in a sorry state.
[quote=markymarkthree]Chap in the Ford overalls is yours truly.
I first spotted the car about 10 years ago whilst exiting a building site opposite in a low loader. All I could see from distance was a yellow car with twin lamps and wasn't sure if it was a MK3 Cortina or a Capri. When home I goggle earthed it and saw that it was a MK3. I tried to buy it but the car belonged to their late mother and it was a bit sentimental to them. I passed the info on to Pete, he used his charm and the answer was still a no.
A few years later Pete got a call to say that the car was for sale as the land was being redeveloped by the council.
The car is now in paint and hopefully should be on the road this year but this corona thing may have put a halt to this.
As said there are plenty of great vids re this car and others Pete has restored, fill your boots up folks.
First pic from 10 years ago before the brambles took over and it was pushed back to the trees.
That looks like it was found underneath a Christmas tree. Quite apt.
I first spotted the car about 10 years ago whilst exiting a building site opposite in a low loader. All I could see from distance was a yellow car with twin lamps and wasn't sure if it was a MK3 Cortina or a Capri. When home I goggle earthed it and saw that it was a MK3. I tried to buy it but the car belonged to their late mother and it was a bit sentimental to them. I passed the info on to Pete, he used his charm and the answer was still a no.
A few years later Pete got a call to say that the car was for sale as the land was being redeveloped by the council.
The car is now in paint and hopefully should be on the road this year but this corona thing may have put a halt to this.
As said there are plenty of great vids re this car and others Pete has restored, fill your boots up folks.
First pic from 10 years ago before the brambles took over and it was pushed back to the trees.
That looks like it was found underneath a Christmas tree. Quite apt.
aeropilot said:
That looks like Sahara Beige, which was a later Mk3 colour, so not original on a K-plate GT. My '75 P-reg GT was Sahara Beige.
A lad that started where I worked had one of those 1600 GT 4-doors....bought it in around 1984-ish off his older brother who had owned it for about 5 or 6 years. It was Sunset Red, and in lovely condition, and way better than my P-reg had been several years earlier. He sadly didn't pamper it like his brother had, and within just a few years it was in a sorry state.
It could be savagely faded Daytona yellow that arrived on the 1972 K plate. To think scrapyards were just FULL of these in the mid eighties. Most of them were in the right place really but all the rare parts.... :-(A lad that started where I worked had one of those 1600 GT 4-doors....bought it in around 1984-ish off his older brother who had owned it for about 5 or 6 years. It was Sunset Red, and in lovely condition, and way better than my P-reg had been several years earlier. He sadly didn't pamper it like his brother had, and within just a few years it was in a sorry state.
When I passed my test in '85 you wouldn't be seen dead in a Mark 3 - a Mark 4 2.0 Ghia was the thing to have. Mind you, they could rot like a b
d as well. I had to repanel a W plate Mark 5 in 1987 - four doors, two wings and other metal repairs. Six years old. 
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff