Ford Cortina 80
Discussion
although back in the day there was little love for em myself included 
I had a Crusader back in the day and it looked remarkably similar to yours OP, Cardinal red and I painted below the mouldings silver & colour coded the grill & the mirror inserts too. I also re-lacquered the "wood" inside and it brightened it right up! Also had a couple of MK5 1.6 GL's.
Whilst waiting for a new Cavalier to replace the one I had written off ,I was given a soon to replaced 2 year old Cortina Crusader from within the company I worked for at the time .
To be fair it had been looked after by the guy who had it from new but being a 1.6 four speed ,it was painfully slow making overtaking an interesting experience ....
That aside I liked it , it was comfortable and served me for a couple of months until a new 2.0 Cavalier GLS was delivered . The difference between the two was enormous though ,the Cavalier being a generation newer and incomparable with the Cortina .
None the lessI always liked the shape of them and a 2.0 lt with a 5 speed would have transformed it.
To be fair it had been looked after by the guy who had it from new but being a 1.6 four speed ,it was painfully slow making overtaking an interesting experience ....
That aside I liked it , it was comfortable and served me for a couple of months until a new 2.0 Cavalier GLS was delivered . The difference between the two was enormous though ,the Cavalier being a generation newer and incomparable with the Cortina .
None the lessI always liked the shape of them and a 2.0 lt with a 5 speed would have transformed it.
My dad have a "V" reg beige estate company car, he reversed it off the drive one morning and drove over the rear axle as it fell off 
I Took it out one night with my mates when he was not in, had it full sideways down this narrow road and it did a 360 spin, I skidded to a halt and just nudged a concrete lamp post with the front bumper and thought that was lucky no damage and then two seconds later the top of the lamp post came off and smashed on the bonnet putting a massive dent in it !
I Took it out one night with my mates when he was not in, had it full sideways down this narrow road and it did a 360 spin, I skidded to a halt and just nudged a concrete lamp post with the front bumper and thought that was lucky no damage and then two seconds later the top of the lamp post came off and smashed on the bonnet putting a massive dent in it !
My first car was a high mileage, Cardinal Red 1.6L estate - PHL 836X
I had it exactly 364 days and traded it in for an Escort. It had one day's MOT left on it at trade in, and got to the dealer's forecourt under it's own steam (just), which was all it needed to do to get me back the £100 I paid for it!
Unbelievably (because it really was on it's last legs) it seems to have soldiered on for another two years until DVLA's records end for the car. It's been showing as "Untaxed" since June '96 and I'd presume that it's been scrapped. It certainly wasn't worth saving. The scuttle was rotten at both ends, water poured into the driver's side footwell when it rained. I drilled holes in the floor to let the water out again. To top it off, the heater controls were 'floppy' and disconnected from the heater, and the screws to get the big heater box out to fix it were rounded off. My wife and eldest son used to travel in the back, wrapped in a blanket along with a hot water bottle. Crazy days, really. It only had rear seatbelts because my dad had retro-fitted them wen it belonged to my uncle.
I had it exactly 364 days and traded it in for an Escort. It had one day's MOT left on it at trade in, and got to the dealer's forecourt under it's own steam (just), which was all it needed to do to get me back the £100 I paid for it!
Unbelievably (because it really was on it's last legs) it seems to have soldiered on for another two years until DVLA's records end for the car. It's been showing as "Untaxed" since June '96 and I'd presume that it's been scrapped. It certainly wasn't worth saving. The scuttle was rotten at both ends, water poured into the driver's side footwell when it rained. I drilled holes in the floor to let the water out again. To top it off, the heater controls were 'floppy' and disconnected from the heater, and the screws to get the big heater box out to fix it were rounded off. My wife and eldest son used to travel in the back, wrapped in a blanket along with a hot water bottle. Crazy days, really. It only had rear seatbelts because my dad had retro-fitted them wen it belonged to my uncle.
Mine was a 1.6LS, in dark blue & silver, in the style of the Granada special edition of the time (name escapes me). Added a decent hifi, Ghia alloys, Janspeed exhaust & PiperX filter. Really enjoyed it, but it tried to kill me when a track rod snapped... Reg was nnn666X, suppose I should have spotted that...
I ran 4-5 of these in the 1980's.
First was a 1.3L on a W in Diamond white. Bought in 1987, very rusty, bought it for 300 quid and panelled it up. Was slow but not unpleasant.
Then a 1977 R 1.6L that was rubbish really.
After that a 1980 2.0 GLS in Midnight blue, so an early Mark 5. Not a bad car with the Recaro seats but it didn't handle any better than a standard car (i.e not very well).
Then a beige 1.6L on a V. Not as brisk as a 2.0 but more pleasant to drive.
My last one was a Cork built 1.6L badged as a Taunus. I put two new wings on, Waxoyled it and ran it for two years. The best one I had, nice and quiet at 80.
Cortinas were alright but I don't share the love. Smooth and quiet, handling alright until you reached the (low) limits where you were grappling with either understeer or oversteer, often both in the wet. Very average ride, excellent gear change and driving position. I had Sierras after and they were much better.
First was a 1.3L on a W in Diamond white. Bought in 1987, very rusty, bought it for 300 quid and panelled it up. Was slow but not unpleasant.
Then a 1977 R 1.6L that was rubbish really.
After that a 1980 2.0 GLS in Midnight blue, so an early Mark 5. Not a bad car with the Recaro seats but it didn't handle any better than a standard car (i.e not very well).
Then a beige 1.6L on a V. Not as brisk as a 2.0 but more pleasant to drive.
My last one was a Cork built 1.6L badged as a Taunus. I put two new wings on, Waxoyled it and ran it for two years. The best one I had, nice and quiet at 80.
Cortinas were alright but I don't share the love. Smooth and quiet, handling alright until you reached the (low) limits where you were grappling with either understeer or oversteer, often both in the wet. Very average ride, excellent gear change and driving position. I had Sierras after and they were much better.
Had a 2.0 Ghia estate in Roman Bronze XLR 122X in the late 80s, Had to have a new diff and i put a front wing on it, But a great car, my wife used it for carting the pram and kids around. Sold it to a friend who ran it for a few years then last time i saw it was in the local scrapyard after she sold it on.
Before that had an X reg 2.0 GL saloon.
Whilst we owned the Cortinas i had a mk2 Cavalier 1.8 CD as my car, far quicker and nicer to drive but oddly would like a nice mk5 Ghia saloon now, think they really look cool now when you see a nice one.
Before that had an X reg 2.0 GL saloon.
Whilst we owned the Cortinas i had a mk2 Cavalier 1.8 CD as my car, far quicker and nicer to drive but oddly would like a nice mk5 Ghia saloon now, think they really look cool now when you see a nice one.
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