Ford Cortina 1600e and also had the super bought the 1600e for £40 and a pair of Sommercampe radios and the 1600 super for spares for £20, If you wanted class in 1960s you needed a 1600e with Rostyles then chrome 8 spokes and a clean chromed looking engine and get body done with mettalic paint mines was in a starry purple was also what we called 10001s was like the top of a cake, nice black leather bucket seats, can still smell that leather, mmmmmmmmmmm those were days when people loved their cars more than their wives.But the Cortina Mk1 with the lotus engine was "Elite" every young man and woamn wanted a Cortina mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm maybe i was lucky worked part time in a autobreakers just after WW2,when i think of all the cars Ive driven Lottery couldnt buy them all today,,cars were cheap and plentiful and not many drivers on the roads then.
owned one of these in the early 90's . 1.6 lt engine. it was the first car that i bought when i was still a young fool. Actually managed to get it to do 125 mph downhill !! which probably explains why the diff box ceased up whilst doing 100 mph on the M5 in heavy traffic, that kind of event makes you slow down and re-evaluate your need for speed. kept the car for about 2 years during which time i had a recon engine fitted, once i'd had it krypton tuned, i got a consistant 40 mpg out of it ! you cant get that from a lot of modern day cars. I used to do a 400 mile round trip commute from home to glasgow every weekend and it was always a pleasure to drive. I eventually sold it on as rust was getting to be too much of a problem.
Wicked car!!! I went to Manchester, UK this week (15/4/03) and I was bombing along at 60mph in my runabout car (Mk2 golf) with my window open enjoying the lovely weather. When the tranquility was broken by a growl of something aproaching the rear. Before I knew, it had gone past. I couldn't beleive it. A lovely red Mk 1 cortina with a formidable engine went past. An easy 30 - 40 mph quicker than me and it sounded awesome. I must confess that when I realised what it was I wet myself!!! Cool car with all the luxuries of mods from other fords. Why don't they make 'em like they used [Log in to view email]
I've owned my 2 door mk3 for nearly 3 years and its been reasonably reliable. I drive it all year round and it dose'nt mind winter weather at all, apart from the salty roads!
However rot is the main problem, common rust traps are the font pannel, wings, bottom front corner floor wells, inner wings, sills, door bottoms, rear arches and rear lower qtr pannel including rear pannel and boot floor, basically anything metal rusts on old fords!
Like most classics, body pannels are not cheap, especially front wings. This is a consideration when deciding how much to pay. I got my 1974 model for £500 which is about what it is worth. A rust free origional example will cost anything up to £3000 but bargains can be found, try the clubs.
The 1300 base model is supprisingly nippy for such a heavy car, partly due to the 4.11:1 ratio axle and low geared 4 speed box (which is the same as the 1600, the diff + prop are changed instead on this model) This causes the engine to rev quite highly when driving anything over 50mph turning a poor 30 or so mpg into a 25 or less.
Brakes are reasonable and will anchor you up but are naff by modern standards. Suspension is wallowy and is worse without antiroll bars which are fitted to the higher spec. and later facelift MK3's
I would personally go for the 1.6 ohv (i do prefer the 1.6 ohv to the 1.6 ohc) or 2.0 ohc with more scope for added performance.
The Mk3 is, i think, one of the finest looking cars this country produced during the 70's and still turns heads today.
The longest I've ever owned a classic car ..I've had a few too....I love the mk1 tina for it has such nice lines and it turns heads wherever it goes.....
Owned for 3 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed February 2002.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
bloody good car
Owned for 1 month.
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