Trig's new car! Mk3 Cortina content

Yay! After a 3 month wait after selling the Kadett I've finally found a few replacement!, This 1974 Cortina 2000 XL MK3 that i won on ebay last night.

It's only done 83000 mile from new, never been welded or needs any from what i can see, but does sadly have a couple of dents which i hope can knock out and a lot of "old man" areosol repairs which let it down a bit, but the body is so rust free that i think it would make a well worthwhile respray project.

Anyway, what a long day!, I left my house in Ipswich at 8.30am this morning, someone on facebook i know pointed out ot me last night that the A14/M1 Catthorpe Interchange was closed this weekend so that decided that my route would be this way.



Only 3 1/2 hours to ETA!, So we dropped the dog off at the inlaws on the way past Colchester, We stopped midway at Beaconsfield Services on the M40, this was the trusty stead for the day (It done nearly 400 miles by the end of the day!)


On route to Evesham to collect my new Cortina by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

We saw a few old cars on the way.


1969 Morris 1300 on the A40 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Drove though Stow on the Wold which was very pretty.


Stow-on-the-Wold by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Not long now!


Stow-on-the-Wold by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

This Transit was amazing, it was just around the corner from the Cortina owners house, I haven't seen a working Mk2 for years.


1984 Ford Transit Mk2 Van in Evesham by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

We eventually arrived at the owners house at 12.30pm where we was greeted by the Cortina in the driveway, First impressions was a little disappointing, it has a bit of a donk on the o/s/r 1/4 by the bumper which he failed to point out and the paintwork was very patching, unlike the photo in the advert.

I had a look around the car and it was very straight and solid though with no rust that i could see what so ever, Steve the owner and his wife spend a while chatting to us and made us a coffee (No offer of a roast dinner though ),He also owns a 2000E and a Crayford Cortina as well, I think the story behind the XL was that a old boy had owned it from 1976 until last year were he was retiring from driving and the car was offered to the MK3 owners club which is where this guy bought it from.

Anyway after paying up we went to Morrisons to fill up (£65!)


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

and popped to Maccy D's for some grub and a few photos.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Nice hey!, As you can see the bodywork is acceptable but a bit "worn".

The interior is very tidy, all the clocks and lights work, even the glovebox light and dash dimmer!, It's had Alfa Romeo front seats fitted which are so comfy but sadly the bloke has painted the rear seat to match the front, It should be a dark blue like the door cards, Something I'll need to look into fixing if i can?


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Poor photo but it still has it's dealer sticker on the glovebox and a dealer plate on the slam panel but with a 1975 date on it?

I spotted this old boy in this Mini near by, what a stunner!


1976 Austin Mini 1275 GT Clubman in Evesham by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

So the long drive home started, One thing i can tell you is that this 2.0 Pinto really flies!, It just kept going!, If you floored it from 50 to 70mph in 4th and just growled at you and flew!, I was really impressed, Less impressive was the brakes, when i braked the car pulled violently to the right which made it hard to drive, i was quite nervous driving home on the motorway as i was worried that if i brake quickly I'd end up in the central reservation!

Again i wish the seller had told me about this.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Driving back through Stow on the wold, half the street just stopped to look at the car! :mrgreen:


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

As i needed a wee stop i pulled over on the A40 to take a couple more photos.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL MK3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

The rest of the journey was quite uneventful, It was just like driving a modern car really but with poor brakes!, I've left it at my dad's now in Colchester as he's going to take it to get garage to get the brakes fixed for me, I can't use it as it is.

Jobs for the future, well brakes of course, the exhaust blows slightly and rattles on the transmission tunnel, I'd love to retrim the interior in the dark blue to match the door cards but i guess that won't be cheap and i really need to invest in a respray to make it look fresh again.

Fantastic Trigger, it looks great how did it compare to modern Mondeo? economy, performance etc

I really enjoyed "Triggers Adventures" well done and the MKIII does look great, looking forward to seeing your new wheels, should have got you and Mrs. T in a few of the pics, just for the smile on your face.

Cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
Is it still on a 4 speed box
A 5 speed type 9 box are well worth it and still cheap.



And now your cool owning a classic ford.

escortosis wrote:And now your cool owning a classic ford.

I'll never be cool!

It is still the 4 speeder but it's surprisingly refined i found, at 70 mph and was very quiet and smooth (until i opened up the second choke WRRRAAAAAPPPPP.... )

I have a lot to learn out these but at least they are simple things and the parts are still widely available and cheap unlike the Kadett.

the mk3 mk4 and the mk5 all drive like modern cars ,the 2l is powerful the brakes should b a simple fix (prob a stuck slider ) but if its a caliper past parts of bury should help ya , also check to front tye rod bushes ,you will c them sticking out of the front of the car with a massive nut on the end they can make a cortina pull to one side as well , your story that you just wrote you should send in to the eapc for a newsletter ,i would read it again

Nice one Trigger, it looks really great. Me and her indoors know Stow and that area very well

buick350 wrote:Fantastic Trigger, it looks great how did it compare to modern Mondeo? economy, performance etc

It seems remarkably good on fuel, i put £65 in it before i left and done 200 miles home in it and still only used less then 1/4 of a tank, the Mondeo done 400 on 3/4 a tank of diesel which wasn't bad neither.

I have the car at my dads in Colchester for the next few weeks whilst his mechanic gets time to check it over, the brakes manly but the exhaust also rattles and cambelt might need doing, I might nip down on Friday to have a play with it and whip the wheels of check these slides.

I've already printed of my show forms and the EAPC club membership form now my mojo is back!

That looks a beaut in that colour,I've never got great mpg from a 2l pinto so you must have a decent carb on that one, I had a couple of spray bars fail on my pinto's, they were about £3 new,cam belts are pennies too

i take my spary bar off every service , on my mk4 i drilled it out a bit bigger ,but i change my oil every 4k miles

I've had a pretty proactive weekend with it this weekend, Yesterday between myself and my dad we had a look at the front brakes, Still not overly sure what the problem was apart from the pistons were a bit stiff, we bleed the brakes and ground the over width pattern brake pads down a bit and that seemed to improve them a lot, they still pull slightly to the right but nowhere near as bad, I've ordered a new brake hose, pad and cailper repair kits of ebay and will tackle rebuilding them next weekend hopefully.

We also gave it a servce though the oil was pretty clean as were the plugs but at least I know it's been done now.

I collected the Cortina this afternoon from my dad's and brought it home, I forgot how big it felt and how bouncy it is on the motorway, I think a stiffer suspension set up will be a future job.

I popped into Halfords and bought some 1/2 priced floor mats for £9.99 and the essential furry dice of course which have helped to make it feel more cosy as well as collecting the new radio that I've bought for it for £2 of ebay!

As I'm a bit of a photo whore here's some that I took earlier this evening when I got home.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

I have to knock that dent out of the rear 1/4 and there's a small one by the "R" badge on the boot as well.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Another job will be to lose the tow bar as Baz wants it.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Another dent on the front valance which is also covered in paint runs.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Where's the clock?! I quite fancy one of those 8 Ball gear knobs for it as well.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

The painted rear seat which doesn't look that bad in the flesh, it's really bouncy in the back!


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

I'm guessing Cedar garage sold the car second hand as it's a 1975 stamp on a '74 car?


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Clean and tidy with no rust to worry about.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL Mk3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

I should have cleaned this out really first but that's the remains of one of the old seats, it's very clean in the boot though.



And this is a example of what most of the bodywork is like, Both front wings to have signs of bad filler repairs and the old paintwork is very matt but I think I've been over reacting a bit as I was so spoilt with my old Opel Kadett, for a 38 year old Ford it's bloody tidy really!.

i wonder in 1975 the guy who stamped that plate was pissed lol or had the shakes ,that interor is a bit of everything , wot you want uis a black one from a 2000 e or gt ,that way you get door cards seat and carpet and middle concle all in blk to match your dash top , coz your dashtop would of been blue orignaly

I must say, I would prefer a black interior but finding one complete these days is something else, are you sure the dash would have been blue?, I only ask as it look pretty original and unmess with.

if you look at the one on e/bay now , its got the blue dash and stering wheel and couling round the stalks

That's a 2000E though, they had slighty upper market interiors, mines just a lowly XL.

I've been keeping busy this week, I've now removed the ugly tow bar from the rear and filled the holes with rubber grommets, I've autosol polished some of the chrome and polished a few panels, The chrome is good but the paintwork isn't great in the flesh, It's still better then it was though.

I've now changed the rubbish original Philips radio for the "high quality" brand new Sakura tape unit i bought of ebay, It was made around the early 80's I think but as it only cost me £2 so I'm not complaining, It took a while to wire up as I changed the cigarette lighter at the same time as the original one is really long and won't accept modern phone chargers, I ended up stripping half the dash out to change it, what a job!.

The only problem with the new radio is the inference from the engine noise, It's been years since I've heard a car suffer from that! I'll need to fit a suppressor.

I've removed the indicators to clean them as there was primer on them and found that the amber centres removed so I popped into my local motor factors and bought a pair of amber bulbs and left the original centre off, I think the clear indicators really suit the colour now.

I've still got plenty more to do but it's coming on now, I've also painted a few bits though typically the paint was slightly bluer but it will have to do, At the weekend i went to my wife works car park to take a few photos, enjoy.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

The "new" radio!


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

That's the top of Ipswich Town FC behind.


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr


My 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Yo bitchez!, Got a small update for you.

A few weeks ago i decided to replace my rear box as it blowing, this was a mistake as i had a hell of a job getting it fixed, I first ordered one of a specialist which turned out to be wrong so i ordered another from Jayar which also wouldn't fit so annoying i ended up having to fit a whole new system for it which cost me £137 which wasn't expected and that's not including the £40 rear box which was wrong.


New Exhaust! by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Still it's nice and quiet now and the cabin doesn't smell of exhaust fumes any more which is nice.

I also changed the front static seat belts for inertia ones which are much better and i got £77 for the old ones on ebay which was a result!

I've also spend last week wire brushing and undersealing under the wheel arches, what a nasty job! Fortunately there was hardly any dirt or even rust under there which was quite amazing really!.





No after photos sadly but imagine the same but much blacker and cleaner, I also painted the wishbones black whilst i was at it.!

I spend this afternoon today going over the bodywork with a mop i bought of Amazon thanks to a recommendation on another forum. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-Silverstorm-129659-Sander-Polisher/dp/B0021L95WA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330296999&sr=8-1

I also invested in a new decent Farecla mop head for £6.99 of ebay and a bottle of Farecla G3, I have already given the car a bit of a hand rub with some autoglym when i bought it but the paintwork still liked very tired, as you would expect for a 38 year old car.

I used to mop cars 10 years ago so i knew what to expect but I did forget what hard work it is!, If i did it for living everyday I'd have arms like popeye!.


Polishing my 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

I made sure i used plenty of water as you have to be careful not to burn the paint and go through it, I used the mop on the lowest setting, 1, that seemed plenty quick enough for what i need.


Polishing my 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

Sadly you can see the poor aerosol repairs a bit clearer now as the paint they used seems more silver but It does look 1000% times better then it did before.


Polishing my 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

You should be able to see how much better the paint looks i hope even from this mobile phone photo, I then went over the whole car again by hand with some Autovalet supplies polish which i bought in a 5Lt can form 12 years ago and is still doing well, It's the best polish I've ever used, really good . like yo.

I then finished by scrubbing the vinyl roof with a nail brush before drying and spraying some autoglym vinyl and rubber spray on and cleaning the glass and tyres, I'm pleased with the results.


Polishing my 1974 Ford Cortina 2000 XL by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

The bodywork still isn't perfect, The top of both wings has been badly filled and need welding, the bonnet needs painting, the rear quarter has a annoying dent as does the boot and there's lots of aerosol repairs but it's much more presentable now i think.



The next big problem is the seats, The rear seat has been badly sprayed with vinyl paint and has now started to flack off as i said before, I'm really cheesed off with this, Now I've had lots of people give me advice on how to fix them but i really still don't know what's best.

I have three options.

1) try using thinners to remove the old paint and dye then navy blue again.

My worry with this is that the thinners could damage the vinyl and could also damage the stitching by making it rot.

2) Try rubbing them down somehow and respraying them again but in navy blue.

This could ended up looking a right sod with paint over paint.

3) Get them retrimmed.

I'm not made of money!, This would be expensive, at least £300 at a guess?.

Anyone with experience of this type of thing got any ideas?.

£300 is probably not far off, can you buy repro covers? I think sprays and dyes give fairly poor results unless you use them on rigid plastics IMHO