1966 Mk1 Cortina GT

7 minute(s) of a 210 minute read

You're right I'm just throwing my toys out because I'm frustratingly close to having a functional car! I could always do with a second set of eyes when it comes to this!

With that said I'd had some time away from the Cortina as I was feeling a little brow beaten by her, I calmed down by having a birthday and playing with Lego.

I'd recently changes the starter for a Wosp high torque unit but I needed to sort the loom as the starter/ solenoid is combined rather than hack my loom up I thought I'd make another, but I needed a male connector which aren't availble new and the used ones are expensive/ worn out - so I took it upon myself to print one.

I modified the original design so that the fitment is a little more snug in the bulkhead but it has plugged into the original loom with no issues - I have however designed and printed the female plug to match.


On Saturday a friend of mine came over with a fresh set of eyes and after a few hours we had found that the choke arm sting was worn and not fully retracting making the engine run rich. The oil leak is still there but I've resigned myself to pulling the engine out to fix it but I have the gaskets ready and I'll also change the water pump (I'll come onto this.) He even came armed with additional manuals

With 7 manuals including a Ford service manual we could only find static timing not dynamic - the pulleys I have seem to have the set the timing for TDC not 10 degrees BTDC, I'll print a jig I can then mark it up

We had a run around the block which was a little scary at first owing she would cut out when cold but eventually we get a few miles in the plugs seemed to burn a bit of carbon off and wake up. We chalked this down as a win and then came something special...

The weather on Sunday was glorious and after rechecking a few things I took the Cortina out again, starting off slowly and keeping close to home where there is an industrial estate with a small loop that I can get a fraction of a mile in whilst not ruining anyone's day. I was out for about 30 mins by time I got home and I had a chat with my wife when I then said I'm not ready to put her away so went out again!

I figured I would film the experience and in all I have about an hours worth of raw footage! I cant express exactly how I felt because it's been a long time coming and have been through an awful lot since I first bought the Cortina back in 2005. In those years I went to university, become an engineer, made new friends, seen people come and go , met my wife, bought a house and a plethora of other things some positive and some not. The Cortina had always been a constant in my life and something that was a work in progress, some people are supportive others less so and to finally be driving it was a big point in my life.

As I drove around I could feel the engine getting a little freer with revs and shifting at 3000rpm for the moment gives me plenty of range to keep up with traffic, the N/s front caliper is dragging but easily fixed. The gearbox made from various spares shifts up and down whilst staying in gear - the lotus ratios working much better than the GT ones. The coilers are the right balance between sporty and comfort with no crashing but the steering box may need a rebuild as the input is a little wayward!

Eventually I ended up at a local Ford dealership because why not!

I thought the Cortina was big! These Mustangs are huge and they don't drop oil like I might have done...

I'll get some new hub caps sorted soon.

I'll stop waffling now and get back on with getting some jobs done

10-6-2021

I meant to answer your question on gearboxes - I like the 2000e that I have fitted but I haven't done any long distance work yet which will be the big tell tale. The type 9 is a direct bolt on but those are getting very expensive and the ratios are a little too long for the Kent engines but I have seen there is a mounting plate available that utilises the MX5 5/6 speed gearboxes which a 5 speed box can be had for very little with 50-70k miles on that would be good to go.

I had forgotten to mention that during the August bank holiday weekend I came across a poorly timed Ebay auction for a 1600 Kent engine from a mk1 escort that was going for very little, I already have the later 711m block but was missing a sump and a con rod (who sells a 4 cylinder engine with 3 rods?!) The sump is rear bowl but has the correct front and rear mounts for a front bowl and all for less than I had bid on a front bowl sump!

The engine is in a decent state having an overbore of 30 thou but the pistons are ruined as the piston rings had welded themselves to the pistons but fortunately didn't score the block on their way out.

The crank is showing signs of wear but not that much, it does have 10 thou undersized bearings meaning the crank journals are actually oversized (I have heard of 20 and 30 thou being mentioned before). So more than enough life in the crank.

The sump has had a hard life and a possible candidate for cutting and rewarding to go in the Cortina but I may just use it as a template and fabricate a whole new sump.

The reason I bought this though was to build a second engine, my engine is fine but I didn't have much involvement in its build as I was away at university and I would like to try and build my own. For my dissertation I used industry standard engine simulation software and built various versions of this engine including one supercharged using and eaton M45 from a BMW mini. I've talked about making it a reality but never had the skills are time to do so. It will be a long term slow burn project and as an added bonus I will always have a functioning engine that will go in the cortina.

Watch this space...