1966 Mk1 cortina GT Exhaust collectors

Hi Jim a nice car u have there, I used to race and rally a Lotus Cortina mk1 in the 90`s








Then last year I purchased one near here for C19 project and it is finished


Then near here found another 3 in barn and now I have 4

the third one is a 1500 deluxe from 63 but dismantled in bits but with a very good body

I quickly ordered some steels from Retroford and fitted 205-60-13 Avons now when I sort out the suspension I will drop it 2" and enjoy it.

It has been a while since I up updated the thread but I have been working on the Coritna I promise!

Moving on from the last update I managed to get a new windscreen and fitted and now the Cortina looks more car like as opposed to just being a shell.




It's made by Pilkington if anyone needs a reference - use the SAP number



Whilst waiting for some parts to come I made a start on fixing some leaks I had found/created. Firstly the steering box drop oil at a rate that would make BP blush so I figured whilst the lid was off I would turn a new filler cap as the replacements are only available in the rebuild kits which isn't worth the money when the bearings are fine as they are.









A few hours later I had a new cap and tethered so that I don't lose it! The lathe needs some attention as I found it has a lot of backlash and the drive belt assembly is worn. Not only that I need to learn to work in thou!

On a roll with fixing leaks I addressed the drip on the rear diff which meant taking the axle apart as you need to remove the half shafts before removing the diff - not a fun job!








With the axle back together I finished off the handbrake which I need to take some photos of as it's one of my favourite things about the Cortina. It's wonderfully over engineered for something that doesn't work!

I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to diagnose a problem which I thought would be easy but appears to be far more involved than I imagined, I had some problem getting the Cortina to fire up. Cranking had gotten slower and hard work so the battery was replaced but the problem persisted so the starter came off and was stripped and checked.











Nothing was out of place so it looks as though the bearings are the issue as the replacement turned the engine much faster than the original had.

The next issue was that I'm not getting a consistant 12v to the coil resulting in me wiring it directly to the battery which helped but hadn't sorted the issue. Wiring wise the switched live wire which this is part of has many joints and feeds the majority of the other cirtcuits so I believe there is a fault in there and I'm considering removing it all together with a single feed to a 12v bus bar and using that to simplyfy the circuit and also add more fuses as the horn, heater, radio and wipers are on the same fuse.

this won't be a quick solution but I am drafting up a new loom design to show how it will work before making the change.

What I need to do is work on that in the background whilst I get some jobs ticked off the list otherwise I won't keep the project moving along which is something I need to do - any way I hope you're all keeping well

Screen looks good. Mine needs replacing as it’s full of grinding rash (Not done by me) making it hard to see out of when the sun is on it. Nice to see a bit of lathe action too.

I have a feeling that was part of the problem with mine, I don't know if we have the same screen or not but I did see on the MKOC facebook page (it's a dark and tormented place) that other screens are available from a few places -I'll get the details but I believe someone is making heated front screens which I wish I'd known about as that is something I like about my fiesta.

That would also mean I could drive the Cortina in less than optimal conditions which is frightening on many levels!

I must admit I enjoyed the lathe use as it's been more of an ornament the last few years, I know it has its flaws but I think it would be a fun side project once I have the Cortina on the road.



I didn't know that - I'll check the one I've removed but I don't recall seeing teeth mentioned on the owners club site when I ordered it, it's not much effort to remove it and count.

As I was in the garage this morning working on battery cable routing I took a few photos of the handbrake - I'll give it another tweak but with the brakes needing bedding in I'm sure they'll improve in no time at all.

That's good to know about the brakes I was a bit concerned!



I'm working on a loom idea so to keep things moving forward I figured I'd start on the battery positive cable as it's always been loose since it was relocated in the boot. I decided to use stick on pads so that I didn't drill through the floor - I'm happy with how its turned out.










With that job done I got my latest package from the owners club so I can make a start on the door glass but before I could do that I had to do the cavity waxing on the passengers side doors as I never did this when I waxed the rest of the car last year - I'm glad I masked the sills off!



I know the main door glass should go in first but I also know that the support bar is a pain to fit so figured I'd get the quarter light glass in position so it's out of the way as I work my way round

I had found that there is an air leak on the inlet/exhaust manifold so figured I would take the opportunity to wrap the exhaust manifold as it sits close to the inlet, I have heard mixed reviews about wrapping manifolds. It is a painted and lacquered manifold but for the moment I'll leave it as it is.

Cool 7’s. What size tires are you going to for?