1965 Clark Cortez

When you get round to painting it, please tell me you're going to do this....

During the lighting issue we also realised that our alternator was dead, therefore...







A new one fitted and we were good as new... Or not, before and during the starter motor saga we'd flattened the battery a few times, you could tell it was pretty weak. it was charged a few times but would always inveitably die. While messing continually with the lights, turning them on and off over the course of a good few days without running the engine flattend it again, due to the faulty alternator. So we fitted a new battery. $120 paid and Walmarts biggest battery was now sat in our Cortez! The starting of the engine was so much better and we now had bright lights!

Think I have, but don't forget us guys with a, what's the word, unstable, that's it, connection speed.

Video is fine but photos are easy to see.

George, I understand. I will be doing another update soon (As I'm catching this up to where we currently are). Happy to post as many pictures as possible until people get bored!



Ha ha! Darren she'll love that!
I've never known anyone get quite as excited about working on cars as she does, I love it! Her dad loves cars and she grew up loving them too. Unfortunately, her dad doesn't have the knowledge or confidence to try maintenance on his own so all this is new to her. Before we met she'd never even taken a wheel off a car before but now she understands drum brakes (and adjusts them like an absolute boss!), has changed a starter motor and an alternator, helped with wiring, changed suspension parts and is starting to understand how it all works together. Our next challenge is to both learn about carbs more. I understand the basic's but I've never really messed with one - The Cortez idles super high and it's running rich (and burning oil but that's another issue).

If you want a great mixture of enthusiasm, humor and a small amount of terror we've just released a new video this morning (for us in Virginia) and it's our first time driving it on the road... I've got to admit I was more terrified than she was but then again I was driving!



Andy

Thanks mate, appreciate it!

As much as it sucks to run the originality, if you do decide to swap the drivetrain out, try to keep as bread and butter as you can- that way when it breaks and you're on the road in the middle of nowhere there's a fighting chance of finding replacements and people who understand them. That's a must for long distance travel. I hadn't even heard, let alone seen one of these before now!

Good job talking it on though, that's a proper bit of history.

Phil

I've asked her, her cousin has asked her, her mum's asked her. It's an on-going thing. Sometimes she does take it off but more often than not it stay one. I'll show her your comment. I'm hoping she'll realize it's not just us all being paranoid! As always thanks for your post jpsmit, really appreciate it!



Hi Phil!
We'd have never wanted to stay in it long term as it was and it was in dire need of a good clean out but saying that we were both kinda torn on doing it. We're keeping the front as it is and are currently debating on keeping one of the rear seats basically so we don't have to sit on the bed all the time.
I couldn't agree more about keeping it simple. The gearbox is my biggest worry about the Cortez. Clark made it specifically for the Cortez and it was never fitted to anything else which makes it extremely rare and difficult to come by. In a perfect world I'd pull the V8 and the 4speed manual and fit a Turbo diesel and a 6 or 7 speed auto box to be honest. Another thing that worries me is the fact that these things have been about for over 50 years and no one has ever seemed to find an alternative gearbox setup to go in it.



YES! This thing is awesome! However I bet it's terrifying to drive! lol

As much as I can agree with the TD swap for economy and torque, if the Interwebs is to be believed, there's not a huge amount of options for the US. You either have big truck diesels (Duramax, powerstroke or cummins) or small VW engines, which would be miserable.

I'd suggest an LS4.. FWD, V8 with enough power to get you moving, but not too big to make fitting a pain.

Hi metalshapes thanks for the information and suggestions. I'll be honest and tell you I am not sure what was fitted to the later Cortez's.
I believe the current 4speed manual has a differential in it though not an LSD - Might be a dumb question but differentials aren't usually in FWD boxes, or are they? Honestly never really messed with transmissions so I'm a bit clueless!



Thanks for the input sciclone, the only VAG option I thought could work with be either:
a) an S4 4.2 v8 with the manual transmission with no rear prop connection - Not sure if that's even possible
or
b) use the 4.2 v8 with a v6 FWD box and an upgraded clutch

These are literally thoughts off the top of my head and have no idea currently if they would even work!

The option of an LS4 is something I'd not really heard of but now I think it is at the top of the list for further research! I will look into this! Thank you so much! I feel the next issue with would be the change in drive shafts - for reliability I'd love to get rid of the U-joints!




jpsmit a modern Merc diesel engine would be ideal. Something else to look in to!
Also, L loved your comment about the unicorn status! Because of that she will remove her engagement ring from now on! (Thanks mate, appreciate it!)

Thanks guys! I honestly think the biggest issue would be drive shafts but I'm sure there's a solution out there!

Andy