Thoughts on a project car - 77 Cortina

[77cortina]

First thread, so bare with me. I owned a 77 cortina (first car) over 20 years ago. Orange with black vinyl roof. 4cyl 2lt manual. Loved it, but sold it to upgrade to XF S pack. Should've held on to it. Been thinking of reliving the teenage years. Just waiting for the right car to come on to the market (wish I could find the original one).
Any thoughts on the do nots to take this on. Parts easy to come by? Are there many workshops still willing to work on them.
Appreciate the chats

[Neale]

Welcome along 77cortina!
I suppose it depends on where you are as to if there are any mechanics that are willing to work on them. They are pretty basic, so it shouldn't be too hard for any real mechanic.

I have a mk2 Cortina & I have founds parts still relatively easy to come by. I joined a couple of clubs which helps with info & parts.

I say if you want t get one, do it!

[Neale]

For parts, the guys at Yesterford in Melbourne are fantastic & stock a lot of parts. They also ship interstate in case you don't live in Melbourne

Here is an idea of what parts are worth
http://www.yesterford.com/CORTINA-TC-TF/

[77cortina]

Thanks for the link. Yes in Melbourne. Not many 77 Cort's on the market at the moment. Hoping to do most of the basics myself.

[Neale]

no worries, there are a couple for sale here
http://australia.trovit.com/cars/te-ford-cortina

This is also a nice one by the look of it
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wollo...ack/1107637342

[mik]

Sounds like a good project, im thinking corti/xr6 turbo driveline or Corti/AU xr8 driveline stock wheels /single exhaust /sleeper .

[77cortina]

Sounds like some serious power to weight ratio. Looking to try and keep it some what original, but hoping for more power from the 2lt. Not sure how just yet.

[CyberWasp]

Check out the Project Car section of the forum also for some ideas.

[Tex Scrotum]

G'day, I've always had a soft spot for Cortina's as I used to have one way back in the 1980s but with a 351 Cleveland which was way too heavy over the frontend, but still very interesting to drive...



It was a TC (1973 I think?), I preferred the TC because it had a nice dash, sort of like an early Mustang.

If I were you, I would try and buy a Cortina that has a little Windsor already engineered and rego'd as I don't think you can get them engineered anymore with a V8?

They do however sell at a premium if they are engineered for a V8 but totally worth it.
The Cleveland was to heavy but a nice little aluminium headed Windsor would be lighter than the 250 6 cylinder motor.

Good luck!

Cheers 👍

[Stefan]

Look at that, I never knew Rick Astly owned a V8 Cortina.

[Rodp]

My 2nd car was a TC - 250XL. Loved the crap out of that thing. Was in perfect shape, low kms, dark blue with tan interior. Driving home when some clown decided to run a red and I collected him, write off.

Hope you find a good one. If I had the room, I'd love to get another TC in the same condition - felt robbed only owning it for about 6 months before it was written off.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Look at that, I never knew Rick Astly owned a V8 Cortina.

You know the rules.





and so do i

[simon varley]

these cars are so easy to work on body and engine that you should give good consideration to doing the work yourself. There are plenty of part sources around and lots of small Ford forums and web pages so there is plenty of advise on line. Plenty of good books and articles written too. Mike at Yesterford is a good source of parts and information. I get lots of parts for my mk1 escort from Burton Power in the UK but it's rare that there isn't something locally. If you really want NOS parts the price can get ridiculous but if you just want to get it going well and safely it doesn't have to be expensive.

good luck!

[Tex Scrotum]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Look at that, I never knew Rick Astly owned a V8 Cortina.

Originally Posted by Big Damo

You know the rules.











and so do i

We're no strangers to loooove!

C'mon, it was the mid 80s for crying out loud!

So many lols though.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by 77cortina

Sounds like some serious power to weight ratio. Looking to try and keep it some what original, but hoping for more power from the 2lt. Not sure how just yet.

you could spend money on the standard Pinto 2L even turbo it.

but it would be easier to transplant the I4 16V from a sierra or even a cosworth engine with matching 5 speed.

anything else is going to require a few mods to fit.

A Hilux diff was a common mod too

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

you could spend money on the standard Pinto 2L even turbo it.

but it would be easier to transplant the I4 16V from a sierra or even a cosworth engine with matching 5 speed.

anything else is going to require a few mods to fit.

A Hilux diff was a common mod too

I had 3 Cortinas in the late 70's, early 80's - a 1972 Mk3 (TC) GT, 1975 Mk3 (TD) 2000E and a 1978 Mk4 (TE) Ghia. All had the 2.0 4cyl engine (you couldn't get the 6 in NZ) and 4 speed manual and were all great cars to drive

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Look at that, I never knew Rick Astly owned a V8 Cortina.

And he's never gonna give it up

[77cortina]

Thanks for advice. Some great ideas. I think I will wait for the right car to come along. Too easy to rush into it the wrong car.