Hey all,

Haven't posted on here in a long time, however I though it might be a good place to document the build on my latest small ford.

Since the last time i.ve posted, (motorkhana car with stroked c23xe conversion) a few things have happened. I got ripped off by an overseas seller and also got sent a wrong set of bearings in a very short space of time. It was enough to loose interest in an already dragged out build, so parked it and fitted a completely different engine..... I'll get back to the C23xe build in time, and update the current spec of the car in time.... Anyway...

In the mean time, I finally managed to secure what has been my 'dream' car for quite some time.. A mk2 cortina wagon.

Over the years I have had quite a few slip through my hands, sold from under me, and even one that was crushed by a wrecker who refused to sell me a shell.
I was beginning to think I'd never find one.... I had convinced the wife that importing one from NZ was my best option.

I had started the process when one came up for sale locally in central Victoria. It was a spare car of someone doing a restoration that I had actually contacted several years earlier in an attempt to by. He needed to sell to fund his project and I did a deal, sight unseen, and went a picked it up a few days later.

Its hard to guess at a price for such a rare car here in OZ, had it been a sedan, it'd probably been scrapped. I paid for a lot of car that isnt there, however, I was pleased to get it in my hands, The outside has definitely seen the worst of the weather. It has sat, from what I can tell, outside since 1997. Nearly every panel is rusted, however surprisingly, ther floors are almost rust free. It does have most, if not all of the wagon specific parts, and they are in pretty good condition. Namely rear seat.

The aim is to clean up the interior, with early GT dash, recovered lowback seats, door trims and carpet. Nice to be in for myself and the family. Leave the outside ratty, lower it and ad some wide wheels. I'll leave the 1600 for now.





Shaun

You lucky lucky bugger, the almost holy grail of Cortina !
We know the rarity of these cars in Aus, only seen a couple myself .
I was looking for a mk1 Cortina estate for ages, then an Anglia van, nothing around at the time.. very jealous Shaun 😡

We need another built thread in here, it's been Deano and myself mainly having a 'project race' but recently a couple of mk2 Escort RS resto projects popped up to keep the forum rolling along ..

martymexico
You lucky lucky bugger, the almost holy grail of Cortina !
We know the rarity of these cars in Aus, only seen a couple myself .

Yep, i've been after one for 20yrs now. Funny thing is, most that aren't into small Fords have no idea what it is. :)
 
Here's a few pics of some rust, I mean, the condition when I got it.
 
The kids have affectionately named it, 'The rusty wagon'.  
 
 
Shaun

Ohhhh that's going to be a fun project! Can't wait to see you bring it back.

Now thats cool, I've seen a couple of Mk1's but never a Mk2 wagon in the flesh, good to see its found a good home.
I notice its an 'L' aswell, what did does that consist of? woodgrain dash over riders and the like?
Looking forward to seeing the progress.

It's a bit of a bitsa. Has has had 'L' series bits fitted at some stage. The L or luxury series had woodgrain dash and door trims with carpet on the lower section. It also has had highback escort or capri seats fitted at some stage. I suspect someone pinched the original black buckets and door cards for a GT replica.

All will be replaced and updated in future posts.
The over riders are standard.

Was going to mention the escort chairs, even in UK they didn't get high backs till about 1980 as regulations

So once I got the wagon home, first thing was rip out what was left of the carpet and go to town with the vacuum. Lots and lots or mice and rat droppings...

High pressure blasted the glass and after a good few hours scrubbing, managed to get most of the moss and lichen off.

Tried briefly to get it to start, however realistically, I knew it was going to be an engine out job, so that was the first task.

Shaun.

Once the engine was out, and I could have a good look at it, my hopes of a quick fluid change and it firing up were dashed.
 
Water pump seized, thermostat housing corroded, welsh plugs rusted out and sump was filled with a thick jelly consistency oil.
 
Looks like a 'budget' rebuild is on the cards, as Im trying not to sink too much into the engine as it will more than likely not remain my powerplant in the future.
 
Whilst the engine was out, I did detail the engine bay in an attempt to see what the what the finished product would look like. Again, exterior wise, I'm going for a semi-restored, ratty finish, low, with some nice wheels.
 
Used a few old hot rodder tricks to get the look I was after with the paint.
 
Before during and after detailing.
 
Shaun
 
Before during a