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After nearly a decade in storage, its time to get Alan (my mk5 estate) back on the road.. Can't wait to get some use out of the old beast I have some heavyweight help on board, in the form of my brother, (a mechanic/mot tester who's been in the business for over 25 years) He has kindly given the car a once over, and it has become apparent that the entire breaking system bar the servo needs replacing, along with numerous suspension components. We have set a target to get the car on the road for my 40th birthday at the end of march..

Hi all I’m looking for some advice please to identify the Contacts on the ignition switch from my mk 3 cortina , (pre-facelift, 1600 L) , I would like to Carry out continuity test but I’m not sure which one is which. I’ve had problems for a long time now, trying to start the Cortina . I’ve tried all the normal stuff 1, new distributor cap / new leads /condenser and points 2, set timing ( 100 times 🤪) 3, bypass petrol tank in case petrol is old/ dirty 4, taking carburettor off ultrasonic clean and rebuild im running out of ideas and don’t really want to take it to the garage , as it’s supposed to be my project i’m sure you can understand my feelings any help most appreciated . regards pete P,s I was going to add photos of the switch but The file is too big .

Thanks, I will bear it in mind if my repair is disastrous! Was going to weld today but the rear quarterlight took longer than expected (ie I am sloooooow)

Thanks for the reply. I will fill it with water and give welding it a go. I subsequently found a pinhole on the top of the the tank so will try liquid metal on that. Thanks

Finally on the move Showtime soon 😎 VID-20240630-WA0000.mp4

Thats a lot of rust, no holes though thankfully. Mine wasnt nearly as bad, and i just used some sheets of foam from ebay. I also put foam on the inside of the box to better insulate the hot air from the cold air when the flap is open/closed.

Bit more progress today, Fitted exhaust downpipe and centre box Unfortunately the centre didn't come with correct flange, so I've had to order a sleeve for next time Getting very close to the road now, just needs exhaust fix, rear wheel cylinders, a drop of coolant and then its good to go

i think this (1.) should be for similar purpose, got it from a closed down Ford garage early 90ies. but it wouldn t be me, if i didn t want the genuine one and finally was lucky and found this one (2.) rather cheap on ebay:

Bit more progress today, pads back in, brakes bled through. Just need to fit the new exhaust and rear wheel cylinders and then hopefully Alan will be ready for a test drive..😎

Really good to see another estate coming back. Keep the updates coming! Here’s mine at Silverstone late last year to keep you motivated!

I've recently put all my classics through the MOT having got lazy because of the exemption. I am however capable and knowledgeable enough to keep the cars in proper safe condition. All are passing with no problems. One reason I am putting them through again is to have an independent mileage record to prove low mileage if I ever want to sell them. I've used the same test centre for many years and have a good relationship with the testers, partly because I look after their guide dog while the do the test.

Even MOT exempt vehicles should still be roadworthy and that is the responsibility of the driver/owner. The MOT inspection is carried out to a "standard" (!?), having an MOT say's the said vehicle has met that standard (at time of test). I think it's reassuring to drive a vehicle that has an MOT........says he who's car doesn't

Sorry to read this. I suffer with the same condition and I think it was started when I bought my old MK4 GL back and it needed loads of welding. I spent 12 months welding and grinding at my Mom's old house in a concrete garage. I remember noticing I had tinnitus especially one day when I'd done quite a bit of grinding, stupidly without ear defenders. I always wear ear plugs or defenders when doing noisy jobs now. What's that saying about the horse bolting ? Tinnitus is not nice and is one of a few unpleasant things I have to live with. I fully sympathise. Going back to the original post, grinding and hammering on the drive is annoying. My Mom's neighbours had a go at me a couple of times and they were easy going and I got on well with them. Sometimes I just got stuck in and didn't notice the time, oops. I try not to do noisy jobs outside my house especially grinding as I don't particularly like it myself when someone else is doing it. It's a tuff one really when you've got jobs to do on your motor. Good luck with it and I hope you get it welded up without too much aggro 👍

That's a bugger, grinders can be annoying, I have the permanent tinnitus to prove it, same with hammering, belt sanders are a little bit quieter, but not much, do all your welding and take it somewhere where you can grind. I used to rent a unit where the farmer hated me welding, it was a fire risk, but if it was welding a tractor, that was ok.

cheers mate i must say it's holding up pretty well although it only gets used occasionally and not in the rain if i can avoid it