brightorangeGT

I cant afford Cortinas anymore so, - I'll be coming along in my old Mondeo - I did offer to park outside but told I'd be welcome inside - so that's where I'll be......

....that's one of the reasons I gave up Cortina ownership because of that sort of thing happening to my Cortina - sickening

fantastic stuff...just brilliant

Hi - Thanks for enquiring about cortina. Pictures are in my other posting, but car is now sold. Cheers

Hello all - My Mk5 Cortina is still up for sale, although a couple days ago, I thought of keeping it and started enquiring about a front scuttle panel, and other bits and pieces, inspired by an article on Buysell. of a Mk5 like mine with a Mondeo engine in it....Then, again, I came back down to Earth and realised as before, I've got nowhere where I can do this work. I then poked around to find how big the holes are (inside rear o/s door and bottom of o/s rear sill and front subframe - this needed for MOT in April if I were to keep it)and decided I have to reduce my asking price, because the sills have been repaired in the past, and look a bit unsightly, so the O/S one probably needs replacing instead of patching up the 1-2 inch hole that I discovered. I tried uploading photos but seem to be having problem with photobucket not accepting my password...I thought I would advertise it again on here before Ebay, as a couple of you had expressed an interest in it as a project - which would be great. As I had big plans for it myself. It drives ok, but the front can be a little wayward in cross winds which is why I planned to replace the front springs with new gas shocks, as are on the rear. Its biggest issue is the scuttle panel, and I had been thinking (if I kept it and couldnt find replacement) of cutting it out , getting it repaired, then welding it back in. Ok so its £600 ovno - Taxed and Mot'd and should drive anywhere.Chris.

Hi - Axle has gone. Steering racks are both manual. One came off my Mk5 the other a MK3. I can forward text photos if that helps. Chris

End of the months fine.I'll clean it up a bit and if you like can text you a couple photos if you want, Chris

Hi - Axle came off a Mk5 which had been going ok without any noises. Been in my shed for a few years. Chris

I have the following bits for sale if anyone interested: 2.0 LTR Cortina Axle - 3:45 £30 2.0 Ltr Cortina OHC Cylinder head complete - £30 Mk5 Cortina O/S Front wing. Blue with surface rust here and there.Solid in all the right places. - £25 All working fine when removed, but cylinder head better be reconditioned before fitting. Collection only from PLYMOUTH. Also two used steering racks for spares all complete. £10 each + P+P Starter motor £15 + P+P

If anyone wanted particular photos like whole of boot floor, under carpets, jacking points,etc let me know I could send them to a smart phone perhaps. Or get them up on here. Remember its only a 2.0 Ltr. The 2.3 badge I stuck on just for show!! And my theory was it helps distract from the flaking lacquer on boot lid - the illusion thing again make it all 'appear' smarter than it is!! Chris

Its 1981

Hi thanks for your reply,and saying its 'really beautiful' Thing is up close you can clearly see the imperfections - surface rust here and there, the awful painted black roof! I had to do that because the laquer had flaked and made it look terrible - BUT by replacing the chrome gutter trim and chrome windscreen insert, and fitting Mondeo alloy wheels, and the steering wheel from a 1600E mk2 I've tried to create an illusion its better than it is!! If you get what I mean!! Regards, Chris

Hi thanks for your reply. I dont really want to remove the seat belts to sell separately - for me that has to be one of the cars selling points. I'm glad you consider it a 'reasonable price'. I've tried to price it somewhere between a really good Mk5 and a rough one without tax and MOT as is on Ebay at the moment. Regards, Chris

Hi there - I dont know if anyone may be interested in my Mk 5 Cortina Ghia. , I've had it for five years and I'm having problems in the storeage yard where I park it, on top of that its not under cover so I cant work on it unless its dry and sunny, so i worry about it and I'm fed up worrying about it!! Anyway, it was an automatic but I converted it to manual. Ive had it five years. It starts, goes and stops!And we've gone to Cortina Day at Symonds Yat in it each year. Its just been taxed for another six months and MOT runs out in April. Over the years Ive always managed to get it through with just little things needed here and there. It's driven regularly and would make a good daily driver and 'rolling' restoration. I'll start with the bad bits: 1, I had to glue/seal up the sunroof because the drainage tray/pan had rusted. 2, Repairs needed to area below windscreen. 3, Seat fabric very poor especially along top of rear seat. Currently covered with good quality beige coloured seat covers. 4, Dent in rear panel below rear bumper. 5, Rear wing lower area both sides has been botched up in the past so ideally new sections welded in. plus small sections on wheels arch. 6, Two 20 p size holes. One inside rear door off side - covered with black tape in photo. The other on front subframe where forward bush is. GOOD BITS: 7, Could do with respray 8, Vibration in running gear between 35 - 40 mph in fourth gear - Ive just lived with it. 1, Its a Cortina!! 2, All that needs doing is straight forward stuff for anyone who knows Cortinas. If I could get it park/stored under cover I'd do the lot myself and I'm very much an amateur.( I wanted to get a MOndeo engine in it and respray it but its not to be... 3, Ive fitted many new or reconditioned parts in the time Ive had it as follows: Rear springs Brake calipers Reconditioned prop shaft brand new steering rack (last year) polyurethane steering rack mounts new gas filled rear shocks (November 2013) Replaced all rear bushes (but have polyurethane set to go on; off another Cortina I had) Mondeo alloy wheels with very good tyres Full stainless steel exhaust (but not done very well) Ive never taken the front wings off to see whats lurking there but its a Cortina so who knows....Last eighteen months or so Ive tried not driving it in the rain...just trying to preserve the underside a bit. Ive got lots of spares too: No more space. Live in Plymouth. Text,pm,07967177038.looking around £850 ish ONO!! Will try add photos. Cheers, Chris

I know its a bit of a long shot - but anyone got a sliding steel factory fitted sunroof for sale for a Mk 5 Ghia....??

just watched video - what pathetic crap - blokes deliberately smashing into each other - morons

I think people who go banger racing do it just to bash into and get their own back on the one who bashed into them the previous week. Its not racing at all. If the cars were actually raced, as in racing to compete - to win - then fine, Ive got a mk3 and a mk5 he could have, but because I know what he'll do with em - I'll keep them - so people like him cant get his hands on them.

Oh I see - you understood what I was going on about - thanks. I wouldnt attempt to fit tyres that would gear it to equal what a 5 speed box would produce just something to drop the revs a bit.....Cheers for the replies!

If I were to fit a set of mondeo wheels on to my four speed 2.0 Ltr Mk5 cortina would that raise the gearing to make motorway driving a bit smoother and relaxed. Im not fussed about originality......Thanks

II tried fitting Flo Flex bushes to steering rack and to rear lower arms to body on my mk5 - they are a joke. Buy cheap buy twice - I got superflex - perfect fit.

I ve taken most of the poly bushes out of my mk5 and put rubber back in - in time when they need replacing I'll have a go at drilling holes in the poly ones and put them back in - deflex in my experience nearly always need a lot of trimming - the steering rack ones are impossible to fit and the front upper rear arm bushes are ridiculously thick....

I wanted to remove the inhibitor switch from my 2 ltr mk5 when I converted it from auto to manual and I dont know how. I followed some ones advice but it didnt work they said 'put this wire here, and that wire there' and I got no where with it.

Deflex, Floflex or whateverflex Ive fitted to my cortina has needed a lot more than just a little trimming. Steering rack ones were impossible so I gave up. Rear upper front arm bush and lower front arm bush were nothing like originally shape and would not fit at all. I really had to hack at them and cut them to pieces to get them in. Have now taken the whole lot out and gone totally back to rubber - in my opinion gives a much better ride. I would never get Deflex again.

I think the situation with MY - automatic to manually converted mk5 cortina 2 ltr is that it doesnt want poly bushes with THAT 3.45 ratio axle! Because why else did the vibrating dissapear as soon as I drove it up the road with the 3.78 ratio axle yet return with the original 3.45? Im not very clever mathematically so cant go into all the technicallities of axle ratios all I know is the vibrating has GONE!!. The axle I put in had other serious issues and was undriveable so had to come out. The car is actually better handling with rubber bushes; smoother; less harsh over bumps and a lot more stable at motorway speeds. I did fiddle around with the centre bearing several times altering and chopping and changing the angle but underneath it all looked just the same as my mk3 which has mk5 running gear so decided this area was not the problem. At one point I even bought a small camera to fit underneath to record what the merry hell was going on!! I have a mk3 which has poly bushes ( Ive just taken it off the road for restoration - thing is got no money to do it but thats another story!!) but they'll come out and rubber ones will go back in. I think different people will have different experiences with poly bushes. In my opinion the only places I would use them on mk 3 4 and 5 Cortinas are on the front roll bar; front suspension subframe; link bushes - and possibly tie bar bushes. No where else. And then I would only get Superflex which I think are the original and best; and probably the most expensive too. And yes at times this was driving me quite, quite, MAD!!!! But I couldnt stop myself. I had to find the problem and fix it even if it meant crawling underneath in below freezing conditions over Christmas!!

Finally, after two and half years of trying to locate and fix this problem I've succeeded. The problem all along, was the polyurethane bushes in the rear suspension. When I was converting it from automatic to manual, I decided that while it was off the road, and while I was waiting for parts for the conversion to arrive, I changed the bushes for polyurethane ones - fit and forget - I thought. Thats why after a short while, I thought there was a problem with the 5 speed I put in. So I replaced it with a 4 speed, still the vibrating was there. I then turned my attention to the prop, and had it sent away and reconditioned and rebalanced. Still the vibrating was there - in fourth gear at around 40 mph. I replaced engine and gear box mounts; rear springs and shocks; exhaust system and crawled under and moved/altered the alignment of the prop and g/box mount and spacers so many times I lost count. I then decided it was the axle ratio, so out came the axle and in went one with a different ratio -3.78 - NO VIBRATION - but that axle I paid £75 for was CRAP, so had to come out. Back in went the original, and back came the vibrating!!!! Then it occurred to me to take a look at the bushes. I recalled having to use a jack to force the front lower arm into place, and that they were such a tight fit (Deflex) Which I will never use again, in fact I think this is one Mk5 that doesnt want poly bushes anywhere near its rear end!! Its not perfect, but thats because there are still two poly bushes on top of the axle which Ill remove at sometime. Ive taken out all the other poly bushes and replaced with rubber ones. I am so happy......!!!!