Mk5Mike

Great photos! You cant beat a proper road trip...

That is absolutely gorgeous - best of luck with the sale.

Pretty sure I've got one - will send you a pm... :thumbup:

Thanks for the tour - it looks just as good on the inside as it does on the outside!

The camping pod looks fab! Are we going to get a peek inside?

That is lovely - I say look after it but use and enjoy it! Even with some more kms on the clock, it will never be just another Mk4 with that history...

The Ford P42 radio was a factory or dealer upgrade from the P21 - it’s actually a rebadged Blaupunkt Frankfurt so as well has having FM, it also has a DIN socket for connecting a cassette deck which can be used as an Aux input - I fitted one to my Crusader and used the DIN socket to connect my phone up to it. I’ve still got the radio but it’s mono only - later ones are stereo though. They seem to come up on German eBay fairly regularly. Can’t seem to post photos at the moment but will dig them out later...

As a last resort, Ive got a new old stock Mk5 carpet in light beige (bought it for my old 2 door but the original carpet cleaned up so well that I didnt need it in the end) - I guess could be dyed red fairly easily, although youd have to paint the heel pad with vinylcote or something similar...

Cheers Martyn! See you soon I hope.

No worries Gary! I'll be keeping the Mk4 as secure as possible too... Good day today - all the welding done. It's a credit to Pete and his Dad that after nearly 40 years the only non-original bits of the shell are these three small areas and a new pair of wings. Doesn't look very pretty at the moment but the primer is just to keep the rust off the new metal until I skim and paint it, hopefully next week. Phil the windscreen guy also called in this afternoon and quickly replaced the faded screen rubber inserts. Before:- After:- A really satisfying little job!

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="nogE" data-cid="668387" data-time="1516136681"><p> Wow Mike. .ya know iv only just realised you're had petes dad's old estate all this time..was quite surprised I missed this back in 2015. ...yes your certainly getting stuck in there. .. <br /> Also noticed garage. .hv you moved Mike. .I'm looking to rent a workshop. .fancy sharing one☺👍</p></blockquote> Hiya Gary, We havent moved - the Cortina normally lives in a nearby council lock-up but its back at the house while Im working on it. I like the idea of a workshop! Is there anything suitable round your way? :thumbup:

Thanks guys. Kev - I thought the early Mk5s had the extra two lower centre slots (changing to four lower slots on the later ones)? This one only has the two upper slots which are normally covered by plastic trims (I had to take off the trims to remove the vinyl).

The bearings had gone - the wobbly fan pulley gave it away! Hope the new one will do another 30 years!

Blimey - it's been nearly two years since I last updated this thread. As some of you know, last year was a bit of a write off while I've been dealing with some health issues Recovery hasn't been entirely plain sailing but I'm pleased to say that everything's now going well. This year's resolution is to fettle the Mk4 (my only Cortina at the moment!) and as I'm off work for the time being, I'm getting stuck in. First off was to replace the knackered water pump. Pete had included a new one in the large stock of spares he gave me with the car, so that was a cheap job! Next was to fit the new genuine centre and rear exhaust sections that I bought back in 2016. The car had been running with a straight through rear section which sounded quite fruity but I could never get a decent idle - now it's silky smooth and unbelievably quiet. Then the job I've really been putting off. The sills and front valance have had thick vinyl glued to them; for the most part, this has done a good job of protecting the metal underneath but I knew there was some rot at the back end of both sills and on the edges of the valance. Anyway, off with the vinyl and out with the big poking screwdriver - and it's not that bad. Mobile welder is booked in for tomorrow, so with a bit of luck in 24 hours I'll have a 100% solid shell!

.. Can't attach photo but it's on p12...