Patrick MkIV

Nice to see another 2 door mk4 turn up. As others have said, very rare car in this country being a higher spec model. Shame about those rear lights and bumpers, but great looking car nonetheless. Here are a couple of pics I found a while ago of the car online somewhere in (I assume) its original spec.

Hello, fellas. I have not been on here much lately; been busy with studying and other interests so Cortinas and cars in general have taken a bit of a back seat. Thought I'd share a couple of pics of this fine modded mk2 I saw at a pub today in Crondall (and the A40 in original condition), and had a quick chat with the owner. Looks a really good quality conversion, liking the colour (a BMW green), and I bet it shifts alright too with the naturally aspirated YB on twin 48's! Also has capri front suspension, sierra cossie discs all round, and a 5 stud conversion to run the Scorpio Cossie alloys- a nice subtle touch that I think works well. Apparently it is still running an English axle (not sure is has an LSD or not) and it is holding up ok with the power. Only thing I'm not so keen on is the smoothed over (missing) rear door handles, think I'd have left them in place, but hey- it's not my car! And a couple of other vehicles that were at the pub: The E type was originally salmon pink with matching leather interior. Definitely improved in its current more sober shade. Sounds amazing, too with a straight though exhaust system on it. With regards to my Cortina- it is M.O.T.'d, taxed and insured but in need of a new alternator as it's not charging, old battery knackered so have a new one to fit once I have a replacement alternator. Last time I drove it to a pub meet last year it died on the way home due to no electrical charging, but got it home by connecting another battery up with jump leads. Looking forward to driving it again once sorted and hopefully making it to a show or two later in the Summer. I need to start using it more, as all it seems to do for now is discharge its battery in the drive. Hopefully starting a new job soon with a secure looking car park so should be able to start using it daily.

Cheers, happy to have it on the road again. I only noticed the speedo wasn't working as driving to the testing station- just the local while you wait place. I asked one of the guys before booking it in and he told me it didn't come into it and I wasn't about to argue! Will be sorted soon, though, and I'll upgrade to LED dash lights whilst it's apart again.

Hi, all, I haven't posted anything on here for a while, I haven't done anything with the Cortina in a while, but thought I'd give a quick update. I returned to studying a couple of years ago (degree in Building Surveying), and haven't had much time (or more importantly money) to spend on the Cortina, so took it off the road for a year, but decided it was time to get back using it again, so took it for an MOT this morning and am pleased to report it passed with no advisories. Result. Only thing I had found needing done was the main beam warning light wasn't working, so dash out and a new bulb sorted that. Unfortunately now the speedo isn't working- I must have pulled the cable out a bit, so the dash will need to be out again. Luckily not an MOT point, and I know what speed I'm doing from the rev counter anyway. Took a few pics for the insurance so thought I'd share them. It hasn't changed much but is still driving very well, and it's great to be behind the wheel of a real car again. I am off to the Westcountry tomorrow for a week's surveying course, so will be taking the Cortina and giving it a run. Finally got round to fitting a stereo too (6x9 speakers just loose in the rear footwells for now, but will be boxed in behind the rear seat with an amplified 12" sub and some small components up front under or on the dash when I get round to that}.

Nice, mate, like both the 4 and 5 :thumbup:

Was a lucky find, alright, that paintwork still looks mint ;)

That does look nice, but ain't the rear tyres about 2 inches wide of the arches??

Yeah, there's a noticable colour difference there, but I think it looks good, nothing wrong with a two tone car.

He is 'Do It Sideways' on here.

Not sure what the colour is, but it does suit the Bronze on your mk3 well.

New rad now in, and the cooling system flushed out with 2 part treatment. Satisfying job, but didn't really enjoy the near boiling water spurting out all over me arm (needed to do the flushes in rapid succession and get the job done befor I went to work...) Runs a little cooler now, and takes a bit longer to come up to temp.

I'm sure Steve Taylor, in Essex, wouldn't mind picking a car up from Surrey, especially a '72 GT. I can definitely vouch for the quality of his work.

Yes it will 'fit', but mk5 stuff ain't exactly mk4... better to get decent replacement originals, or have rhem recovered, or put mk3 interior in...

I think it'd look better without one, but silver maybe??

Just thought I'd put some pics up. The problem was before I was using the wifi on the laptop in the drive and it was a bit far away from the router... :smashcomp: :smashcomp: :smashcomp: All opened up fine now though! No damage luckily. Got my recored rad back: He has put in a core with a higher density of tubes, and he has also taken out the pipe which was in the bottom for the automatic transmission fluid cooler, and sealed up the holes, so that will improve the flow. Total cost was £90 + VAT, which I think is pretty reasonable as there is quite a bit of work gone into it, and he sure knows his rads. If anyone needs his services, look here: http://www.bagshotradiatorservices.co.uk/ I'll be fitting it tomorrow after work. I'll give the cooling system a good flush through too. Then I think a visit to Mr Taylor may be in order to make sure the thermostats are set correctly for the different rad, and also a couple of other changes I'm thinking about.

Looking very smart. My nephew recently had his prom, and I offered my services, but they were going in a big group his date had organised in a big hummer limo thing. A cortina would have been far cooler! I got taken to my school prom in my sister's battered renault 5...

The bonnet popped open nice and easy with just a bit of pressure applied over the catch. No harm done. The bad news was that one on the tubes on the rad was split and unrepairable, so I am having the rad recored, and using a triple instead of double cores. It didn't need any extra cooling capacity, but thought might as well. Should get it back in at the weekend.

Ended up not having a day off after all, but do have one tomorrow. Should be alright, and hopefull my rad will be ready...

Cheers, yes Bagshot Rads is still going- he is now in Odiham (and bloody hard to find). He thought I was after kit stuff when I showed him the Cortins Rad. I'll enlist my Dad's help tomorrow ( hopefully I got the day off...)- get him to push down while I pull the lever. The bonnet has sound deadening, so that should help us out...

The rad popped on my Mk4 the other day (not too bad). Only a slow leak really, topped it up with water and the temp gauge was only coming up to half way as I got home (3 miles). I took it off, and its now being soldered up by Bagshot Rads, and hopefully will be ready to collect tomorrow. When I mount it again, I'm going to put some rubber bushes / washers to try and give it a bit of shock resistance to prevent the brittle metal fractureing around the joints again... , Anyway, my problem is I shut the bonnet with the rad cap on the slam panel, and now the bonnet is about an inch proud on the nearside, and the bonnetb is stuck closed. The last thing I want to do is cause any damage to the paintwork, or risk the bonnet getting warped out of shape. Any advice on what to do?? I won't have time to look at it til tomorrow, and I'm working this evening. Cheers, Patrick I did take a couple of pics, but photobucket is being difficult.

Interesting to see that Mk4 is top of your list whilst Mk5 is at the bottom. Just goes to show how subtle differences tip the balance. Most casual observers (non Cortina folk) would find the sequence of your preference odd. The Mk4 and Mk5 are almost identical, right? Most of us know its a bit more involved than just wrap-around indicators at the front and revised clusters at the rear. The Mk5 glazed area was increased and the roof height went up the way to make space for it. Well, I'm with you on this. I have had more Mk5's than any other Cortina, and I love them, but I much prefer the Mk4. It's subtle, but the lower roof line just gives the car a slightly different stance than the Mk5 and for me it looks so much better :thumbup: I wouldn't kick a Mk5 out the garage for misfiring though..... Yeah, there's not much difference, just the mk5 seems more 80s than 70s, with the bigger lights, bumpers and plastic mirrors. might as well be a Sierra. Before I got a Cortina always wanted a mk3, and would love one one day- would have to be a pre facelift 2 door GT though....

I think my order of preference would be Mk4, Mk3, Mk2, Mk1, Mk5. But that is subject to change, and they are all better than any Escort...

Aah, love the XR6s. Would prefer a 3.0S like Corktina's though.

I think a vinyl roof has to be black. A white roof looks awful, and would be a real pain to keep clean. The tan and tobacco vinyl roofs from the 70s probably looked OK at the time, but I don't think they have aged well...