tommy

Now I am confused, the distributor and carbs are on the opposite sides of a pre-crossflow, so how can they interfere with each other? Tommy

mk3 wheels no good for a mk1, offset totally wrong and tyres will rub on struts. Tommy

Better to fix the one you have, if it's not rusty. Expressed ones aren't that good and n.o.s. will cost a fortune. Pay a proper panel beater to fix yours. Tommy

Is the bore size cast into the aluminium valve body 5/8? There should be a 2 digit number stamped on the tip of the aluminium valve body (farthest from the vacuuum chamber), what is it? Tommy

Checked my girling books and mk1 lotus cortina servo is 64049127 and the in line gt corsair 64049126,so they are not after all the same (sorry Tibbs I thought they were). Most of the rest of the braking system is the same as an up to Oct 65 lotus cortina (calipers, discs, drums, wheel cylinders adjusters etc) except the brake master cylinder which again is not.

Box looks like a 3 rail from an early mk2 cortina and the bellhousing looks like maybe crossflow capri or mk3 cortina. These two are probably not compatible, as the cable clutch capri/cortina bellhousing is deeper than the hydraulic clutch mk2 cortina bellhousing and the gearbox for the cable clutch cars has a longer spigot shaft to match the depth of the bellhousing. Tommy P.S. If the bellhousing is from an essex V4 OR V6 CAPRI (hard to tell when it's that way up) it WILL NOT FIT ON A CROSSFLOW. If the bellhousing came off a KENT engined Ford it should bolt up to your crossflow, no matter what side the starter mounting is on. Various different kent engined Fords mounted their starters on either side when using different combinations of auto or manual box and hydraulic or cable clutch. Tommy

There are 2 different flame traps (the bit pushed into the block that the rubber elbow fits on) fitted, the early type which is tubular with a gauze inside and the later box type, like on an early crossflow. The early type is a bit crap and blocks easier than the later one. If you have the early one, see if you can find the later one. Tommy

It's a PRE-CROSSFLOW, breather system consists of a flame trap and a pipe down past the bellhousing, no PCV, NO PIPES TO INLET MANIFOLD. Make sure the flame trap isn't all gunged up and that you have the correct pre-crossflow type oil cap fitted and that's about it for the crankcase breather. Tommy

A frame brackets on the rear legs are the large ones done by expressed, not the original type and the over axle reninforcments are the correct size, but not cut away at the bottom to clear the axle, like they should be. Could just be that the rear legs had to be replaced, because they crack,as well as rot like an ordinary cortina,(like on mine, but I have the pics to prove it) but could also mean reshell, so the rest of the body needs thorough check too. Leaving the radius arm mounts on the axle, that they modified to A frame, was a bit poor too. Would look much better without them. Spare wheel mount on the boot floor looks hmmm iffy too (I assume that's what the black thing beside the rear exhaust box is). Even if it was 100% original and lovely £50,000 is damn dear, if it doesn't have special history (which I am sure they would adverise if it did),so to me it's really damn dear at that price. Tommy

Sounds like it's pressurising the crank case. Does it chuff fumes out the oil filler or dip stick hole while it's running? Do a compression test and see what it's like, but could well be bores/rings. Tommy

Parts book says 3rd/4th syncro blocking ring is 113E-7107B and 1st/2nd syncro blocking ring is 211E-7107F from 9/62 until 10/65 after 10/65 1st/2nd syncro blocking ring is 2820E-7107A This change coincides with the diameter of the gearbox spigot shaft (where it goes into the engine crankshaft) changing. Pre 10/65 big spigot shaft, post 10/65 small spigot shaft, so that will help to identify which box you have. Tommy

Axle casing tends to rot through, when they have been left out to fester like that for along time, but maybe you will be lucky. Even if it is rotten the desirable bits on it should still be salvageable ok. Keep me in mind for it TIBs, as I would buy the whole thing, just to get the brakes and halfshafts. You could keep the rest and just send me over the bits I want (don't need the diff, or brake drums and the whole lot would be heavy to ship to N. Ireland). Tommy

If you get parts from the braking system it is all the same as an up to Oct 65 Lotus cortina, rear backplates very desirable for the manual adjusting 9 inch brakes, as the later self adjusting ones are pants. If it still has a girling 2a servo it's worth at least £50 as an exchange unit, even if it's completely knackered and can't be rebuilt. Lots of good bits on a in-line gt corsair, don't forget the remote shift for the gearbox either, or the steering box which should be just over 3 turns lock to lock instead of the standard 4 turns and have the handbrake pivot pin. Tommy P.S. I may be interested in the half shafts from the rear axle.

My mk1 aeroflow 1500 4 door fleet, 64/65 model with the pre-aeroflow indicators and front panel, that's got to be rare (never seen another), but I will admit it's hardly desirable. (especially as it's a rotbox resto project) Tommy

Hadrian sills are, as Steve says, straight when they should be gently curved. If you don't cut and bend them they fit like sh**e, and in my opinion only good for getting an old dog through the mot (that's why I used them on my estate), no good for a proper resto. Also the hadrian underwing supports, for the strut top pan are about half the thickness of metal that they should be and are just flat rather than having all the proper stiffening pressings. Not very impressed with the owners club stuff either, the expressed stuff is better than either hadrian or the owners club. Tommy

15/16 (24MM is near enough the same) Tommy

If you had marked the nut and pinion end and noted how many turns it took to take it off, then you would have been able to screw the nut back on to where it was and get the pre-load near enough (I have done this successfully in the past). As it is now you should really fit a new crush sleeve to get it right. Tommy

Please check your other post on this subject, you have not removed the old seal yet. You are looking at the old seal in the second picture. P.S. The axle in the exploded view is a back loading salisbury axle (like a 3/4/5 cortina) and not a timken axle, as in a mk2. Tommy

The lip sticking out of your diff housing is the seal lip. You can see a line in your 2nd pic and that is where the metal part of the seal and the diff housing meet. They are both rusty, so it's hard for you to make out where they separate. Tommy

I think the flange for the drive pulley is different on a crossflow waterpump. Mk1 owners club do the water pump for £29. Tommy P.S. White gunk is probably alloy corrosion from the water pump.

There should be a drain tap on the bottom tank of the radiator, look up from under the front valence. If there isn't one (may be a later ford radiator without one), take the bottom hose off. There should also be an engine block drain tap underneath the exhaust manifold. Tommy

Yes saloons came 2 tone with a contrasting roof, but no side stripes.

I have not actually done it this way round, but I cannot see it causing a major disaster, BUT it would be pointless running a 25 amp dynamo with a 22 amp current regulator. You won't get more than 22 amps out of the current regulator, so no benefit from the bigger output, more expensive, harder to get, 25 amp dynamo. Tommy

A lot of those 1963 colours were not available on a 1966 mk1 cortina. For example imperial maroon was replaced by black cherry and goodwood green by alpina green. I agree it's better not to paint it to look like something it's not. Its a GT and a 2 door GT is now said to be actually rarer than a lotus, so keep it looking like what it is. Tommy P.S. Although this post is about GT cars, to avoid any confusion, estate cars with 2 tone paint DID come from the factory with contrasting side stripes, in the same colour as their roof colour, it's the saloons that didn't.

The list of standard colours for a mk1 is in the parts book, but it wasn't updated for the 66 model mk1. The 66 models share colours with early mk2s. This is the early mk2 list from the mk2 parts book; Spruce Green, Ermine White, Lagoon Blue, Black Cherry, Alpina Green, Seafoam Blue, Velvet Blue, Purbeck Grey and Dragoon Red. Tommy P.S. I remember 1200 deluxe 4 doors etc painted in lotus colour too Keith, but as I posted, they didn't come from the factory that way. Just owners trying to make their lesser models look like a lotus and it's why prefer car/stripe combinations in non lotus clours. Tommy