RichardJ 58 Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) UPDATE WEEK ENDING 12 NOVEMBER 2017 Another quiet few months working on the car, but I finally managed to make a start on the exhaust system. I got hold of a Duratec exhaust for a mk1/2 Escort from Ashley, which I wanted as a start point for the manifold. Being an Escort manifold I knew it would need some work to get to fit the car (as all Ashley manifolds do from what I understand). So I trial fitted the top part in it's original condition, to see what would need doing: The fit was fine with how it moved past the engine mount and aimed under the fire wall, but as it was designed for an Escort it extended away from the engine too far and interfered with the steering linkage. I had to disconnect the steering linkage to get it to fit. I think the manifolds tend to wrap around the steering linkage on the Escort so tend to extend outwards quite a way, but on the Cortina the steering linkage is right up against the chassis rails, so the manifold needs to curve downwards a lot sooner. I was therefore going to have to chop about 2 inches out of the manifold, to make it sit closer to the engine block. Edited November 12, 2017 by RichardJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardJ 58 Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) I took an angle grinder to the manifold, and cut it down by the necessary 2 inches. On two of the primaries this just involved chopping out a straight piece from the middle section. On the other two, they needed a lot more work, and needed detaching from the flange, and reshaping to get to fit at a shorter length. One of the primaries even needed a new section of pipe adding to change the angle it joined the flange. After a lot of cutting and welding, and grinding, I finally ended up with this after the first round of welding: I used an exhaust expander to make sure the pipes were all aligned properly. I then finished the weld, tidied them up, and stripped off the "transit paint" that was originally on the manifold: Finally, a lick of matt black BBQ paint: Edited November 12, 2017 by RichardJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardJ 58 Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) And then onto the engine: Not the prettiest welding, or manifold, but it's airtight and will should work and last long enough for me to use the car. If it cracks or causes problems, I can then at least drive the car to a custom exhaust place. Also a big thanks to Chris Mk3 for sharing a picture of his 4-branch that I ised to work with. Edited November 12, 2017 by RichardJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nascar66 74 Posted November 12, 2017 Good work on the manifold. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardJ 58 Posted November 13, 2017 <blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="nascar66" data-cid="665292" data-time="1510506618"><p> Good work on the manifold.</p></blockquote> Cheers, wasn't the easiest job in the world, but now it's in the rest of the exhaust should just be the standard Cortina run. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brian grech 114 Posted June 30, 2019 On 8/7/2016 at 6:36 PM, RichardJ said: The driver and passenger seat runners are nowhere near the same spacing as the Cortina's so these need modifying. I originally ran some 8mm bars across the seat rails and fitted the Cortina runners to them, but the seats sat far too high, and the adjustable driver's seat was pretty much unuseable on anything other than the lowest setting. Even on the lowest setting, my head brushed the ceiling and my legs rubbed on the bottom of the steering wheel. So it was time to break out the angle grinder and MIG welder. I stupidly didn't take any pictures of the work on the driver's side, but I had to chop out a lot of metal and weld in strengthening bars to lower it as low as would physically go without rubbing on the carpet, and still retaining the adjustment mechanism. I stupidly didn't take any photos of this work. The passenger side was a lot more simple, though Modified passenger seat Modified driver's seat in the car - at lowest height with decent leg space Both seats in Hi did you still manage to fit the centre control with the Alfa seats?Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardJ 58 Posted June 30, 2019 9 hours ago, brian grech said: Hi did you still manage to fit the centre control with the Alfa seats?Thanks Yes, the centre console fitted nicely between the Alfa seats. I'll try and get you a picture later today of how the console looks. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardJ 58 Posted July 1, 2019 Here's a quick top down shot of the centre cosole. It has good clearance from the seats all round. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheffieldcortinacentre 525 Posted July 1, 2019 That's better than original Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brian grech 114 Posted July 1, 2019 3 hours ago, RichardJ said: Here's a quick top down shot of the centre cosole. It has good clearance from the seats all round. Thanks looks fabulous! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardJ 58 Posted July 2, 2019 (edited) Thanks both, The Alfa 147 seats need a fair bit of metal work to properly fit, but I personally think that the retro 60's Italian style really suits the mk3. The Alfa has a similar size and shape centre console to the Cortina too, so they fit nicely around the Cortina one. I would definitely recommend them if you are ready for the hassle of the metalwork involved in getting them to fit. I really need to update this build blog, as although progress is slow, I have done a few more things to the car - including Hazard lights (cheers again, Craig 👍) Edited July 2, 2019 by RichardJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brian grech 114 Posted July 2, 2019 5 hours ago, RichardJ said: Thanks both, The Alfa 147 seats need a fair bit of metal work to properly fit, but I personally think that the retro 60's Italian style really suits the mk3. The Alfa has a similar size and shape centre console to the Cortina too, so they fit nicely around the Cortina one. I would definitely recommend them if you are ready for the hassle of the metalwork involved in getting them to fit. I really need to update this build blog, as although progress is slow, I have done a few more things to the car - including Hazard lights (cheers again, Craig 👍) Today i started the passenger side and it took about 4 hours of tinkering,cutting,welding but have the passenger side almost done. I kept the original Alfa rails and welded parts etc. Will upload pics on my thread not to hijack yours.Thanks again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites