Mk 1 Cortina

[lotus]

Hi all, I have purchased a nice mk 1 shell and need some help in the build ie what to build it into must be eligible to race in historics best suspension engine gearbox any help please,are there any books worth getting????

[Peter Mallett]

Well done! You might be well advised to tell us what you want to do with the shell. If its a 1200 it'll be for a 1500 gt. The lotus shells were different.

What historics do you want to enter? Top Hat runs to App K so you need to follow the FIA regs.

The best person to ask is Zefarelly. He posts here. I'll pm him and ask him to look in.

[lotus]

thanks peter it was a 1200 two door not sure what to do with it yet, but i hope it will be able to race in ctcrc or top hat ,how different was the lotus shell could it be raced as a lotus there must be some re shell lotus cortinas racing out there. not that i mind if its a 1500 gt what engine would that be???? Ta

[Peter Mallett]

I'm too much of a dinosuar to help you. I've sent this to Zef and I'm sure he'll bite. BTW. He (and me) will be at Donington 1/2 May for the Top Hat Festival. You might want to come along.

I'd recommend the CTCRC as a racing club. And Top Hat to get your non championship thrills.

[Anuauto]

1500GT is the pre-crossflow "Kent" engine - same block as standard Lotus twincam but not bored to 1558cc. If the shell is good and doesnt need work there's probably no book suitable. Cant help on racing regs, only rallying, but sure its possible to convert it to Lotus spec shell unless in some historic class requiring actual vehicle provenance.

[simon drabble]

Zef is definately the right person to talk to, his GT is FIA legal and as quick as teh slower Lotus Cortina's. Unless you are looking to be a front running car (with the budget to match) GT is probably the clever route as there are only abt 2 - 3 of them against a gaggle of loti!

[zefarelly]

what do you want to know . . . . :-) Pm me and I'll point you at a few suggestions, I'm biased towards the GT for a few reasons (mainly budgetary) and because Its very satisfying to beat a Lotus!

the 1500precrossflow is pretty tough and I can build you an FiA legal engine if you want one, depending on spec and budget we'll get you a reliable 150 BHP

Is your car an early one (pre aerflow) or later aerflow one ?

whilst a lotus could and should be more powerful in race trim, a GT can be lighter by nearly 40Kg in FiA spec . . . .a useful amount.

the Fia requirements have changed, I'm not fully aware of all of them myself, but I'll tell you this for nowt . . .Ford supplied Lotus with 1200 delux shells to modify, most race cars are made from 1200 delux shells, so as long as its not full of pug and pigeon sh!t welding you've got a good starting point

[Al Weyman]

Yes I thought the Lotus were a modified standard shell myself from my memories of the car. One small point the, the Lotus block I believe had an 'L' cast into it denoting that it was borable to 85mm (I think, memory not so good these days). From my messing with the Lotus engine and I have had Cortinas, Elans and TC Escorts in the past, I would much prefer to tinkle with the 1500 pre-crossflow as it was far less tempremental, can you run it with a pair of sidedraughts or do you have to use the standard GT twin choke carb? I still have an original Elan full shop manual down the shed gathering dust and grease, would except a small offer plus postage if anyone interested.

[Peter Mallett]

Al,


I think THIS answers your question.

[zefarelly]

http://www.throbnozzle-racing.co.uk/index.html

click on the picture here and hear what an FiA GT sounds like . . .twin 40's, big valves and a few other specially made goodies . . . . the engineering page will give you more, drop me a line if your serious Lotus

[Al Weyman]

Nice looking car there Zef, brings back some good memories when I Hotrodded Anglias with the 1500 engine. By coincidence my elder brother's first decent car was a GT in exactly the same blue as your car. One criticism and little things like this bug you if you are in the game, could'nt your graphics man have given you a matching font for the 4 and the 8 in your race number :-)

[Ol'_Motorhead]

I recently acquired a Mk.I for the trouble of moving it home - previous owner didn't want it any longer. If nothing else it can keep the Mk. II (another freebee) company while I think about it. I like the look of the car and it's in reasonably good shape. I think it has potential to be driveable again - nothing time and money can't make right.

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

One criticism and little things like this bug you if you are in the game, could'nt your graphics man have given you a matching font for the 4 and the 8 in your race number :-)

I know Al, the wife did one number and a mate did the other . . .I blame the organisers . . .they issued the same numbers twice, theres some lovely cut vinyl numbers underneath !

It upset me so much I've now got a job working for a signage company !!!

[Ol'_Motorhead]

Originally Posted by Ol'_Motorhead

I recently acquired a Mk.I for the trouble of moving it home - previous owner didn't want it any longer. If nothing else it can keep the Mk. II (another freebee) company while I think about it.

I forgot to mention both the cars came to me as a result of trying to find a Kent 711M engine for my FF. We here in the Colony still run the venerable 1600. The last one I acquired was 30+ years ago from the long defunct Konig/Heath concern. I think it cost more to ship it (surface) than I paid for it!

[zefarelly]

I just bought a 711 1600GT xflow for my brother, on std bore as well, theyre still out there if you have a keen eye

I recently found a precrossflow block on a good std bore to use my Cosworth SCA pistons in :-)