The demise of the Mondeo

[ReganAndCarter]

, but that was a Fablon gear.

Fablon? You sure? Thought that was the sticky back plastic my Mum used to line her kitchen drawers and cupboards with. We were dead posh. Also as used on Blue Peter. The same kitchen with genuine Formica covered worktops.

My parents were big fans of Barry Wotsit, the DIY guru.

 

[fixitflav]

1995 Mondeo 2.0 16V Petrol is definitely a belt.

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Yes, I had an early, 1973 Mk. 3 Cortina with the pushrod engine, but later OHC models had belt. Probably Sierras too, I had several as company cars but rarely looked under the bonnet.

 

[frutbunn]

My Suzuki LJ80's are all on belts and that engine dated back to 1977, though we only got the here in 1979, possibly a little earlier in the SC100 Whizz Kid.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Fablon? You sure?

Now you mention it, no. It was a similar name, but I was quite young. It was a brown gear, machined from some sort of compressed resin fibre, reinforced with some sort of fabric. It was used for quietness, instead of the usual steel timing gears.

This one - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Oxford_MO

I remember on holiday in Norfolk, he managed to set fire to the dash, whilst fixing a dash lighting problem. He managed to fix it with several of those tiny screw-in lamp holders and some of that purple cotton covered rubber, twisted lighting drop flex. Like me, he used to like driving overnight and I always remember the glow from the Sheffield steel works, once we entered the valley on route to where ever we were going, pre-motorways.

 

[fixitflav]

It was a brown gear, machined from some sort of compressed resin fibre, reinforced with some sort of fabric.

I remember that stuff, used also as a drive coupler for a diesel pump, going way back.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Yes, I had an early, 1973 Mk. 3 Cortina with the pushrod engine, but later OHC models had belt. Probably Sierras too, I had several as company cars but rarely looked under the bonnet.

My Mum had a 2 door Mk3 in look-at-me Daytona yellow with black vinyl roof. It really looked the business. Best looking version of the Cortinas for me.

Only drawback was it's 1.3 engine.

 

[Mottie]

I had a 2-door red 1.6 ohv. Me and Mrs Mottie-to-be had our first venture abroad in it when we drove to Paris for a dirty weekend just before Christmas in 1981. Got us there and back but with a **** poor heater and with snow on the ground, it wasn’t pleasant. It was the first time I’d had proper Champagne too and we got drunk on it when we stopped over in Abbeville on the way home. To this day, a glass of champagne always reminds us of that night!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Funny how those odd little things jog the memory.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

I had a 2-door red 1.6 ohv. Me and Mrs Mottie-to-be had our first venture abroad in it when we drove to Paris for a dirty weekend just before Christmas in 1981. Got us there and back but with a **** poor heater and with snow on the ground, it wasn’t pleasant. It was the first time I’d had proper Champagne too and we got drunk on it when we stopped over in Abbeville on the way home. To this day, a glass of champagne always reminds us of that night!

All Fords of that era, certainly the Cortinas, had $h!te heaters. Then there was churning over and over trying to get them to start with the VV carbs. After the Cortina we had a Princess, and it was good to have a decent heater - hot enough to roast chestnuts. Little bit quicker too, having the 2.2 twin carb.

Trouble with a yellow car at that time was you could come out to find that thousands of ladybirds had settled on it in the summer.

And champage - yes, it's a different sort of p!$$ed.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

All Fords of that era, certainly the Cortinas, had $h!te heaters. Then there was churning over and over trying to get them to start with the VV carbs.

An early version of electronic ignition, sorted the three MkI's I had.

 

[Stivino]

All Fords of that era, certainly the Cortinas, had $h!te heaters.

The heater on my 1600E would burn your leg.

 

[frutbunn]

MK2 Escort heaters weren't much better, but still better than a S2 Land Rover.

 

[Burnerman]

The Mk 3 Cortina had a heater matrix that was higher than the engine and it was very prone to air locking.....I used to fit a union with a small tap to allow people to bleed it , similar to the hose bleed screws you see today
The VV carb was a clever bit of kit, but it needed its two diaphragms and springs replacing every year to keep it fit, and an extra turn out on the venturi needle helped with hot starting. The improved diaphragms changed colour from blue to red.
John

 

[EddieM]

The Mk 3 Cortina had a heater matrix that was higher than the engine and it was very prone to air locking.....I used to fit a union with a small tap to allow people to bleed it , similar to the hose bleed screws you see today
The VV carb was a clever bit of kit, but it needed its two diaphragms and springs replacing every year to keep it fit, and an extra turn out on the venturi needle helped with hot starting. The improved diaphragms changed colour from blue to red.
John

My opinion differs VV Carbs were lousy pieces of junk.

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Actually this is the first I have ever heard about Ford heaters being cr@p as, back in the eighties, we had a ’79 Fiesta 1.3 and a Capri 3.0 both with excellent heaters. Also they had Weber carbs with automatic chokes, the Fiesta’s controlled electrically but the Capri’s governed by water temperature. Also recall heaters being similarly effective on ‘70’s Transits etc.

Here is a Cortina MkIII being ‘discovered’ when our local pond was dredged. Quite likely that it belonged to one of you guys though probably NOT R&C’s yellow model.