All theMK2 Escorts I had were hopeless, particularly the late estate car. To be fair my Y reg Fiesta I had was good.
The demise of the Mondeo
- Thread starter mointainwalker
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If I remember right the Mk 2 Cortina heater was OK, and I believe the Mk 1, though I never had one. A mate had a late Anglia (the one with the backward sloping rear window) which was OK.
The Mk 3 heater had the matrix and fan in a plastic box at the back of the engine compartment, with a duct into the car. Not a bad idea in principle, easy to remove for maintenance, but poor performance in practice.
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
Wish we had known that gem of information 45 years ago. That explains a lot. Even after the car was fully warmed up, the heater was ineffective and blowing on your hands was more effective. We later had a Mk4 Cortina, and the heater in that wasn't much better than the Mk3's.
My old man was a fridge rep for a company that was a sideline of BL. As a result he got a new Marina/Ital every 18 months as company car. Say what you like about Marinas, but the heater was always roasting. BL got one thing right. Streets ahead of the Cortina's.
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No, too many doors to be ours. Plus there was a GB sticker on the boot.
And that's some 'pond'!
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For sure they were until you got to know them.....they were very good economy wise and gave good performance if well set up.
I had many a discussion with Ford about them and actually got a mention in Car Mechanics magazine.....that would been around 1982/1983. Smart arse, for sure
John
A bit like the GM Varajet carb, people who didn't know them used to replace them with Webbers or a Solex, when in actual fact the carb was perfectly ok.
E
EddieM
For sure they were until you got to know them.....they were very good economy wise and gave good performance if well set up.
I had many a discussion with Ford about them and actually got a mention in Car Mechanics magazine.....that would been around 1982/1983. Smart arse, for sure
John
hmm, well I'm not sure the average motorist is particularly enamoured with a carb that constantly goes out of adjustment and who's diaphrams last about as long as a pint in a navvies hand.
Ford eventually made a reasonable job of the VV, once they had modified the main and accellerator pump diaphragms. Like all manufacturers, the buyer was the genuine guinea pig for them.
Similar things applied to the attempt at electronic ignition.....the original Motorcraft distributor was hellish but Bosch came to their rescue with their brown capped device - few problems afterwards apart from oil leaks into the CVH engine with its horizontal distributor mounting on the end of the camshaft.
John
Similar things applied to the attempt at electronic ignition.....the original Motorcraft distributor was hellish but Bosch came to their rescue with their brown capped device - few problems afterwards apart from oil leaks into the CVH engine with its horizontal distributor mounting on the end of the camshaft.
John
I was always changing the VV's for the Weber replacement with a manual choke.
Yep, I did much the same.....Weber DCD as fitted to the XR2. Still mediocre performance!
John
John
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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.
My parents were big fans of Barry Wotsit, the DIY guru.
Probably Phenolic resin, reinforced with Cotton fabric - Tufnol.
https://www.directplastics.co.uk/tufnol-sheet
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That was the Summer of 78, no?
Yes, thereabouts. Poss year or two earlier.
Seemed to be more insect life around then. Short drive in car could see the front splatted with dozens of dead flies. As a kid, I remember sitting (no seat belt) in the front seat of Dad's car and counting the flies as they hit the windscreen. Now hardly any.
It's maybe a bit more countrified here, but we always get inundated with them. We dare not have the house windows open during the daytime - I put a fly-screen on the inner back door and leave that open.
I bought a brand new cortina 2000gt in diamond white in 1973. Lovely looking thing. Ran it to 160k miles. Totally reliable with no breakdowns. Sold it on still running sweet as ever. Ziebarted from new so no rust. The heater was superb. Great cars. Fetch stupid money today.
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