1976 Ford Cortina Mk3 Estate 2.0ltr Pinto *Sold £3,500*

Description

• 2.0 litre Pinto engine
• Full strip out and body refurbishment
• Repainted in original Ford colour
• Very solid
• A great starter classic

Four decades ago, one in every three cars sold in Britain was a Ford. One in 10 was a Ford Cortina. The Cortina dominated the automotive landscape. Every household aspired to one, every teenager lusted after one and every sale rep demanded one.

Rival manufacturers feared the Cortina and tried to emulate it. None succeeded. Ownership of a Cortina in the 1970s encouraged the same air of smug approval that ownership of a VW Golf does today.

They were commonplace and extremely popular. Ford produced four million ‘Tinas. Between October 1970-76, more than a million of the Mk3 flavour. Now they’re rarer than a Bernard Manning fan.

The Cortina Mk3 was a big step up. The sober upright lines of the Mk2 were replaced with a bang-on-trend curvaceous Coke bottle waistline. The deeply curved side glasses with a semi-fastback profile, meant the broad C-pillars flowed smoothly into the rear quarters and boot lid.

At the front end, the bonnet wore a prominent raised centre section, with a matching step in the grille mating nicely with the stepped-in the front bumper. A few were tempted to call this a power-bulge. That might be a step too far. Either way, it looked great.

The Mk3 did something else too. It was with the Mk3 that Ford really perfected the structure and vocabulary of its range hierarchy. Meaning there was a model for everyone and brought the estate version in from the cold as it were and made estate models, as they are today, very desirable in their own right.

A couple of points about this particular estate before we get in to the detail. Most of the hard yards have been taken care of, in that the body, as you can see from the expansive gallery has had a great deal spent on it.

It does, or course still need attention, but it is by no means a so-called ‘project’ car.

Outside

Let’s start here. This Mk3 has undergone comprehensive, glass out, doors off, interior out, sunroof out, refurb and repaint.

From the gallery, you can see for yourself a huge amount of time, energy and money has been spent here. The vendor understands he’s unlikely to see a return on this level of outlay. But that does mean someone else will get the benefit. Sorry George!

 

The meticulous work is not consigned to the exterior. The interior, floor pans, rear load space, tailgate, even the front wings have been taken off, repaired and refitted

With the screen and wings off out those areas that trap water and become a corrosive time bomb have been addressed. The gallery again shows good clear images here.

The Mk3 was then painted in the original Ford colour. The factory colour is clearly visible on the transmission tunnel with the interior fully stripped.

The ‘brightwork’, which is now matte black, looks good along with the bumpers. The spot lamps are a nice touch too.

 

The finishing bit is the very smart, period Rostyles which to us really do set this Mk3 off.

In conversation with the enthusiastic vendor, he told us, “The car went under almost total strip down and rebuild to respray to its original colour. The best thing is this car is solid which when viewed you will quickly realise this”. We’d urge potential vendors to view, as we do with all classics, in order to really appreciate this classic Mk3.

Engine.

This Cortina Mk3 began life as 1600cc. It is now fitted with the more potent 2000cc Pinto engine. *Please note that this has not been corrected with DVLA, the V5 actually shows a 2.8 litre engine fitted.*

Our vendor tells us he has driven the car. In fact, it has attended a few shows in the time he has owned it. We’d imagine, like all other Mk3s that pop up at shows, this one attracted a good deal of attention, more so because it is a rare surviving estate. We honestly can’t remember the last time we saw one.

Interior

This is where any new owner will need to focus.

At the time our vendor acquired this Mk3 he tells us, “the interior was all missing and different seats were fitted plus door cards”.

The good news? It now has an interior. The bad news? Cosmetically, it ain’t the best interior we’ve ever seen! But the vendor knows that and has very sensibly priced that in, as you’ll see below.

A short time engaging with Mr Google does reveal there are a number of suppliers and a wide range of used options at surprisingly realistic prices.

The final point the vendor makes is sound one. All the interior is now there, so a new owner is not starting from zero. He readily admits though, the current cosmetic state is a bit ratty.

Our view

A few features make classic cars desirable. One of them is, that in their day, they were very popular and another is the fact that now they are near invisible, so-called ‘scarcity value’.

This Mk3 makes sense for a number of reason. They weren’t nicknamed, very unfairly, ‘Dagenham Dustbins’ because they’d been vaccinated against corrosion. This one ticks the ‘vaccinated’ box, because as you can see, that uncertainty has been removed.

The next reason this Mk3 makes sense is because of its value. Cortina Mk3 prices are, at last, starting to trend up, following other Ford models. They are not going bonkers, yet, but prices are not retreating. The owner knows, the cost he has put in will not be fully recovered. So someone is getting all the upside. We estimate a price of between £2,500- £3,750 for this very solid estate.

And the final, killer reason the Mk3 makes sense? Your dad probably had one.

 

Vehicle Location: Darlington, County Durham –  it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor

Have a question about this vehicle? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

Tedious but it’s vital you read this, please.

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