Has anyone ever seen a Canadian market 72-73 Ford Cortina survivor or for sale?

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Has anyone ever seen a Canadian market 72-73 Ford Cortina survivor or for sale?

LandShark68_2+2 · Guru

No, I haven't seen any for sale or on the road in a long time.

A good friend was looking for a cheap car back in the late 70's and went to a Ford dealership in Wyoming, Ontario and there was

a 2 door GT model that was just traded in. The shop wasn't really interested in it and couldn't get the hood open (didn't try too hard).

My buddy made them a ridiculous offer to take it as-is and they accepted. We worked on that car for a couple of days and got it running and safetied

and man, was it fun. Sporty, peppy and very unique. It was his daily driver for about 3 years. Never had a problem. Would love to see one again for nostalgia.

Regards, Scott (LandShark ...)

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Wow have not seen one of these for a long, long time. My good friend who I batched with and was later my best man had a new one and was mentioned it was peppy for the cars of that time. The one problem it had was when the temperature dropped some in the fall and early winter getting down to near freezing it was terrible for starting. He would come back in the house very upset and ready to sell it for a dollar.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I recall seeing one some time ago, but can't remember the details. They have all but disappeared from the landscape along with other Big 3 imports like the Firenza, Colt/Cricket, etc.

Wasn't the Cortina engine the basis of the Formula Ford road racing class?

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

How about this nice 66 Instead?

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/oshawa-durham-region/ford-cortina-mk1-gt-1966/1513336483

1966 FORD CORTINA MK1 - GT, NO RUST, ALL ORIGINAL PANELS. NEW CARPET, NEW WINDSHIELD RUBBERS, NEW DOOR RUBBERS, NEW 1/4 GLASS RUBBERS. REBUILT 1.6 (711) MOTOR 20 THOU. PISTONS, COMPLETE REBUILT FRONT AND REAR SUSPENSION, NEW SHOCKS AND STUTS, UPRATED 3/4 SWAYBAR, CORBEAU FRONT SEATS, MINI LIGHT 7 X 13 RIMS AND NEW TYRES, NEW BATTERY, CRANE XR 3000 ELECTRONIC IGNITION SYSTEM, HEADERS, CRANE BLASTER 2 COIL. CALL OR TEXT 647 838 7972

1965CS · Guru

Never seen one for sale, but my brother had a 72 Cortina. Not sure who the kid is hosing it down....

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

The Mk 1 is the iconic Cortina especially in Lotus livery. I also like the Mk2 (mother had one but the automatic trans never worked). But I like the styling of the Mk3 best of all.

Of course I also like this vintage of Toyota Celica & Corolla, Datsun 510, 240Z, Dodge Colt, VW Type 3, Porsche 914, etc. I don't see many of these either, except for the 240Z which is expensive when in good condition.

These were the cars that people had when I first started driving.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

1965CS wrote:
Never seen one for sale, but my brother had a 72 Cortina. Not sure who the kid is hosing it down....

This picture captures what I like about them. Great looking in my opinion. Thanks for posting.

I can probably guess who the kid is.

1965CS · Guru

They were also a fun car to drive with the 4sp. The kid isn't me, sadly I was a couple years older back then. (don't do the math.... reveals that I am nearly a senior wink )

-- Edited by 1965CS on Wednesday 26th of August 2020 12:35:02 PM

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Saw a 70s Capri when I was in Mahone Bay today. A real nice one.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Capri%3A1973_Capri_2600_Enhanced.jpg

looked like the green 73 on wiki, made in germany, always liked the styling. Guy by the name of

goodyear used to race one at Argentia air base, a road course. He also raced a mini.

-- Edited by DonSSDD on Wednesday 26th of August 2020 03:28:55 PM

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

A high-school classmate owned a 1973 Cortina GT back around 1979/80. It was in original grey metallic and had the 5-mph front bumper & 2½-mph rear. Unlike the '72 GT which Rostyle wheels (like the MGB, Midget & Capri), the '73 had the wheels like the one shown here which also came on some Capri II's:

1986482Ford-Cortina-South-Africa-1973.jp

Back in 1974 on Hamilton mountain long Stonechurch Road near Upper Paradise there was a new Cortina like the one above but in dark brown with a black vinyl roof cover. Definitely a privately imported car, back when it was a piece of cake to do so. I remember it had the rectangular halogens & the tail lights had amber turn signals <Edit> It was actually a Ford Taunus.

Also a classmate's mother had a dark brown '72 Cortina back around 1975. Other than that I can't recall seeing one in a long, long time.

Did you know that the "new" Cortina made it's debut in the U.K as a 1971, but in Canada they took the lot of leftover 1970 Cortinas and re-designated them as 1971 models? Ford of Canada got sued over that. Funny, I didn't recall the same reaction when the Nash Metropolitan was still being sold new as a 1962 model when they hadn't actually built any since 1960!

-- Edited by CdnGMfan on Thursday 27th of August 2020 12:16:43 AM

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I don't recall seeing many of these cars in my area at the time, but I know they were here and were sold until the Pinto started to become popular.

I do remember the Vauxhall Firenza, of which my brother had a 72 4 door sedan that was provided by an aunt. It wasn't a bad car but I recall it leaked a lot of auto trans fluid.

Eventually these were displaced by the Pontiac Astre.

I thought the Vega and Astre were great looking little cars but I know the engines were crappy. My sister had a 74 and we could barely get it to run.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It's interesting how many people have had experience with them, yet almost none of them seem to survive.

Here's an article written about one in Ontario:

https://driving.ca/ford/auto-news/news/collector-classics-1969-ford-cortina-gt-an-ultra-rare-sight

And another article written a few years later on what appears be the same car, although there are some differences:

https://gonedriving.ca/1969-ford-cortina-gt-canadian-survivor/

-- Edited by MC on Thursday 27th of August 2020 09:02:18 AM

StriperSS · Poncho Master!

I follow Goodwood Festival of Speed on Instagram, and get clips like this all the time. These are all vintage race cars in the UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWkDaVUn0EQ

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Someday I want to attend Goodwood.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I remember far more of the earlier Cortinas. Starting three doors up from me in the 1970's the lady Doctor owned a lime green 1970 Cortina GT, complete with genuine wood dash with gauges & leather shift boot, radials tires, plus a blacked out grille & back panel. It got traded in for a new '75 Mustang II 2+2 4-speed. When trying to teach her daughter to drive a manual she would say, "When in doubt, both feet out".

The Lotus Cortinas were cool little DOHC screamers for their time. Typically they were mid-1960s that continued and made the jump to the new styling in '67.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

CdnGMfan wrote:
I remember far more of the earlier Cortinas. Starting three doors up from me in the 1970's the lady Doctor owned a lime green 1970 Cortina GT, complete with genuine wood dash with gauges & leather shift boot, radials tires, plus a blacked out grille & back panel. It got traded in for a new '75 Mustang II 2+2 4-speed. When trying to teach her daughter to drive a manual she would say, "When in doubt, both feet out".
The Lotus Cortinas were cool little DOHC screamers for their time. Typically they were mid-1960s that continued and made the jump to the new styling in '67.

Agree. There were more of the 67-70 cars around. We even had a 68 2 door that my mother drove (when the auto trans worked).

The Lotus powered cars are the ones in demand but I like them all.

As to the 74-78 Mustang II, I really like them too. If you tuck in the bumpers the fastback looks really good, and it could be had with small block Ford power. Pretty cool for its time IMO.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

A blog post:

http://www.oldcarscanada.com/2012/02/1971-ford-cortina-gt-carried-special.html

Another:

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics/they-sold-what-here-1973-ford-cortina-mkiii-in-canada/

Cortina-ad.jpg?resize=600%2C450

1973-Ford-Cortina-2.jpg?resize=600%2C450

1973-Ford-Cortina-3.jpg?resize=600%2C450

1973-Ford-Cortina-1.jpg?resize=600%2C450

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

And one more:

https://mystarcollectorcar.com/march-2018-a-1972-ford-cortina-is-a-sons-tribute-to-his-late-father/

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Thanks for the links. Love the red car, well built and meaningful to the owner.

blkl36 · Member

My dad bought a 1973 cortina GT brand new in Saskatoon. Had it for a year and sold it there, so there is likely one in saskatchewan if you can find it lol.. It was red with a black interior and a black vinyl roof. Stickshift. Great little car, very snappy.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

The traditional British Ford fours of 1300 & 1600 cc were the Kent (England) engines. Those were in the early Cortinas, but the 72 / 73 offered a 2000 cc. The OHC 2000 & later 2300 was a Lima (Ohio) engine, though I think it started in Brazil and went on to be perfected there, powering SVO Mustangs & Mercury Mercur (Ford Sierra).

Come to think of it, I remember a lot of British cars in Ontario in the sixties. My neighbour had an Anglia, there were 3 Morris 1100 sedans in the neighbourhood and another by my school. There were Sunbeams, Hillmans, Austins, Vauxhall & Epic. MGA, MGB, Midget, Sprite, Big Healies... Triumph TR-2-3-4, Spitfire, 250 & TR6. As for the French, they also used to assemble Renault R8 & R10 models in Quebec and were not uncommon. Another neighbour had a Renault Dauphine. The Citroen DS-19 & 21 were way ahead of their time and you would see them around occasionally, but that was the end for Citroen in North America after that.

1973 saw the Plymouth Cricket start out as a British Chrysler Avenger but made a running change to a Mitsubishi Colt. Miraculous! GM had dumped the Firenza & replaced it with the Astre. As the seventies progressed, British labour was angry and they were taking it out on the the product they were producing with malice. MG was immune. I don't recall any horror stories on Cortinas either, other than passing off unsold 1970 models as 71s. I do remember a Jaguar XJ-6 sedan that a friend's father had (actually he owned two, a 72 & a 76). The 76 had all kinds of random holes drilled in the trunk floor left unfinished, it was bad. The 72 was fine, and another friend's 77 XJ-6L was beautifully finished. Random I guess.