Main Menu
Car List
Driver List
Saloon List
Back
Next

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ford Cortina MkIII
Engine: Ford V8 4700cc
Configuration: front engine, rear-wheel drive
Driver: Alistair Thompson (top)
Driver: Dave Taylor (lower)
Class: Special Saloons over 2500cc and Super Saloons
Date taken: April 1976 at start, Croft (top)
Date taken: June 1976 in the paddock, Silverstone (lower)
Image Copyright: Robert Brown (lower)
Information: Car & Car Conversions, March 1977
An unusual choice for racing, this was probably the only racing Mk3 Cortina to be built. The car was built for the paltry sum of £1500 by Dave Taylor and Alistair Thompson, an Engineer and Doctor respectively, for the 1976 season. This was their second foray into building a racing car; their first being a Ford Anglia, Twin-cam autocross car with a full race engine. The choice of the Cortina was twofold: firstly it was different to anything else racing, and secondly, it had a large overhang at the rear to counter-balance the heavy V8 destined for the front. A scrap bodyshell formed the bases of the car; most of the panels were removed and replace with aluminium. These panels were pop-riveted and glued, with Araldite, into place to form a central monocoque. The pictures of the car clearly shows the aluminium, box section sills extending halfway up the door to impart strength into the body. Bonnet and boot were fibreglass, the mould for the bonnet being taken, along with the paint, from a friend’s company car.Sub frames were used front and rear to locate the suspension from an ex-Howden Ganley, Williams F1. The whole rolling chassis of the F1 car was bought for £350, and excellent buy at the time. The F1 car also supplied the steering rack, brakes and rear drive shafts that mated to a V12 E-type Jaguar differential. The E-type also donated its gearbox and prop shaft. The 350bhp, 4727cc Ford V8 engine was a fully stressed member of the front sub frame. In its first year, 1976, the car was very successful, coming close to breaking many outright saloon records. Two major problems dogged the car throughout the season, however; brake over heating and a lack of power. These were remedied for the 1977 season with the addition of a 5000cc Chevrolet engine producing 470bhp, and the brakes were replace with 10 inch (25cm) ventilated discs with 4-pot calipers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~