This 1978 TE Cortina (Cortina Mark IV for you Poms) was the car I "learnt" in.
Ma and Pa set me up with it in 1988 when I got into Uni and needed some wheels. At that point in my life I knew nothing about cars and cared nothing about cars; Dad had a 250 TE a few years back he liked and decided that a 2 litre version would be just right for me.
Corty at its finest.
During the 7 years I spent with her we went through all sorts of amazing experiences, in no particular order:
- the first time I learnt about points gap while she was off the road for a week,
- the first clutch that somebody put in for me at the cost of $420 to the second clutch I did myself for $60,
-
"Balloon" 235's on skinny little factory rims. - when I pulled her down, bored her out 60 thou and threw new pistons in,
- when I dropped the clutch for a burnout and ripped 10 teeth of the first gear cog and cluster gear AND then rebuilt the gearbox, only to put another box in a few years later that I found in the bush,
- from being so abusive on the clutch pedal that I bent 2 clutch forks and went through 3 clutch cables,
- the 2 times she was broken into and stuff stolen out of her,
- reversing the wrong way up a street at 6000rpm with no reverse lights while delivering pizzas and writing off a parked 120Y ,
-
JAW gone mad with bog. - leaving burnout rubber in the carpark of UWA that is still there today,
- going through phases where I made different front ends out of tinplate and bog,
- building electronic ignition and water injection systems designed by myself,
- sourcing a set of 235x13" T/As and being the tyre shop refusing to put them onto factory 13x5.5" so I put them on myself,
- being pulled over by a cop for having 235s on the back and 175s on the front and issued a warning.
- having a dodgy gearstick level that would have to be inserted everytime you wanted to go for a drive,
- hand polishing the intake manifold and DGAV32/36 Weber carb,
-
A young JAW shows 4 cylinders can turn rubber into smoke as well as a 6 or 8. - porting out the head with an electric drill and burning it out, buying another and then burning out that one too,
- lowering the front end by cutting 3 coils of the front springs and never being able to get up kerbs,
- having people following me being able to see the front crossmember before finally cutting 2 coils off the back to get the ride height even,
- becoming an expert at arc welding exhaust systems after ripping the exhaust off several times while going over speed bumps,
-
Corty went south to Pemberton... - putting a set of modified extractors on and burning them out then putting on another set with a straight through 2" system.
- learnt all about vibration after welding up an alternator bracket - 6 versions - to suit the "big" 55amp Bosch alternator I aquired
- spending 4 hours per rim hand polishing the alloy,
- my (now) wife hearing me start the car 1.5kms down the road when we lived at home because the exhaust was so loud,
- driving it as far as Pemberton (400kms South) and as far as Broome (2600kms North)
- Stripping the timing belt and putting in a new one on the side of the road the next day, then doing the same thing again 3 years later,
- Finally selling it in 1995 for $AUD850 in a mediocre state of repair to a young pommie bloke who fell instantly deep in love with it. Was good to see it go to a good home.
Corty went north to Broome...
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