IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: MK1 Ford Cortina GT

Today's video is about (in my opinion) Ford's best ever car: the MK1 Cortina GT

Please note I have noted many times in the comments I’ve said FWD not RWD and it was a mistake! We’ve all been there, no need for abusive comments.

Ford MK1 Cortina GT

Ford produced some absolutely belting cars in the 60s and the Ford Cortina came to market in September 1962 and was Britain’s second best selling car of the decade, only being pipped to the post by the also lesser spotted ADO16.

The Cortina was a Ford of Britain car - before the Ford of Europe creation later in the decade - and was put to market to attract buyers who were looking at the Oxford Farina and Vauxhall Victor. Both fine competitors, which is why Ford decided the Cortina needed to be economical, cheap to run and easy and cheap to produce to really take the market share they were after.

The rear wheel drive car which was known at first under the project name of Archbishop, and which doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well as Cortina, was initially available in two specs: the standard or deluxe.

Both specs had the 1198cc Kent engine which had been used in the Anglia Super and was in the Anglia we tested last year. The overhead valve engine was used alongside Ford’s known commodities of the four speed all synchro box and Macpherson strut front suspension. It’s worth noting the Borg-Warner auto box wasn’t an option until late on in 1963.

Unlike other big motoring names of the time, Ford didn’t sit about and wait until a new model was released to make timely updates and in early 1963, they updated the Cortina line up.

The new line up saw the 1500 super added to the range and then the car we’re testing today as top of the range for the time: the Ford Cortina GT.

The GT was fitted as standard with the twin choke Weber carb, discs to front, remote gear change as we’ll show you in video later on and modified suspension. The GT was fitted with the 1500 engine and tuned to give an output of 78 brake horsepower against the 1500 engine fitted in the Cortina super which had 60 brake horsepower. It’s worth mentioning as well that the GT engine also contained a different camshaft profile and a superior cylinder head casting which had larger ports and those tubular exhaust headers.

1963 wasn’t just the year of the GT and also saw the launch of the Estate and the Lotus Cortina.

The range continued to be updated and it’s worth mentioning these changes, because with this being a 66 car, you get to see the big changes brought in across the range in 1964.

These changes included: front discs going from just the GT to all models as standard, a redesigned front grille and the Aeroflow ventilation system which I’ll show you when we hop into the car later. As we’d noted, the GT had from launch come with discs to front as standard, the braking system in 64 was revised and it then gave GT buyers larger front discs and self adjusting rear brakes.

The MK1 production came to an end in October 66 and Ford beckoned in the MK2. Although the Cortina is a rare spot in the UK today, at the time it was so popular it sold over one million units in the first four years of production.

The Cortina today across all five marques is supported by an owners club, with a club existing solely for the MK1 Cortina should you purchase one and wish to join a club full of great knowledge and support.

[idriveaclassic]

Hey guys! I’ve only clocked after reading comments I must’ve said FWD not RWD despite writing RWD and listening back to myself earlier 😂. I’m not silly but I am very tired 😉

[josvandencamp]

This Cortina GT was the car to have. I remember them when I was young. I'm heading for 70 next month.

[slavomirilov]

My father had white Cortina Mk1 (1200cm3) in 1968-77 .We bought it in Tuzex market in Czechoslovakia. Cortina took me and my mother to the maternity ward in 1971.I'm sentimental. The car of my childhood .The first car is like the first love. You are a nice person, You have a pleasant speech, Greeting from Slovakia

[michaeltutty]

What a super video, Steph. Glorious automobile. We did get the Cortina, Mark 1, Mark 2, and Mark 3, here in Canada, so this brought back memories! When I was in Cub Scouts, one of the leaders had a Mark 1. By the time I was in Boy Scouts, he had switched to a Mark 2. Oddly, my only experience with a Mark 3 was in Jamaica in the mid-80s. The poor thing was in use as a taxi. No tail lights, doors that barely closed, you had to be careful where you put your feet, and it had about a million miles on it, but it ran straight and true and still somehow felt special and Wonderful. I've always wanted a Mark 3, but any one would do. Keep up the good work!!!
As an aside, Twin Cam put out a video today about a Cortina competitor, the Austin Maxi. Give me the Ford any day!

[graemew]

I think the whole Escort v Cortina thing is purely down to as kids we had Escorts as first cars whereas Cortinas were considered to be Dad cars so the passion isn't there for them, I don't think it's which is better. This car is gorgeous and could quite easily be used in daily traffic.

[Paul-]

Fond memories of my late Dad’s 1966 Cortina (although not a GT) but the same colour, British Racing green? It’s the rear lights which always stuck in my mind about this car. Great review, and yes it also put a smile on my face! Thank you and, well done!👍🏻

[gortonshameless]

A very good example of a thoroughly practical car. The engine can be worked on without the need for a degree in compting and, I daresay, the components werre all better made.

[seancooke]

Very smooth gear shifting there Steph.
Fabulous taillamps and a cool fruity exhaust.
Great to have this wonderful part of Sunday. Thank you so much. Excellent.
Through Flow Ventilation.
Forget Dagenham Dustbin, the Cortina is the Duchess/Duke of Dagenham.

[stephenport]

The original Dagenham Dustbins my favourite is the mk2 1600E

[grayfool]

That was my cousins first car. He loved it too. During my childhood in the sixties and seventies those things were literally everywhere. It seemed like every other car was a Cortina. ANyone over the age of thirty will have a memory of the Cortina. That's why they are so loved. Stupid prices though.

[mikethebikemttracer]

I started work in a Ford garage as an apprentice mechanic in the summer of 1966. I actually loved going to work and not everybody can say that. I still love all of the Ford cars from that decade including the Cortina GT. The thing about the Escort was it handled a lot better. I have had Escorts, Cortina's and Capri's but my favorite was the MK2 Cortina 1600E. I wish that I still had some of them as they would be worth a lot more than I sold them for back in the day.

[tracysroberts]

We were fond of Cortinas in my family. In the 70's and early 80's my younger brother had a MKI GT the same colour as your test car. My older brother had a white MKI with a red interior. I had a 1500 MKII 2 door, followed by a 1600 MKII with a column shift in Ford's beautiful copper bronze. My sister's husband to be had a MKI and later ran a MKI sports sedan. They are rare as hen's teeth in Australia now.

[peterowen]

Great video. In 1971 I bought a 5 year old Cortina Mk1 in a light blue (lovely colour, almost turquoise ). It replaced a 1957 Ford Anglia (my first car) with the boxy shape, 3 speed box with no synchromesh on first and vacuum windscreen wipers - a pig to start as well. When I got the Cortina it was like a completely different generation of car - I loved, really loved, that car. I used to drive around for the sheer pleasure of driving. I remember it had cross ply tyres and when I changed to radials it was even better. Great functional design as well. I'm getting quite emotional!

[wrightmartin]

My dad bought me a Mk11500cc 1966 Estate in 1969. It was an export model and just as the car shown in this video it was a ``D`` Reg in Alpina Green. Earlier Mk 1`s were Goodwood Green. I lived very close to the Ford of England offices at Brentwood in Essex. I got to know every nut and bolt of that car and really looked after it and apart from all the mechanical attention, I used to wash and clean it every week with a daily leathering off of the bodywork and wow did the bodywork shine. my car did have the metal embelishments in the interior door panels and the original owner- a Canadian immigration officer had put in a remote gear change unit as the original long gear lever was known to put out an annoying sound. He`d also replaced the plastic steering wheel with one very similar to the GT`s. Ford wanted to celebrate some anniversary of the Cortina MK 1 and my estate car was apparently the second best looking Cortina and the competition was won by a grey Mk1 as the Ford management wanted a saloon Cortina that had been ``immortalised`` by some song around at the time. My airflow ``eyeball`` outlets on the dash were chromed plastic from new unlike the bare ones on the car shown. I have quite a few stories I could relate about my car but after being made redundant in 1983 I moved to South Dorset from Essex to be with my dad who was developing a small garden nursery business and my precious Cortina rusted away within a year or two. I was forced to get rid of it by my dad and I sold it for £100.

[francis]

It's wonderful to see these classic cars in motion. However, with the government mucking about with contents of expensive 'green petrol', I wonder how much longer we can enjoy them?

[chazw]

My parents got a 1966 lagoon blue/cream roof Mk1 1500 Super in the early 70's, they traded up from a 1952 A40 Devon, as a kid just riding in the back it still seemed a quantum leap!

[micrashed]

Fab Video Steph - I remember when these (the Cortina) were on almost every street.

[magform]

This car brings back so many memories of so many firsts. My first Haynes manual, which I still own? My first car with positive earth. First place of my own. First love??? You opened the hood, and it was all so familiar. I was ready to start tuning again for the local autocross event. My experiences were with a 65 Cortina GT that had been lowered by the previous owner, and handled like a go-cart. Now this was 1976 in the USA, and competition was very stiff here from Japanese imports. But being very British, this car had a charm all it's own. It absolutely sold me on the Ford Kent engine. I had the 1.6L version in all my Fiestas. I really don't know whatever happened to that vehicle. It was my girlfriend's vehicle, and she left me to marry someone else that very same year. I do know that I found her on FB a few years back, and she is now a grandmother. But 1976 was forty-five years ago. A good memory of a great vehicle. PS. I think smoking was a generational thing. Though I quit smoking some thirty-three years ago, I remember that ash tray in the center console getting quite full, and emptied often. Be well! PPS: There are 5 speed transmissions that will bolt right in, and it does change the driving experience!

[KiwiStag]

My first car was an it was traded on a 65 Mark 1 Cortina GT. It was Oxford blue with a light blue vinyl interior, had all the chrome / aluminium trim on the sides, chrome bumper over-riders and (very rare for 1965) factory-option Lucas reversing lights. These were activated by a module attached to the rear of the speedometer that completed a circuit when the cable turned the opposite way, meaning that even if you just rolled backward, the reversing lights came on, but they were cool anyway as none of my mates had a car with them on!

I loved that car - it was everything a 16-year-old young bloke could want. She had the 28/36 DCD Weber carb, extractors (known nowadays as headers) and a straight through exhaust with one Coby resonator (so plenty of noise to annoy the old folks), disc front brakes, close ratio gearbox, racing steering wheel and a plethora of gauges on the dash to really get those boy-racer juices flowing and be the envy of meet-ups anywhere! It had a competition clutch which required a very strong left leg to push in and superior muscle control to let out without looking like a learner driver and bunny-hopping the car down the road.

I tortured that car for two years and 20k miles. She was thrashed over loose metal roads as well as winding tarsealed ones so often that it began to toll on every part of the car and maintenance costs were getting high. One cold and wet morning in August of 1985, I was heading to work at 4:30am and a truck pulled out of a side street right in front of me. I locked all four wheels of the GT up and all she did was aquaplane and slowly drift sideways, so I took my foot off the brake and she shot forward head-on into an old Oak tree on the side of the road at 50mph. I only had a few bruises and strains, but the GT was a mess. She was twisted to the right and opening the front passenger's door caused her to sag. Both rear doors would not open and the driver's door - once opened - would not shut. The radiator cap was further up the tappet cover than the oil filler cap and the water pump, generator and timing cover were smashed, along with a heap of bent steering and suspension parts. The insurance company put her back on the road, but she was never the same. I sold it soon after.

I still miss the car now as it was the first car that really gave my young self the independence that we all strive for at that age. She was a very straight car before the prang and the repair put her back to looking how she was - even if she never drove the same. I checked up on the local registry and she's been off the road since about 18 months after I sold her and since that is over 30 years ago, I have a feeling it's probably for a permanent reason. Occasionally I still dream that I own the car and take her out for long drives in the countryside, remembering the sounds and smells and sights of a time long gone and the GT still sings her song as she always did. She had 91k miles on her when I bought her and 113k miles when I sold her. Wish I knew where she ended

[calinescuandrei]

What a beauty! I've always had a soft spot for the first gen Cortina. As always, thanks Steph for another awesome video!!! :)