History
I first got my license in 1964, 17 years of age and of course my excited ambition was to have my first car, the only problem was, Dad, his reaction to my enthusiasm, was to say the least, somewhat cool. His initial reaction was, why another car, whats wrong with your mother's Ford Prefect, nice car, BUT !!!!, not very cool and a bit daggy, if you know what I mean, imagine me turning up in an under powered 1950's "Shoe Box", whilst all my mates were driving their Zephyr "Moon Machines" or "Hotted up" FC Holden's, I think not, but no arguing with Dad, so the embarrassment had to be endured !!!! Well my 21st birthday came, now I was legally my own man, so off to find a suitable car, but where and what?? On a infrequent trip from Deniliquin to Melbourne and staying with some mates that now lived in that metropolis, we decided to go looking for "THE CAR", when we came across this Mark 1 Ford Cortina, about a 1963 model, or there abouts, a sweet little 2 door creature, with a little bit of grunt, for in fact it was a Lotus Ford and not your every day 240 or as some impolitely called a grannies car. So purchased it we did and then began an adventure of a lifetime. Being a young enthusiasts and with the help of a younger brother, who was a natural rev headed spanner puller, we decided to put a few extras onto the engine, firstly we had to set up a extractor system and while we were at it, new carburetors were fitted, SU's the largest we could find, but before we attached these extras we may as well take off the head and give it a port and polish, stronger valve springs and while we were there give it a new head gasket. Back together again, it was time to give the girl a try out, well, off we went into the wild blue yonder at a great rate of knots and disappeared in a cloud of dust, for in those days all the roads around our farm were gravel. My only trouble with the old girl, was to keep the engine in tune, which meant many a evening after work tinkering with those "bloody carburetors, so after a year or so, I decided to trade the car in for a XR Falcon ute, a much more practical option for a farm lad. I often wondered what became of the Cortina, until I spotted a picture of the vehicle on line a couple of months ago, which I have added to this report.
Modifications
Originally entirely white, so a British Racing Green, GT stripe was added, extractor and improved carburetor system and an overhaul of the head with strengthened valve springs.
