1965 Ford Cortina GT

Although no doubt misguided in his optimism regarding the susceptibility of mid-60s British cars to corrosion, John Cooper Clarke may well have had this exact vehicle in mind when he wrote the lines:

‘I wanna be your Ford Cortina

I will never rust’.

This stunning example of a Mk 1 Ford Cortina GT comes to us courtesy of a vendor who sourced the car from South Africa in 2018.

The vendor might have struggled to find a better example of a ’65 Cortina in Mr Clarke’s native Salford, we imagine. No offence to Salford – it’s a weather and salt thing.

The car arrived in what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1965 as a CKD kit. For any who aren’t familiar with those initials, they stand for Completely Knocked Down, which was a way of avoiding import duties by delivering cars as components to be assembled in local (in this case Rhodesian) factories. It was a very common practice, particularly when exporting UK cars to Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries.

With a mileage that says the engine is still shy of being run-in and an overall condition that is little short of extraordinary, it’s very hard to believe that this car first put rubber on tarmac when the Beatles were shouting for ‘Help!’, Tom Jones was asking ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ and Mick Jagger was bitterly complaining about his inability to achieve any ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’.

The white paintwork (it’s definitely more cream-coloured than white) is a thing of beauty. It has a depth of quality and lustre that really shows the clean, angular lines of the car to good advantage.

There are very few dinks, dents, creases, ripples or nicks to speak of anywhere and we’ve not seen signs of anything other than superficial blooms of rust on the odd screw head or inside a stone chip.

Most of the chrome work is in very good condition and all badges are present and correct as far as we’re aware.

The genuine Minilite alloy wheels are nick-free and unmarked. The Bridgestone B70 tyres are very fresh.

The panels are straight and the shut lines are clean and even, although the gap at the n/s rear of the boot lid is somewhat wider than its counterpart on the o/s.

There is some flaky paint on the inner edge of the o/s/r wheel arch and some of the paint on the front valance is a little lumpy in places. There is a small amount of rust evident in a stone chip by the n/s headlight where the front panel joins the wing and there are some indications of rust along the seam that joins the two.

There are also a couple of paint chips on the n/s door and wing where they intersect along the line of the top chrome strip.

Aside from these minor flaws, this really is a very handsome looking Mk 1 Cortina GT.

Well, the good news just goes on and on.

It really is in exceptional condition, with fresh, shiny paintwork on the dashboard and taut, un-faded, un-cracked black vinyl on the dashboard surround and door cards. The dials are in fine fettle and, as far as we’re aware, work exactly as they should.

The authentic Momo ‘Super Indy’ alloy and wood steering wheel is a marvellous thing, and so vividly redolent of its era that you’ll want to rush out and buy a pair of string-backed driving gloves, a poster of Steve McQueen and some grooming oil for your Zapata moustache.

The upholstery is excellent but may not be original. Most of the images we’ve seen of original upholstery in Mk I Cortinas show horizontal ridges of cushioning, except in the variant with bench front seats – which this isn’t. This car’s upholstery has ‘vertical’ lines. Then again, this might well be the original ‘standard pattern’ for export models. Who knows? Well, clearly not us. Proper Ford buffs among you will no doubt have a definitive answer.

The carpets are excellent, as is the headlining, except on the inside of the ‘C’ pillars where it is coming a little loose and the glue has been exposed.

The centre console, gear lever, gaiter and the glove box are all charmingly of their period and in impressive condition. Everything that’s meant to be shiny and polished and bright ticks all three boxes.

One thing that will need looking at is the rubber trim on the inside of the doors. It is flapping loose on the n/s door and needs to be reacquainted with fresh glue. So too, but to a lesser extent, does the rubber trim inside the other door. There is some excess glue evident in quite a few places around the inside seals of both doors.

The boot is a simple, spartan place with a clean carpet, unlined sides, a spare wheel and a roll of tools. There are some cracks to the metal and signs of rust in the boot floor under the spare wheel.

There appears to be some early signs of rust, which may be just surface rust that has run into wet paint during application, on the n/s/f sill below the kick plate.

The undersides of the car look to have a good deal of integrity and we found nothing to raise eyebrows or cause strong men to faint.

Everything is in order and there is a decent coating of wax/bitumen in evidence. There are one or two areas of light surface rust but nothing that looks serious.

The engine bay is an uncluttered and simple place, redolent of the bygone age from which it hails, but everything appears to be in order and in its right and proper place.

We know that recent expenditure includes new HT ignition leads and a new windscreen washer system. Anything that needed tweaking, fettling or replacing on the carbs has been done. The carbs have also been tuned.

The original chassis number/engine number configuration tells us that this is a replacement engine.

After that, we really don’t know much more.

This car doesn’t come with a full and detailed history or an itemised list of restoration work undertaken. But this vehicle is a straightforward, uncomplicated, honest thing. It wears the proof of its health and vitality on its sleeve, as it were.

There’s nowhere to hide anything suspicious on a car so simple you could take it apart with a bottle opener and a fish knife.

We think that it is exactly what it appears to be – a car with a great deal of mechanical and aesthetic integrity that has evidently been restored with little regard to time or expense and must now rank among the very best examples out there.

The car has an MOT certificate until 4th January 2022 and comes with a letter confirming authentication from the Mk I Cortina Owners’ Club.

This is a highly authentic, expertly restored example and one that delights the eye from every angle, outside and inside. And it starts, goes and stops as well as it looks. This then, is a car whose aesthetic qualities would seem to be matched by its mechanical integrity and the driving enjoyment it delivers.

It won’t win a Concours award at Pebble Beach, but it should win something just for being a really smart example of what appears to be a genuine, expertly restored, thoroughly sorted car.

We’re confident that this beautiful Ford Cortina GT will fetch somewhere in the region of £18,000 - £22,000.

Inspection is encouraged within Govt. guidelines of course, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.