1971 Ford Cortina

First registered on the 21st of June 1971, this five-door Ford Cortina 1600GT has had just three previous owners – and the first two of those were brothers and the third was a friend of the family who bought it in February 2012, so its provenance is known.

The vendor’s very first car was a Cortina GT MKIII, so he bought it on a bit of a nostalgic whim - and who can blame him? Fern Green is a stunning and unusual colour and the interior is one of the very nicest we’ve ever seen on any car, regardless of price.

A very well-known car on the show circuit, the seller was keen to get it running as well as it looked so had it properly fettled during the four years he’s owned it.

Now being reluctantly offered for sale, it’s ready and willing to help you fulfill every Sweeney fantasy you’ve ever had…

The Fern Green coachwork is in a staggeringly good condition with impeccable shutlines and fabulous panel alignment, straight panels, ripple-free flanks, and an almost complete absence of the sort of dents, dinks and other minor body damage even the most carefully curated cars tend to accumulate over the decades.

The paint is very good too, with a decent shine and only some very gentle marbling underneath the intact lacquer topcoat on the boot lid, roof and bonnet – and even that is barely noticeable unless the light is coming from the right direction.

In fact, the worst we can say of the paintwork is that there is a small patch of peeling lacquer above the nearside brake light and a square blemish on the boot near the ‘C’ of Cortina. It really is hugely impressive, and a credit to its previous owners.

They should take credit for retaining the rare chrome GT wheels and trims, too. Only fitted to the first few hundred cars before Ford moved to the Rostyle wheels we are all so familiar with.

They’re shod with Goodyear Grand Prix S tyres too, which not only match and have good tread, but are a very period-appropriate choice.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

All the glass is good too, as are the light lenses and badges. Period accessories include a pair of dinky square rear fog lights, plus a brace of black, wing-mounted mirrors and a boot-mounted union flag.

There are, of course, a few stonechips here and there but while we hesitate to use clichés, the phrase ‘time warp’ does keep coming up in conversation…

The GT’s green and black interior is not only wonderfully period but it is in an excellent, largely unmarked condition and even still features the original high-back GT vinyl seats, the leather GT gear knob and the rare oval two-spoke GT steering wheel.

The angled cluster of four gauges and toggle switches in the centre console look amazing, and the colour scheme and design show the American design influence better than any other MKIII Cortina we’ve ever seen.

It’s all in great shape too, with almost no visible deterioration even to high-wear areas like the driver’s seat. The door cards, including the wooden cappings, are excellent, as is the stitched dashtop, the headlining and the carpet.

The boot is ridiculously clean and tidy, and even the vinyl floor covering is in great shape. Lifting it shows the underlying metal floor is completely solid and free of any rust whatsoever. Oh, and even the spare wheel has a matching Goodyear Grand Prix S tyre fitted – and that wheel is padded with cloth to stop it marking the paint. This is a very carefully curated car indeed.

Other than the original fixtures and fittings, it benefits from a few period accessories such as the Goodmans cabinet speakers mounted on the parcel shelf and the ‘Stereo Sonix 75’ twin-spindle headunit in the dash.

Problems? Well, the GT gearknob is heavily patinated. That’s it really.

The underbonnet is very clean and home to the original engine, which starts promptly and quickly settles into a steady tickover showing good oil pressure. The ‘Tina drives very well indeed, and feels much lighter and more lithe than you imagine. The vendor tells us that it has always started well and runs smoothly, and says it can be left for weeks at a time without the battery draining.

Still running the original gearbox and running gear too, it had a new three-piece clutch in October 2019; the owner tells us that the gearchange and gear selection is very smooth.

In fact, he had Blaze Motorsport, old school engineers, go through the Cortina from stem to stern; while the Cortina looked stunning when he bought it, it would be fair to say that it was more of a static exhibit than a driver’s car – and he was not prepared to compromise; as a very handy racing driver, all of his cars have got to go as well as they look.

So, it’s also had a new OE rev counter fitted, plus repairs to the wiring to get the clock working again, a new thermostat, a full service and myriad small jobs to get it working as well as it does. He was careful to refurbish the original parts where he could, and where he couldn’t he used only genuine Ford spares.

Because, as you can see from the Dynatape labels in the engine bay, this is an incredibly well-preserved and original example, and it’s to his credit that he went the extra mile to keep it so while it was under his care.

The underside is solid and free of serious corrosion. Neatly protected by underseal, there are a few small blemishes on the underside of the sills that could do with catching before they migrate from unsightly to problematic.

The Cortina’s MOT certificate expires in October 2020. It also comes with a every expired MOT certificate back to 1976, plus a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over recent years.

It also still has its original owner’s handbook, the maintenance logbook showing that it was delivered to a Mr. M.R. Guy, an original sales brochure, and two keys complete with a pair of lovely leather key protectors.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

This beautifully fettled Cortina GT is both a shower AND a goer; a rare example that both drives as well as it looks and yet is still utterly original and discreetly upgraded with some lovely period accessories. It really does have it all - and hens’ teeth doesn’t even come close to covering its rarity.

Which means it isn’t going to be cheap but at a time when the price of the faster Fords has risen to stratospheric levels, the £14,000 to £18,000 we think this one will fetch actually sounds like great value to us; while we love cars like the Escort MKI and MKII, this is a very cool – and highly cost-effective - alternative.

Viewing is always encouraged, 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’.