Ford Cortina 2000E HWJ 947N (Purple Velvet) - one owner driver from new 1975

I first saw a Ford Cortina Mark 3 at its launch at the 1970 Earls Court Motor Show. I thought the looks were stunning but vowed I would probably never want one as it was, to me, a potential rust bucket. I went back on my prediction that I would never own one but the latter comment was proved spot on. I changed my view of wanting one when I saw the revamped Mark 3 in October 1974. It was finished in purple velvet with light grey interior. The early days of the Mark 3 were marred by some teething troubles exacerbated by labour problems at the time of its launch. The revised Mark 3 was released in the autumn of 1973. The Ford stand at the Earls Court show that year had a total of 19 cars a third of which was devoted to the 18 Variation Cortina range with pride of place given to a revolving Cortina 2000E. Improvements were made to the ride and handling thanks to the efforts of Fords engineers to design a ride better-suited to the increasingly popular motorways. Front spring rates were softened by 16 per cent and anti-roll bars were fitted at both ends. Bushing was also improved to reduce acoustic transmission to the interior from both the engine and transmission attachments. Unfortunately, these improvements didn’t go so far as eliminating travel sickness for our daughter. An essential travel companion for us was an empty margarine container and a toilet roll! Most children ask ‘are we there yet’ but in our case it was our son asking ‘when are you going to be sick? ’ -She never failed to disappoint!

At least we enjoyed other features of the car. The interior was remodelled which included a revised instrument panel and controls. For its day it had many features on it which were included in the price and many of which today are a given. These included tinted windows all around, built in rear screen demister, thick pile carpets, cloth trim, adjustable back rests, vinyl roof, sports wheels, rev counter, cigar lighter, odometer, clock, push button radio, lockable steering, adjustable instrument lights, mirror in passenger sun visor, grab handles for all passengers with those in the rear doubling as coat hooks, light in the lockable glove compartment, two speed wipers, automatic choke, leather covered steering wheel, and wood cappings on the doors and instrument panel. Inertia reel seat belts were also fitted but were only fitted to the front seats as this was a legal requirement from 1968. Rear seat belts were only compulsory from 1989 for children and 1991 for adults.

The car was fantastic to drive with plenty of oomph from the 2-litre pinto engine. The top speed was 102mph and 100mph was comfortably achievable (so I was led to believe)

. Peak power was 98bph at 5700 rpm with maximum torque of 111lb.ft/ at 3500 rpm. Its nought to sixty time of 10.6 seconds was impressive for its time with 13.2 seconds for an Audi 80LS and 12.5 seconds for a Vauxhall VX4/90

My car was registered on the 1st March 1975 and delivered by Kennings of Chesterfield (their logo is still on the windscreen along with the Ziebart logo). I had requested grey interior but it was supplied in black. As a goodwill gesture they supplied an electric aerial which was fitted on the offside wing and which soon became inoperable with all the dirt and wet that was thrown up directly from the front wheel. The finish of the car was OK although the undersides of the chrome bumpers were poorly finished and soon the pimples of rust began to appear through the thin chrome coating. There was also a drop of paint on the front offside wing which looked like a drop of paint which had fallen from the spray nozzle. Considering the amount of standard and quality luxury items on the car, the boot was not in the same league as the floor was covered in a rubber mat which soon began to split due to the spare wheel rim that it was covering.

The car was used as the main family car for a number of years although keeping on top of the rust which continued to come through the paint finish was a regular challenge. On one occasion I was washing the offside front wing near the indicator lights when a piece of paint about 4 inches square came off on the cloth revealing shiny metal underneath where the paint had been.

In 1987 a leak from the petrol tank required a replacement to be fitted. Unfortunately, when the old one was lowered it revealed a badly rusted boot floor. I decided that I would spend some time refurbishing the body. New wings and sills were fitted and patches were welded onto the front inner wings, inner back wings, around the base of the front windscreen and boot floor. All areas were sand blasted where rust appeared and the metal was still sound. This included the underside as well. The windscreen and back axle had both been removed so access was easier for some of these tasks.

The main engine issue on these cars is camshaft wear caused by oil starvation when the oil spray bar becomes blocked. This is caused by a lack of oil changes and is indicated by a tapping sound. Although the engine seemed fine, we decided to replace it as a matter of course. This is the camshaft that is still in situ.

The renovations were completed by March 1989 but within 18 months it was involved in a fire which totally destroyed the garage. Fortunately, I managed to extract it from the building before it suffered irreversible damage. The front grill had to be replaced as the original had melted in the fire. The driver’s door got buckled getting it out of the garage and the general appearance can be seen from the photo.

It didn’t get used very much as in 1994 we purchased a Rover Metro so it was taken off the road and left in the garage with no plans for its future. By 2010 the car was rusting badly in the garage due to the atmosphere in the area where we live being both damp and salty. We decided that we should either get rid of the car or at least use it. The thought of getting rid of something that had been part of the family for over 35 years, was met with cries of horror from our son as it was older than him and he had lots of fond family memories of the car. Not recollections that were shared as much by our daughter!

In 2014 we joined the East Yorkshire Thoroughbred Car Club (EYTCC) and decided to take the Cortina along to one of the meetings. We were not expecting for there to be any interest in our rusting heap so we went to our first meeting with reading material to fill in the time! Surprisingly there was in fact a great deal of interest as most of the people that came to talk to us were so pleased to see the car as it brought a lot of happy memories with their family's Cortina. The appearance did not seem to put them off, far from it, one spectator suggested that we shouldn’t touch the car as it would spoil the patina but unlike the patina on antique furniture the ‘patina’ on a car spread more and more each year.

We never managed any prizes at the shows as there was never a one for worst car in the show! We would have easily taken first every time otherwise. Gaffer tape proved a blessing as we were able to hide some of the rust underneath it and sitting with our folding chairs strategically placed along the side of the car also helped to hide the rust. We always referred to the car as ‘The Cortina’ but were only beginning to realise that our old rusting family car was a rare model which attracted more and more spectators each year despite its appearance.

In 2015 on one of our days out (drive it day) - in our case tow it day! someone asked if it had ever let us down in the 40 years that we had had the car. The answer was no, it proved a fateful question as on the way home we heard unusual noises coming from the back of the car. We slowly drove across the Humber bridge hoping that we wouldn’t break down on the bridge and managed to get to the Humber Bridge car park where we discovered that the metal plate at the back of the rear axle had rusted through at the place were a bracket was welded to take the brake pipes. The axle had lost most of its oil so the crown wheel and pinion had to be replaced. We managed to get one off a Capri that had the same ratio.

We did actually have one instance of the car letting us down but that was my neglect rather than the fault of the car. It was in 1979 travelling back from our parents’ home in South Shields to our home in Middlesbrough when, on the A19 near Billingham the red ignition light came on. Foolishly I chose to ignore this so it wasn’t long before we cruised to a halt as the battery had gone flat. Soon after a car pulled up and the driver asked if we wanted any assistance as it was dark. We explained what had happened so he volunteered to take us home. We took up his offer and just locked up the car on the A19. Whether he felt sorry for us with two young children in the back we could not say but he took us all the way to our house as he said he was going past the door anyway! We returned the next day and fitted a new alternator. Abandoning a car on the side of the A19 is something that would be deemed madness to do these days!

By 2016 the time was coming when we weren’t certain whether we would be able to keep it on the road much longer as each year the rust became more prevalent. We decided to bite the bullet and have the car completely restored. During 2017 we looked around for new panels and managed to get front and back wings, inner wings, sills, doors and door skins.

In October 2017 it was all delivered to Paul Dilley in Burstwick for him to restore. The car was completely stripped down to its bare shell revealing a much worse state than we had ever imagined. A large hole near the driver’s right foot and badly rusting A posts and engine bay were just some of the places that would need drastic attention.

The engine sump was removed and with no sign of metal particles at the bottom of the sump and the engine still running OK it was decided not to strip it completely so no attempt was made to convert the engine to run on lead free petrol. The only attention given to the engine was the fitting of a Weber carburettor refurbishment kit.

Finally, after the painting, the underbody was given a special coating, a new interior roof lining was fitted, the steering wheel recovered with leather and a full replacement electric loom was installed. All chrome parts were sent off for rechroming and once the car had been re sprayed it went off to the upholsterers to have a new external Vinyl covering fitted to the roof.

We were hoping that in 2020 we would have the opportunity to attend more shows but Covid put paid to that. It wasn’t until 2022 that we were at long last able to attend shows. Apart from club events we travelled across into Lancashire to attend the Burnley Rotary club gathering, Petwood in South Lincolnshire and Durham where we attended the car display at Durham Regatta.

The Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in Beverley was another place which we attended. We also registered with a number of shows that were organised as charity fund raising events. The most prestigious and the last of our season’s gatherings was the Distinguished Gentleman's Drive a worldwide event in support of men’s mental health and prostate cancer. It started from Bowcliffe Hall, took in a stop at Dunesforde Vineyard near York and returned to Bowcliffe Hall.

The Mark 3 Cortina was top of the sales charts for four consecutive years of which there were 1.1 million manufactured. Of the 2000E variant there are now only about 65 left on the road. Its therefore not surprising when meeting members of the public to hear their nostalgic memories of the model, which usually starts with either:

‘My dad had one of these’,
'Is that the original colour’ or
'That brings back memories’

...Or all 3!

Cost Price New:
Basic	£1,376.19
Special Car Tax	£112.68
VAT	£148.89
Subtotal	£1,637.76
Seat Belts	£17.05
Licence	£25.00
Number Plates	£5.50
	£1,685.31
Laminated windscreen	£28.78
Metallic Paint	£8.17
185/70 -13 Radials	£22.74
Excluding delivery	£1,745.00
Ziebart underseal Extra

Ford Cortina 2000E. Purple Velvet

Registration number: HWJ 947N

First Registered 1st March 1975

In possession of the same owner/driver for 48 years

Current Mileage (March 2023 – 121,000)

Cost Price New:

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