Quote:
Originally Posted by roddy1960
I also recall when they whacked a 3.3 and 4.1 in the later model Cortinas and they went really well in a straight line due to less weight than the Falcon to push but were terrible handlers because it buggered up the front balance of the cortina . I remember reading comments to that effect many moons ago now but I never got the chance to see that in a real car .
My only experience of the Cortina was a TD (I think) and it had a 2 litre 4 cylinder. Never drove it though. I had a 1.6 litre Escort at the time . Re Torana ..The 253 V8 was a bugger to work on I believe in the Torana because the engine bay was not ideal for the V8 . As an owner did you find that or was that a bit incorrect . Once again never experienced that either personally . What was your favourite Torana all round by the way ?
|
I owned TD, TE and TF Cortina's too, my first drive car was a TE 2.0l 4sp.
Obviously there was a penalty to handling with the big 6 but it more than made up for it via the additional power, so you were slower into and through a corner, but on the way out you more than made up for it.
You have to remember that these were not meant to be race cars so the emphasis was on comfort as opposed to speed.
I saw off plenty of 6cyl Commodores with my 4.1l TE Ghia.
I personally believe Ford should have embraced the Cortina instead of Falcon, as the final rendition, the TF, was a very smart looking car and solid as a rock.
Obviously the Torana's engine bay was a tighter place to work, i converted my LH from 3.3 to 4.2 and didnt have any issues with room though, not that i recall , mind you it was 24 years ago.
Favourite, hmm, good question and the answer will probably raise some eyebrows but my favourite of the 8 or so i owned was my last and that was a UC SLE hatch which i converted from 1.9l to 3.3l, better dash layout, nicer trim and RTS suspension.
I was never a fan of the LX front, the round headlights were a backward step from the LH's rectangular shape.
If you could create the perfect Torana for me it would be a LH front and rear on a UC Hatch body with RTS, UC SLE interior, 308, T10, Salisbury 10 bolt and discs.