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Wibble’s Wittering - Cortina, Senator & occasional Skoda & family ramblings, soz!


Wibble

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On a 1977 Cortina the rocker cover should be blue the same as the cambelt cover, not sure on the shade of blue as I need to do the same on my 2.0S. I have a passenger door mirror to fit on my estate, my opinion is that if it is an option available when the car was new then it is a worthwhile upgrade, I am also thinking of fitting a Philips turnolock or pioneer fm radio cassette from 1977 in mine but haven’t yet. As for electronic ignition, I have never fitted it to any of my Cortina’s but one of my friends keeps telling me I should, I am still undecided on this.

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Thanks @wesacosaand @Shite Ronblue is what I thought it should be. I don’t know how easy it will be to de-chrome and re-paint mine.

As for the mirror, someone said to me at a show last year that if it was an option they thought it was ok. Just got to find one.

Sounds like you’re the same as me with pondering the pros and cons of electronic ignition @Shite Ron?

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I’d concur with it being blue. I did this on my Capri’s Pinto, painted the block in black engine enamel and the rocker cover & timing belt cover in blue engine enamel, both shades from POR15 I think. They look a close enough shade to me. 
When you paint the rocker cover, avoid painting the inside surfaces. The paint is designed for being on a hot oily engine but I’m not sure about it being inside, if the hot oil ever did loosen the paint you don’t want it coming off and blocking oil ways etc etc.

The mirror, I’d say fit one. I had this dilemma too! My Capri didn’t have one from new but I tracked down the exact right type and fitted it. It’s much safer having one than not and if you can get an original it won’t look out of place.

Electronic ignition… personal preference I suppose. I was running points & condenser on my Capri and Mercury but found getting good quality replacement condenser’s was a ball ache! In the end I fitted electronic ignition to the Mercury and it massively improved running and reliability. It’s been fitted years now and has never needed adjustments or replacement.  
I decided to fit it to the Capri too and it starts well now, better than it did with old points. 
On both cars you can’t tell it’s fitted either unless you start looking hard! It’s a worthwhile upgrade imho, it’s dead easy to fit too. The points & condenser were always a weak point on old cars so if a bit of concealed modern tech can improve on them then why not!?

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2 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I’d concur with it being blue. I did this on my Capri’s Pinto, painted the block in black engine enamel and the rocker cover & timing belt cover in blue engine enamel, both shades from POR15 I think. They look a close enough shade to me. 
When you paint the rocker cover, avoid painting the inside surfaces. The paint is designed for being on a hot oily engine but I’m not sure about it being inside, if the hot oil ever did loosen the paint you don’t want it coming off and blocking oil ways etc etc.

The mirror, I’d say fit one. I had this dilemma too! My Capri didn’t have one from new but I tracked down the exact right type and fitted it. It’s much safer having one than not and if you can get an original it won’t look out of place.

Electronic ignition… personal preference I suppose. I was running points & condenser on my Capri and Mercury but found getting good quality replacement condenser’s was a ball ache! In the end I fitted electronic ignition to the Mercury and it massively improved running and reliability. It’s been fitted years now and has never needed adjustments or replacement.  
I decided to fit it to the Capri too and it starts well now, better than it did with old points. 
On both cars you can’t tell it’s fitted either unless you start looking hard! It’s a worthwhile upgrade imho, it’s dead easy to fit too. The points & condenser were always a weak point on old cars so if a bit of concealed modern tech can improve on them then why not!?

Thanks for this! You have answered all my questions in one and I appreciate it. I have found not having a near side mirror disconcerting and would be especially useful for reversing into the garage. I will have a look at the POR15 paints too 👍

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I know you can’t tell 100% when it comes to colours from a photo, but here’s mine. I think it’s a close enough match. 
I think the POR paints do come in colours for the different manufacturers, the blue is Ford blue but it’s American paint and I’m not sure it’s the same as euro Fords?



5C17605E-89BF-43D5-A536-8FD5CE543229.thumb.jpeg.00b8e8bcc0343e8eb811cfbf3955cb39.jpeg

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13 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I know you can’t tell 100% when it comes to colours from a photo, but here’s mine. I think it’s a close enough match. 
I think the POR paints do come in colours for the different manufacturers, the blue is Ford blue but it’s American paint and I’m not sure it’s the same as euro Fords?



5C17605E-89BF-43D5-A536-8FD5CE543229.thumb.jpeg.00b8e8bcc0343e8eb811cfbf3955cb39.jpeg

Bloody hell that looks good! 

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Thought I’d give the Cortina some attention this weekend. Needed a rocker cover gasket as it was leaking. Found most of the bolts to be pretty loose! Then had the fun* of replacing it with one I’d got from ECP, which of course didn’t fit and needed trimming and then sealant to stop it falling off when refitting the cover. Then cleaned up the engine and bay.

Then I re-gapped the points, they had closed up quite a bit (still pondering the electronic ignition) and thought I’d go for a drive, being as it was Drive it day.

Ok, so speedo doesn’t work following dashboard work. Not surprised but how the fuck are you supposed to get at the head to reconnect it?! Doesn’t seem enough play in cable to get your hand in there.

Anyway, got back and backed car into the garage and noticed a trail of oil. It appears that the dipstick tube has come loose and there’s oil fucking everywhere🙁. Was then too hot to touch so shut the door and came in for a beer totally pissed off. Now I’ll have to cancel the MOT booked for tomorrow.

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Well I cleaned up all the oil as best I could with G101 and tried to get the dipstick tube back in. It was a very loose fit so ended up wrapping a load of foil tape around the end. I still don’t understand how this has happened. Anyway, with a reasonably snug fit I drive it over to my local classic friendly garage for this and a couple of other jobs my back won’t put up with. Arrived  pissing oil all over their forecourt. Sorry Revolution Vehicles 🙁

As the Senator and Cortina keep fighting me, thought I’d try my luck with the Bini. Kept things simple and dealt with the cloudy headlights.

Before:

15915F70-601C-4A02-9850-03581C0803A5.thumb.jpeg.37335442435ca7768775707dee554f5a.jpeg

And after 3000 grit wet and dry and DA buffing:

F0D85820-2CA9-4E67-8FCE-A1435AFF2743.thumb.jpeg.32c40fe0f1c7e0ab22afb110f4f3ed0d.jpeg

That’s good enough to call a win for a change🙂

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Re: the rocker cover. May be worth having a chat with Martin Pawson at Capri Gear. He can get them powdercoated in the exact shade etc which really looks the part.

Also when ordering parts eg gaskets check if it's a narrow or wide flange as they changed at some point in 1982 (I think) although as time goes by things may have moved around!

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22 minutes ago, N19 said:

Re: the rocker cover. May be worth having a chat with Martin Pawson at Capri Gear. He can get them powdercoated in the exact shade etc which really looks the part.

Also when ordering parts eg gaskets check if it's a narrow or wide flange as they changed at some point in 1982 (I think) although as time goes by things may have moved around!

Thank you, this and any advice is most welcome and much appreciated 👍

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  • 2 weeks later...
20 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

I was back in Hull for first time in ages. The infamous yellow Cortina is still there.  I would love to know the story on this

20220508_150037.jpg

I would also be interested in more information and pictures of this car. I assume by it being on the road that it is still in use? It is great to see a Cortina in this condition still being used as it should be. I would love to see pictures of the interior as I believe the early mk4’s in Signal yellow had the option of green interior which would be fantastic.

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1 hour ago, Shite Ron said:

I would also be interested in more information and pictures of this car. I assume by it being on the road that it is still in use? It is great to see a Cortina in this condition still being used as it should be. I would love to see pictures of the interior as I believe the early mk4’s in Signal yellow had the option of green interior which would be fantastic.

I seem to remember it being brown.  Its sat in the same spot for as long as I can remember (at least 15 years maybe more).  I never saw it move but I have not lived around there for 20 years) I wonder if its just sat there since it went tax exempt (its a 1977)

I think @Eyersey1234has also seen it so maybe he remembers more

EDIT: Did you still need an MOT to tax exempt? I know its MOT exempt now but it wouldn't have been until recently and would be amazed if its been kept MOTd

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On 5/9/2022 at 12:09 PM, wesacosa said:

I was back in Hull for first time in ages. The infamous yellow Cortina is still there.  I would love to know the story on this

 

Screenshot_20220509-143810_Gallery.jpg

Found out a bit more info

Its not MOTd but was up to 2019( I guess when it went MOT exempt). It is taxed.   It seemed to do a few hundred miles per year until 2019 and is only showing 45k , unless its been around the clock.  The leaves around under the car when I passed last week suggest it hasn't moved for a while.  Could possibly have the green interior 

20220512_145948.jpg

20220512_150001.jpg

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New dipstick tube now installed, they had to heat it up and flare the end to get a tight fit. They also replaced the leaking tank sender unit with the one I had found on eBay.

I’ve also noticed the heavy steering much improved through soaking the seized UJ in the column over winter.

Did a 150 mile round trip yesterday to the Chiltern Hills Rally, a good show with plenty of variety of cars. I’m not one for taking photos at shows but got one of mine:

4FC1B966-E506-43E6-BB33-D0B887532769.thumb.jpeg.3cf6da00dfe2f3cdfcb3dba10557e033.jpeg

Only downside was having to drive 70 miles home in pissing rain which I don’t like subjecting this car to. Still, no dramas or issues other than the need for a bit of a tune up. It is fine under load but jerks on overrun or decelerating, making it hard to drive slowly through towns. That’ll be the next job then👍

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Well after nearly a year of hunting, the elusive ABS sensor for the Senator may have been found,  thanks to Derek of GM6 Spares. Let’s see what happens when it arrives.

In other news the Cortina has developed a coolant leak but we can’t see where it’s coming from. Is there a core plug behind the flywheel on a Pinto?

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I hasten to add that the mistake was not of Derek’s doing but entirely mine. A colleague asked if I’d seen this and I confirmed I’d dismissed it as clearly advertised as Senator A. I hadn’t read the full listing and he said it also said it fitted Senator B so I just bought it immediately without checking. My colleague was mistaken, the reference to Senator B is purely in Derek’s list of abbreviations and nothing to do with the part. Fortunately he takes returns, as someone will no doubt need it.

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So, plugs replaced, dizzy in and new coil installed with LT wires connected. As the Cortina has ballast ignition, the new dizzy requires an ignition controlled live. Happily, multimeter confirms such a supply in the engine bay already which I can take a feed from.

2EB79CA7-16AF-467C-95BC-2AAD642211E6.thumb.jpeg.57e8d21ce1a240d9ba6e20d5279e3c39.jpeg

Back has had enough for today so hopefully will get time tomorrow afternoon after seeing Top Gun Maverick with Wiblet senior.

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We’ll I didn’t get back to it after the film, which was ace by the way, so back on it today.

Beginning to wish I hadn’t started. I thought the new distributor wasn’t fitting right and it was just not seating/slipping down far enough. Out it came to compare with the original:

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The shaft seemed to be same length and important bits at same levels so tried fitting again. Eventually, just before I gave up, it slipped down and engaged. 

So, happy now I put the clamp back on, leaving it  loose enough to adjust timing, fitted the new HT leads and connected the 12v ignition controlled live.

Can I get it to start? Can I fuck! I know I ballsed up the timing with all the twisting and wiggling trying to get the dizzy to slot in but I’ve now given up for the day, back buggered again.

Quick check suggests it is just timing but I’ll do some more checks tomorrow if my back is up to it. Time for a beer☹️

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We’ll, it was just timing and all sorted now. All I can say is, Wow! What a difference! It is now running better than ever, smoother and much livelier. After a year of deliberating on whether or not to make the switch, I’m glad I did.

Bonus was my son coming with me on test drive and seeing how many beeps and waves we got😃
 

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Of course it hasn’t been entirely without a little hiccup. After the initial elation of how well it ran, we decided to do a run to Sainsbury's, the furthest super market from us to give it a run.

Anyhoo, after thumbs up and beeps from a couple of MR2 guys, the Cortina died at a roundabout and would start but not rev and the die again.

My 12 year old has never experienced such an event and suggested I call the AA. I had to disappoint him with the news that I had no breakdown cover and we’d have to push.

So, we got clear of the roundabout and a very nice Sainsburys delivery guy stopped and gave us a further push to a safer spot. He’d actually seen us at the roundabout and come back, said the car was such a gorgeous colour he had to help! Top man! It was clear on opening the bonnet that the dizzy had moved, despite thinking I’d tightened it up enough, knocking the timing out. 
So rang Mrs W who immediately asked if we’d broken down?! Rude! But yes, we had 🙁

Asked her to bring me a 13mm spanner. “What’s a 13mm spanner?” Oh crap😟

Anyway, following description of said tool and it’s location, she came to the rescue and the Cortina was quickly back in rude health. First and last time I go out without tools!😁

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Glad the change to electronic ignition has gone (mostly!) well. I was a bit sceptical of the dreaded modern electronics in my lovely old classics to begin with but once you do it and get it set up ok it’s so much better. And just think, never again will you have to ponce around setting the points gaps every 5 mins as it comes out of adjustment, or the contacts have corroded, and never again will you have to buy modern cheap crappy condenser’s that may or may not work straight out of the box!

Saying all that of course, I do still keep my old points and condenser in the cars… just in case!

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