Popular Post Shite Ron Posted September 4, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted September 4, 2022 This year is the 60th anniversary of the Cortina’s introduction and the 40th anniversary of the last produced in the UK. I have done this trip previously in 2002, 2007 and 2012, each time a different route but the same destination Cortina d’Ampezzo! I fitted an electronic ignition kit to the car about a month ago and as part of last minute preparation checked all fluid levels, changed engine oil and filter, swapped wheels for refurbished wheels with new tyres and fitted a passenger door mirror on bank holiday Monday. I borrowed the starter and all bulbs from the S. My girlfriend booked the ferry and hotels during the week, we left at 8pm Friday and filled up with super unleaded at the local Tesco before driving to Dover The M4 was closed at junction 6 so we headed for the M3, entry to M3 was blocked so we had to drive the wrong direction to the next junction, when we eventually got to the M20, part of that was closed! We eventually found an open Tesco garage to fill up with E5 again before getting to the port with 258 miles covered by 1.10 am Saturday! We got the 2 am ferry to Dunkirk. We met at the Louwman museum and then spent the night in Nijmegen. T.BC. CreepingJesus, grogee, egg and 56 others 59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJK 24 Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 I’m in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorfolkNWeigh Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 I love your Ghia estate , with the alloys it looks like it should have Cowley’s new desk on the roof. eddyramrod, chaseracer, Popsicle and 3 others 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogee Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 What a lovely thing. I hope your journey is relaxing and breakdown-free. eddyramrod and Shite Ron 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Seconded! tooSavvy and Shite Ron 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooSavvy Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 I was driving down Welbeck Rd, Newcastle yesterday and a very smart red estate (.. with minimal residual exhaust TADTS) roared past, the other way. Older gent driving, obv daily guessing 😋 Same shape as yours... Couldn't catch letter 😟. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ETCHY Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 1 hour ago, NorfolkNWeigh said: I love your Ghia estate , with the alloys it looks like it should have Cowley’s new desk on the roof. If i recall, at one point in that scene they monumentally understeer and it bounces off a kerb. Must've utterly buggered the suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 After completing 560 miles yesterday I was very tired but after a good meal and a good sleep I had my money’s worth at breakfast and we set off for Cologne, a very short drive of around 95 miles. We saw a few older Mercedes and a couple of mk1 Granada’s along the way. We avoided motorways where possible to make the short journey much more interesting and arrived at the V8 Hotel in Cologne around 3pm. Our room is fantastic The seats are very Comfy and they recline. Loads of nice cars here, this Citroen went past as I was eating pizza and drinking a beer. The hotel in Nijmegen was also fantastic, great architecture. Some interesting cars in the car park The only interesting car I managed to photograph en route sorry. There was an American car show at Cologne when we arrived but they were leaving when we got there The museum is great here also, a really great hotel. wuvvum, Dyslexic Viking, mk2_craig and 27 others 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Fearn Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Best of luck Brett. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wibble Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Fantastic! Glad it’s going well, how are you finding the new ignition? And you’ve done the passenger mirror too, makes such a difference I think. Safe travels! Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuboy Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 fabulous journey Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 36 minutes ago, Wibble said: Fantastic! Glad it’s going well, how are you finding the new ignition? And you’ve done the passenger mirror too, makes such a difference I think. Safe travels! Running lovely so far....... touch wood. Nice to have a better view behind. Wibble 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffcortinacentre Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 10 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said: I love your Ghia estate , with the alloys it looks like it should have Cowley’s new desk on the roof. That car (a 2.3 Ghia) was thought to be a pre production model or modified MK4 as the series was filmed in early summer for broadcast over Christmas. So a couple of months before launch but ready for free primetime advertising a couple of months post launch. As the estate was basically only new bumpers, frt wings grille/lights & seats, h vac.It was easy to coble together from a MK4. But it has several anomalies for even a pre production/pilot Mk5, no tape stripe on lower doors, MK4 door cards & in at least one scene the door mirrors appear to have no remote mechanism or with the front windows fully closed ( as there possibly mk 4 doors/windows & would interfere with the glass ( stopping it closing) . Also unlike all the saloons (not easy to disguise from a MK4) with this reg sequence (June/July 79) it never appears in any road-test reports or sales literature/promotional material. Dick Longbridge and Wibble 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthecapriman Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 This looks awesome! Can’t wait to see more. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Guru Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 3 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said: That car (a 2.3 Ghia) was thought to be a pre production model or modified MK4 as the series was filmed in early summer for broadcast over Christmas. So a couple of months before launch but ready for free primetime advertising a couple of months post launch. As the estate was basically only new bumpers, frt wings grille/lights & seats, h vac.It was easy to coble together from a MK4. But it has several anomalies for even a pre production/pilot Mk5, no tape stripe on lower doors, MK4 door cards & in at least one scene the door mirrors appear to have no remote mechanism or with the front windows fully closed ( as there possibly mk 4 doors/windows & would interfere with the glass ( stopping it closing) . Also unlike all the saloons (not easy to disguise from a MK4) with this reg sequence (June/July 79) it never appears in any road-test reports or sales literature/promotional material. My Dad had a T reg Cortina 2.0GL estate registered in June 1979, definitely a Mk 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 Yesterday started with a trip to the Ford Europe plant at Cologne where the Fiesta is currently made. We were given access to the museum and then had a tour of the factory on a road train. From Cologne we drove to Speyer, only around 180 miles but the last 4 were not good with a 2 hour hold up on the motorway in extreme heat! We eventually got to out hotel, not as flash as the previous two but half the price. We are staying at the Museum Technic Speyer for two nights. A fantastic museum well worth visiting It is fantastic here, a good collection of cars, aeroplanes, trains and lots more. Inside the planes were great also, they were raised and at an angle so you felt like you were flying The GAZ is inside this plane! Joey spud, RayMK, ProgRocker and 17 others 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 There aren't many top of the range fords you would call classy. But the cortina ghia is. I rember an episode of the Proffesionals with another mk 4 estate - sure the lovely Gabrielle Drake starred in it - in fact I think she drove it . Wibble and Shite Ron 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRocker Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 Wünderbar!!! I think my parents' old 1976 Granada 2000 L was built in Koln. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodders Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 Saw quite a few of the cars on the Harwich to Holland ferry on Friday (well over a dozen of them.) Mainly Mk2s, but was lovely to see them all; it was like having a mini car show whilst waiting to board the boat (camera looks like it couldn't cope with it though.) Good luck to all of you though. Sounds like a great trip and hope it goes well. Shite Ron, Ian_Fearn, CreepingJesus and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 4 hours ago, Bren said: There aren't many top of the range fords you would call classy. But the cortina ghia is. I rember an episode of the Proffesionals with another mk 4 estate - sure the lovely Gabrielle Drake starred in it - in fact I think she drove it . I had to check the number plate when I bought ours to see if it was the one Bodie stole with an inflatable boat on the roof Ian_Fearn and Wibble 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 On Wednesday we left Speyer to head for Mittenwald. As we were so impressed with the Museum at Speyer we went to their sister museum in Sinsheim where they have two Concorde’s! We went on both. They also had some nice cars there. Soon after leaving Speyer we caught up with three other cars from the group and followed them for over an hour and enjoyed a stop for coffee and cakes with them. After a while they turned off but we soon caught up with another car and followed them for the last leg of the journey. We stopped for 2 nights in Klais ( just outside Mittenwald) in a fantastic guest house with a great host. He let me use his hose to give the car a much needed wash and told me to park in his car port🙂. He also made a fantastic breakfast and is a car enthusiast. I would definitely return to this guest house We spent yesterday walking over the mountains and through the gorge in Mittenwald but still managed to spot some cars We set off this morning from Klais in Germany, drove through Austria and have arrived in Italy! Now that we are in Cortina there are many other Cortina’s arriving in other groups or alone as above. We are here for 3 nights now. There are Cortina’s all over town, we also saw a large group of Maserati’s and Ferrari’s and another group of Porsche’s. RayMK, mercedade, LightBulbFun and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimo Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Was Cortina a British-market only model name, everywhere else was Taunus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesacosa Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 what a fabulous looking trip, and great cars Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 15 minutes ago, Asimo said: Was Cortina a British-market only model name, everywhere else was Taunus? It was Taunus in most of Europe, Cyprus had both names. Africa, Australia and New Zealand used the Cortina name and possibly Singapore, Canada and America. Asimo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyslexic Viking Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Thanks for sharing this, find it interesting and a good read. Looking forward to more. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Really enjoyable thread this @Shite Ron. And what a lovely holiday. Germany is a superb country isn't it. I'd love to do something like this but A40s to the A40 somehow doesn't have the same cachet 😁. Best of luck for the rest of the trip, cars a stunner by the way BorniteIdentity and Shite Ron 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wibble Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Glad you’ve arrived safely and loving hearing about the trip. Only wish I was there and could park mine next to yours! Your car is looking great by the way😃 Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsicle Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 To reiterate what others have said, looks a fantastic trip/holiday - well jel as the kids say. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthecapriman Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 This really looks like great fun! Maybe I should do one for Capri’s. Capri’s to… hmm Mind, I’d love to take the Mercury to Italy and use its immense girth to block up some of their tiny roads! Wibble, Matty and Shite Ron 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 18 hours ago, Wibble said: Glad you’ve arrived safely and loving hearing about the trip. Only wish I was there and could park mine next to yours! Your car is looking great by the way😃 You would have been made very welcome and I would like to meet you and see our two cars together. You have 10 years to prepare for the next trip, or we could do one in 5 years?@danthecapriman I was talking to the owner of the Tawny Brown mk3 and he said he also has a Capri Laser he drove to Capri in, his was the 6th Capri to go on the island. He said if I went in the mk1 we would be the 7th, It will be at least 6 years until ours is done so you could beat us, or wait and we could go together in our mk1 and your mk2. My next trip will be Granada to Granada in my mk2. We walked to the 1956 Olympic ski jump this morning, sadly it is not being maintained very well I took some pictures of cars along the way, as you do. Great house and car in one shot! (plus my finger) Datsuncog, Ian_Fearn, CreepingJesus and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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