5th Dec 2004, 07:45
I have a 1980 Cortina 2.3 Ghia and it is hassle free. No rust anywhere and it is only a gas guzzler if you put the boot into it. Otherwise its been fine. Power steering too, which makes it a really easy drive. PAS was standard on the late model 2.3's.
Servicing is cheap as chips and parts are still easy to get hold of.
I laugh at people who pay £15k for cars and look down their nose at me. When they are sinking in Debt, I'm driving my cortina to the airport for another holiday courtesy of the money I'm saving!
6th Jan 2007, 13:51
I love these cars and agree that a good one can be reliable. Biggest problems I've had with mine as the useless auto choke, non existent heater plus water leakage issues, the boot seals in particular are hopeless. Get a good low mileage one and you're laughing.
Fantastically cool cars though, and real head turners in 2007 with a cult following. Plus they are going up in value.
29th Oct 2007, 15:07
1979 Cortina. Is this the Mk4? If so, I think they look absolutely superb. They're like a breath of fresh air compared to modern cars. I'm heavily into art & design & my prefered area is minimalism. The Mk4 Cortina is a wonderful piece of sculpture. I'm genuine about that statement. There are a lot of stock responses when people mention Cortinas. People come out with the tired old cliches & the moronic mocking, but if they opened their eyes they'd actually learn something. The lines of the Cortina Mk4 are absolutely wonderful in my opinion. They're graceful, perfectly balanced & wonderfully understated. If these cars had a Lancia or BMW badge on the front grille they'd be changing hands for thousands. Put a Mk4 next to something like a modern BMW Z series & see the difference. The BMW is a mess! It's a clutter of lines, angles, swoops & bulges. It's awkward & fussy. The Cortina is wonderfully serene, fluent & free of any visual pollution. I'm sure the BMW would blow the Mk4 into the weeds when it comes to performance, handling & braking, but that isn't what it's about. I'm a huge fan of modernist style icons like Panton, Eames, Bauhaus & Joe Colombo etc. Astonishingly the MK4 Cortina is a thing of beauty in my eyes. Let the snobs, show offs & crashing bores have their flash cars that the marketing men tell them are wonderful. Leave the Mk 4 to the people who dare to be different. I don't own one yet because I'm having to spend money on restoring a house, but as soon as I have the funds, I'll be hunting down a Mk 4.
31st Oct 2007, 13:38
I agree with you 100%. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think the rot set in with the introduction of cars like the Sierra & its hideous 'jelly mould' shape. Once computers were brought in to help with car design, everything became bland & uniform. How I long for the days of yesteryear when cars were designed by someone with a fresh piece of paper & a sharpened pencil.
10th Nov 2003, 13:50
My 1977 2.0l Ghia had a few more problems than yours tho'. Useless heater, appalling "auto " choke , possibly the heaviest steering vehicle I have owned (I've currently got a Bedford CF and that's easier) and only 20mpg whatever I did with it.
Very comfy and the steering wasn't a problem on the move, just parking, and it handled better than it had a right to do.