Ideal for car hobbyists
It amazes me that there aren't more Ford Cortina mk2s on the road. They were very popular well into the 80s. Then they disappeared. I hope that there are many Cortina mk2 projects in the works and that we will see them on the road soon. Cortinas were simple vehicles. They were prone to rust and some components were not very durable, especially those marked "Lucas". Fortunately, the Cortinas are repairable for do-it-yourself mechanics - and thus well suited for car hobbyists. Few cars attract as much attention at motor shows as a beautiful Ford Cortina mk2.
Variants
The Cortina mk2 in Norway mainly consisted of the following options: 1300 Deluxe, 1600 Deluxe, 1600 Super and 1600 GT. The more rare editions, 1600E and Lotus were certainly possible to obtain, but far from a common sight. The model variants consisted of 2- and 4-door sedans, 5-door station wagons, and the option of a convertible through the company Crayford, which specialized in converting English Fords and BMW -02 and 3-series.
Cross flow
The engines were a further development of Ford's Kent engines - OHV, with Crossflow - a concept with intake on one side and exhaust on the other for optimal flow. The 1300 produced 54 HP, the 1600 Deluxe and Super produced 75 HP and the GT 82 HP. Super had more equipment than Deluxe, including more chrome. The GT had the same block as the 1600 Deluxe and Super, but a different carburettor and design on the exhaust manifold. The exhaust sound was a little harsher in the GT. It also had bucket seats and full instrumentation with a centrally positioned instrument cluster high up on the dashboard.
Fun to drive
The Ford Cortina mk2 is easy to drive and fun to drive. Not on the motorway and at high speeds, - but on country roads, preferably on gravel. You could drive actively with it. My first car was a 1970 model 1600 Deluxe - totally free of antispin and ESP, so that you could easily put the car up against the bends, use the throttle to steer the car through - happy to see the gravel splash out into the forest. The 75-horse reacted spontaneously to gas applications.
Not designed for winter
Like other cars of this time, the winter driving characteristics were not very good. On winter roads, you had to constantly "herd" the car with the steering wheel to keep it on a steady course. To get up steep hills, weight was needed at the back. I remember driving around with a couple of heavy bundles of welding wire in my luggage.
Model history
The Mk2 appeared in 1966. The first models had the same 1500 engine as the Cortina mk1, but got the new engines from 1967. For the 1969 model year, a small, cosmetic facelift came. The grille was slightly changed. The Cortina emblem in the middle of the grille got a blue frame instead of red, and the grille became more matte black. "FORD" chrome letters appeared on the front of the bonnet and on the rear of the boot lid. Inside, it got a new 3-spoke steering wheel with a padded cushion, and new interior door handles and window cranks. The lower part of the dashboard became matte black and not painted in the car's colour.
Ford Cortina 1600E
The Mk2 Cortina was a top seller in Norway too. Most of us who drove a Cortina had either a Deluxe or Super – and some had a GT . Few had heard of the “E” – Executive – the top model for British sales managers. The Cortina 1600E had walnut wood in the interior and all the equipment you could dream of at the time. The engine was the “Kent” 1600 crossflow engine trimmed from 75 HP to 82 HP with the same carburettor and exhaust manifold as in the Cortina GT. A small detail to note is the snobbish emblem on the C-pillar which forms a nice decoration especially on cars with vinyl roofs. There were two beautiful examples of the beautiful 1600E at the meeting. One was produced as late as 1971. At that time the Cortina mk3 was already in production. There must have been still good demand for the “old” executive model.
Lotus Cortina mk2
The uniformed service car for the Mid-Anglia Constabulary is one of two remaining 4-door Lotus Cortinas in existence. The car was restored over a ten-year period that ended in 2017.
Ford Cortina Crayford Convertible
Ford sent cars to Crayford Engineering for conversion into convertibles. They are rare. In Norway there is only one Ford Cortina mk2 Crayford.
About the pictures
The white car was photographed at a vintage car meet at RøhneSelmer Lillestrøm. The navy blue car is a 1968 Ford Cortina 1600 GT with only 15000 km on the clock! It has been a demo car at Ford's head office in Kolbotn. The last owner bought it from an estate. The photo of the silver-gray car from the paper photo was my own car. The photo was taken in 1977. The light blue car in the main photo is a facelifted version photographed in Åsgårdstrand at a Ford M Club meet. The two blue-painted 1600E (Executive) were photographed at a family event in Morden Park, London, in the summer of 2022. The maroon-colored car with a vinyl roof participated in the Brooklands Summer Classic Gathering, 2023. The red car with a Norwegian registration number is also a 1600E that participated in the 2024 Veteranbildagen, RøhneSelmer Lillestrøm. The beige car with English registration plates participated in the Enfield Pageant of Motoring 2025. The uniformed police car – a 4-door Lotus Cortina – and the convertibles also participated in the same event.
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