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So i've been driving the Cortina for a bit now..

TypeRboy

Jedi Warrior
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... and it runs awesome! Everything works except the speedo ( What is it with me and speedo's? The lotus speedo refuses to work as well..) The suspension is just the right firmness, and ride height is perfect..( and adjustable of course..

The vented front discs stop just great, and the handling is very sharp for a car this old. The motor and trans just purr along ( you certainly couldn't call 59 HP a growl..)

I am getting asked about the car everywhere I go, even though it still has the old original faded out blue paint.

This car would be tons of fun with some serious power, so to that end work on the BDA is progressing at a much faster pace. I've sorted out a clutch for the aluminum flywheel, and found ign wires and a toothed water pump pully for it, and the cams are timed in. I just need to weld up my header and make a throttle linkage, and I'll be ready to slip it in. This means that I will have a nice running 1500 and 4 speed with 36K on them if anybody is needing them..
 

Sherlock

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Will that 4-speed work in a Mk 2 Cortina? I wouldn't mind swapping out the automatic in the 1969 Mk 2 for a suitable manual transmission.
 

Basil

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Congrats! Speaking of Speedo's, I recently got my little Nissan Pick em' up truck running after it had sat for two years. The Speedo wasn;t working in that either. Tyrned out the needle had become bent from the heat of the sun, which caused it to be rubbing against the face of the gauge. My first attempt to bend it back a bit resulted in me breaking the needle. So I had to take it off and epoxy the two pieces back together. When I put the needle back on, I just didn't push it down all the way on the shaft. Now it works great (and its ever faily accurate).

Don;t know if that could be your problem but you might have a close llok at the needle/face of your gauge.

Basil
 

waltesefalcon

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Who needs a speedo? The speedo on my pick up no longer works, the magnet is cracked. And I can't get a new speedo so oh well.
 
OP
TypeRboy

TypeRboy

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Naw, all my speedo heads work, it's the tranny speedo drives that are causing me the gremlins. I'm switching to round guages from my strip speedo anyway, so I'm not going to do anything about it for now. Besides, I can imagine that I'm going a million miles an hour, and who's to argue? Ha ha..

Hey Sherlock.. This trans was not used on the MK 2 Cortina's that I know of except in the Lotus Cortina's with a remote shifter arrangement ( and only then because they were available off the shelf with good ratio's for that application..) My tranny of course does not have the semi close ratio of the lotus...

All the other Mk 2's inc the GT came with a single shift rail version of this transmission, with the shifter comming out further back than the earlier three rail version like mine. ( both of these are called 2000E or Bullet transmissions, the single rail is just an uprated version with better shifting, but they both shift pretty nice..)

Mine would fit your car but would require the remote shifter extension ( pretty common piece if you happen to live in the UK, they are on the UK E-bay site all the time, go for abour 20 to 40 GBP..) You will probably find the hole in the floor for your shifter won't line up with my transmission, unless you happen to have a Lotus Cortina body shell in disguise.. And on cars with floor mounted hand brakes, the remote can interfere with it ( easy enough to rotate the brake handle out of the way mind you..)

My car does not have the remote shifter, so my shift lever is about a foot and a half long ( no joke! )These and the single rail transmissions are about 40 to 60 GBP in the UK from a breaker. Funny enough the Sierra type 9 transmissions are about the same price also, and these are a popular fit into the Mk2 Cortina's, particularily the auto box ones, as they have a larger transmission tunnel and don't require any surgery at all to fit.

The Type 9 is a 5 speed, and the advantages of that are obvious. If you contacted a wrecker in the UK they could provide you with everything you need to swap out inc pedal box I'm sure. I have had good luck just running searches for wreckers in the UK and going onto their websites. I haven't looked for a transmission mind you, but that's where to start.

I am going to sell my motor and transmission as a whole package when the time comes, which you are certainly welcome to, but It will be cheaper for you just to get the bits you need and just do the transmission. The period correctness of my pre crossflow and 3 rail tranny make it perfect for a vintage Super 7 or Elva or the like, and there are not many unbored ones left any more, so I expect to get about $600 - 800 US for it or so.. Just a bare 1500 block is worth $400 US..

You could have a 5 speed in your car for less than half that I'm sure. There is a great site for modding Cortina's, and they have all the answers for doing this sort of swap but I don't think I'm allowed to advertise another site on this forum, so you will have to e-mail me and I'll pass the site on to you, and anyone else who could use another resource for their Cortina.. My address is thegoodlife4us@shaw.ca

Mark
 
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TypeRboy

TypeRboy

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hers's a little more info from Burton power in the UK on this swap.. This was info for a MK1 with 1600 crossflow motor..

Stewart at Burton Power tells me that the ideal installation is as follows:
Sierra type 9 with an uprated clutch RD315A, Bearing #FP262a , Bearing
HD3259, Cover FP262a, and Plate FP260D. I think this will have the starter
in the correct place, and I'm told by o thers that it's a small package that
will fit in the existing transmission tunnel. BUT-- a lotus cortina owner in
New Zealand where I understand they do a lot of these, tells me that the
shift comes out further back then we are used to in the US
 

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
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My friend's race-Cortina (1600 pushrod) has some sort of 5 speed trans. I'm pretty sure it's from a Merkur (Sierra).
 

JM1NA

Senior Member
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This may be an aside, but I saw a very sweet '66( I think) Lotus Cortina and a '69 or '70 Cortina wagon at the brit car show yesterday. I took a mini mpeg video of the L Cortina driving away at the end, sounded fantastic...!
 
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TypeRboy

TypeRboy

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I'd like to try a Locort some day, just to see how the motor does in a bigger car..

The XR4TI 5 speed is a type 9 transmission, but the ratio's for the turbo application are not that great for a standard motor, unless it makes some good torque. It does fit nice though.

Another option is the 5 speed from the 4 cyl Amreican Mustang. I understand the bellhousing ' mostly ' bolts to the Kent block ( 4 out of 6 bolts..)which is enough for a stock motor in a street car. I may pick up a 5 speed from a Mustang to test fit and see if I can make it work better than ' almost '.. I have a spare Lotus Twink that could use a 5 speed, and I don't want to do another Alfa swap, it's too expensive.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif
 

GavinR

Member
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You'll have a problem using the Merkur box as the input shaft is longer and has a different number of splines to the Type9. It is a variation of the type9 but is the same as that used in the V6's in the UK. As you say the ratios are not ideal but they are better than standard anyway. The easiest fit is the Type9 out of the 1600 Sierra as this has the best ratios for a low powered car. 5th is overdriven in these boxes and 4th is direct. If you're going for high power then use the 2.0 box. Quaiffe and I'm sure Tran-X do straight cut gears for these enabling about 250-300bhp. Quaiffe also do a 6 speed sequential conversion if you've got loads of readies! The Merkur bell housings top 2 bolts are in the wrong place if I remember correctly, far easier to pull one out of the UK complete with bellhousing. I was getting these for 35 GBP but it was a while ago now and the shipping was about $200!

Hope this helps.

GavinR /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/canpatriot.GIF
 
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TypeRboy

TypeRboy

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Just for fun how much is the Quaife 6 speed?
 

GavinR

Member
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Don't recall exactly, it was a while ago I saw the advert and I can't recall where, but I think it was around 3000GBP.
The 5 speed straight cut kit is around 500GBP.

GavinR /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/canpatriot.GIF
 
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