Ford Cortina Mk I Testing - 1962 

Just as good - considering how under powered the brakes were;-)

Cars now are too fast too many of them and almost none are made by a British company. This was 55 years ago for God's sake

Actually no.... only 48.5 BHP..:lol!

It's a graphic reminder of how far car design has come, modern cars weigh nearly twice as much, accelerate twice as fast, brake twice as quickly and use vastly less fuel and emit far lower emissions while requiring far less maintenance and lasting far longer. I love these old videos but we have come an awful long way.

I can remember the car I passed my driving test in my dads Austin 1300 it struggled to reach 70 mph the car I own now you struggle to keep you driving license it just tick over at 70 mph

Nick Jervis My thoughts exactly

Yes they were. My parents got a Cortina that was assembled in Amsterdam. The Dutch gave them some after market rust prevention kit. (Dinitrol or so?) The smells were horrible but it worked very well. 100,000 almost flawless miles within 5 years, and we've seen the cars for many more years in the hands of its second buyer. The MkII though was of most horrible quality (meaning the square-boxed Cortina)

So is a Ford Ka.

not really just where the front suspension leg was bolted to the rest was about average for the period

MK2 somw would Rust terribly If you was an unlucky buyer ho bought a "strike" car i think it was around 1969 to 70? many cars here left out in the open when the strike was over they just finished them off n painted them hey where rust boxes

We hated our Cortina Mk1 Estate as kids especially the damp morning push-start calls, but it did manage 11 years life with a lot of Isopon and filler work and occasional MoT welding. It mechanically suffered no more than needing a fully reconditioned engine, the occasional clutch, a new diff, propshaft bearing replacement and another cracked cylinder head repair, so in hindsight the Ford gearbox was clearly very good indeed and must have escaped the attentions of the Value Engineering Department.

@H HOUR HOTEL 😁😁lol.depending on how many young Dores one had.We had 3 half dores 2 side dores 1 back Dore and several swing dores!

They were very tail happy and unsafe cornering at high speed (if youcan call 85 km per hr high speed). We kids use to take ours for a joy ride when our parente were asleep.

Bloody mate you had some dosh !

CAMPBELL NUTTING It's likely stock music from one of the British Production Library music houses of the UK, such as DeWolfe, Hudson, KPM, or Chappell, which were not produced for public consumption. That is to say, no, it's likely not available.

Both are by johnny/John scott and the first one is 'no speed limit' and the second is 'hundred miles an hour'

@@padraigodonnell6081 thank you I've been wondering for years 🙂

@@campbellnutting3663 FOLLOW THE LINK IN THE DESCRIPTION.

Yup, the majority were on the scrap heap before ten years / 100,000 miles. Back then going 'round the clock' was a big achievement. These heretige films are great, but they do highlight how incredibly well developed the car is now.

@H HOUR HOTEL 😁lol

eurouc They were thinking they needed a stock theme or two from the DeWolfe, KPM, or Chappell Library... and that's what they got. They probably searched for themes with tags like "exciting" or "uptempo" or "jazzy, modern sound"... that's how they tended to label them. Unfortunately, I'm not able to identify the themes, but I can tell that's what they are.

You just don't know how to swing, man. Like, hitch up your Yak cart, and trundle on back to Squaresville, dig?

@@QuadMochaMatti Awakening, man. You're really groovy in a far out kind of way.

It was par for the course back then.. You have to remember that this is heading on for 60 years ago.

Hi king Fritter, off the top of my head around the mid to late 1970's. The Cortina was a 1966 model. I know for a fact the guy who bought it off me for £300 wrote it off soon after when he drove up to Scotland. I timed the 0 - 60 in 10 seconds which seemed really fast compared with my previous car which was a clapped out 1961 850 mini. I wish I had it now as you can do so much to the Mk 1 model.

A trait common in cars up to the late 80's and sometimes beyond

+Mike Waite I hadn't realised that column change was an option at one time on the Cortina. I remember some Cortinas, like my friend's dad's, had a very long unwieldy angled gear lever which emerged from the floor under the dashboard, just behind the bulkhead, whereas most (even very early pre-Aeroflow Consul Cortinas with the solid arm for indicators, sticking out of the steering column) had the lever emerging further back just in front of the seats, in the position that most cars have the lever these days. The only column change I remember was on the automatic - certainly on my dad's 1967 Corsair and I think also on the Cortina. Was the position of the gear lever determined by model or could you choose the position for any model?

@@Mortimer50145 I think it depends on whether bench seat at front was specified. No matter what spec though ,Cortinas have loads of character, practicality & style which NO modern car could ever equal.

It would save the embarrassment of stalling the car in gear if you brought the car to a complete halt. Why would pressing the clutch in addition to the brake be regarded as something which was so bad that it would be a test failure? I'd regard *not* doing it as reason for failure.

It's the correct way to do it. In an emergency stop the engine braking would become a flywheel effect and actually not stop as quickly as instantly declutching.

Indeed, and fetches vast sums at auction. I suppose it's nearest 'modern' equivalent is the Sierra cosworth, which is also fetching insane money now - into 6 figures for mint RS500's. I can't see any variation of the mondeo beibg so coveted.

But then, neither is the average person.

@@PhilOsGarage but then, it 4 wheels not 2

Sakorn Sridech wwwwww wot?

So how do YOU do it?

Sir Ron Norris the proper way.

@@cJ-cr8gp Serious question j c - what is the proper way nowadays? You see, I drive a Morgan and I still heel-and-toe, match engine revs and use engine-braking. I only use the brakes to come to a stop (emergency or not) or avoidance of others. Now I know these are skills that have largely been lost - so how should I emergency brake without stalling the car?

Sir Ron Norris I think you know the answer. During an emergency stop of a manual car only the footbrake should initially be used. Cadence braking should subsequently be adapted if the wheels have stopped rotating due to the road surface or excessive pressure. By leaving the clutch engaged at this stage you are assisting the resistance from the driving wheels or wheel. The skill then is to depress the clutch pedal immediately before the car comes to a stop in order to prevent the engine from stalling. It takes practice.

@@cJ-cr8gp Bullshit.