Terry Sanger's Cortina V8 Mk1 (and others!) - Page 2

jonners · 7 Dec 2006, 15:04 (Ref:1784198)

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Turner

This is fascinating stuff, and thanks particularly to Pete Stowe. Perhaps we should make the task of this thread, the identification of all V8 engined Mk1 and Mk2 Cortinas, and try and plot their history.

I was going to suggest V6 Cortinas too but even though a V6 conversion for the Mk 1 was fairly popular even before Jeff Uren's 'Savage' Cortinas, I'm not sure any were raced in a meaningful way.

The only one I can think of is the ex Team Lotus/ex Alan Mann Mk 2 CTC 24E that was raced in [?] Northern Saloons at Croft by Martin Sledmore with a V6 with chopped bulkhead and so forth - early 70's I think

Anyone know any more about that particular car during that period??

VIVA GT · 7 Dec 2006, 17:01 (Ref:1784260)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonners

I was going to suggest V6 Cortinas too but even though a V6 conversion for the Mk 1 was fairly popular even before Jeff Uren's 'Savage' Cortinas, I'm not sure any were raced in a meaningful way.

The only one I can think of is the ex Team Lotus/ex Alan Mann Mk 2 CTC 24E that was raced in [?] Northern Saloons at Croft by Martin Sledmore with a V6 with chopped bulkhead and so forth - early 70's I think

Anyone know any more about that particular car during that period??

I don't know about the car in period, but there is an ex Alan Mann Mk 2 Cortina around now with a highly tuned Cosworth YB engine in it...

B and H · 7 Dec 2006, 19:40 (Ref:1784384)

If my memory serves me well the following may be useful,

Doc Merfields Ford Cortina Coventry Climax engined car was definately a Mk 2.

John Kirmonds Ford Cortina was powered by a 4.2 Lt Jaguar engine

Townsend and Dobbins shared the 4.6 Lt Daimler engined Damfraud Cortina.

Sid Taylor appeared at Silverstone (24th March 1968) inthe ex Drury/Sanger

car which was later raced by John Scott Davis.

Please somebody shed some light into the dim and distant past and back me up or shot me down in flames.

big andy · 7 Dec 2006, 20:51 (Ref:1784445)

there was a light blue one that raced in super saloons in 1975/6 http://www.racing70s.pwp.blueyonder....na_shelton.jpg

B and H · 8 Dec 2006, 09:56 (Ref:1784955)

Quote:

Originally Posted by big andy

there was a light blue one that raced in super saloons in 1975/6 http://www.racing70s.pwp.blueyonder....na_shelton.jpg

The car in your photograph is the 1700cc Ford Cortina GT belonging to Peter Shelton, who I believe hailed from Northampton. Peter was a regular competitor at Silverstone from the early 70s in this car. It was famous for it's mock-number plate which read - at the front - 'WOT 4' and on the back - '2 WIN'.

jonners · 8 Dec 2006, 10:09 (Ref:1784965)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I don't know about the car in period, but there is an ex Alan Mann Mk 2 Cortina around now with a highly tuned Cosworth YB engine in it...

The only ex Alan Mann Mk 2 Cortina around is CTC 24E which is now owned by Alan Mann again and was sold to him with a BDA engine fitted.

You might be thinking of a very highly tuned Mk 2 painted in Alan Mann colours that has featured in numerous magazines - not a car with a racing history although it is ridiculously quick on the drag strip

B and H · 8 Dec 2006, 11:35 (Ref:1785029)

Quote:

Originally Posted by B and H

The car in your photograph is the 1700cc Ford Cortina GT belonging to Peter Shelton, who I believe hailed from Northampton. Peter was a regular competitor at Silverstone from the early 70s in this car. It was famous for it's mock-number plate which read - at the front - 'WOT 4' and on the back - '2 WIN'.

Apologies - having checked a few later programmes I discover that that same car was later fitted with a 5.0 ltr V8 engine.

zefarelly · 11 Dec 2006, 12:13 (Ref:1787888)

Quote:

Originally Posted by big andy

there was a light blue one that raced in super saloons in 1975/6 http://www.racing70s.pwp.blueyonder....na_shelton.jpg

Appendix K tastic ! you actually used to see hotted up road cars like that when I was little . . . .now it seems the only Cortinas in Sussex are at my house !!!

Dan Rear · 12 Dec 2006, 13:46 (Ref:1788956)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonners

I was going to suggest V6 Cortinas too but even though a V6 conversion for the Mk 1 was fairly popular even before Jeff Uren's 'Savage' Cortinas, I'm not sure any were raced in a meaningful way.

The only one I can think of is the ex Team Lotus/ex Alan Mann Mk 2 CTC 24E that was raced in [?] Northern Saloons at Croft by Martin Sledmore with a V6 with chopped bulkhead and so forth - early 70's I think

Anyone know any more about that particular car during that period??

The Sledmore car was a bit later than that I think, I saw it at Donington in 1977, and recall it in Croft reports too that year, and 78 aswell IIRC.

damfraud · 17 Dec 2006, 15:16 (Ref:1792871)

A little bulk to the V8 Cortina discussion. Gerry Dobbins built a V8 Mk 1 four door Cortina using a Daimler SP 250 engine (ex Chris Skeaping I think). He used the car on the road in his television repair business and did some racing.
He then built a 4.5 litre Mark 1 Daimler Cortina using the DQ450 (Majestic Major) Engine (complete with automatic gearbox) with/for Piers Townsend.
It was very basic with standard Cortina suspension with Jaguar beam rear axle. When the Murfield/Drury cars appeared it was technically outclassed.
It did race at Crystal Palace, Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Castle Combe, Snetterton and Mallory but by the time engine problems had been (partially addressed) the chassis had lost interest and it was sold as a road car.
An article in Cars and Car conversions in the late 60's covered its construction.

terence · 18 Dec 2006, 08:17 (Ref:1793310)

I wonder who DAMFRAUD could be!

**John Turner** · 18 Dec 2006, 10:00 (Ref:1793351)

Well, he is very welcome here, whoever he is, with informative posts like that one!

zefarelly · 18 Dec 2006, 11:50 (Ref:1793435)

1964 – DP Merfield - Cortina V8 4727cc (yellow/black)

Was this car not beigey colour rather than full on yellow? I have a Lotus advert with it in the background, although it may be a colourised B&W shot

1965 – DP Merfield or Miss CL Newbold – Cortina V8 4727 (yellow)

I also have a B&W phot of Miss CL Newbold racing a dark coloured MK1 GT ( pretty sure its std not V8) at Brands in August 1964

Are either of the drivers still around ?

terence · 18 Dec 2006, 19:14 (Ref:1793907)

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Turner

Well, he is very welcome here, whoever he is, with informative posts like that one!

I,ll not spill the beans,but I was speaking to him last week,saved me giving the above info!

david birchall · 23 Dec 2006, 05:57 (Ref:1798132)

In 1967 I was living in Guildford and a friend bought a V8 powered Lotus Cortina from an ad in AutoSport I think. It had a Daimler V8 and went very well. One day five of us piled in and belted down the A31 'Hogs Back' road to see the stock car races at Farnham (?), Aldershot (?). Jeff, the owner of the car was pursuaded to enter it in the timed laps section of the event and without taking it out of 2nd gear he set the fastest time that had been set by a road car up til then. We blasted off back to Guildford with an indicated 135 mph showing on the speedo at times! I went off to sea shortly after, ostensibly to make enough money to buy a Lotus Cortina and fit a 4.7 Ford... I never heard what happened to Jeff's car.

Eric Falce · 23 Dec 2006, 08:59 (Ref:1798165)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Check this out, I can't accept the credit for originally posting it on 10/10ths but its bloody brilliant and has shots of the Cortina. http://www.jannousiainen.net/storage/1967.wmv

Do you know how much this has cost me.Came into work this morning,all the fitters are glued to the computer,laughing and pointing,would not budge untill the bloody thing finished,well done,trouble is I was at a lot these races!

Eric Falce · 23 Dec 2006, 09:20 (Ref:1798170)

A lot has been said here about Doc Merfield,but what about the time Jeff Uren gave him a drive in one of the Willment Cortinas,he rolled it on what was then bottom bend at Brands,went back to the V8 after that!
He was still bloody mad,the way he handled that Cortina was a very instructional sight.

Steve O'Brien · 29 May 2007, 08:07 (Ref:1923491)

Hi all just found this great site as regards to Terry Sanger's V8 my father Harry O'Brien raced this car in 1968 along with his partner John Scott Davies I have a photo of my father taken at Silverstone I think in July 68, the whole time they owned the car it was plagued with over heating the even tried running the car with two radiators at one stage, my father raced the car at Croft I think with the Doc Mirfield car also in the same race needless to say my father's retired with the car over heating at the time my father and John Scott Davies owned this car they also had the ex Brien Redmen Chevron B5 BRM which they sold to Willi Green at the end of 1968 the cortina was also sold around this time but I dont know who too
Steve O'Brien

COLIN STUBBS · 31 May 2007, 19:51 (Ref:1925629)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonners

I was going to suggest V6 Cortinas too but even though a V6 conversion for the Mk 1 was fairly popular even before Jeff Uren's 'Savage' Cortinas, I'm not sure any were raced in a meaningful way.

The only one I can think of is the ex Team Lotus/ex Alan Mann Mk 2 CTC 24E that was raced in [?] Northern Saloons at Croft by Martin Sledmore with a V6 with chopped bulkhead and so forth - early 70's I think

Anyone know any more about that particular car during that period??

Here it is at Cadwell.....

VIVA GT · 3 Jun 2007, 17:37 (Ref:1927753)

Quote:

Originally Posted by COLIN STUBBS

Here it is at Cadwell.....

Isn't this the car that's ended up with a Cosworth YB engine in it?
I don't think it's ever made any serious competition outings since, but did feature in the Ford magazines and at variou Ford shows maybe about 10 years ago...

jonners · 4 Jun 2007, 08:57 (Ref:1928193)

See previous posts - this ended up with a BDA fitted and with that engine it was sold back to Alan Mann a couple of years ago

JAO · 22 Jun 2007, 09:50 (Ref:1944066)

Hi there.Last race ever at Crystal Palace,Doc Mirfield raced his MK2 V8 coventry climax engined Cortina.A couple of weeks later the car had its front suspension,which was still MK2 original,modified by Chas Beattie.He rectified a bump steer problem and added two extra front shocks,one each side alongside the McPherson struts.

**John Turner** · 23 Jun 2007, 11:29 (Ref:1944854)

That can't be right surely? The last race ever at CP was Race 8 of the Daily Mirror Historic Race meeting on 23 September 1972. That last race was the AMOC Historic Sports Car Race and had a grid full of Listers, Maseratis and Jaguars.

st-dave · 23 Jun 2007, 21:16 (Ref:1945129)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Isn't this the car that's ended up with a Cosworth YB engine in it?
I don't think it's ever made any serious competition outings since, but did feature in the Ford magazines and at variou Ford shows maybe about 10 years ago...

That car was raced by Martin Sledmore.
http://www.racing70s.pwp.blueyonder..../cortina_1.htm

SidewaysFeltham · 27 Jun 2007, 18:55 (Ref:1948369)

Just my two penneth.

Doc Murfield's Fraud Cortina was an early Mk I; it used a US Ford V8. Two rads in the boot, mounted on the floor, cooled by two large electric fans.

The car was bought and run thereafter by Brian Bolton from Chelmsford Essex: Brian used to tow this monster behind his Mk II Jag 3.8 saloon.

Terry Sanger's car was indeed originally built by Terry Drury. Terry was a development engineeer who worked for Ford at the Dunton engineering centre in Essex, on dyno testing, development engines. Terry's assistant at the time, told me that when they were working nights, they would gallop through the official work and then spend the rest of the time tweaking the gasflow on Terry's big Anglia (from memory a twin cam taken to two litre).

In fact I can probably claim the fame for the first Mk I Cortina V6, which I built from Bengt Soderstroms Safari Rally car (Mk I GT Cortina, pre- rear axles links) for another Ford colleague, Pete Calderwood , after I left Ford Europe and set up my own racing and tuning business and retail garage, Felspeed Racing etc. (1967)

The engine was an ex development unit bought from Dagenham; cams were blank unground and ground to a blind faith and charity profile by Piper Cams in Kent! (I used D Type Jag overlaps and left the lift profiles to David Piper!).

Carb was a four barrel of some sort: Pete worked in a Ford area which included what was called, unpoetically, Industrial Engines - which were Ford mills sold to various other manufacturers of boats, industrial plant, military stuff etc - but their remit also included supplying all the US Ford V8s to Rootes for the Sunbeam Tigers. When Chrysler bought Roots, they junked all the V8 engines and mucho ancilliary kit: which we bought and sold to John Wolf and others, keeping certain bits for the V6 project.

The V6 was a beastie but did win points first time out in the old Redex trophy for Special Saloons at Brands.

I had to make up the exhaust manifolds first crack from german bending mild steel tube and in those days gas welded!

The car on full chat sounded like an old Commer T3 turbo diesel truck!

Happy days.

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