I spent today at a friends house helping him get his car started for the first time. This is an English Ford, a 1964 Ford Corsair, these were never sold in the US and were the next model "up" from the Cortina (they were built on a Cortina floor). They were slow and unpopular as they were more expensive than the Cortina but didn't really offer anything extra to the Cortina.
So, this is a 1964 model that my friend has been building for the last 10 years, it is a Pro-Street build, using a full chassis and roll cage, running a narrowed axle and powered by a rather nice 302. I painted it for him a few months ago and today was the day where all the excuses NOT to start i had run out! This car has been completely built by Lee in the 18' x 18' garage on the side of his house. It runs a bit hot, but sounds very nice.
https://www.facebook.com/gary.barnett.7/videos/10213930653239541/
(http://imagehosting.rodsnsods.co.uk/2425986375c7ff77.jpg)
(http://imagehosting.rodsnsods.co.uk/2425986375d07f42.jpg)
(http://imagehosting.rodsnsods.co.uk/2425986375cc0e67.jpg)
Still got the interior to sort out (it will be done in the same style as original) but there's nothing more satisfying than that first fire-up!
There are a few styling similarities with early 60's Thunderbirds, but by the time the designers had finished reducing the proportions to make them more "English" the lines don't flow as well as a Thunderbird.
even for being a 4 door, it still looks great. Love the lines on it! Looks like you're spending time with the right crowd,Gary.....thanks for posting.
That is different, almost looks like a Volvo from the rear corner. A buddy of mine is building a early 60s English Ford Consoul Capri, kinda looks like a mini Starliner. 302 Ford a T5 5 speed. Very uncommon car here, even in Western Canada, he has spent a bunch of $$$$ for shipping bits from Great Britian. When I was a kid, my Dad owned a 1955 Zephyr Mk.1, kinda looked like a miniture 50 Mercury.
Ford UK took a LOT of styling inspiration from Ford USA but by the time the English designers had reduced the dimensions to make them more "English" (ie. narrower & shorter for our roads) and installed an underpowered 4 pot & 3 speed column shift, they just weren't as appealing as anything from Detroit.
The Ford Consul Capri was a nice looking car with definite Starliner styling ideas, but wasn't popular and didn't sell well. A lack of rust proofing and several water traps were not the ideal combination for our wet weather and use of salt on the roads so few survive.