1965 Ford Cortina

Now that I see your pic, I think I've mixed things up, it were the front tires that rubbed.

 

@Kerrynzl I will do some measuring before buying any tires.

 

Did some quick measuring and in the rear I have about 30mm of clearance between tire and wheel arch.
In the front just a tiny bit over 10mm of clearance between tire and strut, maybe 12-13mm.

205's might get tight in the front...

 

They will fit .
I had adjustable platforms on mine and the adjuster threads actually reduce clearance



But Cortina's have quite a large load bearing lip for the center bore of the rims to locate.
You can safely use 10mm spacers on them.

You can buy longer studs if you go down that path.
In NZ we cut 10mm spacers from steel and locate them on the hub with 2 x countersunk screws [so it becomes part of the hub ***embly]
This is a loophole in our Road regulations

 

I'm using a longer spring than on your picture, and already had to install longer studs + spacers to clear.
So it's the spring and platform that might rub the tire with 205's.

I wish I had a rim with the same width and backspacing so I could testfit one 205/60R13.

 

Me Mate Dave's....

 

Dave does great stuff.
My wheels are from him..

 

He certainly does! Clever boy

 

That is such a tidy engine bay.
I had a similar idea for my car from the beginning but than I realized it would cost to much money before it was done + I wanted to keep the car somewhat period correct, hence the 1500.

 

I'll see if I can dig out some Stateside Cortina pics - I have plenty! Ken Anderson's is a peach

 

Please do, even if I live in Sweden and not the US - One can never have too many Cortina pics.

 

Crankshaft, rods and pistons are in.
Getting there slowly.

 

Bought what I thought was a nice used GT-spec camshaft.
The seller seemed honest so didn't ask for pictures.

And this arrived in the mail, a piece of junk.
Atleast the seller was honest enough to pay me my money back.

 

Found a new in the box GT-cam 10 miles from home.

 

Got the new cam installed, along with the cam drive, cover and water pump.
Topped it all off by installing the newly made crank pulley.

 

Oil pan and head is on.
Looking more and more like an engine.

 

Rocker shaft installed and valves adjusted.



And since my Cortina rolled off the ***embly line in april '65 I celebrated this 60th anniversary by taking it for a spin and a quick wash to get the winter dust off of it.

Hopefully it will be more fun to drive with the new engine, it's very slow at the moment and I just feel very low on motivation with this car right now.

 

On that motivation front, see if you can find a neighbor kid that wants to go for a ride around the block. You get to talk about the car and they get to see something old and cool.

 

Well, motivation got so low that I offered the car up for sale last weekend.
And today it got sold, and I actually made a pretty decent profit on it so I'm very happy.

Time to think things through and then start the hunt for some early Ford hot rod material.

 

Congrats, since it was the direction you wanted.
Best of luck finding your next one, I'd guess you know who to ask over there.
May not hurt to put a wanted ad here.