| Re: The delights of owning an English sports car.
Perhaps not sports cars, but definately sporting cars.
Mk1 Escort twin Cam (Lotus). On its day, the best car I've owned. Unfortunately that day only lasted about three days. Resprayed under warranty, as the body shell hadn't been prepared for paint by the factory after it's trip from the UK on the deck of a ship! Burnt a valve, again under warranty. Went to collect it, to be told the mechanic was over the road at the BMC dealer, aquiring valve shims from a Morris 1500 to get my FORD going again. Ford Australia didn't have a clue about these cars.
However, Ford UK came up with a car that was brilliant. The Ford Cortina MK11 1600E was the first of the 'Ghia" line. These were never imported into Australia, and to the best of my knowledge, I'd guess about 12 came in. I've owned 2, and they made Aust built models look stupid. Far stronger feeling, demonstrated by spot welds every 3/4 of an inch, rather than the 3 inch spacing on the local cars.
The local Cooper 'S' was a delight, with twin fuel tanks and wind up windows. Pity the 3 bearing crank couldn't handle the pressure.
Clive |