Overhaul the 2.3 and hang a Sierra 5 behind it, more economical
the-lada-dude,
May 9, 10:19am
every where you go , you leave a trail of peanut shells
trogedon,
May 9, 10:39am
Your two comments were way below the belt. but funny!
extrayda,
May 9, 12:47pm
Each to their own, I just found the 2.3 unimpressive and didn't see the point in the extra 2 cylinders for such a small capacity increase. Always sounded like it was working harder than it wanted to. The 2.3 Ghia was quite a well specced car for it's day I agree.
Just saying that if I bought a Cortina I would be looking for the 2.0 Manual myself. Added bonus of being able to change gears, I haven't had a manual car since my Mirage (don't mock me, I was given it for free !).
mrfxit,
May 9, 1:12pm
Don't know personally but would a modded / rebuilt later & bigger v6 engine bolt in. As a mod on this age car, I would keep any mods strictly to bolt on mods for daily driving & keep the original gear in storage for a reno job.
Perhaps mild mods on a 2.6/ 3ltr v6.
Many years ago, a mate had a 2.3 v6 mk3 Cortina & he found that the falcon 6 Cortina diff was ok for cruising along with a shift kit in the std auto.
peja,
May 9, 1:32pm
Pristine body means it is absolutely worth restoring. That is always the most expensive part of restoring a car, and if that is still as good as you say then you are ahead from the start with it.
Overhauling the current engine is probably going to be the best way to go as it avoids the cost and hassle of having to certify it, and keeps it original which will help retain value. Putting electronic ignition on it would make it more drivable and add a bit of power if it doesnt already have that. Adding headers/ extractors (if available, may have to get some custom made) would get a bit more power out of it.
lookoutas,
May 9, 6:23pm
Had a look at the odo on the one we have in the workshop, and it sez 26K! Going by the condition, and knowing the owner, it would be right.
Is the Essex motor the same external size? No one would know if ya chucked a 3 lt in there. Nothing wrong with them. An alloy timing cog, modified oil pump drive and make sure the cooling is up to scratch, and they're goodaz. Couldn't kill them in Jetboats.
gph1961,
May 9, 6:55pm
GFY
contagious,
May 9, 8:00pm
Take my advise and listen to 123 francs he is great on any thing to do with ford cortinas help me with my mk5 with his knowledge
monaro17,
May 9, 8:14pm
I currently have a 2.3 Cortina. Great little car. Would love to find my old one I had from near new. 1982 Mk5 V6 in Gold. KP6725- according to carjam it's still around!
ema1,
May 9, 8:48pm
The Cologne series of Ford V6 engines were common in Europe and other places . I reckon a 2.8 Cologne or even the last Cologne the 2.9 V6 could make an interesting swap for the 2.3 V6. A number of Capri's were so fitted. I rather liked those 2.8 Cologne V6 Capri's actually, had a friend who had one which I drove on odd occasions . Edit. I agree with franc123. he's a guru on the type and on other makes as well. very informed chap he is. Gidday franc how's things ?
elect70,
May 10, 3:26pm
Noice but buying a Cologne V6 would be both expensive & hard to find but certainly would give the cortina some real go .
ema1,
May 10, 3:40pm
Actually the Cortina 2.3 V6 is part of the Cologne family, quite possibly the 2.8 version would be a simple swap. Edit . in fact the 2.8 and 3 litre Cologne V6's will swap easily in place of the 2.3.unit.
rssierra,
May 10, 4:21pm
There is no such thing as a 3l cologne engine. The 3l is an Essex UK engine with 6 separate exhaust ports. The Cologne engine family (2.3 and 2.8) is of German origin and has the two front exhaust ports on each cylinder bank siamesed so the exhaust manifold only has 4 branches not 6. My first car was a Mk5 2.3, the head gaskets went twice. Full reconditioned engine in the late 80's set me back $3k. I've owned an 86 mk3 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection Special for the last 22 years. Most of the comments above are uninformed or just plain wrong. Glendene Engine Reconditioners (Capri Club member) could likely source must of the parts you need or do the work for you should you be interested. Leaving it as is will be the way to go. Repowering will mean suspension, brake and bracing upgrade expenses to get certification and you will just devalue it.
ema1,
May 10, 6:34pm
Their enlarged version of the 2.8 V6 is 2.9 litre at 2935cc was used as a replacement for the Essex 3.0 V6 which is actually 2994cc .The Essex V6 came out in various capacities from 2.5 litre 2495cc right up to the 3.1 litre version which was fairly rare as was the biggest 3.4 litre which actually came out in two different sized versions 3375cc and 3412cc . interesting jobs they were. all were even firing 60deg V engines . Oddly the V4 Essex versions also produced in 60deg V form were odd fire shared journal engines. The only way to make those Essex V4's even firing was to either build them in 90degV block casting form or run off set journal design cranks in them which they never did. Over the years there were some very odd V designs involving narrow angle V and others with wide angle V with varying degrees of sucess. Lancia was one nearly 90-100 years ago that used a narrow V of about 11-12degV angle. Most of those narrow V and W design engines used a single complicated casting head setup with complicated machining of combustion chambers and inlet/exhaust trunking etc. There are other weird and wonderful designs in V and W designs mostly from Euro manufacturers . Mighty complicated some of those W engines are, IMO unnecessarily so .
GM did so with 90deg V6 Buick/Chev engines starting out as odd fire engines, they went to building offset crank pin crankshafts to achieve the even fire in their 90degV engines which were essentially were originally designed as 90degV8 engines with the front 2 cylinders lopped off. Renault Peugeot Volvo did the same thing with their V6 engines 25 -30 years or so ago. FYI. rssierra the 2.3 V6 used in the Cortina's was a Cologne design and I have actually had extensive experience on all those Ford Essex and Cologne V6 and V4 engines. and I do know what I'm talking about.
ema1,
May 10, 6:53pm
Addition to #41 . I would advocate leaving as factory and rebuilding the original 2.3 V6 engine as mentioned above. A swap would involve a lot of suspension & brake upgrades etc not to mention the issues such a swap could entail. Certifying would present plenty of issues for sure. Re the odd siamesing of the front four cylinders exhaust ports on the Cologne engine heads I wonder why they did that unless there were some design/development was mooted for the future. The Volvo PRV V6 engines even though they were a 90degV had exhaust ports close together on the back four cylinders but with the PRV V6 engines were actually originally as a V8 engine but being a Euro design took the cheap route to producing a V6 which was odd fire with shared journal crank initially then they changed them later on to even fire in a similar fashion to the GM/Buick V6 90degV engine aka latterly used in Holden Commodore in even fire configuration same as late Buick/Chev V6 engines were changed to even fire by using a revised off set journal design crankshaft.
ema1,
May 10, 7:21pm
Re my post #39 rssierra. I mean't 2.9 litre V6 Cologne when I put 3 litre Cologne (my bad) I made reference to the 2.9 several times in posts either side of that faux pas in fact. thanks all the same for picking that up.
snoopy221,
May 10, 7:51pm
Yip good people to deal with
Glendene Engine Reconditioners (Capri Club member) could likely source must of the parts you need or do the work for you should you be interested.
And keeriky. they would even add-as i will U Fullas juss KNOW zee dipstick side tells ya vich one zee is -LOL
Engine: The engine used is the Ford "Essex" 3 liter V6, used in such cars as the Granada and 3.0 Capri. And the "Cologne" Engine in later Cars (1986 on ?). They were so called because the "Essex" engine was made in the Ford Factory in Essex in the U.K. and the "Cologne" engine was made in the Ford Factory in Germany. There was a change in the "Essex" Engine around 1972. The visual check for the earlier engine is the Dipstick is located in the Front Timing Cover. An up-rated 3 liter engine was introduced from chassis No. 453501-454030 and from chassis No.931001.The uprated engine has the sump rearward and Dipstick on the right side of the Engine, between Spark Plugs 3 and 5, different carb and air cleaner, cut-out in bodywork to clear revised air cleaner. Unfortunately the only modification you can guarantee your getting from the engine number is the thicker cylinder walls (unless its been rebored) The rest is internal. (cam, inlet port, piston and cam drive gear changes). A lot of scimitars will also have Engines that have came from Fords, check the Engine number and if a Scimitar Engine it will start with SC. The Engine number can be found at the right rear top of the engine, just behind the right cylinder head, may be difficult to see if lots of dirt and oil in area. If it's not a "SC" number you will need to be careful that its not a low compression van engine, if it seems quieter and smoother than most then its likely to be a low comp. Very few, if any parts of the 2.5 V6 are interchangeable with the 3.0. Litre.
[awaits some knowledgable fulla ta mention the granada? with the dipzeeestick on zee left?
whqqsh,
May 10, 8:03pm
yup, they are good & if the same guy owns it from many moons ago they really do know their stuff even down to having NOS parts for my old Granada V6
snoopy221,
May 10, 8:22pm
curious re post#40 White one? I've owned an 86 mk3 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection Special for the last 22 years.
[Mike ex Koala Autos Green Bay]
rssierra,
May 10, 8:45pm
Yep. Was imported by Mike John along with a few others in 94.
snoopy221,
May 10, 8:55pm
Aye tis a small world sometimes ain't it. Nice example that one [Been a damn few years since i last drove it admittedly -lol]
edited to add ex central motoring nelson st city b4 koala
horses7,
May 10, 9:28pm
I owned both 2.0 ghia and 2.3 ghia and while not a lot of difference in performance the 2.3 was a much nicer car and is still one of my favourite cars,well worth rebuilding and would probably be improved with the sierra 5 speed but still a really nice classic in its original form
tigertim20,
Dec 6, 12:47pm
It was auto when he got it. They guy he bought it off was a mate of his - he pestered his mate for about 3 years to sell it to him, until he gave in and did so.
I was about 9 at the time so details are sketchy but he kept it quite a few years, and not too long after getting it put a 5 speed manual in it - Im fairly sure they worked out how to slip a sierra 5 speed box into it?.
I can't ask him for the details on it, he passed away three weeks ago.
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