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Read-only historical archive.
Browse the preserved forum and gallery. Registration, login, uploads and account changes are no longer available.

Read-only historical archive.
Browse the preserved forum and gallery. Registration, login, uploads and account changes are no longer available.
October 17, 2026, 04:29:15 AM

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[CortinaD]

1980 Ford TE Cortina [Ghia] (May Build)

I purchased the car back in June 1997. It was fate! I had sold my TC gemini on the Sunday morning and my dad said lets go to the caryard to see if they had any cortinas. No such luck, they were closed. Dad said lets have a look at the suzuki yard so it wasn't a wasted trip and believe it or not, the moment we walked in a bloke was handing over the keys to the cortina as a trade in.

When he left we had a look at the car, it was clean, had small amount of rust on the passenger mirror mount, interior clean, everything worked, just needed a new water pump.



We told him $750 he said $1000, we gave him our number and said if he wants it cash when he calls. He grabbed us before we got out of the lot and the car was mine for $750.

I drove it home and they arranged for the rego transfers on Monday. Dad and I did the waterpump on the Monday night and I was driving it around on Tuesday...

The car remained basically stock for the next year. In1998 I started the modifications. Firstly with a set of extractors and 2 1/4 exhaust system and a 350 holley. I blew a few diffs and then a motor. Rebuilt the motor and put all the same equipment in the car and after it was run in put it on the dyno for the first time - 105rwkw.

I decided that it would be time to get the car painted. I had it painted in the same colour, ford blue (artic blue) but added some blue and red pearl. Had the door locks removed and boot lock removed to complete the deal.



Decided to enter it in a couple of carshows with some of the cortina crazy car club members and had a blast, eventually boring of the cars setup I put a bigger cam in the car and a 465 holley and the car rattled off 115rwkw. Put an Auto on and a 600 holley and the car did 122rwkw. Drove that around for a while, put in a LSD that i got from a cortina crazy car club member and then lowered it Got defected for being too low then decided to turbo the car in 2001.



Since then its been off the road. I have driven it a few times and then got defected again so I have since left it.

As part of the turbo conversion I did the braided line, better auto, more gauges, wheels etc.




The cars configuration as it is now is:

ZL fairlane 250 xflow block 8.2:1 compression, loose tolerances for more oil slosh at less pressure (running mobil 1 5W50)
balanced, half grout/resin filled
ACL 27cc pistons with chrome moly rings.
stock polished and peened rods
ARP bolts & head studs
stock crank but knifeedged, polished and peened
running on avgas 100/130
Rollmaster double row timing chain
Rollmaster adjustable cam timing set
Custom alternator bracket
C1 alloy race head, ported polished (exhaust) and flowed.
very large valves
bronze valve guides
Crow Cams 6777 double springs
head machined to take kline stem seals to clear inner spring.
yella terra fully adjustable roller rockers
moly pushrods
Surecam 300duration/.540 lift cam, 114 lobe separation retarded 6 degrees to sit 1 advanced. wild cam, Phil is a machine!!
antipump up lifters
modified engine mounts to fit low mount turbo
mofified firewall to take inlet manifold
2x910 fuel pumps, 4litre surge tank -8 fuel lines.
Facet lifter pump
all braided line & speedflow fittings.
braided -10 fuel lines into surge tank and -8 supply and -8 return tto/from rail.
-4 teflon braid oil supply line, -10 teflon oil return line
-4 teflon line for boost gauge
-4 teflon line engine oil pressure gauge
-4 teflon line transmission pressure gauge
-8 braid for booster
-8 braided for oil cooler and remote oil filter
-8 braided for turbo water feed and return lines
-10 braid for oil/air seperator
-8 in & out fram efi fuel filter
-6 for trans cooler
Customised Xf distributor non signature chopper phased 18degrees back and with extra tooth welded inside
modified tp magna core (2 hall sensors) moved to suit, crow cams hardend gear
MSD 6A CDI ignition system
MSD blaster 2 coil
Bosch super sport 9mm leads & eagle seperators.
modified (milled flat) xf/zl alloy rocker cover & 3/8 bsp tapped in to take -10 an for oil/air fittings
Malpassi fuel regulator
AU 3 falcon gear reduction starter motor
aircon unit removed
all sound proofing removed
custom heat shields for turbo and exhaust manifold
heater box modifed to fit around manifold
heating/cooling vent circut inside removed
fan circut inside car built to give hot air to front window only.
accelerator pedal modifed (along with cable listed elsewhere) to give more travel for better resolution.
Custom 2.7 metre double teflon throttle cable (with XF end throttle body side, cortina pedal side)
Battery reallocated to left hand side of the boot, Engine bay modified to remove battery tray etc.
custom battery mounting with quickrelease handle.
Custom fuel tank with 2x-10 speedflow pickups added to rear. front pickup deleted but sender retained.
Custom blow off made from XF falcon EGR valve and 90mm alloy block. perforate inner ring to help cope with >20psi.
Hidden wiring, removed all the junk ford put in that wasn't used.
Car completely rewired to accomidate all extra features that comes with fuel injection, locking etc.
EB Multippoint Throttle body modified to take modifed cable. The inbuilt idle control valve gives antilag, launch control and other features. allows car to idle smooth between 850 & 900 even with the big cam.
Earls trans cooler
Earls oil cooler
Lokar -8 24" braided trans oil filler
Earls remote oil filter kit to take holden oil filter **shudders**
Custom paint job
removed door locks, boot locks & badges
Custom intercooler (painted black now), each inner tube welded to plate and bellmouthed!! 630x450x55mm
Valeo core. sjf silicone.
K&N filter
Custom 9L inlet manifold, bellmouthed and mated to head
Custom exhaust manifold
Custom 3" exhaust (AAA exhausts) , stainless front race magnium muffler and resinator.
Custom exhaust flange for 3" dump and 1.5" screamer pipe.
Custom traction control setup, wheelspeed setup using AU falcon abs sensor & chopper disk for front and custom chopper disk for driven wheel input.
custom brackets for wheelspeed/traction sensors
MAC 3 way valve for boost control, boost control is mapped to each gear. 10psi 1st gear, 16psi 2nd gear, 23psi 3rd gear.
Custom brake setup using 287mm XY falcon rotors & S4/5 Mazda 4spot calipers using custom upright adapter
5stud conversion to take 5x114.3 wheels
18x7.5 Lenso LS5 wheels 35P offset from TyrePower Adelaide
225/35/18" nankang tyre
16" R32 GTS-T wheels for drags
and sometimes R33 GTS-T wheels.
Modified standard radiator to 3core.
Modifed waterpump front snout to take falcon GT engine fan and accmodate thicker radiator
6xS5 Rx7 high impedance injectors flowed at 585ccm at 85% duty at 45psi sitting in modified XF rail.
arp head studs now to keep the head on the block > 15psi boost - currently running 23psi.
26 spline MV c4/c9 auto, keas full manual valve body, 2000 rpm hd stall convertor.
trans modified to take extra clutchs
kevlar bands, A servo
Modifed standard shifter to suit the C4, extended linkage and modded gates
1.06 a/r single entry garret rear housing on the s5 rx7 core. 10mm custom spacer to put P trim rear wheel in correct spot on housing. Super v front for now with standard Rx7 front cover customised with a 3" alloy snout machined up and pressed on. Internally ported and polished. larger wastegate button. modified mazda wastegate to preset boost to 5psi on my engine, it only made 1psi standard.
Aurora (industrial HD springs)
Monroe GT gas shockers
Nolathane eurothane bushes all round, rubber bushings on top of diff.
3.23 4 pinion LSD diff, xf falcon centre, new gearset all in original cortina housing. redrilled axles to take 5 stud.
Autronic SM4 engine management, 1.06 chip version.
2xSoundstream 10" subwoofers in custom ported enclosure
gold power distribution blocks inside car to distribute power for everything.
Rockford Fostgate DSM reference amp 2 channel - according to factory test sheet 25wrms @ 4ohms per channel, 264 wrms @ 2 ohms per channel
Pioneer 6" mids in doors
Jaycar tweeters
Panasonic double din deck - VZ303
Panasonic 8 disc CD stacker
Mk3 Supra electric seats on custom rails.
Autometer ultralite boost
Autometer ultralite oil pressure
Autometer ultralite air fuel
Autometer ultralite pressure gauge 0-400psi (transmission)
Autometer sportcomp tacho
custom shift light using 4x ultrabrite amber leds controlled by autronic to give shift time based on gear.
Door locks removed from inside of vehicle, EL falcon central locking button installed inside.
Boot lock button also added inside.
VDO electric fuel pressure into Autronic
Battery isolation switch
Boomerang Alpha 2000 car alarm
rerolled and rechromed bumper bars
35% tint all round.
restored crash pad replaced the weatherd & cracked one.

obligatory defect sticker on front window after 2 days of registration

234rwkw@14.5psi with the old engine management (Haltech F9 with no ignition control, no rollers etc)
270rwkw@19psi with the old engine management (Haltech F9 with no ignition control, no rollers etc)
On the 234rwkw run it had 808Nm of torque @ from 2000 going down to 550Nm @5200rpm @ the engine using 25% estimate of loss thru auto drivetrain.
On the 270rwkw run it had 937Nm of torque @ from 1863 going down to 670Nm @5500rpm @ the engine using 25% estimate of loss thru auto drivetrain.


power flat from 2000rpm to 5500rpm,

old na combo with 122rwkw, auto gave 14.1@96mph - shifting gears at 5800 to 6000rpm
old turbo combo with 155rwkw auto gave 13.01@98mph - doing 92mph at the 1000ft mark, car refused to pull from then on due to incorrectly sized rear housing. shifting gears at 3200rpm

goal with 270rwkw to 300rwkw is flat 11 at about 120mph on street tyres (hence the traction control) with a revlimit of 5200 for 1st and 2nd and whatever in 3rd.

See my gallery here.
http://www.fordcortina.com.au/gallery/index.php?cat=10146

All work done by me with help from some boys in the cortina club.

[CortinaD]

Got enthused to rip the turbo off and send it in for some 66mm .7 a/r treatment.

Goal is to get at least 350rwkw on pump fuel going up to 25psi.

Here are some pics of the dis-assembly.











I will update this thread as it progresses.

[pcman]

i wanna see proof that your corty has EVER been driven


i think ive only ever seen a total of like 4 photos where your car ISNT in the shed pulled apart LOL

[CortinaD]

bwahahaha.

more photos thanks to nosman

[TE_JET]

Is that a MTQ upgrade? NIce if it is.... Look on the bright side, could have been one of those dodgy ebay jobs.... seen the one with the fins re-welded.. haha... Someone like Tristian will buy those..

[CortinaD]

Installed & running. I still need to finish off the air cleaner. surprisingly there is more room around the turbo than before although it doesn't look like it in the photos. I can fit my whole hand around the turbo and wastegate, i even put on all the fittings etc whilst it was in the car which used to be a assemble before installing job.  I think its because the new backplate protrudes about 10mm more forward and the scroll now sits in the open part of the engine bay rather than tucked in the innerguard where it forms around the suspension A bars.

[CortinaD]

Well she runs

car is idling cooler now by 10 degrees (dunno why), usually its at 85deg if its been idling for 30 minutes, today it was right on thermostat temp of 72

[pcman]

maby its happy to be started for once

so have you driven it yet ?

[CortinaD]

Nah not yet mate.

[pcman]

an den

we want updates mr 2007