Thank you for giving the "L Decor" a mention at the end, produced for just one year of manufacture, (at Dagenham here in the UK) also made in Ford's Plant in the Netherlands, a few of the Dutch built ones were imported back in to the UK, and were registered on the "N" plates, (September 1974) so you saw a few of the last L Decors with an "N" reg, and a lot of the (New Right Angle Chrome Letter "L") Badge design, on the "N" reg cars too. I enjoyed both your videos on the Ford Cortina Mk3 Series Two & Series One models, that you have done so far, I have both brochures (and many others on the Mk3), in my large personal archive of all things related to the Cortina Mk.3., that I have been collecting since October 1970, (launch day), including super rare original Ford Documents, they were throwing out back in the 1980's I saved. And I have advertising for the "L Decor" which as far as I was told, by my contact at FoMoCo at the time, was never released to the public, as by that time the cars were selling so well, the Dutch built ones had to be imported to meet demand, due to strikes at Dagenham, and with parts suppliers, delaying UK production, at the time, The (Cortina "L") model was Fords best seller in the range over all three of it's badge styles, with the Cortina "XL" in second place in terms of numbers sold, here in the UK, hope you found all that interesting.
Thank you for your comment- really interesting stuff. The L Decor has always been an interest to myself even though I have found very little literature on them.
My parents had a red 1974 M reg XL estate around the time I was born! I think it was a 2000cc. It had RoStyle sports wheels. Before that I believe they had a white 1972 saloon, XL or maybe even GXL. I would love a post facelift Cortina mark 3 for my fantasy garage: a 2000E saloon. If there was space then I`d have a base model saloon. Talking of which: I think the base model retained single round headlamps from the phase 1 but inside a matt black grille instead of a chrome one. Shame the base model Cortinas weren`t pictured for this brochure.
I had a 2000XL which was quite a quick car but I only averaged around 25mpg. It had a vinyl roof and was tempted to change the wheels to make it look like an E. I believe a 2000 E estate was available in 1974 which was a very desirable car in my opinion
A very cool car at the time, American styling with that Coke bottle shape. The dash board was carried over to the Mk4 and Mk5 also the wheels on the GT and E became the GL wheels on the MK 4 and 5. Also a popular car in South Africa ,New Zeland and Australia were the Cortina was made, The Australian Cortina came also with a straight 6 cylinder engine with engine size 2.5 and 3.3 . A car with a lot of character a great car . Great video take care🚗👍
Yes here in Australia all Cortina models from the Mk.111 to the Mk.V were available with the inline six cylinder engines either 3.3 litre or 4.1 litre not 2.5 as mentioned.
Enjoyed your comments at the end as my father had a 1.6 L-decor (WUB 878N) as a company car. It had vinyl seats, the trinket tray, heated rear window,, 165 radial tyres, plain chrome hub caps. It did not have a clock, tachometer, or hazard warning lights. We think the front seat belts were intertia but can't remember if the screen washers were electrically operated from one of the three stalks or if it had the floor mounted manual rubber pump.
@nickyboy:, The car you mentioned your Dad owned was a Blue 1600cc L Decor, built in July 1974, and first registered in September 1974, (so one of the very last "L Decors), the car was last used on the road on the !st October 1985, so lasted 11 years, and 3 months, she may have been one of the Dutch imports, as a number of the last L Decors on the N registrations were built in the Netherlands, and Ford imported some in to the UK to meet demand for the model, due to production delays with strikes at Dagenham, and suppliers, from Factory all L Decors came with Vinyl Seats, the fabric option was extremely rare to see, on one, in fact I only ever saw 2 out of the thousands that were on the road new, in the 1970's, and still around in the early 1980's, a very rear model version now, as few genuine ones survived..I bet your Dad loved it as it was "The" car most people wanted as their Company car, the Mk.3 was a beautiful, car, and great to drive, I bought my first one back in 1976, and I still own it. plus another 2 of them, in my classic car collection,
Ah the GXL XL AND L A guy across the road had a RED brand new M reg GXL. My dad didnt quite follow suit. He bought a Gold Hillman Avenger GL Did have a vinyl roof though... Fords looked so modern (for the time) in the 70s. Austin and Morris were years behind with the styles
The Mk3 Cortina replaced the boxy Mk2 in 1970 and also the Corsair. The early cars had round headlamps, with the GT and GXL twin lights. At the facelift lights were rectangular except the base model. Had coke bottle styling like the Vauxhall Victor FD introduced three years earlier in 1967. A 2000 GXL or 2000E in Daytona yellow with black vinyl roof was my favourite model.
Looking back, now; the Mk3 was a beautifully designed/shaped car (I ALSO like the Mk 5, though!) I find it strange that the dashboard was changed in the Mk3 to the newer styled one, used in the Mk4 (and Mk5?) Why introduce that dashboard in the Mk3, when Ford were going to use it for the later models? A bit of a mystery to me...
I think because Ford had introduced the new award winning dash on the last of the Mk 3 Cortinas, they decided to carry it over to the Mk4. The dash was so good that they continued using it on the new Mk5 Cortina. They also did the same on the Capri Mk1 facelift model, where the new dash was carried over to the new Mk2 model, and later carried over to the Mk3. The new and improved floor pan fitted to the last mk1 Escorts was also carried over to the new Mk2 Escort. In all, I think it's probably a good way of testing changes out before they introduce a new model.
In some areas of the world, like Africa, these Cortinas got a 3 band radio featuring FM MW and Shortwave, whereas European models had an AM (MW / LW) radio. The Shortwave facility was useful as there were areas of the world where there were no AM and FM stations, except inside larger provinces and cities like in India for example, and you could listen to BBC World Service, Radio Luxembourg, Radio Netherlands and various other international shortwave broadcasters using the SW facility included on Ford Cortina radios with shortwave, but when stations closed down on selected frequencies to switch frequency coverage to different target areas of the world using directional shortwave antennas, or often changed shortwave frequency like BBC World Service did, at various times of the day and night, it became dangerous to retune the radio on the move, say if a station finished broadcasting on a particular frequency and switched to another.
Lovely look at the cortina brochure from back in the day, my dad had a yellow 4 door 1.6 GXL from brand new in the seventies upto the early ninties (strange as this model isnt listed in the brochure) but the rust gremlins took hold and the front inner wings rusted through, my dads GXL didnt have a vinyl roof but did have a lot of the E goodies sporty wheels, black vinyl interior etc. cant remember if these goodies were a sport pack that could be purchased extra 😊
@andyroberts9562: The "GXL" model had a Vinyl roof fitted as standard, equipment, and so if your Dad's car did not have one, then it most likely was an "XL" model, as the vinyl roof was an optional extra on that one, but the interior trim as standard was very close other wise, IE the same fake wood trim on the dash and door cards, for example, on the Series One "XL" & "GXL", here in the UK. Ford Exported the cars to 49 countries world wide, and there were different trim, and spec changes for different markets, but I have never ever seen a genuine "GXL" that did not have a vinyl roof fitted from Factory, on a brand new one. and I remember the Mk3 Cortina;s in showrooms in 1970, and on the roads by the thousands, I own 3 of them, and bough my first one 48 years ago, back in 1976, as a new car,with only 250 miles on the clock at the time, (which I still Own), The GXL was made between October 1970-September 1973 (Series One cars, and the Brochure featured in this video is for the New improved Series Two models September 1973 on wards which is why the GXL is not in it, as the Brand New 2000E replaced it as Top of the range spec. hope you find all that helpful and interesting.
Thank you for giving the "L Decor" a mention at the end, produced for just one year of manufacture, (at Dagenham here in the UK) also made in Ford's Plant in the Netherlands, a few of the Dutch built ones were imported back in to the UK, and were registered on the "N" plates, (September 1974) so you saw a few of the last L Decors with an "N" reg, and a lot of the (New Right Angle Chrome Letter "L") Badge design, on the "N" reg cars too.
I enjoyed both your videos on the Ford Cortina Mk3 Series Two & Series One models, that you have done so far, I have both brochures (and many others on the Mk3), in my large personal archive of all things related to the Cortina Mk.3., that I have been collecting since October 1970, (launch day), including super rare original Ford Documents, they were throwing out back in the 1980's I saved.
And I have advertising for the "L Decor" which as far as I was told, by my contact at FoMoCo at the time, was never released to the public, as by that time the cars were selling so well, the Dutch built ones had to be imported to meet demand, due to strikes at Dagenham, and with parts suppliers, delaying UK production, at the time, The (Cortina "L") model was Fords best seller in the range over all three of it's badge styles, with the Cortina "XL" in second place in terms of numbers sold, here in the UK, hope you found all that interesting.
Thank you for your comment- really interesting stuff. The L Decor has always been an interest to myself even though I have found very little literature on them.
My parents had a red 1974 M reg XL estate around the time I was born! I think it was a 2000cc. It had RoStyle sports wheels. Before that I believe they had a white 1972 saloon, XL or maybe even GXL.
I would love a post facelift Cortina mark 3 for my fantasy garage: a 2000E saloon. If there was space then I`d have a base model saloon. Talking of which: I think the base model retained single round headlamps from the phase 1 but inside a matt black grille instead of a chrome one. Shame the base model Cortinas weren`t pictured for this brochure.
I had a 2000XL which was quite a quick car but I only averaged around 25mpg. It had a vinyl roof and was tempted to change the wheels to make it look like an E. I believe a 2000 E estate was available in 1974 which was a very desirable car in my opinion
A very cool car at the time, American styling with that Coke bottle shape. The dash board was carried over to the Mk4 and Mk5 also the wheels on the GT and E became the GL wheels on the MK 4 and 5. Also a popular car in South Africa ,New Zeland and Australia were the Cortina was made, The Australian Cortina came also with a straight 6 cylinder engine with engine size 2.5 and 3.3 . A car with a lot of character a great car .
Great video take care🚗👍
Thank you all the best
Yes here in Australia all Cortina models from the Mk.111 to the Mk.V were available with the inline six cylinder engines either 3.3 litre or 4.1 litre not 2.5 as mentioned.
My Dad had a yellow 4 door Mark 3 Cortina 1.6 L. It arrived on the 1st, August 1973 when I was 11 months old. We called the car Primrose.
Lovely
Enjoyed your comments at the end as my father had a 1.6 L-decor (WUB 878N) as a company car. It had vinyl seats, the trinket tray, heated rear window,, 165 radial tyres, plain chrome hub caps. It did not have a clock, tachometer, or hazard warning lights. We think the front seat belts were intertia but can't remember if the screen washers were electrically operated from one of the three stalks or if it had the floor mounted manual rubber pump.
@nickyboy:, The car you mentioned your Dad owned was a Blue 1600cc L Decor, built in July 1974, and first registered in September 1974, (so one of the very last "L Decors), the car was last used on the road on the !st October 1985, so lasted 11 years, and 3 months, she may have been one of the Dutch imports, as a number of the last L Decors on the N registrations were built in the Netherlands, and Ford imported some in to the UK to meet demand for the model, due to production delays with strikes at Dagenham, and suppliers, from Factory all L Decors came with Vinyl Seats, the fabric option was extremely rare to see, on one, in fact I only ever saw 2 out of the thousands that were on the road new, in the 1970's, and still around in the early 1980's, a very rear model version now, as few genuine ones survived..I bet your Dad loved it as it was "The" car most people wanted as their Company car, the Mk.3 was a beautiful, car, and great to drive, I bought my first one back in 1976, and I still own it. plus another 2 of them, in my classic car collection,
Ah the GXL XL AND L A guy across the road had a RED brand new M reg GXL. My dad didnt quite follow suit. He bought a Gold Hillman Avenger GL Did have a vinyl roof though... Fords looked so modern (for the time) in the 70s. Austin and Morris were years behind with the styles
The Mk3 Cortina replaced the boxy Mk2 in 1970 and also the Corsair. The early cars had round headlamps, with the GT and GXL twin lights. At the facelift lights were rectangular except the base model. Had coke bottle styling like the Vauxhall Victor FD introduced three years earlier in 1967. A 2000 GXL or 2000E in Daytona yellow with black vinyl roof was my favourite model.
nice too this see ford cortina mk3, this model still used in the u. k . road and the the best car that time.
Looking back, now; the Mk3 was a beautifully designed/shaped car (I ALSO like the Mk 5, though!) I find it strange that the dashboard was changed in the Mk3 to the newer styled one, used in the Mk4 (and Mk5?) Why introduce that dashboard in the Mk3, when Ford were going to use it for the later models? A bit of a mystery to me...
I think because Ford had introduced the new award winning dash on the last of the Mk 3 Cortinas, they decided to carry it over to the Mk4. The dash was so good that they continued using it on the new Mk5 Cortina. They also did the same on the Capri Mk1 facelift model, where the new dash was carried over to the new Mk2 model, and later carried over to the Mk3. The new and improved floor pan fitted to the last mk1 Escorts was also carried over to the new Mk2 Escort. In all, I think it's probably a good way of testing changes out before they introduce a new model.
In some areas of the world, like Africa, these Cortinas got a 3 band radio featuring FM MW and Shortwave, whereas European models had an AM (MW / LW) radio.
The Shortwave facility was useful as there were areas of the world where there were no AM and FM stations, except inside larger provinces and cities like in India for example, and you could listen to BBC World Service, Radio Luxembourg, Radio Netherlands and various other international shortwave broadcasters using the SW facility included on Ford Cortina radios with shortwave, but when stations closed down on selected frequencies to switch frequency coverage to different target areas of the world using directional shortwave antennas, or often changed shortwave frequency like BBC World Service did, at various times of the day and night, it became dangerous to retune the radio on the move, say if a station finished broadcasting on a particular frequency and switched to another.
Fabulous info - appreciate you posting that
Lovely look at the cortina brochure from back in the day, my dad had a yellow 4 door 1.6 GXL from brand new in the seventies upto the early ninties (strange as this model isnt listed in the brochure) but the rust gremlins took hold and the front inner wings rusted through, my dads GXL didnt have a vinyl roof but did have a lot of the E goodies sporty wheels, black vinyl interior etc. cant remember if these goodies were a sport pack that could be purchased extra 😊
I really like this generation of Cortina I’m sure I will do more reviews for different years
@andyroberts9562: The "GXL" model had a Vinyl roof fitted as standard, equipment, and so if your Dad's car did not have one, then it most likely was an "XL" model, as the vinyl roof was an optional extra on that one, but the interior trim as standard was very close other wise, IE the same fake wood trim on the dash and door cards, for example, on the Series One "XL" & "GXL", here in the UK. Ford Exported the cars to 49 countries world wide, and there were different trim, and spec changes for different markets, but I have never ever seen a genuine "GXL" that did not have a vinyl roof fitted from Factory, on a brand new one. and I remember the Mk3 Cortina;s in showrooms in 1970, and on the roads by the thousands, I own 3 of them, and bough my first one 48 years ago, back in 1976, as a new car,with only 250 miles on the clock at the time, (which I still Own), The GXL was made between October 1970-September 1973 (Series One cars, and the Brochure featured in this video is for the New improved Series Two models September 1973 on wards which is why the GXL is not in it, as the Brand New 2000E replaced it as Top of the range spec. hope you find all that helpful and interesting.
Do you have a brochure for the Mark IV? The 2 litre Mk III appears to be faster than the 2.3 litre V6 Mk IV. Are you able to enlighten please?
Yea the MkIV is already on the channel
If you haven’t done the mark1 Skoda superb I would love to see that what with owning one but possibly too late for the age of car you normally cover
I’ve done early 2000s brochures before and yes this is an interesting car.