Guy Newton
Senior Specialist
Sold for £47,150 inc. premium
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This Lotus Cortina was restored in the late 1990s by two 'performance Ford' enthusiasts, Paul Edwards and Rob Sloan, and shortly after completion was featured in Classic Ford magazine (July 2000 edition, copy available). The car had been advertised in Classic Ford, and at the time of acquisition was finished in black with a brown vinyl roof. A copy of the Lotus Cortina Register newsletter on file reveals that the car had been rebuilt in 1977 around a genuine Lotus Cortina 125E bodyshell by its then owner, Mr Robert Yuill of Essex. Apparently, the bodyshell had been used for experimental purposes by an engineering company, and Mr Yuill had been able to obtain it when the firm went bust. Following the rebuild, the DVLA issued a 1977 registration, 'TMP 86S'.
Rikki Nock, Membership Secretary and Registrar of the Lotus Cortina Register, was able to confirm that this car's chassis number (as recorded on the V5C document) relates to an example manufactured probably around November/December 1965, and that '4362065' is the 2,065th right-hand drive example built. Eventually, and again with help from the Register, the DVLA issued a more appropriate age-related (1966) registration: 'FHJ 246D'. When Messrs Edwards and Sloan returned the rebuilt car to the road circa 2000, it had been out of action for some 12 years. The current vendor purchased the Cortina in 2018, the previous owner acquiring it in 2015. Previous to this, the car was the property of a Mr Meale of London, who acquired it in March 2004.
The large history file contains a substantial amount of paperwork and all photographs taken while the car was undergoing its full restoration. The latter included the engine (rebuilt with 'unleaded' valve seats and 'fast road' cams), mechanicals, and body, the latter being refinished in classic Ermine White with contrasting green stripe. The files also contain the aforementioned press cuttings.
Please note the correct chassis number is 8A744362065