• LuMo 1600E (new)
• Crayford Conversions
• The Savage
• Cortina/Ogle GT Replica
• Bodycraft Fastback
  

Thanks to Ray Nilsson, who sent me some scans from a brochure he had, here's something I'd never heard of before. The LuMo 1600E TC was a 1600E with a Lotus-Cortina twin-cam engine slotted in, distributed by Lumo Cars Ltd, a 'member of the Luton Motors Group', of London Road, Dunstable, Beds. I'm not aware of the existence of any of these. I don't know how many were sold, if any - perhaps they do exist but those who own them now regard them as being special factory orders or modifications done by earlier owners. I'll let the brochure copy tell the story, and if anyone has any more info, please pass it on.

She looks like the Cortina 1600 Executive: four doors, lavish interior. But she goes like the Lotus Cortina: 105 m.p.h., 0-50 in 7 seconds. She's the exciting new LuMo 1600E twin-cam, the best-of-both-worlds car you've all been waiting for.

At LuMo, we think the same way as you. We love the Cortina 1600 Executive. Such style, such elegance; with reclining seats, leather covered racing steering wheel, luxury centre console, real walnut facia and door trims; there's so much more we could mention. But wouldn't it be great to have just a bit extra in the power department? That means the Lotus Cortina Overhead camshaft engine, developing 115 BHP, two twin choke Weber carbs - tremendous! But it's only got two doors. Not really ideal for the sporting driver with a family.

So LuMo engineers have cleverly put all the best from the two together. And the result - the LuMo 1600E twin-cam - gives you luxury saloon comfort and shattering sports performance. Now isn't that exactly what you've always wanted from a car? Test drive the new LuMo 1600E TC as soon as you can. We promise you, it's an experience you will never forget.

Optional Extras

• Lumo roof top
• Interior sound seal
• 13" x 5½J alloy road wheels
• 13" x 6½J alloy road wheels
• Sliding/folding sunshine roof
• Radio/stereo tape deck
• Servo-assisted brakes
• Underseal protection / Sound insulator
• Special paint scheme
• Optional axle ratios (4.1:1 / 4.4:1 / 3.9:1 / 3.7:1 / 3.5:1)
• 13" deep dish sports steering wheel
• Seat belts - static fronts
• Metallic paint, ex-Works
• Engine conversion to suit your requirements and pocket

Thirteen sparkling colour finishes to choose from. And that's a lucky number, because if you can't find your favourite colour in the standard range, we'll blend it specially for you (at extra cost).
Body colours: Ermine White, Light Green, Anchor Blue, Light Blue, Aubergine, Beige.
Metallic body colours: Blue Mink, Saluki Bronze, Amber Gold, Fern Green, Aquatic Jade, Silver Fox, Light Orchid.

• See the Lumo 1600E TC brochure cover

Ford never offered an open top version of the Cortina, but Crayford Auto Developments, of Westerham, Kent did.

Bob Dalton tells me that of the Mk.I Crayford convertibles, only 12 were sold in the UK with another 40 exported. Of those 12, seven are known to the Crayford Convertible Car Club.

Graham Orchard (Vice-Chairman of the Ford Cortina Mk.II Owners Club of GB) has filled me in on Mk.II Crayfords, thankyou Graham:

"As I understand things, it was normal for Crayford to build two prototypes of each car they converted for evaluation and development purposes. In the early days these would normally have been the base model of whatever car they were working on - in the case of the Mk.II Cortina, two 1300 deluxes (both in Blue Mink) were supplied under cover from Ford just two weeks before the official launch at the 1966 Motor Show. Crayford only just managed to get one Mk.II Cortina to the show on time, and so launched their latest convertible simultaneously with Ford launching the rest of the Mk.II range.

"The Mk.II pictured on the site, SOO 661D, (sent in by Peter Widelund) is owned by John Peters and is one of the two prototypes. It could well be the motor show car, but unfortunately there are no records to confirm if this as neither car was registered at the time. What is known, however, is that the car that John owns went back to Ford to be changed into a GT, and then went back to Crayfords before it was registered to be given an automatic gearbox - this having a floor shift rather than the column shift that the other production autos have. John bought SOO many years ago and has rebuilt it to the state you see in your pictures. SOO is a 1500GT.

"Around 400 Mk.IIs were converted by Crayfords, mostly based on the GTs, but all models could be available - they even got hold of a 2dr 1600E and converted that! I'm told that it still exists.

"Two types were available, a straight-forward convertible where the hood simply folds down on to the back parcel shelf, and the cabriolet where the rear seat was narrowed to allow the hood to be stowed completely out of sight. Significantly fewer cabriolets were produced than convertibles - probably because of the much higher cost of the cabriolet. One of the rarest Mk.II convertibles was based on the Lotus; it is believed that just 20 of these were built with only 3 being the cabriolet - all three still exist. My Lotus Crayford is a normal convertible. The Lotus cost £1069 when new (£810 for a GT and £669 for a 1300 deluxe), but with Crayford's work for it to become the convertible, my car cost its first owner a massive £1473. Don't forget that the cabriolet was even more than this.

"Crayford also did engine conversions to Mk.IIs and just a few of these are known to exist today. I have seen two, both cars have the 3L Essex fitted, one is built around a 2dr GT (still with its Ford metal roof) and the other is actually a convertible. The owner, Ken Clarke believes this car to be unique. Ken also owns a Lotus Crayford - the only black one ever to have been built."

The development of the V6 Savage Cortina was undertaken by Jeff Uren. Jeff Uren, something of a maverick it seems, had been involved on and off with Ford's racing efforts since the late '50s, when he was attempting improbable things with Zephyrs, like installing triple carby setups. At the time of the Mk.II, Uren had a company called Race Proved. Race Proved turned out many unusual beasts in their time, including 3 litre V6 'Comanche' Capris, with a choice of 170, 180, 190 or 220 bhp, 2 litre 'Navajo' Escort estates, 3 litre V6 'Apache' Escorts, and the Capri 'Stampede', which ran a Boss Mustang V8 (yikes!). The 3 litre Essex V6 Savage Cortinas were developed with Ford's knowledge and assistance, with GTs and 1600Es usually the starting points, although the odd two-door or wagon got the treatment.

Many structural modifications were made to cope with the weight of the V6, the same as that used in the Zephyr / Zodiac. The chassis members down the sides of the engine bay were seam welded, and a new cross-member fitted. The suspension mounting holes were left blank by Ford, so Uren could drill them out himself to give the car some negative camber. New engine mountings were also required, as the weight of the V6 sat well forward of the usual four. The 2000E gearbox was used.

Modified springs and shockers were used, with carefully developed new ratings that avoided axle tramp. A lot of effort was put into the rear springs: they were designed so that the front linkage would act as a locating swivel for the axle, while the rear linkage supported the weight of the car. The rear axle was the same as that used in the 1600E.

Other modifications included a new wiring loom, the relocation of the battery to the boot, an alternator conversion, an uprated exhaust system, a special rear end ratio, a 22-pint cooling system, and, most important of all, a footrest. So you could pick a Savage in the crowd, it also had 'Savage' badges, as at the top of this page, on the front quarter panel behind the wheel arches, and on the boot lid. 'V6' badges also appeared in the place where a GT badge would normally be found.

Performance was pretty startling for a Cortina, but what would you expect with a 136 bhp, 182 lb ft V6 in it? Two and four-door versions were available, and a few estates as well, and as well as developing new cars, I believe it was also possible to take in your own car and have it converted, as long as it was deemed to be suitable. Several hundred savage Savages were built.

Andrew Connochie of Christchurch, NZ has finally met the request for actual performance figures, which he has sourced from 'Autocar', August 31, 1967:

Standing Quarter: 16.6 secs

Standing Kilometre: 31.1 secs

Maximum Speed in Gears:

Graham Orchard tells me:

Thankyou to Magnus Lie for forwarding on this information, taken out of a four page leaflet he bought in the UK a couple of years ago. Many of you will have seen the 'Stirling Moss' Cortina GT. It seems it nearly went into production courtesy of the Ogle Design Organisation and Harold Radford Coachbuilders. And what we can tell from the features listed in this leaflet, Stirling Moss was a bit soft, and not so nearly interested in going fast as we might have thought. What follows is the specs listed in the leaflet, except the mechanical specs, which appear to be standard GT. The leaflet claims all features have been tested in use by Mr Moss, whose expertise was no doubt invaluable in assessing the 6" TV and courtesy lights.

• See a drawing of the Ogle GT
• See the interior of the Ogle GT

The Cortina/Ogle GT

The Ford Cortina GT modified by Ogle is a Replica of the car designed by the Ogle Design Organisation for Stirling Moss, to fulfill his personal requirements for a four seater GT car.

Stirling Moss specification required a balanced relationship between performance-comfort- economy - and a reasonable purchase price. It was important to him that his car should be based on a proven production car, for which service was freely available. He sought motorway performance - but not at the expense of fast car fuel consumption; above all he specified a car to carry four people comfortably, confidently, on 500 miles a day journeys with all the luggage they would need. The Cortina/Ogle GT Replica meets these requirements and more. In addition - coachwork, cellulosing and trimming are executed to high standards by world renowned coachbuilders, Harold Radford. Every item of equipment incorporated has been tested in use by Stirling Moss. The brilliant engineering and stamina of the Ford Cortina GT has been proved in races and rallies in three continents and the car carries Ford warranty and is backed by Ford service.

Main Bodywork Features

• Front grille assembly in anodised aluminium incorporates long distance and spread beam lamps.
• Distinctive rear end treatment is designed to emphasise 'notch back' GT styling.
• Bolt on hubcaps obviate prising and marking.
• Opening quarter windows, front and rear.
• Chromium window frames.
• Dunlop SP tyres are fitted as standard.
• Increased capacity fuel tank.
• Rear screen cleaned by wide sweep wiper controlled from fascia.
• Automatic reversing lamp fitted as standard.

Available as Optional Extras

• Gradient tinted windscreen.
• Tinted rear screen incorporating demist heating wires.
• Electric winding windows.
• Webasto sliding roof.
• Hobbs automatic gearbox.

Main Interior Features

• Full instrumentation including - speedometer, tachometer, ammeter, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, water temperature gauge.
• Rheostat controlled panel lighting.
• Variable speed windscreen wiper.
• Headlamp flasher.
• Dipping interior mirror.
• Duralumin steering wheel with padded leather rim.
• Cigarette lighter and ashtrays.
• Interior bonnet and boot releases.
• Fresh air heater and windscreen demister with two speed fan.
• Door night caution lights.
• Fully adjustable, fully reclining front seats.
• Centre console unit with concealed compartment.
• Individual rear seats with centre console and concealed compartment.
• Radio with speakers front and rear and automatic aerial.
• Deep pile carpets front and rear.
• Full plastic foam sound insulation.

Available as Optional Extras

• Cassette loaded tape recorder built into console between front seats, incorporating dictating facilities and pre-recorded tape playing through radio amplifier circuit.
• 6 in. television receiver for rear seat viewing.

Colours - Exterior

• Metallic light blue with silver Coachbuilders line.
• Metallic rouge cerise with gold Coachbuilders line.
• Metallic mid-grey with silver Coachbuilders line.
• Metallic "Moss" green with gold Coachbuilders line.
• Metallic black with gold Coachbuilders line.
• Metallic white with gold Coachbuilders line.

Interior

• Black, natural tan, grey, green.

An interesting Australian model variation was the building of prototype fastbacks. Designed by Lew Bandt, four are believed to have been built, and two and four-door variations exist. Originally to have been built by Bodycraft Pty Ltd for Ford Australia, Ford got cold feet and the car never went into production. The article below suggests that Bodycraft were keen to continue with the project and offer the car as an aftermarket conversion, but obviously this never went ahead.

YES, THERE IS A CORTINA FASTBACK... and it's not all that expensive either! Brian Creer, 'Australian Motor Sport', September 1966