Jimmy's Gartrac Cortina
To be honest, when Jimmy Hookway first arrived at Gartrac to discuss his ideas for building the ultimate Mk1 Cortina, we thought he was a dreamer. It soon became clear that he was deadly serious. Dave Bignold took some persuading to take on the project and only agreed to carry out the work if he was given the time and funds to do it properly.
Jimmy agreed and Dave set about designing all the chassis and body modifications to make the dream come to reality. The Body Jimmy had found was not in the best condition and had to be restored before the trick re-work started.
- Front Chassis legs raised by 2 inches to give the car ultra low ride height, modifications to the rear chassis legs to gain more axle travel.
- Raised Diff and Exhaust Tunnel
- Sierra gearbox tunnel grafted into the car
- Specially designed four link suspension boxes
- Lightweight T45 Weld in Rollcage
- Front Strut mounting turrets moved in board to gain more camber
- Seat Mounting tubes
- Reworked boot floor
- Aluminium door cards, floor plates, gear shifter surround and instrument panel
The list could go on and on, needless to say this was no ordinary Mk1 Cortina. The suspension was basically the same as a works Escort. Gartrac Struts, Tension Strut Kit, X member, TCA'S, Atlas thick tubed axle, steering rack etc etc.
Although all the rework had been completed at Gartrac, Jimmy was left with organising the paint and building the car in his garage at home. The finish of the car blew the guy's at Gartrac away when he came back to have the suspension set up. The attention to detail and finish of the car was phenomenal, not such a dreamer after all !