Corey Behrens spotted this Taunus 1300L in Heiloo, NL on June 18th, looking a bit down on its heels. And then he shot it again on July 6th, having been perked up a bit.
This is the other angle from June 18th. It’s exhaust pipe looks a bit…misplaced. And it’s got a tow hitch; with all of 1300cc and 55 hp, that must be a leisurely affair, heading off to Italy with a travel trailer.
But now it’s sporting some new alloy wheels and tires! Looks so much perkier.
It also looks like it’s riding a bit high, which doesn’t exactly fit in with the sporty image the new wheels are giving off. Maybe a lowered suspension is next? And a warmed-over 2 L version of the “Pinto” engine, perhaps?
Looks like Van Der Valk’s car got a new coat of paint !
That buggy looks to me like a Maverick greenhouse atop a Capri lower body, with narrowed late ‘60’s Mercury Montego front and rear ends.
Spot on!. I also see the Maverick and Mercury lines. Also a little 3rd gen Falcon in there as well.
The rear wheel position in the quarter panel looks odd to my eye…something just seems a bit off. The wheels really helped this one a lot, though! 🙂
I see that, too, like the wheelbase is too long. Oddly proportioned.
Those look like Ford pressed steel wheels, contemporary with the car and more usually fitted to the ‘sporty’ variants of the Taunus/Cortina/Escort.
They were similar in concept to the Rostyle wheels fitted to 1970s MG.
Designed to imitate alloy wheels and usually painted silver and black and fitted with chrome wheel nuts.
They were nicknamed ‘Tinilite’ because they looked superficially similar to the Minilite alloy wheel popular on rally cars at the time.
They look like stamped steel wheels to me too.
Ah, the Mk.3 Cortina’s duller, square cousin.
But the same windscreen.
IMO the Cortina Mk3 had a better face with its’ wider grille center rather than the pinched vestigial Bunkie beak seen here, but the Taunus looks better from the side and rear without the British version’s exaggerated Coke-bottle hips.
Is there widespread appeal, outside of the USA, for this derivative, anonymous looking car?
I find it better looking than the Pinto or Maverick.
In Germany and Holland, Yes for sure! They were everywhere in the ’70 ‘s. Everyone here owned or drove at least one. They were good value.
The more luxurious GXl versions and the Cologne V6’s are arrived Classics over here. A 1300 version like this one? Less so. Most were sold with a capable 1600.
The luxurious versions with vinyl top looked fancy, in the day.
I’m in the US and I thought this (or at least the MkIII Cortina version I was more aware of) was huge improvement over both the MkII Cortina and the curvy, space-inefficient Maverick which was supposed to replace the Cortina in Ford’s US lineup. I’d occasionally see a Canadian MkIII venture south of the border, and I think for their time and place these weren’t really derivative nor anonymous.
The car looks a bit bland, but has nice lines. Certainly a lot better than the Maverick. Were these cars front wheel drive with a V-4?
No. RWD with “Pinto” OHC four. And the “Cologne” V6.
The mild (not excessive) coke bottle styling helps it age better. Interesting mashup of late 60s and early 70s design elements. Well chosen, modern wheel designs are perhaps the best way to freshen a car’s looks.
On the Cortina the exhaust often did look misplaced, not coming out in the centre of the cutout in the rear pan. Like this Taunus, the pipe on mine stuck out a bit too far, and I ruined a pair of trousers loading the boot one day – got a nasty black ring that nothing could remove. Strange that this sits so high though.
Those are Ford steel sport wheels, they came in two widths to suit Cortinas or Escorts, I got two from the Margate tip shop car parts pile for my 76 Escort.
Bingo. And this Taunus comes with both widths! The front ones are the Cortina offset and the rear ones are the Escort offset.
I prefer the Cortina Mk 3’s styling, seems more resolved
Back in 1980, my very first car was one of those, a 1973 Taunus with the “capable” 72 hp 1600 L-4 motor. Holy crap! Within 1/2 year I had learned that so many things can go wrong on a car! Leaking oil, no-start in winter, engine stall on right turns when fuel in tank less than 1/2, rain water in trunk … and so on. Very soft suspension, swampy steering, no power. Was happy when I got rid of it, and a 1970 Beetle was indeed an upgrade in reliability and overall quality! No Ford never again, for sure, I promised myself.
Some years later, I accepted a Lincoln Town Car as a rental for some weeks, and to my great amazement I found out Ford can built fabulous cars, too!
Joe
How nice to see my own Taunus here!
It is from 1971. It has an 1800 engine from a Ford Sierra with a 5-speed gearbox. It runs on LPG. the wheels are just steel and of a newer model Taunus. It’s a RWD. In this picture the interior.