It was a beauty as is your Classic, I remember my dad going on and on about how the 5 bearing crank was so much better in the Classic & Capri data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na... BATMAN!
I wish. That's what mine should have looked like but it was in need of restoration when I had it, and didn't have the skills or tools myself, was let down by the local bodywork go-to.
The 1500cc was touted as better than the 1350cc but I bet if it's looked after and driven carefully it's just as reliable.
My dad bought a Renualt 12 TL brand new in Germany in ‘74. It was my third car when he gave it to me about 12 years later. It lasted about 14 months before internal bits decided they wanted to see the outside world via the side of the engine. Not the most difficult diagnosis of why a car has stopped going!
The first car I remember was also my first car. My grandad bought a white MkII Cortina 1300 Deluxe, red vinyl seats, new in 1967 shortly after it was launched. He drove it around mostly on Sunday’s and always at 40mph regardless of the speed limit, always double declutching having learned to drive trucks in North Africa in WWII. I recall being in that car in the late 60’s and then when I learned to drive in 1981 he gave it to me. It had furry seat covers all its life so the vinyl was pristine. The difference between the Deluxe and not was a cigarette lighter IIRC...... (never used).
Between the MkII and the Renault I had a MkIII Cortina in 40 shades of green. Also the 1300 version. I actually paid for that ($200) and when the piston rings went after a year or so I got $50 for it from a scrappy.
I couldn’t see any improvements between the MkII and III. Some mates had the 1600 versions and claimed they were the mutts nuts. Couldn’t see it myself!
After those the only way was up. Next was my first ‘proper’ car - a black Mk1 Astra GTE. Probably still my favourite car.....
Mum had a Morris with wooden bits. No idea what the model was.
Dad had a JPS Special Capri - again, no idea exactly what the model was but 3 litre is in my mind for some reason.
Grandad owned an original Ford Escort Mexico.
My first car was a 1976 P reg mini 1000 with a 1275gt engine in it. Never got it on the road and sold it about a year later for more than I paid for it.
Only car I've ever made a profit on.