FEATURE: 1966 Cortina GT

Dave MorleyNovember 19, 2025, 7:16 amNovember 24, 2025

In Issue 510 of Unique Cars Dave Morley looked at three little ripper cars including this 1966 Cortina GT.

So where do we start? Okay, what about Mel Barker’s 1966 Cortina GT?

Back in the early 1960s, Ford tapped into Lotus’ vast knowledge of making metal things go quite fast. The end result of that was the Lotus Cortina Mk 1 which, aside from being a bit fragile in some areas (most blame Lotus boss, Colin Chapman’s, penchant for lightness) was also undeniably quick and unavoidable expensive.

So, to come up with a viable alternative to tackle the increasingly popular Aussie tin-top racing scene, Ford Oz developed the Cortina GT locally.

So, no exotic twin-cam engine, then, or potentially flaky aluminium rear suspension unit, then. But equally, no rich-kid price-tag because, remember, back then you had to sell a few hundred cars of the same specification to road-going punters in order to be allowed to race the thing. Which is precisely what happened.

The stock 1500 pre-crossflow engine was tricked up a bit with a single dual-throat carburettor, a cylinder head casting with larger ports, a tweaked camshaft and a set of headers. Power jumped to 58kW and the little bugger in stock road trim was good for 95mph.

There’s no mistaking the distinctive lights on the classic Cortina. Image: Conventry Studios

The standard Corty’s column gearshift was binned and a floor-shifter fitted to the four-speed manual ’box. Front and rear brakes were both enlarged and the front end got discs into the bargain. Inside, that terrific looking four-gauge cluster atop the dashboard was part of the GT deal.

If it doesn’t sound like the stuff of dreams in 2025, take it from us that it was definitely hot stuff back in the mid ’60s. Don’t forget, back then it was entirely possible to accidentally buy a brand-new car with drum brakes, a separate chassis, no flow-through ventilation and a three-speed manual ’box.

And you still wouldn’t have been laughed at down at the pub. I mean, overhead valve engines had only really just superseded side-valves in a lot of mainstream makes and models back then!

Meanwhile, owner Mel has a real bad case of the Ford tremors, and this car is just one of the shed fillers at his place wearing the blue oval badge.

The side view of the 1996 Cortina GT. Image: Coventry Studios

“I bought the car about 15 years ago from a lady who also had an MG. One of them had to go, and it was this car. So I snapped it up. Funny thing is, I was actually looking for an XA Coupe at the time, but I just couldn’t find one worth buying.”

Now, if the idea of a Cortina GT being a viable replacement for an XA Hardtop sounds a bit loopy, you need to know that Mel had a bit of history with little Cortinas.

“My first car was a Cortina … as a 16-year-old, so you can imagine the fun I had in that. These days we still drive this one to the shops and just for a bit of a laugh every now and then. It’s just really easy to live with.”

Oh, and the XA Hardtop Mel was craving all those years ago?

“Yep, I eventually found one of those and a ’67 Mustang Fastback …”

Mission accomplished. And then some.

But even so, you can hear in Mel’s voice the affection he has for the Cortina, and it’s a sentiment I’ve heard from many owners of similar collections: While the big-inch V8 stuff will always have a place in a red-blooded bloke or blokette’s heart, it’s the little fast Fords that ultimately get the most love, purely because you can live with them around town, and actually have fun in them, and even drive them hard without necessarily going to jail.