1966 Mk1 Cortina GT

3 minute(s) of a 210 minute read

When the Cortina was built the radio was an optional extra which wasn't ticked, I had driven the car for 2 years without one and sometimes missed it. This was mainly on longer trips especially when motorway driving was involved as the loud droning sound got a bit much.

There are a few firms offering classic radios with modern internals boasting bluetooth, digital radio and hot/cold running water but they're quite expensive. I'm not begrudging spending £500 on the Cortina but a radio won't put it back on the road! After trawling eBay I came across this:

It's a DIN head unit that's retro styled, it has bluetooth, handsfree calling, radio and USB input - whilst the look is shiny plastic it's worth the £15 I paid for it, looking at how it's made I could draw a new facia and knobs that are reminiscent of a Motorola radio of the time and have them 3D printed and apply a chrome effect wrap to the outer edge to give it some shine.

The only downside was the dashboard itself which needed the radio hole cutting to remove the radio support plate and opening out marginally to allow the fitment of a DIN radio - I did this gingerly so that if I needed to weld that plate back in it could be done easily.

I'm not expecting big things or thumping bass and crystal clear quality but it's better than a poke in the eye!

Plus it gave me something to do between spraying primer!

I found the photos of the garage clean up just to show that I wasn't over emphasising the dust problem

Even bag puss had to be hosed off [insert wet pussy comment here]