FEATURE – 1970 Ford Cortina MkII ute
OK. Let’s get one thing clear from the start: Ford never built a utility on the Mark II Cortina platform. The pictures here may lead you to think otherwise, but the idea of a factory-built Cortina for the farm didn’t appear until the Mark III (known as the TC Series here) and was made in South Africa.
There are rumours, and a few images floating around the ‘net, of a MkI Cortina ute,but that’s more likely to be an individual conversion, rather than a factory effort.
So, unless the publication of this article proves otherwise, I’m pretty confident the vehicle featured here is the only one of its type in Australia. The boys in the Delgiglio family who created it are confident that it’s not only unique in Australia, but also the world.
Cortina Passion
Rocco Delgiglio, the owner of the vehicle featured, has a longstanding fondness for Cortinas and Fords in general.
“I’ve always been a Ford fan and I’ve always liked Cortinas – even since I was young,” Rocco says. “I like the sleek style of them and that they’ve still got a bit of chrome, the aluminium grille and that sort of stuff.”
Rocco’s first car was a Mark II Cortina 2-door that was a stock, daily driver until older brother Sam, who’s a skilled fabricator, panel beater and spray painter, modified it into a drag car. When Rocco wanted the car converted back to street-legal spec some years later, Sam got the gig for that, too. Doing just enough to satisfy the authorities, that car now runs a 351 V8 that puts out 550hp, with a Toploader, 9-inch and steamroller-sized 12x20 rear wheels. So, while it’s street legal, it’d have to be the tuffest Cortina streeter in Australia!
Sam’s a GM man, but Joe, the youngest of the three Delgiglio brothers, got the same Ford bug as Rocco and also has a 2-door Cortina.
Compared to Rocco’s Cortina, Joe’s is positively benign, but is nonetheless pretty handy on the street, thanks to a supercharged Commodore V6 transplant, along with upgrades to the transmission, brakes and suspension. From the outside, it almost looks stock, but the Centerline rims and meatier tyres hint that something special resides under the bonnet.
Sam did the engine transplant and all the other mechanical upgrades on that car, too, so when the next Delgiglio Cortina project came along, it made sense to keep it in the family.
Making the Ute that Ford Didn’t
Rocco and Joe, along with other family members and friends, are always keeping an eye out for good cars, and it was through this network that they became aware of a 1970 Cortina 440 4-door sedan.
Like the 2-door that was Rocco’s first car more than 30 years ago, this Cortina sedan was a classic “little old lady” car, found locally. While clean and with a good body, the car was tired mechanically and needed refurbishment.
The idea to turn it into a ute – to make what Ford didn’t – came some years after Rocco bought it back in 2002, but it wasn’t initially going to be like the machine you see here.
Centerline wheels, airbag suspension and a hotter engine were all considered early on, but the desire to make a factory-looking ute soon outweighed that: “I could have [made it more custom], but I’m sort of leaning towards originality at the moment,” Rocco laughed. “It depends on the car, but with this one, originality was the way to go.”
In 2007, the idea to turn a Cortina sedan into a ute gained momentum and the 440 4-door was chosen as the base for the project.
If you thought a 2-door body would work better as a base for a ute conversion, so did the Delgiglios, but measuring and sketching out the shape of the finished article proved otherwise.
“The doors on a 2-door are too long,” Rocco explained. “And we knew, looking at it, that the tray dimensions would be out of proportion and wouldn’t work.”
Sam agreed: “A 4-door had the perfect proportions.”
Four into Two
Looking around at other utes to see how they could make the Cortina conversion work, Sam checked out a mate’s Datsun 1200 ute as it had similar proportions to what they were looking to achieve. Taking measurements of that, Sam then started to chalk out the cuts and modifications needed on the Cortina before the serious chopping got underway.
“The original idea was to make the back all new and throw the factory rear away,” Sam said. “But I said to Rocco ‘We can use all that - split the boot lid and extend it and use all the forms and shapes from the original Cortina.’ So Rocco eventually decided to go with that.”
The first cut was made behind the B-pillar to help retain the body strength, but as a safeguard, Sam added an extra bracing rod here. Getting the rear window section in – and getting it looking right – proved to be the trickiest part of the project.
“The width was fine,” Sam explained, “but the height – because it was no longer a 45-degree angle and closer to a 30-degree angle – meant we chopped a bit out to fit it in.”
The upper rear window surround now butts up directly against the B-pillar, while Sam’s clever integration of this means the rear window and its gutter didn’t need cutting. Keeping the lower surround for the rear screen allowed for the mounts and hinges for the boot lid – which would become the tonneau cover - to be retained, too.
Sam also pointed out that using this factory rear screen and its surrounding metal, rather than a bespoke vertical rear window, meant the seat could be placed a little further back to create more legroom in the cabin. It all looks “factory” and that was the intention.
Tough Tray
Under the tray, the factory floorpan has been retained, but a multitude of hidden bracing was added to keep the rear-end aligned: the result is that the body is actually more rigid now than when it was a sedan!
“I made up a frame of inch-wide tubing, then cross-braced it,” Sam explained. “So, behind the seat, there’s a cross brace, and at the back, there’s a triangle chassis, then another series of triangles – essentially a continuation of the factory chassis.”
The boot surround was continued along what’s now the top of the tray area. Sam made up all new gutters, flashing and weatherstripping for this area, so the bespoke tonneau cover would sit and seal neatly.
As you can probably tell, that tonneau cover has been made up from the sedan’s bootlid, with the front and rear sections split and a new section of steel welded in to bridge the gap, which was then wrapped with vinyl so the finished effect is like a tarp over the back.
The idea of a functional tailgate was tossed around in the project’s early stages, but as the ute was only ever going to be used for cruising and not serious hauling, adding a folding tailgate would have meant more bracing, more fabrication work (including re-routing the fuel filler and modifying the bumper) and more cost, as well as robbing the vehicle of some of its Cortina identity.
In the tray, polished Jarrah planks line the floor, which was Rocco’s idea, but was actually done by Joe, who’s a qualified carpenter. Joe added more Jarrah to selected areas of the interior as a neat detailing touch.
Another neat touch is the retention of the factory spare wheel in the passenger side rear quarter, but this has been masked off with a pop-open panel to keep the tray looking tidy. A similar panel has been added on the driver’s side, which covers a jack and tool kit.
Faithful Engine and Interior
With the “factory look” mantra for this project now firmly established, that meant the running gear couldn’t deviate too far from stock. As such, the 1600 four-cylinder is standard, but the battery has been relocated and a thermo fan, extractors and custom air cleaner added, while the original 2-speed auto transmission with column shift has been refurbished.
The wheels, brakes and steering are all stock items, and while a little over two inches has been taken out of the ride height, it’s not a feature you notice at first glance. Full-width hubcaps and redline tyres on original 13-inch wheels add to the factory look.
As a factory Cortina ute of this era would have had a bench seat and not buckets like the sedans, the seating had to be changed.
“The two bucket front seats were welded together, then trimmed as a bench,” Sam explained.
“Rocco wanted it so the three of us could travel in it together, so that’s also why we did a bench, even though it’s a very tight fit for three!”
The seat was retrimmed by Joe in ‘70s-era BMW tan vinyl (original Cortina trim material is virtually impossible to get) and retains the tilt function of the original buckets, allowing access to the battery and fusebox that sit behind the seat.
Joe also trimmed the door cards, did the hoodlining and carpets, and added the Jarrah trim to the doors, steering wheel and under-dash parcel shelf.
Green Machine
As purchased, the Cortina was finished in factory Olive Green, and Rocco was going to have the ute repainted in that colour, but when it came time to actually do the paint, he’d fallen in love with the deep, rich Harvest Green metallic on Joe’s BA Falcon XR6. It’s a great choice and adds a touch of quality and style to the build: “Everyone who sees it loves it,” Sam said.
When I asked the brothers what the finished ute is like to drive, I got two very different answers. Showing his Chevy bias, Sam jokingly said it’s gutless, but Rocco was more complimentary: “You put your foot down and it goes. You do get some good top speed, but it cruises along nice and you can cruise all day – that’s what’s so good about it.”
The ute modification does make the back end feel lighter, as you’d expect, but both brothers agree, it’s minor compared to a sedan and the suspension drop makes it feel more planted.
Soon after it was completed, in mid-2008, this one-off Cortina made an immediate impression.
“We took it to two shows – the All British Day, where it won the ‘People’s Choice’ out of 750 cars! - and at the All Ford Day the same year, we got ‘Best Cortina’,” Rocco said.
But, with a young family, a ute isn’t the most practical vehicle for Rocco to have now, so he’s got it on the market (see breakout).
“I don’t really want to sell it” Rocco explained. “But I’ve got two kids and need to put four people in a car these days.”
Sam will be sad to see it leave the family, too, given all the work he put into the conversion, fabrication and welding, panel work, prep and paint.
There’s a lot to like about this creation, from the quality of the actual body conversion, to the mild custom touches and that rich green paint, as well as the fact it’s a real “family” build, with all three Delgiglio brothers contributing, as well as cousins and other family members.
One thing’s for sure, with this Cortina ute being the only one of its type, the new owner will NEVER meet another one on the road!
Words: Mike Ryan
Photos: Andrey Moisseyev
