Workhorse To Wow

This bakkie was an old workhorse that Willie purchased way back when he had a construction company.

It was used to do all the hard and dirty work. It used to be a 3.0 V6 and at that stage he had purchased it for the power and torque it could deliver in order to be able to carry heavy loads and also its towing ability. He has always been a petrolhead and completed a couple of projects over the years. His first being a 1966 Corsair 83 deluxe, then a Morris Minor, a Bedford panel van and a couple of others. Prior to this build, he had a 1949 Pontiac Silver Streak that he decided to sell due to space issues at a new property and he still kicks himself to this day for making that decision.

Willie eventually sold the construction company and had to make a decision with regards to the old Cortina. Either sell it as a cheapie as it needed a lot of love and work or turn it into something nice. Clearly, he chose the latter and both his sons thought he was mad for making this decision. Initially this was not his dream car but as the project progressed it made its way into his heart. He did some research on motors and suspension upgrades and opted for an old Jaguar XJ suspension as in Willie’s opinion it is still the best upgrade you can make to any Hot Rod in SA and it gives you everything you need in one package. When it came to the motor, he decided on a Lexus VVTI as at that stage it was reasonably priced and fairly new on the market in SA. The guy at Lextreme also advised that the fuel consumption would be fair. This was important as Wille wanted to use the car as a daily driver.