Car history

[Mike Sharp]

Greetings from US
I just wonder if anyone has previous history on my car
BA74EK59735. It is a LHD US car.
I have owned it since the very early 1990s.
I have talked to the previous owner that had owned it from the late 1970s.
I have proof of his ownership period via old registration cards.
He was not much help, he told me his memory was not as good as it used to be.
One thing I question is front calipers, mine are mounted behind the strut, I was lead to believe that Oct built cars had the caliper in front of the strut.
Thanks
Mike Sharp

 

[tommy]

10/65 is the changeover from P14 front brake (rear mounted calipers) and manual adjusting rear brakes, to P16 front brake (front mounted calipers) and self adjusting rear brakes. I wouldn't think it unusual for a car from the changeover month to have either brake set up fitted.
Tommy

 

[Mike Sharp]

Thanks Tommy

I wonder if there is a way to tell if my car was an early Oct car.

Mike

 

[Bruce Miles]

I think the US export cars would likely have been all to the same spec and as this seems the first month that the US left drive official export cars were made it should have the later brakes.
Also someone may be able to confirm is this the first month for Ford factory production rather than Lotus.

 

[Mike Sharp]

Just wondering if I should change them. I have had this car a very long time and the previous owner had I'd for over a decade and neither one of us has changed it to what it is currently.
Mystery, but it is 50 years old.

 

[tommy]

Does it have the manual adjusting rear brakes and are the front brakes the P14 or P16 type? The calipers will be marked as such. If it has self adjusting rear brakes and P16 calipers (just fitted trailing) all you have to do is swap the struts left for right, right for left and then you will have leading calipers. If it has a matched set of manual adjust rear and P14 front brakes, I would leave well alone.
Tommy
P.S. Leaf spring cars were available lhd and were introduced June/July 65, so up until 10/65 these cars would have had the P14 and manual adjust brakes. All mk1 lotus cortina road cars were assembled at Cheshunt by Lotus and not Ford at Dagenham and you will find that changeover dates in Ford publications, don't always exactly match what Lotus was building. My A frame car is July 65 built, even though according to the Ford parts book A frame cars were only up to June 65.