1964 Ford Corsair

Ford Corsair (Saloon/Estate/Convertible), 1963-1970

The Ford Corsair was in production from 1963 to 1970. Styled in house by Charles Thompson, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive saloon range with derivatives, seating four adults.

The Corsair was Ford's replacement for the ill-fated Consul Classic - a small yet premium car to sit above the Cortina in the range and acting as much as a replacement for year-old Consul buyers as for the former Classic buyers. With a range spanning 1500cc to the new 2.0 V4 unit. The car acted not only as an upmarket alternative for those whose ambitions had graduated beyond the Cortina, but at the upper echelons with the 2000E it was a genuine contender against the Rover 2000 and Triumph 2000 models. Abbott offered an estate, and Crayford offered two separate convertibles AND a V6 conversion, but these weren't enough to endear the Corsair to a market that recognised it as just a Cortina in a party frock.

Replaced by the Mk3 Cortina in 1970, the Corsair was effectively forced out of the marketplace by the growth in size and popularity of its smaller sibling. And the amount of shared underpinnings means that the watch list is similar for buyers - check thoroughly for rust, particularly in the doors and boot floor as well as the sills, but mechanically there's little to go wrong either with the straight four or the somewhat coarse V4 engine available from 1965.

Corsair alternatives were not hard to come by - while Vauxhall would have sold you a Victor FB Deluxe or an FC VX 4/90 depending upon the specification of your Corsair, Rootes offered the Singer Vogue and BMC the Wolseley 18/85. Higher up the range, Rover and Triumph both fielded 2000s as alternatives to the plush Corsair 2000E. Ford also technically competed with itself, given that in 1968 a Corsair 2000E was more expensive not only than a Zephyr 4, but a Zephyr 6 deluxe. An entry level Corsair was similarly priced to the popular Cortina GT, to boot. Today, we'd also consider the upper models in the Cortina Mk3 range as reasonable alternatives, alongside imports such as the Renault 16 and Volvo 144.