Ford Corcel II LDO and Belina, image from brochure.
As many CC readers are aware, this series belongs to Cars of a Lifetime. But whose lifetime are we talking about? The writer’s? The car owners? Well, given that my personal “Cars of a Lifetime” (COALs) are somewhat limited, I’ve decided to cast a wider net. For this particular installment, as the Corcel II was an ample-scope car, I’m covering all the cars I’ve ever used. Whether they were technically mine or not, as long as they were part of my family’s fleet; up to and including those owned by my in-laws, uncles, and aunts. And just to be clear, this only applies to this chapter. Last week, I covered my brother’s ’81 Ford Corcel II L, so today we’ll move on to the rest.
The Ford Corcel II was so popular in Uruguay between 1980 and 1982 that some extended families ended up with one or two per household. For example, the Corcel II I described last week—probably the quintessential “car” of my youth—was nearly identical to those my uncles drove, just a few months apart. One uncle, who was heavily reliant on his car for daily transportation, had his first Corcel blow a rod at just 150,000 km and one year old. He went back to the dealer, paid the balance, and drove off with another slightly used model from the same year. He didn’t even want to consider a different car.
Now let me tell you about my father-in-law’s Corcel II LDO Belina (Station Wagon), which I came across at the same time I met his daughter. The daughter is still with me, but the Corcel? It was sold to his nephew, and was totaled by a bus at 120,000 km. No human harm, just scrap.
No surprises there. I won’t throw any shade, but my father-in-law never changed the tires once during the entire 1980-1993 period he owned it. His reasoning? “I drive slowly anyway, and the grooves are still deep. As long as you keep it aligned, no problem.” Bear in mind, he was a mechanic by trade, though his day job was as a carpenter.
His car-buying habits were always a bit strange. He’d buy cars impulsively, as soon as one of his two usual cars (one for work, the other for family) started to have problems. Mostly based on price. The cheaper, the better. Case in point: He once bought a Grumett (a fiberglass-bodied, 5-passenger version of the Vauxhall Viva pickup, built in Uruguay to dodge tax laws) from a Coca-Cola fleet. A unit used for the company’s salesmen, and let’s just say the condition of the car wasn’t great. But it was cheap!
Everybody knows a Peugeot 504, a Renault 12, an Opel Rekord, a Chevette; but most people don’t know a Grumett. Even I couldn’t find a picture of the model until this very moment before delivering the article. Here it is (my FIL’s was Coca-Cola red). As you can see, this photo was taken from a brand new vehicle. It’s a 70 or 71:
That car was eventually sold, and my uncle replaced it with a 1978 Peugeot 504 SES, which was the top-of-the-line model in Argentina at the time. It looked sharp, but every time you cranked the engine you could hear a distinctive bump; proof of its history, no doubt. Still, the body was solid, and it was priced a bit cheaper than my Opel Rekord, which was a few years younger but had half the mileage, power steering, and much better finishing.
But of course, the Peugeot didn’t stick around long, and now we get back to the Corcel saddle. The 504 SES was traded for an ’81 Corcel II Standard. My father-in-law bought it sight unseen, because, well, he was too busy to look at it. When it arrived, we noticed evidence of front-end accident: a bulging hood, a new radiator, and a repaired bumper. But my father-in-law didn’t mind. He just made sure the car was aligned and carried on.
I drove that car a lot. It was very different from my brother’s Corcel; it had around 65 horsepower against my brother’s 80, and it had a 4-speed transmission instead of a 5-speed. It was noisy, thanks to a total lack of soundproofing. The interior was all cheap vinyl instead of fabric, and it had a rubber floor mat, a metal dash, and only an AM radio. No frills. The bumpers were black, and most of the rest of the car was painted the same color as the body, including the door handles, which being all the same color made them look cheaper.
This particular version of the Corcel wasn’t a top seller, but it became popular among credit pools which typically favored the lowest trim level. That, despite the lack of power steering, though let’s be honest, there wasn’t any power to be found in a Corcel… just the power brakes, which weren’t that great either. The steering on his was surprisingly light, likely due to the smaller 1.4-liter engine and the skinnier tires (145s instead of 175s). The steering wheel was simpler too—thinner and less comfortable than those in the higher trims—but it was easy to maneuver, especially around town.
1978 Corcel II image from brochure.
Eventually, the Corcel went to an aunt, so it stayed in the family for a few more years. I continued driving it, though it wasn’t well maintained (alignment issues, remember?), and its mechanical health deteriorated quickly.
One of my cousins bought the same model, just a couple of months old, from a guy who couldn’t keep up with its payments. This car was a pale blue, like the one my brother had; practically the same color as the fridge we had at home. I never drove it, but I rode in it a few times, and it was night and day compared to my father-in-law’s car, in terms of condition.
Another uncle had always driven Renault 12s. In 1982, he urgently needed to trade his car, so he went to his usual dealer and the only car available within his budget was an ’81 Corcel II GT. He wasn’t thrilled with it, but it was a sharp car. The GT was mostly a trim package, with black-painted wheels, chrome wheel rims, a black hood, a tachometer, and other accessories. When new it was pricier than the L version but less expensive than the LDO. I’m not sure if there were GT station wagons in Brazil, but I know there weren’t any in Uruguay. The Corcel II lineup offered these three trims in both sedan and wagon versions, though the standard Belina wagon didn’t sell well.
Now, remember when I said my father-in-law no longer has his Corcel but I’m still with his daughter? That was 43 years ago. Eventually (we were 17 at the time), she became a fantastic cook and cake decorator, though she never worked professionally in those fields. When we got married 35 years ago she decided to make our wedding cake –after having baked countless birthday cakes for our nephews and nieces. It was huge and to get it to the venue we borrowed my father-in-law’s Corcel II Belina station wagon and lowered its rear seat. The cake stretched from the front seats to the rear door. I’m not sure how long that surface was, but it was long enough to fit. She was a little worried I’d trip while carrying it, but I reassured her. Confidence in my hands had been building for almost half a century by then and the cake arrived unscathed, even after a heavy traffic 15 km trip.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1979 Ford Corcel II – The Confusing History Of A Brazilian Multinational Classic
What a great story again, Rafael.
I too made cakes for family events. They were usually silly, for example, a birthday cake which was the model of the home football ground of my Down’s Syndrome cousin’s favorite team. (Geelong, Kardinia Park, for Australians). I have not done this for years.
I had to drive that football-ground cake about 60 miles to the birthday of my cousin. My passenger, with the cake on her lap, was not a good driver, even as a passenger/advisor. At an intersection where it was impossible to see, I relied on her judgement. We nearly crashed when she said “Go!”, but I was mainly worried for the cake that had taken so many hours! It survived – just.
Btw, I say, yet again, that the Corcel, and this time, the Corcel II, is vastly better-looking than the Renault 12.
Thank you so much, Justy!
I there a photo of the cake available?
Tomorrow I’ll dig up the albums and try to find one! Thanks for writing!
The cake story intrigues me. That sounds like at least a two person job for such a long object.
You are right, of course. It had a strong, non-edible base (I think it was some kind of plastic but I’m not sure). As I always was quite unreliable transporting fragile material, my bride-to-be was more than a little nervous with me on one end of the cake. But we did it. It was quite heavy too, lots and lots of sugar covering. I wouldn’t be able to tell you the cake story in full, but it had myriad hand-made lowers, which had been made at least 3 or 4 days before so they dried properly. Each tiny flower had its sugar petals, fishing-line pistils, and other decoration I don’t remember. I think some structural plastic, a bridge, a fountain and something like that was rented at a specialist store.
Rafael: I think the Corcel II is surprisingly good looking, given its Renault roots.
I did not know about the Corcel II and I can not remember ever seeing one in Argentina. Was the Corcel II sold in Argentina or ever produced by Ford in the country?
It seems that Uruguay is more likely to have cars made in and intended for Brasil than cars produced in Argentina – but you tell me.
Thanks for writing this. I am fascinated with Uruguay.
Hi constellation, thank you for this message!
I can tell you for sure that I saw one or two Corcel II in Uruguay sporting Argentinian license plates and tourist decals. But that doesn’t mean anything in fact. Argentina, having so large a market, made it attractive for some entrepreneurs to just import directly some batches of cars and sell them, outside the usual manufacturer’s distribution net. What I can assure you is that the Corcel was never produced anywhere but in Brazil.
Uruguay has always imported from both countries, there are some periods when the exchange rate favors one origin or the other. Argentina has been having serious problems with their industry for some years, so there are not too many new cars from there now. But Peugeot, Toyota and probably some other that I don’t remember now have models coming from there. In the 70s, for example, all Fiats were imported as CKDs from Argentina, as were Renault 12s from the beginning to the end. If you are interested in Uruguay, feel free to ask, I might even have the answer!
I too think both Corcels looked modern and up to date when new .
Great reading the back stories .
-Nate
Thank you, Nate.
I agree with you. In the case of the Corcel II, the car looked not only really modern, but for fans of American cars like us, even knowing that it was just the skin and that below that it was a R12, the big doors, the coupe-like silhouette, the many classic Ford styling cues, and the inherently silent and smooth driving of those cars when new made them very appealing.