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Central Scanning provided a 3D scanner to Car SOS to restore one of Britain’s best-selling auto classics.

by | May 10, 2023

Car SOS
Bobby Singh was the owner of a run-down Ford Cortina Mark III XL. However, Bobby started to suffer from various health issues over the years and as a result. The 1970s British classic car was locked away in a garage and left to corrode and rust.

To help get the Mark III back on the road again, his family reached out to the popular TV show Car SOS. This British automotive National Geographic show documents classic car restorations that hosts Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend carry out in secret.

The family brought Bobby’s Ford Cortina to the Car SOS workshop in Birmingham for a thorough check-up. It was safe to say that the car had seen better days.

Car SOS TV hosts (left and in the centre) and the lucky owner of the restored Ford Cortina Mark III after the grand reveal (Photo: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
Car SOS hosts meet Bobby’s family and his car for the first time (Photo: National Geographic)
The 1600cc Kent Crossflow engine was fully worn out, nearly the entire undercarriage had rusted over and was covered with rot, and some parts were missing, including the centre console.

Tim Shaw, who is responsible for sourcing all parts on the show, went looking for a new centre console. He wasn’t successful in finding a permanent replacement but he did manage to find one to borrow for a few days.

With the borrowed part, the new goal was now to construct an extremely-accurate 3D printed replica of the Ford Cortina’s console. Tim reached out to Central Scanning for help. Based in Bromsgrove, Central Scanning has been one of the key providers of 3D scanning products and services in the UK since 2006.

Nick Godfrey, the managing director of Central Scanning was keen to get involved, saying “Quite a few of us at Central Scanning are car fans, and I have a few classic cars myself.” The program has always been of interest to the team, especially since Car SOS is also based in Birmingham.

The first task was to decide which 3D scanner would be the best for the job. Central Scanning provided the Artec Space Spider because of its ability to capture complex shapes and fine details. It has a metrological accuracy of up to 0.05 mm and an ultra-high resolution of up to 0.1 mm. This is why many engineers, and car mechanics in particular, use the scanner for reverse engineering and quality inspection of car parts.

Tim Shaw from Car SOS and the Central Scanning team (Photo: Central Scanning)
3D scanning Ford Cortina Mark III XL centre console using the Artec Space Spider (Photo: National Geographic)
The borrowed centre console was 3D scanned and the data was processed using Artec Studio. With the final STL file complete, it was sent for 3D printing. The whole process took just over 8 hours to build an exact copy of the console, layer by layer. This was then added to the rest of the Ford Cortina’s makeover.

The grand reveal of Bobby’s car took place at Belvoir Castle with him, his family and the crew. He couldn’t believe that it was the same car, saying “Not possible, mine’s in way better condition than that old rust bucket!”

The 50-year-old Ford Cortina was now back up and running and ready to hit the road once again.

grand reveal of new car
Bobby and his car, happily reunited (Photo: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk)