Ford Capri 3.0 S: £15K Competition Update

A year on since the last update, the Capri is still causing problems!

Hello. It's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to hear about my Ford Capri? Yes, really - hi there. I'm writing this in utter disbelief that it's been just shy of a year since anything got published on the Capri. It's been a busy time for me; I graduated from university, bounced around between some jobs, moved home to Southend, spent some time all unemployed and miserable and then finally found a 'proper' job, which has been a major part of life since March. It's been busy, so please excuse the tardiness.

The Capri is still with me though, despite its best efforts to get put out to pasture or straight-up burned at the stake for being such an incomprehensible arse of a vehicle.

In the last update, its engine was coming together and I was getting pretty stoked at the prospect of just dropping it in and cracking on. Needless to say, this didn't happen. The first signifier of doom was when the cam bearings proved to have not gone in quite right and subsequently needing more professional attention than I'd hoped. With that revelation, the project got shelved while I took stock.

In the time between realising there was an issue and thinking of how best to rectify it, the car rather understandably wore out its welcome in the shed and got relocated to my driveway. As much as I'm sure it missed having a drier nose, getting it outside the back door was greatly preferable to a 100-mile drive when I wanted to take a spanner to it. I also had my garage, and cracked on sorting out something to power it when I had time to do so.

Time really is the killer for this. I remember being called out last time for 'not having the budget to run a car like this' (or words to that effect; either way the moral of the rant was that I therefore shouldn't be trying - I digress) but it really has been an eye-opener in terms of project management. I can completely see why so many old boys end up with those cars that are 'gonna get done one day'; time or money, pick one. Maybe the key is to just send it away and let someone else do it, but where's the fun in that?

Anyway - those slightly out-of-kilter cam bearings were a major headache. The block needed sending away and it all started to sound expensive when I spotted a reconditioned 3.1 for sale locally. It was destined for a Ford Pop when the guy had done a u-turn and opted for a big block Chevy instead - top lad.

I picked the engine up and set to putting it together. Everything checked out right up until I couldn't fit the new spigot bearing as it was hanging from the crane and ready to slide in. An old outer race was still in there - bugger. I took my time knocking it to bits and getting it out chip by chip with a chisel when I got a phone call from a mate several hours in. "You be careful doing that" he said. "I'm going steady dude" I replied. Immediately after hanging up, I cracked the crank.

Still, all wasn't lost; I had a spare crank and a full set of bearings in stock, so back on the stand it went for a crank swap (shout out to my mum for holding all the rods in the right places) and check over before getting dropped into the engine bay. I put on my best safety flip flops and managed it single-handed in an hour or so, after realizing the exhaust manifolds hit everything in their path if you leave them fitted and that standard cranes are too short to come in from the front. I made the most of the summer evenings and got stuck in every night after work, getting off the train about eight then hitting the spanners 'til 11 right up until it was ready for the big day.

The first start was as frustrating as it was nerve-wracking, with its refusal to start eventually being tracked down to some idiot (me) trying to ignite the exhaust stroke. A valuable lesson learned and plug leads swapped, it started. It actually started. The engine I put together in my shed started, ran, and sounded fantastic. Whether it was time dulling my memory or the new parts freeing up the engine's vocal chords I'm not sure, but it was angry, loud and ready for the MOT.

Then it developed a knock in the top end. My whole world came crashing down around me, I doubted everything I once knew, contemplated the futility of life and had a mild existential crisis before running it over to my local garage for a test anyway. It aced the brake balance test with a perfect 211/211 and passed the MOT with no advisories before coming back home for more head scratching.

Before long, I admitted defeat and accepted I was out of my depth, so I took a short drive over to a guy who'd know what to do. Unfortunately, Tony doesn't work on Saturdays, so I headed home and vowed to go back mid-week.

I then learned of a design flaw in Mk3 Capris. If you like to drive in a relaxed position and your steering wheel sits at a slightly jaunty angle like mine when you're cruising home, the right-hand spoke of the wheel sits just over the temperature gauge... When this happens, if your radiator header tank splits you don't realise what's happened until the engine seizes up just off the A127. Cause, contribution or coincidence, I wasn't sure at the time; but check the next update and you might be able to take a more educated guess.

All I could do was laugh. I phoned a friend, winched it onto his beavertail Transit, dumped the car on the drive and ignored its sad little face while I decided what to do next.

Previous updates:
Matt explains why it had to be a Capri and how he found his dream car
The Capri project starts in earnest
Matt reports in after a summer of fun in his Capri
Burning the midnight oil
Capri goes well; stopping it is more of an issue
MoT reveals some rust ... quite a lot of rust
And it was all going so nicely too...
Engine out, time to begin hunt for a new one
The rebuild begins!
The rebuild progress has been a little slow...