RE: The final Ford Capri: Driven
Discussion
s m said:
cayman-black said:
The four-speed(original) was faster and could top 130mph.
Yep, none of the later 5-so 2.8s quite managed the same top speed - 127 on the bowl for the 5-sp Special Autocar tested 4-speeders managed the same top speed as the XR4i
- round about 130 - clock was reading over 140 mark!
swisstoni said:
I had a nearly new 2.8i for several years after lusting after Capris for a while. It was a really nice car and I only jumped ship for a TVR.
Re. the Mustang, the only thing you’d have wanted out of it at the time was the 5.0.
They looked like this;
How much time did you spend trying to find the worst example and picture of one Re. the Mustang, the only thing you’d have wanted out of it at the time was the 5.0.
They looked like this;
Back in the day my brother and I both had Capris, and we still miss them today.
My brother now has a 2016 Ford Mustang, I tend to think of it as a modern Capri 5.0S. These things a really quite good straight off the showroom floor.
If you don't mind a GM product pick up a 5.7 or 6.0 Vauxhall Monaro, you can get a very nice one for around 10 to 15k. These things are almost as mechanically simple as a Capri but a bit quicker.
These cars really are the last of their kind, a throw back to the muscle car era.
If you don't get one you will kick yourself in a few years time.
My brother now has a 2016 Ford Mustang, I tend to think of it as a modern Capri 5.0S. These things a really quite good straight off the showroom floor.
If you don't mind a GM product pick up a 5.7 or 6.0 Vauxhall Monaro, you can get a very nice one for around 10 to 15k. These things are almost as mechanically simple as a Capri but a bit quicker.
These cars really are the last of their kind, a throw back to the muscle car era.
If you don't get one you will kick yourself in a few years time.
mfp4073 said:
Back in the day my brother and I both had Capris, and we still miss them today.
My brother now has a 2016 Ford Mustang, I tend to think of it as a modern Capri 5.0S. These things a really quite good straight off the showroom floor.
If you don't mind a GM product pick up a 5.7 or 6.0 Vauxhall Monaro, you can get a very nice one for around 10 to 15k. These things are almost as mechanically simple as a Capri but a bit quicker.
These cars really are the last of their kind, a throw back to the muscle car era.
If you don't get one you will kick yourself in a few years time.
Capri wasn't a muscle car. It was a down scaling of the popular Pony car (the early Mustang). Which was based on an economy car platform, small and compact and more about image/style than outright performance.My brother now has a 2016 Ford Mustang, I tend to think of it as a modern Capri 5.0S. These things a really quite good straight off the showroom floor.
If you don't mind a GM product pick up a 5.7 or 6.0 Vauxhall Monaro, you can get a very nice one for around 10 to 15k. These things are almost as mechanically simple as a Capri but a bit quicker.
These cars really are the last of their kind, a throw back to the muscle car era.
If you don't get one you will kick yourself in a few years time.
I loved the Capri and lament not owning one myself. But the Monaro is a much bigger and heavier car, and while it is a 2+2 coupe, I'm not really sure it sits in the same space as the Capri.
300bhp/ton said:
Capri wasn't a muscle car. It was a down scaling of the popular Pony car (the early Mustang). Which was based on an economy car platform, small and compact and more about image/style than outright performance.
I loved the Capri and lament not owning one myself. But the Monaro is a much bigger and heavier car, and while it is a 2+2 coupe, I'm not really sure it sits in the same space as the Capri.
Yes you are right.I loved the Capri and lament not owning one myself. But the Monaro is a much bigger and heavier car, and while it is a 2+2 coupe, I'm not really sure it sits in the same space as the Capri.
I was thinking that the Capri and Monaro were similar in that they are a 2+2 front engined rear wheel drive coupe. A bit of a blue collar worker dream car in their own countries.
Admittedly I'm stretching the similarities a bit but you get the idea.
cerb4.5lee said:
Christhepostie said:
cerb4.5lee said:
That is exactly what my Dad did! He test drove a 3.0s Capri but ended up buying a 1979 Mustang 5 Litre V8 Cobra instead. He had it for 10 years from me being 7 to 17...fantastic memories of that car for sure and the noise/exclusivity were off the scale.
He also had a couple of Capri's too...a Gold 2.0GL and a Blue GXL(or similar I can't remember as I was only a baby!).
He got rid of it as you turned 17? Was he telling you something? I'd still be fuming.. He also had a couple of Capri's too...a Gold 2.0GL and a Blue GXL(or similar I can't remember as I was only a baby!).
As you can imagine I loved the car so much and the car played a big part with me growing up.
Couple of poor pics(ignore my sis!).
However, at the age of 18 and with 1 year NCB I bought this for under £1300
Ironically I couldn’t have afforded a nearly new 2.8i ( at the time ) and both the 2.8 and 3 litre were both more on insurance than the Mustang
It was a 351ci Cleveland ( 5.7V8 circa 300bhp ) with a few mods but was one of those strange anomalies ( claims record etc ) where it was cheaper to insure than a hot Escort or Capri
My parents were amazed I never killed myself!
s m said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Christhepostie said:
cerb4.5lee said:
That is exactly what my Dad did! He test drove a 3.0s Capri but ended up buying a 1979 Mustang 5 Litre V8 Cobra instead. He had it for 10 years from me being 7 to 17...fantastic memories of that car for sure and the noise/exclusivity were off the scale.
He also had a couple of Capri's too...a Gold 2.0GL and a Blue GXL(or similar I can't remember as I was only a baby!).
He got rid of it as you turned 17? Was he telling you something? I'd still be fuming.. He also had a couple of Capri's too...a Gold 2.0GL and a Blue GXL(or similar I can't remember as I was only a baby!).
As you can imagine I loved the car so much and the car played a big part with me growing up.
Couple of poor pics(ignore my sis!).
However, at the age of 18 and with 1 year NCB I bought this for under £1300
Ironically I couldn’t have afforded a nearly new 2.8i ( at the time ) and both the 2.8 and 3 litre were both more on insurance than the Mustang
It was a 351ci Cleveland ( 5.7V8 circa 300bhp ) with a few mods but was one of those strange anomalies ( claims record etc ) where it was cheaper to insure than a hot Escort or Capri
My parents were amazed I never killed myself!
300bhp is over twice what the Mustang had!
Hats off to you keeping it in one piece...I would've definitely binned it!!
cerb4.5lee said:
s m said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Christhepostie said:
cerb4.5lee said:
That is exactly what my Dad did! He test drove a 3.0s Capri but ended up buying a 1979 Mustang 5 Litre V8 Cobra instead. He had it for 10 years from me being 7 to 17...fantastic memories of that car for sure and the noise/exclusivity were off the scale.
He also had a couple of Capri's too...a Gold 2.0GL and a Blue GXL(or similar I can't remember as I was only a baby!).
He got rid of it as you turned 17? Was he telling you something? I'd still be fuming.. He also had a couple of Capri's too...a Gold 2.0GL and a Blue GXL(or similar I can't remember as I was only a baby!).
As you can imagine I loved the car so much and the car played a big part with me growing up.
Couple of poor pics(ignore my sis!).
However, at the age of 18 and with 1 year NCB I bought this for under £1300
Ironically I couldn’t have afforded a nearly new 2.8i ( at the time ) and both the 2.8 and 3 litre were both more on insurance than the Mustang
It was a 351ci Cleveland ( 5.7V8 circa 300bhp ) with a few mods but was one of those strange anomalies ( claims record etc ) where it was cheaper to insure than a hot Escort or Capri
My parents were amazed I never killed myself!
300bhp is over twice what the Mustang had!
Hats off to you keeping it in one piece...I would've definitely binned it!!
mfp4073 said:
Yes you are right.
I was thinking that the Capri and Monaro were similar in that they are a 2+2 front engined rear wheel drive coupe. A bit of a blue collar worker dream car in their own countries.
Admittedly I'm stretching the similarities a bit but you get the idea.
Yeah that’s pretty fair. I was thinking that the Capri and Monaro were similar in that they are a 2+2 front engined rear wheel drive coupe. A bit of a blue collar worker dream car in their own countries.
Admittedly I'm stretching the similarities a bit but you get the idea.
I was fortunate to grow up around 3 Litre Capris. My Late Dad bought my Mum VEG 97H an aubergine 3000GT in 1972. And in either 73 or 74, they changed that for an absolutely immaculate Tawny J registered 3000E auto, from a garage at Chingford Mount. By 1976, the Capri was scruffy, so she chopped it in for a lovely 73 Cortina 2000GXL Auto in that stunning Onyx green.
Fast forward to Jan 82 and with the £950 I got for my Z900, I bought EVC 289L, from a then pal. It was in the early 80s, the fastest 3 Litre Capri in East London. It was a very late 72 registered, pre facelift 3000GT in Daytona yellow.
This car already had a " Reputation " as being a very quick one, confirmed by myself the previous September, when I had a late night tear up with it, on my Z900 and @ 118mph, with the Z threatening to go into a huge tank slapper, the Capri was hanging onto my Kwackas tail piece !
We never did establish just who had " tweaked " it's engine, but it would pull an indicated 128mph @ 5,800 rpm and was Still pulling, but I had to back off, as it was diabolicaly unstable @ high speeds.
One day in Chingford, I had an epic dice with someone in a blue 69 Shelby GT500.
I can still see in my minds eye, the smoke belching off of that Mustangs rear tires and it slewing side ways as he booted it.....
Plus both of us going sideways around the first corner.
But I gave him a Huge fright in my £500 quid 3 Litre Capri.
EVC was by Far the quickest of the many Capris that I've since owned.
In 1982 a very wealthy pals Mum, bought a new X reg graphite over silver 2.8i from Gates of Woodford. We had a tear up down the Epping New rd one eve and @ 115, I was right behind him in a scruffy blue K reg 3000E that I had.
After 5 more MK1 3 litres, in late 1985, I bought a red T reg 3.0 Litre S, but I didn't like it, too heavy, under tired, shockingly poor spring and dampers, but I did love its Recaros and PAS set up. The hordes of 323is around then, used to leave it for dead.
Two more 3.0 Litre S followed.
I've also owned four 2.8i Capris, but that 2.8 engine just didn't do anything for me after the torque laden 3 Liter cars.
s m said:
blade7 said:
4th gear was the same 1-1 ratio in both gearboxes, everything else being equal the later cars would have done 130 in 4th gear too.
Yep, they should have done! The 5 speed 2.8i is a little heavier than the 4 speed and the Injection Special is heavier still.
I had my 84 A reg 2.8i initially as a 4 speed as it had been converted by the previous owner. I then put a 5 speed box back in and was extremely underwhelmed !
I think it's fairer to say that the 4 speed was QUICKER than the 5.
It was a different gearbox carried over from the 3.0 S / Ghia and had a much better / quicker change quality backed up with a much more suitable set of shorter gears which disguised the Cologne V6's lack of low down torque. Aside from singing loudly over 70 mph it was vastly superior to Type Nine borrowed from the four cylinder cars which was not really uprated anything like as much as it should have been.
The Capri wasnt that Chest Wiggy really,
I used to work in a pub in Gatley and a bloke used to come in, he was a ladies hairdresser but not the stereotypical camp type, he was quite cool despite being a refugee from the seventies, he was called Dave and was sort of a Barry Gibb alike, all jewellery, coiffed hair, trimmed beard, shirt open two buttons too far and small cigars, he carried it off quite well to be fair.
He drove one of these,
I couldn't believe it was a 6.6 Turbo, that won at Top Trumps but was actually feeble by modern standards (210 bhp, had assumed nearer 350), though he did leave in a cloud of tyre smoke one night on request, it was quite impressive, especially given he had drunk quite a bit.
That was the epitome of chest wiggery, made a Capri look pretty unassuming.
I used to work in a pub in Gatley and a bloke used to come in, he was a ladies hairdresser but not the stereotypical camp type, he was quite cool despite being a refugee from the seventies, he was called Dave and was sort of a Barry Gibb alike, all jewellery, coiffed hair, trimmed beard, shirt open two buttons too far and small cigars, he carried it off quite well to be fair.
He drove one of these,
I couldn't believe it was a 6.6 Turbo, that won at Top Trumps but was actually feeble by modern standards (210 bhp, had assumed nearer 350), though he did leave in a cloud of tyre smoke one night on request, it was quite impressive, especially given he had drunk quite a bit.
That was the epitome of chest wiggery, made a Capri look pretty unassuming.
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