Mk1 3 Litre Capris, How Many Survive ?
Discussion
We took the Old Sunday, May 28th 1972, FordSports Day Warrior back to Brands ( Top Hat Races ) last bank Holiday Monday weekend.
It was 39 years ago almost to the day, that she was thrashed around there in two 10 lap races.
She aroused a lot of interest and amazeingly one of the Marshalls from the race recognised himself in one of the race photos. Had a great chat with him.
It was 39 years ago almost to the day, that she was thrashed around there in two 10 lap races.
She aroused a lot of interest and amazeingly one of the Marshalls from the race recognised himself in one of the race photos. Had a great chat with him.
neutral 3 said:
Yes, ruff , ruff , ruff !
Since the late 80s she's seen the inside of more lock ups than an Alcatraz inmate !
We are slowly collecting replacement panels etc , but time , other projects and cash meen progress is slow .
I can remember when your car was advertised on ebay a few years back , I still have the pictures somewhere , Since the late 80s she's seen the inside of more lock ups than an Alcatraz inmate !
We are slowly collecting replacement panels etc , but time , other projects and cash meen progress is slow .
Would be good to get her back to original pre-race condition
How many survive....??
Of all versions, GT, GT L, GT XLR and GXL about 75 are left in regular (or summer only) use with a further 50 odd on permanant SORN.
Plus about 15 or so RS3100's left in regular use with a further half dozen on permanant SORN, which is a lot lower than I was expecting
Of all versions, GT, GT L, GT XLR and GXL about 75 are left in regular (or summer only) use with a further 50 odd on permanant SORN.
Plus about 15 or so RS3100's left in regular use with a further half dozen on permanant SORN, which is a lot lower than I was expecting
Shocked and sadened at these numbers. I had so much fun in these cars and met many friends through them . When I got my first , a Daytona Yellow 3000GT, EVC 289L from a pal for £550 I'n Jan 82, there were plenty still around Essex and East London , but not so many Facelift cars.
But even then there were some very rough ones and many hideously Customised ones as well.
I desperately tried to save a very scruffy every day driver Sebring Red RS3100 that I found on a council estate I'n Debden I'n 82, he was shocked that I knew exactly what it was and said he would call me when he decided to sell. I never did get that call and I have since been told that it was scrapped, I was gutted!
I lived and breathed 3 Litre Capris back then, ( less agg than Girls ) I had 6 MK 1 3 Litres , until I moved on to TR6s , 260Zs etc in 1986 , then Stingrays, E types R5 GT Turbos etc and largely forgot about Capris.
At the begining of last year the memories of them and sideways fun came flooding back and I just had to have another. Researching the Market , I just couldn't believe how few were left/ available and the prices being asked for RS3100s , Broadspeed Bullits etc.
I well remember reading about the FordSports Capri Races years ago and was very lucky to find my one last year .
I really would love an RS 3100, but to my mind they are overrated / overpriced and not much of an improvement over a standard 3 Litre GXL.
Ford really could have and should have made the RS something really special and exclusive . Although with only aprox 150 built, rarity makes them expensive.
However, BMW made their competitor , the 3.0 CSL Very Special, with its thinner gauge steel body, alloy boot and bonnet,
even making the fuel filler flap from alloy ! Discs all round, fabulous Scheel seats, the list is endless !
But even then there were some very rough ones and many hideously Customised ones as well.
I desperately tried to save a very scruffy every day driver Sebring Red RS3100 that I found on a council estate I'n Debden I'n 82, he was shocked that I knew exactly what it was and said he would call me when he decided to sell. I never did get that call and I have since been told that it was scrapped, I was gutted!
I lived and breathed 3 Litre Capris back then, ( less agg than Girls ) I had 6 MK 1 3 Litres , until I moved on to TR6s , 260Zs etc in 1986 , then Stingrays, E types R5 GT Turbos etc and largely forgot about Capris.
At the begining of last year the memories of them and sideways fun came flooding back and I just had to have another. Researching the Market , I just couldn't believe how few were left/ available and the prices being asked for RS3100s , Broadspeed Bullits etc.
I well remember reading about the FordSports Capri Races years ago and was very lucky to find my one last year .
I really would love an RS 3100, but to my mind they are overrated / overpriced and not much of an improvement over a standard 3 Litre GXL.
Ford really could have and should have made the RS something really special and exclusive . Although with only aprox 150 built, rarity makes them expensive.
However, BMW made their competitor , the 3.0 CSL Very Special, with its thinner gauge steel body, alloy boot and bonnet,
even making the fuel filler flap from alloy ! Discs all round, fabulous Scheel seats, the list is endless !
neutral 3 said:
I really would love an RS 3100, but to my mind they are overrated / overpriced and not much of an improvement over a standard 3 Litre GXL.
Back in the early 1980's I drove a few 3.0GXL's and had quite a bit of time at the wheel of several RS3100's, and there was a BIG difference in the way they both drove. The RS was a lot better than a standard GXL 
neutral 3 said:
Ford really could have and should have made the RS something really special and exclusive . Although with only aprox 150 built, rarity makes them expensive.
Ford made 247 RS3100 Capri's.The trouble is, it was only ever a homolgation special to enable them to use the Cosworth GAA and ducktail rear spoiler in Euro Touring car racing, and with that co-inciding with the Middle East Oil Crisis at the same time, sales would have struggled even more if they had made it even more expensive with better seats, LSD and a bit more grunt.
I came close to buying an Olympic Blue RS3100 back in 1985, but I baulked at it because it was so nice and I still needed an everyday driver back then, which had to be parked once a week in Willesden in North London
neutral 3 said:
However, BMW made their competitor , the 3.0 CSL Very Special, with its thinner gauge steel body, alloy boot and bonnet,
even making the fuel filler flap from alloy ! Discs all round, fabulous Scheel seats, the list is endless !
Yeah, but a 3.0CSL was triple the price of a RS3100 back in 1974 so it should 3 times more special even making the fuel filler flap from alloy ! Discs all round, fabulous Scheel seats, the list is endless !
A neighbour in Chingford bought a Marine Blue 3100, VUN ???N , in around 85 or 86,, think he found it in exchange and whotsit, it was the only Marine Blue one either of us had ever seen
I have a photo somewhere of it.
Lost touch with him when I moved I'n the late 80s, but Apparently it hasn't survived either.
I have a photo somewhere of it.
Lost touch with him when I moved I'n the late 80s, but Apparently it hasn't survived either.
neutral 3 said:
A neighbour in Chingford bought a Marine Blue 3100, VUN ???N , in around 85 or 86,, think he found it in exchange and whotsit, it was the only Marine Blue one either of us had ever seen
I have a photo somewhere of it.
Lost touch with him when I moved I'n the late 80s, but Apparently it hasn't survived either.
Did he join AVO OC? as that rings a bell. I have a photo somewhere of it.
Lost touch with him when I moved I'n the late 80s, but Apparently it hasn't survived either.
The Secretary of the Ford AVO Owners Club lived in Chingford at that time, so he may well have spotted it around.
From memory, there was only either 6 or 9 (definately single figures) made in Marine Blue, it was the rarest of the RS31 colours.
Daytona and Sebring were the most common RS31 colours, accounting for over half of the 247 cars.
I've got a photo somewhere, taken at a AVO OC National Day in the mid to late 80's of a Marine Blue RS31..... maybe the same car?
Wondered if it sounded familiar ! and yes, Marine Blue was the rarest colour, I remember chatting to him about it , as neither of us thought Ford made them in that colour. It didn't really suit the cars shape. But it was a genuine one.
If I do find one it will be Daytona or Olympic .
It could well be the one you saw, it was a nice one then ,so i am suprised it hasnt survived
I well remember him saying that he was going to join one of the Owners clubs. Trying to rack my memory as to a date, i had just exchanged my Gold 3.0 S for a complete dog of a 323i, which was June 86.
My old album is I'n my parents loft somewhere, I def have photos of it
If I do find one it will be Daytona or Olympic .
It could well be the one you saw, it was a nice one then ,so i am suprised it hasnt survived
I well remember him saying that he was going to join one of the Owners clubs. Trying to rack my memory as to a date, i had just exchanged my Gold 3.0 S for a complete dog of a 323i, which was June 86.
My old album is I'n my parents loft somewhere, I def have photos of it
Right, I've had a quick rifle through my old Havoc's....
Memory cells have played their usual tricks and I was wrong, it was 249 RS3100's made, and they were all made in one month, Nov 73, so that's why the RS31's appear as if in block of sequential VIN's.
Officially, 50 of those 249 were exported to Australia, but because of slow UK sales because of the oil crisis, another 25 may have been sent out by Ford, but there's no real confirmation of that.
Of those 249 cars, amazingly, 20 were registered to Ford as press, publicity cars, one of them, a Sebring Red car, was given to DJ Jimmy Saville!! And one those 20 was a Marine Blue one.
The first block of, and biggest batch of RS31's built were a mix of Daytona, Sebring and Diamond White cars, which accounts for the predominance of those 3 colours. The other colours were in the later batches during the months production. The very last batch built were all the Marine Blue cars.
As at the end of 1991, the AVO OC had the details of 158 of the 249 cars.
Colour brake down of those 158 were:-
Sebring Red - 41
Diamond White - 36
Daytona Yellow - 29
Modena Green - 18
Stardust Silver - 13
Olympic Blue - 12
Marine Blue - 9
Memory cells have played their usual tricks and I was wrong, it was 249 RS3100's made, and they were all made in one month, Nov 73, so that's why the RS31's appear as if in block of sequential VIN's.
Officially, 50 of those 249 were exported to Australia, but because of slow UK sales because of the oil crisis, another 25 may have been sent out by Ford, but there's no real confirmation of that.
Of those 249 cars, amazingly, 20 were registered to Ford as press, publicity cars, one of them, a Sebring Red car, was given to DJ Jimmy Saville!! And one those 20 was a Marine Blue one.
The first block of, and biggest batch of RS31's built were a mix of Daytona, Sebring and Diamond White cars, which accounts for the predominance of those 3 colours. The other colours were in the later batches during the months production. The very last batch built were all the Marine Blue cars.
As at the end of 1991, the AVO OC had the details of 158 of the 249 cars.
Colour brake down of those 158 were:-
Sebring Red - 41
Diamond White - 36
Daytona Yellow - 29
Modena Green - 18
Stardust Silver - 13
Olympic Blue - 12
Marine Blue - 9
Really interesting reply, those figures make interesting reading.
Any idea How many are known to survive now ?
Several have been sent to Oz in recent years ( CSLs to ).
Re the Jimmy Saville one, he loved his cars, ( he had 15 E types aparently and an ultra rare / hugely expensive Carawagon Range Rover. Any idea what happened to his RS ?
Any idea How many are known to survive now ?
Several have been sent to Oz in recent years ( CSLs to ).
Re the Jimmy Saville one, he loved his cars, ( he had 15 E types aparently and an ultra rare / hugely expensive Carawagon Range Rover. Any idea what happened to his RS ?
t
How many are in Aus is another matter, but probably about the same amount, if more have gone out there since, as there were about 14-15 known survivors about 20 years ago.
Not sure if the Savill RS is still around, it was 20 years ago, and was on rebuild.
I'll have to do a number plate search when I've got a bit more time.
neutral 3 said:
Really interesting reply, those figures make interesting reading.
Any idea How many are known to survive now ?
As I said in an earlier post, about 15-20 seem to be in regular use with an handful on long term SORN, so about 25 max left in the UK it would seem, which is a lot less than I thought. I can remember seeing about a dozen or so lined up at AVO OC National Day's back in the 1980's, and we reckoned we only ever got about a third of the cars together at any one time.Any idea How many are known to survive now ?
How many are in Aus is another matter, but probably about the same amount, if more have gone out there since, as there were about 14-15 known survivors about 20 years ago.
Not sure if the Savill RS is still around, it was 20 years ago, and was on rebuild.
I'll have to do a number plate search when I've got a bit more time.
Sorry but those MK1 Capri figures are miles off the mark.
I would say they should be at least 4x that level. Castle Combe RS Day had more than that figure in one day.
Don't get me wrong. As an owner I would love to be in such an Elite. In all honesty I think 75 is probably more likely the number of RS3100' around. I was in a garage only a couple of weeks about with 3 RS3100's and I could certainly speak to another 10 owners without breaking a sweat in one night.
Across all MK1's for 3ltr's I would reckon on the number being closer to 500. At last count at least 50% of all RS3100's built I believe were still in existence.
I would say they should be at least 4x that level. Castle Combe RS Day had more than that figure in one day.
Don't get me wrong. As an owner I would love to be in such an Elite. In all honesty I think 75 is probably more likely the number of RS3100' around. I was in a garage only a couple of weeks about with 3 RS3100's and I could certainly speak to another 10 owners without breaking a sweat in one night.
Across all MK1's for 3ltr's I would reckon on the number being closer to 500. At last count at least 50% of all RS3100's built I believe were still in existence.
standardman said:
Sorry but those MK1 Capri figures are miles off the mark.
I would say they should be at least 4x that level. Castle Combe RS Day had more than that figure in one day.
Don't get me wrong. As an owner I would love to be in such an Elite. In all honesty I think 75 is probably more likely the number of RS3100' around. I was in a garage only a couple of weeks about with 3 RS3100's and I could certainly speak to another 10 owners without breaking a sweat in one night.
Across all MK1's for 3ltr's I would reckon on the number being closer to 500. At last count at least 50% of all RS3100's built I believe were still in existence.
As I mentioned before in respect of the RS2000, those are the figures for cars registered when new with those names you can find in the searches.I would say they should be at least 4x that level. Castle Combe RS Day had more than that figure in one day.
Don't get me wrong. As an owner I would love to be in such an Elite. In all honesty I think 75 is probably more likely the number of RS3100' around. I was in a garage only a couple of weeks about with 3 RS3100's and I could certainly speak to another 10 owners without breaking a sweat in one night.
Across all MK1's for 3ltr's I would reckon on the number being closer to 500. At last count at least 50% of all RS3100's built I believe were still in existence.
It's entirely possibly that those listed RS3100's are those remaining cars that were actually registered new as a RS3100, or Capri 3000 GT XLR etc. It's entirely possible that many RS3100's were actually just registered as a Capri, in the same way as many RS2000's were just registered as an Escort with a 2000cc engine.
My first AVO RS2000 just had Escort on the logbook, whereas the other 2 I had after, had Esort RS2000 on the logbook. I've also seen a RS2000 logbook where it was registered as an Escort RS.
Therefore it's impossible to determine via that DfT site how many RS2000's are left.
The same could easily be true of the Capri's, incl the RS3100.
As I said in my earlier posts, I find it hard to believe it's that few, just from the amount of owners active in AVO OC.
As you said, it has to be 50+ at least active, with a possible dozen or so more on SORN.
The figures for active Escort Twin Cams is way too low as well with less than 10 on that DfT website, and I know it's more than that.
aeropilot said:
As I mentioned before in respect of the RS2000, those are the figures for cars registered when new with those names you can find in the searches.
It's entirely possibly that those listed RS3100's are those remaining cars that were actually registered new as a RS3100, or Capri 3000 GT XLR etc. It's entirely possible that many RS3100's were actually just registered as a Capri, in the same way as many RS2000's were just registered as an Escort with a 2000cc engine.
My first AVO RS2000 just had Escort on the logbook, whereas the other 2 I had after, had Esort RS2000 on the logbook. I've also seen a RS2000 logbook where it was registered as an Escort RS.
Therefore it's impossible to determine via that DfT site how many RS2000's are left.
The same could easily be true of the Capri's, incl the RS3100.
As I said in my earlier posts, I find it hard to believe it's that few, just from the amount of owners active in AVO OC.
As you said, it has to be 50+ at least active, with a possible dozen or so more on SORN.
The figures for active Escort Twin Cams is way too low as well with less than 10 on that DfT website, and I know it's more than that.
Well I have two on SORN and I sold another 3000 GXL 2 years ago , I know its now in restoration , so that would also be on a SORNIt's entirely possibly that those listed RS3100's are those remaining cars that were actually registered new as a RS3100, or Capri 3000 GT XLR etc. It's entirely possible that many RS3100's were actually just registered as a Capri, in the same way as many RS2000's were just registered as an Escort with a 2000cc engine.
My first AVO RS2000 just had Escort on the logbook, whereas the other 2 I had after, had Esort RS2000 on the logbook. I've also seen a RS2000 logbook where it was registered as an Escort RS.
Therefore it's impossible to determine via that DfT site how many RS2000's are left.
The same could easily be true of the Capri's, incl the RS3100.
As I said in my earlier posts, I find it hard to believe it's that few, just from the amount of owners active in AVO OC.
As you said, it has to be 50+ at least active, with a possible dozen or so more on SORN.
The figures for active Escort Twin Cams is way too low as well with less than 10 on that DfT website, and I know it's more than that.
if you go on the Capri Power Forum , there seems to be a lot of 3 litre owners on there and they regulary have meets , Especialy European events where there is a huge Dutch, German and French contingent , I think there are still an awfull lot of mk 1s and 3 litre , 3100 , 2600s out there probably and sadly like mine sat at the back of the garage.
cheers
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