RE: The final Ford Capri: Driven
Discussion
Faust66 said:
j4r4lly said:
J4CKO said:
j4r4lly said:
I still dream about this car now and then (deeply sad I know) and woke up last year being convinced that I still owned it and had tucked it away in a lockup and forgotten about it!
Have had a similar dream about my Mk1, still look out for it popping up on eBay, it was MOT'd until 2008, so it could have got tucked away as they were worth saving by then and if it had an MOT, it cant have been that bad by then.The dream was very vivid and it was quite nice tooling about in it, was genuinely disappointed when I realised it was a dream.
Mine is long gone............sold it to someone who had it about 2 weeks and crashed into the back of a bus writing it off.....
Still dream of D163 YJF... (black 2.8 injection special).
I think for me it was just because we had it around so long,
My dads one was around from about 74 when he got it, I can remember going with him to get it (bought privately) and it involved an amorous Alsatian that took a shine to me, my mum has said I was like catnip to pervy dogs, happened in Devon at a relatives, couldnt leave me anywhere near their Border Collie as it would try and shag me aged three, at least at some point in my life I was regarded as desirable, pity it was just to large horny canines
It was silver which faded over time, my dad added a black stripe down the side, it was the seventies so stripes were in, the stripe got changed so the rear wings had a big black patch, that was temporary and some years later he took it into the Bus Depot where he worked where it got painted white and it looked more or less identical to J4r4lly's one pictured above.
He added a Vinyl roof, he got all new chrome from the Ford Dealer near St Marys Hospital in about 1980, apparently the dealer had the trim in stock, wing badges, strips and all the stuff for round the Vinyl roof, the dealer apparently said something along the lines of "Glad I saved those, knew someone would want them eventually"
It looked great, I had a mishap during a stunt on my Raleigh Strika and hot the rear quarter, and a bloke bumped into the rear quarter, it went to court, we had our own copper called PC Brazier, the bloke who crashed into us was called Clifford Perkins, amazing what you remember.
I had a Feu Orange air freshener, the smell of that takes me back, though it was mixed with other smells, like slightly mouldy carpet and burning oil until my dad rebuilt the engine, can remember that job as well. Can remember the poooiiiing noise when you slammed the boot, the superheated black vinyl seats, the "Sports Motors of Hale" tax disk holder, the switch to go from 8 track to radio, the loud ticking of the clock in the centre console (well it was a GT-XLR) the six clock dash, the extra locks fitted in the door, the tops of the internal lock pop up things being filed off to prevent them being pulled up, the Piston Slap when it was cold and how easy autostores brake pads catch fire, the non functional heated rear screen, the silver chequered flag sticker that said "HIGH PERFORMANCE"
It had a Sanyo 8 track, I loved Tubular Bells, still do which was a good thing as he only had a handful of cassettes, Dark side of the Moon, Best of the Beach Boys, Deep Purple Machine Head and a couple of others, when I hear Tubular Bells nowadays I wait for the pause, and click as the tape machine switched tracks, it is perhaps best that particular technology got replaced, Reed and pipe Organ.....And....Tubular.....Bells, the Piltdown man bit scared me when I was little though, the sort of caveman gurgling and growling.
Remember sitting in it on Saturday at dinner time outside the chippy, stomach grumbling in anticipation of some stodge, my dad listening to the incomprehensible (to a kid) football pools report, Forfar Four, Queen of the South Nil, Forties, Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or less later in west, There are 4 score draws and 2 no score draws...
Sometimes it got a bit scary, like the time a bloke cut across him in a Viva and got a bit aggressive and it got a bit punchy, think it was the same time a drunk bloke at the cinema had puked over my brother as we tried to watch ET so not in a good mood, a Biker scuttled through another time and clouted the car or my dads arm resting on the door, a full on chase ensued !
My dad was saving for a 2.8i, he nearly won a 280 in Autocar in 87, in the last 5 or so, then I did win a car, a Golf GTI in the Daily Mirror, he bought that off me, and I got the Capri, I kept it a year and had loads of fun.
I learnt to drive in it, my mum did as well, I got picked up occasionally from school in it, my dad wasnt averse to leaving onto the main road sideways, bigger kid and any of those waiting for the school bus
if it ever snowed he used to arse about in the snow, which is where i get it from.It was eventful that year, the car had got 3 litre front springs as that was what my dad could get at the time so it had a somewhat nose up stance as the 1600 engine was half the weight of the Essex V6 which made the legendary handling even more er, legendary, when it went sideways it tended to go into a massive pendulum tank slapping type thing, never span it but I did give a queue of traffic going into Heald Green a nasty moment seeing this classic 20 year old Capri slewing one way and the other wit me sawing frantically at the wheel, managed to collect it and then had a bit of a lie down. Did the same following my mates (J4ckos mate on here) Viva onto the Manchester Airport Cargo centre, he saw one side of the car, then the other, then the first one again....
A mate got me a stereo liberated from a crashed 944 so I wired that in, a Panasonic F30, was so proud of that thing, the Technique album by New Order had just come out so that was the soundtrack, made a nice change from Tubular......Bells.
I used to show off sliding it round, the Heald Green Pub had an unmade section of car park, learnt how to do handbrake turns and donuts, well, as well as 90 ish bhp can muster, then the day after my dad noticed my car was sat at a jaunty angle due to a broken spring, so many happy hours then finding and removing a less shagged, but still quite shagged almost suitable and very crusty leaf spring. Put the proper front springs on as well, it was much nicer to drive and didnt look like it was going to hump the car in front.
I took all the wheels off and painted them, including the black inlays, spent hours on it, new carpet and had all sorts of ideas to refurbish things, but got bored and demoralised, as despite 18 years of my dads best efforts injecting various oily substances, mainly liberated from work into every nook and cranny, the rust was settling in, the front wing wad a hole above the front wheel, over which a Shell Oils Touring cars sticker lived. The electics sometimes went off completely, a bit alarming at pace somewhere up around High Peak at night, especially when it was accompanied by smoke, the gear stick occasionally fell out, this happened first back when my dad it, which seemed hilarious at the time as a kid.
I was working part time at a car sales place, a tidy 1.6 LS Mk3 in a fetching bluey green came in, seemed so new and luxurious with its check cloth trim and remote controlled (by a cable) door mirror, so the MK1 (OJA 375G) was sold and I bought that, still miss it, it still gets mentioned, I send my dad eBay links to similar cars to try to get him to buy one but he isnt into having old cars himself.
Edited by J4CKO on Thursday 9th May 22:09
Edited by J4CKO on Thursday 9th May 22:11
Johnny5hoods said:
10 pages in three days - something tells me this thread is striking a chord with people! I don't know what the record is for 10 pages but that's gotta be pretty quick.
So if the Capri is, clearly, still so important to so many of us, how come more of us don't drive low slung coupes? As often mentioned, the GT86 (nearest contemporary equivalent?) actually hasn't sold that well. Why? If it had had a more flexible V6 developing the same 200 horsepower, would it have sold better?
Something tells me there are a few of us who secretly long to ditch our saloons and upright hatches and relive our youth in a simple but effective curvy sports coupe.
Well I'm trying! So if the Capri is, clearly, still so important to so many of us, how come more of us don't drive low slung coupes? As often mentioned, the GT86 (nearest contemporary equivalent?) actually hasn't sold that well. Why? If it had had a more flexible V6 developing the same 200 horsepower, would it have sold better?
Something tells me there are a few of us who secretly long to ditch our saloons and upright hatches and relive our youth in a simple but effective curvy sports coupe.
I had a BMW 325ti Compact for 3 years, and have owned a BMW E86 3 litre for almost 5 years.
I test drove a GT86 5 years ago, but it just felt a bit gutless.
Now my daily is an E90 330i with 258PS - 200 bhp is shopping trolley stuff these days.
Anyway here is my low-slung Coupe!
s m said:
swisstoni said:
If you fancied a Vee engine there wasn’t much going on back in those days, sporty coupe wise.
You could get the Alfa GTV6 - in 2.5 format it was at least 10 -15% more price wise when newhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/set...
I had a couple of Capris in the late 70s/early 80s
First was a 1973 facelift model.
They were rust buckets when just a few years old, it’s a miracle any survived!
Mine was towed to a scrapyard when about 10 years old. Would have been worth a fair bit if kept in a dry garage & never used in the wet
First was a 1973 facelift model.
They were rust buckets when just a few years old, it’s a miracle any survived!
Mine was towed to a scrapyard when about 10 years old. Would have been worth a fair bit if kept in a dry garage & never used in the wet
carinaman said:
s m said:
swisstoni said:
If you fancied a Vee engine there wasn’t much going on back in those days, sporty coupe wise.
You could get the Alfa GTV6 - in 2.5 format it was at least 10 -15% more price wise when newhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/set...
J4CKO said:
I had a Feu Orange air freshener, the smell of that takes me back, though it was mixed with other smells, like slightly mouldy carpet and burning oil until my dad rebuilt the engine, can remember that job as well. Can remember the poooiiiing noise when you slammed the boot, the superheated black vinyl seats, the "Sports Motors of Hale" tax disk holder, the switch to go from 8 track to radio, the loud ticking of the clock in the centre console (well it was a GT-XLR) the six clock dash, the extra locks fitted in the door, the tops of the internal lock pop up things being filed off to prevent them being pulled up, the Piston Slap when it was cold and how easy autostores brake pads catch fire, the non functional heated rear screen, the silver chequered flag sticker that said "HIGH PERFORMANCE"
The electrics sometimes went off completely, a bit alarming at pace somewhere up around High Peak at night, especially when it was accompanied by smoke, the gear stick occasionally fell out, this happened first back when my dad it, which seemed hilarious at the time as a kid.
It must be a Capri thing.......the Feu Orange air freshener always leaked no matter how carefully I pushed the pin into the little bubble......... the poooiiiing noise when slamming the boot (think it was the wire spring things that ran across the hinges) the fag lighter that occasionally combusted as the wiring behind the dash was dodgyand the plastic thread on the gearlever which made them easy to cross thread and they then popped out at a critical moment. The electrics sometimes went off completely, a bit alarming at pace somewhere up around High Peak at night, especially when it was accompanied by smoke, the gear stick occasionally fell out, this happened first back when my dad it, which seemed hilarious at the time as a kid.
Edited by J4CKO on Thursday 9th May 22:09
Edited by J4CKO on Thursday 9th May 22:11
I remember the long summer in 1982 when I was staying with 3 other lads at a rented place in Barnstaple in Devon. I was driving my 2000 GT Capri and the other 2 were in a 1300 GT Escort. We spotted a couple of hitchhikers and stopped to pick them up. The 2 girls jumped in the back of my car and the 4 of us chatted as we sped through the narrow Devon lanes. On one particular hairpin I made a rapid downshift and the gearlever came out in my hand. We cruised down the hill and stopped in the entrance to a field. The girls looked worried when I told them the car was broken and asked why we were stopping, so I waved the gearstick at them and pointed to the hole in the floor.... We then managed to drive on to the next village by my friend using a large flat-bladed screwdriver to "select" the next gear via the top of the gearlever mounting hole when I dropped the clutch and shouted change! It was interesting as it wasn't always clear which gear we would actually get. On another occasion when performing a wheelspinning standing start to impress a couple of girls, the throttle cable snapped and we stopped by the side of the road with the engine still idling. It had snapped right where it emerges from the cable sleeve and attached to the throttle on the carburetor. In the front garden of one of the houses we stopped outside, there was a dumped TV, so we pulled the back off and yanked some wires out of the back of it. By twisting them around the broken end of the throttle cable and the other end around the location on the carb' we managed to bodge it up well enough to use the accelerator pedal about 50% of it's travel and so drove home. It lasted another 3 days until I'd been to see the local Ford dealer for a new cable. So many memories, no wonder I still dream about the rusty old shed............
carinaman said:
s m said:
swisstoni said:
If you fancied a Vee engine there wasn’t much going on back in those days, sporty coupe wise.
You could get the Alfa GTV6 - in 2.5 format it was at least 10 -15% more price wise when newThere weren’t many V6 coupes at this price range
What a car and what a disappointment the 2.8
Was I remember the first one I drove
I expected it to be much better than the Essex
Engined version the 2.8
Had less power and torque forget the figures some 3 litre capris were faster definitely
It lost its character with the cologne engine
But it was beautiful in its original guise
Was I remember the first one I drove
I expected it to be much better than the Essex
Engined version the 2.8
Had less power and torque forget the figures some 3 litre capris were faster definitely
It lost its character with the cologne engine
But it was beautiful in its original guise
jussojones said:
What a car and what a disappointment the 2.8
Was I remember the first one I drove
I expected it to be much better than the Essex
Engined version the 2.8
Had less power and torque forget the figures some 3 litre capris were faster definitely
It lost its character with the cologne engine
But it was beautiful in its original guise
I was a big fan of the cologne engine in my xr4x4's(2.9). But I will admit that I got along side a 3.0s Capri at the lights, and the noise it made at idle was absolutely lovely and I thought it sounded like it had lots of character for sure. I always wanted one after that, but I really love the Capri in general though. Was I remember the first one I drove
I expected it to be much better than the Essex
Engined version the 2.8
Had less power and torque forget the figures some 3 litre capris were faster definitely
It lost its character with the cologne engine
But it was beautiful in its original guise
cerb4.5lee said:
jussojones said:
What a car and what a disappointment the 2.8
Was I remember the first one I drove
I expected it to be much better than the Essex
Engined version the 2.8
Had less power and torque forget the figures some 3 litre capris were faster definitely
It lost its character with the cologne engine
But it was beautiful in its original guise
I was a big fan of the cologne engine in my xr4x4's(2.9). But I will admit that I got along side a 3.0s Capri at the lights, and the noise it made at idle was absolutely lovely and I thought it sounded like it had lots of character for sure. I always wanted one after that, but I really love the Capri in general though. Was I remember the first one I drove
I expected it to be much better than the Essex
Engined version the 2.8
Had less power and torque forget the figures some 3 litre capris were faster definitely
It lost its character with the cologne engine
But it was beautiful in its original guise
The 3-litre Essex does sound great though
One of the problems I had with my 2.8i Capris was the insistence of Perry's on using the sparking plugs for the Granada in the engine at services. I had to carry a plug spanner and wire brush if I was going anywhere distant because quite frequently a really annoying misfire at low throttle, low speed such as in town would make the car bloody irritating to drive. The plugs appeared to have a dark grey deposit on the electrodes and this narrowed the gap. A quick rub with a wire brush would dislodge it but the plugs in a V6 are not the most accessible!
Edited by motco on Saturday 11th May 09:32
swisstoni said:
The cologne was compromised from the start by its exhaust port design. I suspect that this caused the exhaust sound to be poorer than the Essex.
Nevertheless it was a very reliable setup and helped the TVR S that I moved on to get down the road pretty well.
There were conversions from 2 to 3 exhaust ports, but I'm not sure it was worth the hassle. I don't know if the Cologne engine could strip the timing gear teeth or oil pump drive like the Essex either. Nevertheless it was a very reliable setup and helped the TVR S that I moved on to get down the road pretty well.
blade7 said:
swisstoni said:
The cologne was compromised from the start by its exhaust port design. I suspect that this caused the exhaust sound to be poorer than the Essex.
Nevertheless it was a very reliable setup and helped the TVR S that I moved on to get down the road pretty well.
There were conversions from 2 to 3 exhaust ports, but I'm not sure it was worth the hassle.. Nevertheless it was a very reliable setup and helped the TVR S that I moved on to get down the road pretty well.
Cologne
Think theirs was rolling roared at about 185bhp with some other mods
Most people just went for turbo/supercharging to get 200bhp plus
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