Ford Capri 3.0 GXL anyone own or owned one?
Discussion
30+ years age an irrepressible young man (me) was lucky enough to own a 1972 Ford Capri 3000 GXL, and what a car! My memories are of a tough, fast, drivers car. I have some rare footage of it being mercilessly thrashed around, I'm told only 70 remain in the UK, anyone got or had one? I'd love to acquire one again.
My Dad was a big Capri man - he owned several in his earlier days (he's 59). He still has an engine that was removed from one of them sitting in his garage, it's a V6, I think it was called the Essex engine (?), the carbs on top of it are massive, it must have liked a drink! 
Bored out to something like a 3.1 IIRC
Bored out to something like a 3.1 IIRC
roger1361 said:
My memories are of a tough, fast, drivers car.
Your memories are deceiving you. It seemed good then in a world of Marinas and Maxis, but drive one today and it'll feel slow and unwieldy compared to any half decent family car. Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Friday 1st September 08:54
I had a MK1 as my first car, but was only a 1600 GT.
A 3 Litre should still feel fairly rapid as they arent as well insulated as modern stuff, between 8 and 9 secs to sixty isnt too shabby, makes a nice noise but a 320D or Golf GTD would piss all over it, even a 2.8 i would struggle, the only Capri that actually felt ridiculously quick to me was a Tickford, felt far faster than I expected 204 bhp to.
Contrary to folklore, they dont handle that badly, but a live axle and a lump of power can be a bad combo in the wet, even my 89 bhp 1600 was tail happy, in the dry it was fine, with a bit of fettling they can handle really well, they just dont suffer fools gladly, as I found out
many times, how I never binned it I will never know. I thinkt he smaller engined ones handled a bit better due to less weight up front.
The brakes were good, went from a Capri to a MK1 Golf GTI and the brakes werent a patch.
I suspect I would still enjoy one now.
A 3 Litre should still feel fairly rapid as they arent as well insulated as modern stuff, between 8 and 9 secs to sixty isnt too shabby, makes a nice noise but a 320D or Golf GTD would piss all over it, even a 2.8 i would struggle, the only Capri that actually felt ridiculously quick to me was a Tickford, felt far faster than I expected 204 bhp to.
Contrary to folklore, they dont handle that badly, but a live axle and a lump of power can be a bad combo in the wet, even my 89 bhp 1600 was tail happy, in the dry it was fine, with a bit of fettling they can handle really well, they just dont suffer fools gladly, as I found out
many times, how I never binned it I will never know. I thinkt he smaller engined ones handled a bit better due to less weight up front.The brakes were good, went from a Capri to a MK1 Golf GTI and the brakes werent a patch.
I suspect I would still enjoy one now.
How I love Capris… had a 1.6 Laser, 2 litre Laser and then a 2.8i (all MK 3s). Never had a Mark 1 as they were already scarce when I started driving in the mid 1990’s.
Excellent cars and they are fun to drive – I’d have another tomorrow if the prices were not so insane at the moment.
Yes, modern cars will piss all over them in speed and handling… but that’s not the point: they teach you to actually drive a car like nothing else IMO. I’d love to put someone used to, say, a Golf R in a 2.8 Capri in the rain and see how they’d get on!
That said, my Volvo Amazon is infinitely more stable than a Capri in the wet (coil springs all round on a car designed in the 1950s!) and I kind of miss the “she’s going, she’s going, she’s… caught it!” sensation you get from a Capri – especially the lower powered models where the back end seems to slide out in slow motion.
I’ve often thought that a Nissan 350z is the present day equivalent of a V6 Capri: cheap, noisy, handsome and fast enough for most people. Bit modern for my taste, but maybe one day I'll try one.
Excellent cars and they are fun to drive – I’d have another tomorrow if the prices were not so insane at the moment.
Yes, modern cars will piss all over them in speed and handling… but that’s not the point: they teach you to actually drive a car like nothing else IMO. I’d love to put someone used to, say, a Golf R in a 2.8 Capri in the rain and see how they’d get on!
That said, my Volvo Amazon is infinitely more stable than a Capri in the wet (coil springs all round on a car designed in the 1950s!) and I kind of miss the “she’s going, she’s going, she’s… caught it!” sensation you get from a Capri – especially the lower powered models where the back end seems to slide out in slow motion.
I’ve often thought that a Nissan 350z is the present day equivalent of a V6 Capri: cheap, noisy, handsome and fast enough for most people. Bit modern for my taste, but maybe one day I'll try one.
roger1361 said:
30+ years age an irrepressible young man (me) was lucky enough to own a 1972 Ford Capri 3000 GXL, and what a car! My memories are of a tough, fast, drivers car. I have some rare footage of it being mercilessly thrashed around, I'm told only 70 remain in the UK, anyone got or had one? I'd love to acquire one again.
Not sure if mine was a GXL or a GT....2 bags of cement in the boot helped traction for quick getaways IIRC. Swapped it for a Mk3 2000e Cortina.foxbody-87 said:
138hp... at the flywheel
As has been said, most modern hatches would outperform it... but I know which I'd rather have
The 2.8i was 160bhp - at the flywheel I assume - but a fair bit of torque. To those who said the brakes were good, they were but I once found myself in an ill-judged drag race to a roundabout with a Merc somethingorother and I won only by out braking it. The pedal felt as if was pretty well at the floor though and retardation seemed disproportionately sluggish. The LSD on the 2.8i Special I had second time round (the 1983 one was an open diff) was more of a liability than an advantage because it made an already tail-happy car into a handful in the wet. I drove a total of c.150,000 miles in them and loved them every day. I would have had a third one but growing children made me choose a more practical car instead of a 280 in the next car round.As has been said, most modern hatches would outperform it... but I know which I'd rather have
matchmaker said:
I had a 3-litre Ghia. Fast for the time, but the brakes were crap and it had a severe drink problem!
Likewise, mine was a '77, white with black vinyl roof.I had a head gasket go on mine and it would leave a 'steamscreen' behind it. I changed both headgaskets only to find that there were cracks between the intake and exhaust valves on 3 or 4 cylinders - according to a local mechanic I spoke to at the time, it was a common problem especially if they had run with low coolant.
Ran OK when back together again though, but I don't think I'd want another...
I nearly bought a Capri last year (a 2.0 Laser), it was slow, didn't handle all that well, the brakes were rubbish, the clutch was heavy and you needed arms like Garth to steer it. You can't compare it to anything remotely modern because there's nothing to compare, the Capri is from a different motoring generation.
None of the above actually put me off buying it as I knew it all could have been easily improved upon, I didn't buy it because whilst it looked relatively good on the surface, the more I looked the more I found and as anyone who knows old Fords will know, they can be a real can of worms (or serious rot to be precise!), as much as I quite fancied owning it, head ruled heart and I left it there.
Regarding the relatively low power of the 3.0 Essex, in it's day, it was a very powerful engine, although, it was never about the power with a Ford pushrod V6, it was the low-down torque.
None of the above actually put me off buying it as I knew it all could have been easily improved upon, I didn't buy it because whilst it looked relatively good on the surface, the more I looked the more I found and as anyone who knows old Fords will know, they can be a real can of worms (or serious rot to be precise!), as much as I quite fancied owning it, head ruled heart and I left it there.
Regarding the relatively low power of the 3.0 Essex, in it's day, it was a very powerful engine, although, it was never about the power with a Ford pushrod V6, it was the low-down torque.
Please don't derail this thread, it's about the 3.0 litre GXL, not Ghias, GT or 2.8is etc. 
The GXL was quite a car in its day and relatively few were made as it had a short production run. Quite distinctive with its quad headlights, larger rear lamp units etc..
Agreed, fairly basic compared to modern cars but it stood out in the days of Austin 1100s, Minis, Maxis, Cortinas et al.
The GXL was quite a car in its day and relatively few were made as it had a short production run. Quite distinctive with its quad headlights, larger rear lamp units etc..
Agreed, fairly basic compared to modern cars but it stood out in the days of Austin 1100s, Minis, Maxis, Cortinas et al.
When I was 18 I was the very proud owner of a Mk1 3.0 GXL in Medina Green - WEA 450M , I modified it a fair bit including a Rosso Red respray , partly due to rust and partly due to being a teenager , I had the engine rebuilt by a guy in Wooton Basset who used to work for Broadspeed , had a big cam in it and bored to 3.1 etc etc , made about 180hp I believe. Was very very fast for its day probably hit 60 in 6 seconds something
Brakes were hopeless , had mintex discs and pads up front, monroe suspension and Appliance raider wheels with massive 205/60/13 tyres ! Had a huge amount of fun in that car and have very fond memories of it
Brakes were hopeless , had mintex discs and pads up front, monroe suspension and Appliance raider wheels with massive 205/60/13 tyres ! Had a huge amount of fun in that car and have very fond memories of it
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