Buying a Capri
Discussion
Hi All, a mate of mine is fixated on buying a Capri, 2.8 Brooklands. He's seen a 1987 year one in the PH classifieds with 80,000+ miles on it.
Any advice you can give on the sorts of issues affecting Capri's generally, and this model in particular, that he should be aware of, would be much appreciated.
cheers.
Any advice you can give on the sorts of issues affecting Capri's generally, and this model in particular, that he should be aware of, would be much appreciated.
cheers.
I hope this isn't too late but Capris do hide their rot well and in particular the footwells. The corner closest to the extremities of the car is poorly designed and with no arch liners they get blasted with spray and corrode badly. Very rare to find one that's fine in this are these days though.
The sunroof drain pipes go straight into the sills.
GREAT DESIGN!
so check that out too. modifying it with a simple pipe shoved up it to let the water pass through a little hole in the sill rather than into the insides helps a lot.
footwells, inner wings, wings, rear chassis by the spring hangers, dodgy heater wiring, tailgate lifters knacked, uneven rack pressure. easily sorted mind. poor brakes when worked hard. again all easily remedied.
Even considering that, they are pure driving machines with no bulls
t driver "aids". So the modern-day-car-driving-incompetant need not apply due to the Capris excellent propensity to put the back end out.
Treat them to a 2 inch drop, some decent adjustable shockers, hard bushes and one of those X frames..stick a quick shift in the box and smash that stupid standard steering wheel and you will have a fun motor.
it is such a shame there are so many been body kitted with these ridiculous whale tails, back louvres, x pack and tickford crap and furry dice. There is no need at all for that kind of japery.
GREAT DESIGN!
so check that out too. modifying it with a simple pipe shoved up it to let the water pass through a little hole in the sill rather than into the insides helps a lot.
footwells, inner wings, wings, rear chassis by the spring hangers, dodgy heater wiring, tailgate lifters knacked, uneven rack pressure. easily sorted mind. poor brakes when worked hard. again all easily remedied.
Even considering that, they are pure driving machines with no bulls
t driver "aids". So the modern-day-car-driving-incompetant need not apply due to the Capris excellent propensity to put the back end out.Treat them to a 2 inch drop, some decent adjustable shockers, hard bushes and one of those X frames..stick a quick shift in the box and smash that stupid standard steering wheel and you will have a fun motor.
it is such a shame there are so many been body kitted with these ridiculous whale tails, back louvres, x pack and tickford crap and furry dice. There is no need at all for that kind of japery.
rust on the lower screen panel especially in the corners,lift the edge of the screen rubber and look,also tops of a pillars where the seam is,
front top edges of wings,
bonnet front edge(underneath where the small trim fixes along the front),these panels are very hard to find in original and clean condition.
door rear lower corner,
where the sill meets the rear quarter,
front floor seams,
tailgates,(all over)
edge of sunroof hole,
door frames where the window frame bolts in,
turrets and the turret supports under the wheel arch where the spring sits like two up side down butresses,
And where the strengthening panel is fixed behind the front wheels on the chassis,long raised rectangle with rounded ends,these are water traps and can hide all manner of nastiness.
check for diff and rear wheel bearing noise this can become expensive.
make sure it idles nicely as they can slurr and hunt an generally run rough if the fuel injection isnt up to scratch,
power steering can get notchy but the racks are cheap.
It may wander and change lanes at speed if you brake hard but this sort of stuff,tca bushes mainly but this sort of stuff is cheap and easily available.
Trim in good nick is hard to come by door panels,plastics,dash trim and the like.
I have some genuine brand new old stock panels,a ns inner wing and chassis,ns a pillar,front panel,ns door,ns sill and inner sill and ns wing for which I paid £750 last year and I don`t know why I bought them as my own car is around 70% fibre glass.
it just seemed like a good idea at the time.
front top edges of wings,
bonnet front edge(underneath where the small trim fixes along the front),these panels are very hard to find in original and clean condition.
door rear lower corner,
where the sill meets the rear quarter,
front floor seams,
tailgates,(all over)
edge of sunroof hole,
door frames where the window frame bolts in,
turrets and the turret supports under the wheel arch where the spring sits like two up side down butresses,
And where the strengthening panel is fixed behind the front wheels on the chassis,long raised rectangle with rounded ends,these are water traps and can hide all manner of nastiness.
check for diff and rear wheel bearing noise this can become expensive.
make sure it idles nicely as they can slurr and hunt an generally run rough if the fuel injection isnt up to scratch,
power steering can get notchy but the racks are cheap.
It may wander and change lanes at speed if you brake hard but this sort of stuff,tca bushes mainly but this sort of stuff is cheap and easily available.
Trim in good nick is hard to come by door panels,plastics,dash trim and the like.
I have some genuine brand new old stock panels,a ns inner wing and chassis,ns a pillar,front panel,ns door,ns sill and inner sill and ns wing for which I paid £750 last year and I don`t know why I bought them as my own car is around 70% fibre glass.
it just seemed like a good idea at the time.
dont worry about much apart from the condition of the body, the rest is easy to sort. pattern front wings are available, but the fit is rubbish and genuine ford panels when u can find them cost stupid amounts. front panels (slam panel, headlamp bowl areas, complete inner wings sections and front valance) are also not available new at all currently.
as has been said, look for rust on the rear spring hangers, front strut tops, A posts (look down the gap by where the front door opens, any rust you can see is going to be 10X worse when u start poking it, jacking points midway along the sills are prone to rust also.
brooklands cars come with unique black full leather recaros, make sure if possible that these are in good condition as they are hard to get hold of. they can be recovered of course, but it all costs. trim for normal 2.8i models cloth or the 1/2 leathers is much easier to find in decent condition.
also make sure it is a genuine brooklands car, the capri club or members of the 2 decent capri forums will be able to tell you from the chassis number if its a geniune car. make sure the LSD axle is present, these are starting to be worth silly money as the escort rally boys use them, they have sold for over £400 ! normal non lsd axles cost little, so people are not adverse to swapping them.
As they command a price premium over normal 2.8i models, but are otherwise very similar in my mind you would be better off going for a top notch 2.8i... the only differences are (albeit very nice) black leather trim, bigger wheels, and the unique paint colour. you will pay at least 25% if not more over and above a 2.8i for a brooklands... id rather save the cash and spend it on upgrading the things that need it, like brakes
as has been said, look for rust on the rear spring hangers, front strut tops, A posts (look down the gap by where the front door opens, any rust you can see is going to be 10X worse when u start poking it, jacking points midway along the sills are prone to rust also.
brooklands cars come with unique black full leather recaros, make sure if possible that these are in good condition as they are hard to get hold of. they can be recovered of course, but it all costs. trim for normal 2.8i models cloth or the 1/2 leathers is much easier to find in decent condition.
also make sure it is a genuine brooklands car, the capri club or members of the 2 decent capri forums will be able to tell you from the chassis number if its a geniune car. make sure the LSD axle is present, these are starting to be worth silly money as the escort rally boys use them, they have sold for over £400 ! normal non lsd axles cost little, so people are not adverse to swapping them.
As they command a price premium over normal 2.8i models, but are otherwise very similar in my mind you would be better off going for a top notch 2.8i... the only differences are (albeit very nice) black leather trim, bigger wheels, and the unique paint colour. you will pay at least 25% if not more over and above a 2.8i for a brooklands... id rather save the cash and spend it on upgrading the things that need it, like brakes
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