Ford Capri reliability
Discussion
Tubb said:
Mines been faultless in the 3months/1500 miles since I bought it 
Theres not a lot to go wrong with them really - I guess rust and stuff like bearings/bushes is normally an issue with them.
Not sure what the 1.6s are like as mine has a prehistoric 3.0
Cheers mate. Yeah I'd seen that in the ads, just rust and other little bits usually but being 22 years+ old now it's expected really. Jeez, how much juice does that use?Theres not a lot to go wrong with them really - I guess rust and stuff like bearings/bushes is normally an issue with them.
Not sure what the 1.6s are like as mine has a prehistoric 3.0
Mechanically they are indestructible. The Pinto lumps (iirc) are non interference so you you can snap timing belts and not worry about it. Other then your engine not starting until you stick a new belt on of course!
Electrics will be getting tired now, there's hardly anything technical on them though so its just things like headlights and starter motors that may intermittently not work. Easily fixed with a tap from a hammer, or an hour or two running new wires and connectors. They are stupidly easy to fix!
The main problems are rust, rust and rust. Learn to weld or have a large packet for your MOT tester when you see him. It will rust a lot, and will most likely have been bodged in the past. I found a large section of floor pan made out of paper masche'd (sp?) mid 90's Sun in my 2.8i.
Brilliant cars though, massive fun to drive and everyone thinks you're cool and girls want to straddle you on the bonnet.
Electrics will be getting tired now, there's hardly anything technical on them though so its just things like headlights and starter motors that may intermittently not work. Easily fixed with a tap from a hammer, or an hour or two running new wires and connectors. They are stupidly easy to fix!
The main problems are rust, rust and rust. Learn to weld or have a large packet for your MOT tester when you see him. It will rust a lot, and will most likely have been bodged in the past. I found a large section of floor pan made out of paper masche'd (sp?) mid 90's Sun in my 2.8i.
Brilliant cars though, massive fun to drive and everyone thinks you're cool and girls want to straddle you on the bonnet.
This brings back memories.
Back in the autumn of 1992 I bought a 1979 (T Reg'd) 1.6L, in white, no Tax or MOT for the princely sum of £50.00. All it needed for the MOT was a damper on the OSF, plus a couple of other bits.
The only problem for me was the insurance, 17 years old, first car, it came to £550 TPFT, which was waaaay more than any of my friends were paying for their cars.
I commuted 45 miles per day in it for a year with very few problems. The cam belt snapped one day, but as mentioned above, they're none interference, and there was a spare in the boot anyway, so I spent a couple of days in a mate's barn replacing it, and doing a few other jobs on it too.
The only other issues were the gear box would jump out of 2nd on the overrun ('twas the 4 speed 'box), and I snapped a leaf on the rear suspension jumping a hump backed bridge 5 up (bought a couple of springs from the scrappie, and fitted an extra leaf each side to beef the rear up a bit.
Sadly, rust meant it failed the next MOT, although by then I'd already moved on to newer (and italian) things, so it got scrapped.
The 1.6 is pretty slow, and pretty thirsty too. I used to drive fairly slowly, since I was a poor student, and still could only average 24 mpg. At least, I think I drove slowly, maybe it's a relative thing for a 17 year old!
Go for it, they're really simple to look after, although as mentioned, whatever you get will probably be suffering from rust.
Back in the autumn of 1992 I bought a 1979 (T Reg'd) 1.6L, in white, no Tax or MOT for the princely sum of £50.00. All it needed for the MOT was a damper on the OSF, plus a couple of other bits.
The only problem for me was the insurance, 17 years old, first car, it came to £550 TPFT, which was waaaay more than any of my friends were paying for their cars.
I commuted 45 miles per day in it for a year with very few problems. The cam belt snapped one day, but as mentioned above, they're none interference, and there was a spare in the boot anyway, so I spent a couple of days in a mate's barn replacing it, and doing a few other jobs on it too.
The only other issues were the gear box would jump out of 2nd on the overrun ('twas the 4 speed 'box), and I snapped a leaf on the rear suspension jumping a hump backed bridge 5 up (bought a couple of springs from the scrappie, and fitted an extra leaf each side to beef the rear up a bit.
Sadly, rust meant it failed the next MOT, although by then I'd already moved on to newer (and italian) things, so it got scrapped.
The 1.6 is pretty slow, and pretty thirsty too. I used to drive fairly slowly, since I was a poor student, and still could only average 24 mpg. At least, I think I drove slowly, maybe it's a relative thing for a 17 year old!
Go for it, they're really simple to look after, although as mentioned, whatever you get will probably be suffering from rust.
clarksonisawilly said:
The Pinto lumps (iirc) are non interference so you you can snap timing belts and not worry about it. Other then your engine not starting until you stick a new belt on of course!
My memory is the 1.6 Pinto is interference, the 2.0 isnt. Or the other way round! Either way, I'm sure one is and the other isnt...Lanxx said:
Cheers mate. Yeah I'd seen that in the ads, just rust and other little bits usually but being 22 years+ old now it's expected really. Jeez, how much juice does that use?
Well I'm lucky if I get 15mpg at the moment! Its going in for a rolling road tune up next week though as I know the mixture's miles out.Any particular reason you're after a 1.6? I would think a 2.0 would be more fun and just as (un)economical as a 1.6....
TallPaul said:
clarksonisawilly said:
The Pinto lumps (iirc) are non interference so you you can snap timing belts and not worry about it. Other then your engine not starting until you stick a new belt on of course!
My memory is the 1.6 Pinto is interference, the 2.0 isnt. Or the other way round! Either way, I'm sure one is and the other isnt...I've got a 1980s Ginetta which is a lot like a Capri only without the rust Gotta love a galvanised chassis and GRP body
The 2 litre Pinto has got enough life, it loves to rev, the 5 speed box makes cruising comfortable and because the whole thing is light there's enough torque to drive it lazily.
Mine's a daily driver and I've had the lights go out (clean the fusebox), the clutch cable snap (a new one was a tenner) and the propshaft coupling broke (£25 and an hour with spanners). It had been left in a field when I bought it so needed a gentle wake-up, rear brake cylinders and pipes - all cheap to buy and easy to fit.
As with most old cars, drive them and they're fine, let them sit around and they degrade.
Gotta love a galvanised chassis and GRP bodyThe 2 litre Pinto has got enough life, it loves to rev, the 5 speed box makes cruising comfortable and because the whole thing is light there's enough torque to drive it lazily.
Mine's a daily driver and I've had the lights go out (clean the fusebox), the clutch cable snap (a new one was a tenner) and the propshaft coupling broke (£25 and an hour with spanners). It had been left in a field when I bought it so needed a gentle wake-up, rear brake cylinders and pipes - all cheap to buy and easy to fit.
As with most old cars, drive them and they're fine, let them sit around and they degrade.
Super Slo Mo said:
TallPaul said:
clarksonisawilly said:
The Pinto lumps (iirc) are non interference so you you can snap timing belts and not worry about it. Other then your engine not starting until you stick a new belt on of course!
My memory is the 1.6 Pinto is interference, the 2.0 isnt. Or the other way round! Either way, I'm sure one is and the other isnt...My Sierra i had was a 2.0 pinto auto and the belt went on that and everything missed
loved that car!!Tubb said:
Lanxx said:
Cheers mate. Yeah I'd seen that in the ads, just rust and other little bits usually but being 22 years+ old now it's expected really. Jeez, how much juice does that use?
Well I'm lucky if I get 15mpg at the moment! Its going in for a rolling road tune up next week though as I know the mixture's miles out.Any particular reason you're after a 1.6? I would think a 2.0 would be more fun and just as (un)economical as a 1.6....
I just love their classic design, it just begs to have a V8 dropped in it!Super Slo Mo said:
This brings back memories.
Back in the autumn of 1992 I bought a 1979 (T Reg'd) 1.6L, in white, no Tax or MOT for the princely sum of £50.00. All it needed for the MOT was a damper on the OSF, plus a couple of other bits.
The only problem for me was the insurance, 17 years old, first car, it came to £550 TPFT, which was waaaay more than any of my friends were paying for their cars.
I commuted 45 miles per day in it for a year with very few problems. The cam belt snapped one day, but as mentioned above, they're none interference, and there was a spare in the boot anyway, so I spent a couple of days in a mate's barn replacing it, and doing a few other jobs on it too.
The only other issues were the gear box would jump out of 2nd on the overrun ('twas the 4 speed 'box), and I snapped a leaf on the rear suspension jumping a hump backed bridge 5 up (bought a couple of springs from the scrappie, and fitted an extra leaf each side to beef the rear up a bit.
Sadly, rust meant it failed the next MOT, although by then I'd already moved on to newer (and italian) things, so it got scrapped.
The 1.6 is pretty slow, and pretty thirsty too. I used to drive fairly slowly, since I was a poor student, and still could only average 24 mpg. At least, I think I drove slowly, maybe it's a relative thing for a 17 year old!
Go for it, they're really simple to look after, although as mentioned, whatever you get will probably be suffering from rust.
Wow dude! I'm 17 and I would cry with happiness if someone insured me TPFT for 550 a year! Hell I can't even get that cheap on a Mini these days!Back in the autumn of 1992 I bought a 1979 (T Reg'd) 1.6L, in white, no Tax or MOT for the princely sum of £50.00. All it needed for the MOT was a damper on the OSF, plus a couple of other bits.
The only problem for me was the insurance, 17 years old, first car, it came to £550 TPFT, which was waaaay more than any of my friends were paying for their cars.
I commuted 45 miles per day in it for a year with very few problems. The cam belt snapped one day, but as mentioned above, they're none interference, and there was a spare in the boot anyway, so I spent a couple of days in a mate's barn replacing it, and doing a few other jobs on it too.
The only other issues were the gear box would jump out of 2nd on the overrun ('twas the 4 speed 'box), and I snapped a leaf on the rear suspension jumping a hump backed bridge 5 up (bought a couple of springs from the scrappie, and fitted an extra leaf each side to beef the rear up a bit.
Sadly, rust meant it failed the next MOT, although by then I'd already moved on to newer (and italian) things, so it got scrapped.
The 1.6 is pretty slow, and pretty thirsty too. I used to drive fairly slowly, since I was a poor student, and still could only average 24 mpg. At least, I think I drove slowly, maybe it's a relative thing for a 17 year old!
Go for it, they're really simple to look after, although as mentioned, whatever you get will probably be suffering from rust.
Thanks for the advice though, and that's a steal at 50 quid. Jeez you couldn't get that these days either!
Dont worry about the mechanical side of things when buying, most jobs are very simple even a novice could learn how to do things ( i have...)
and what cannot be done at home will be cheap to do at a garage compared with any modern car
Rust is the killer and expense on capris, like almost all cars of that age.
Just buy the best car bodywork wise you can. mechanical parts are cheap, body panels are not ... some panels are not available new, including the front panel which is often corroded / accident damaged. Front wings are only available as poor fitting pattern parts...
Examine carefully the following structural areas : front strut tops / inner wings, A posts at top and bottom which is a hard area to repair. Sills along the length of the car especially the jacking point in the middle, rear spring hangars. If these areas are badly corroded it will cost a lot of time in labour to fix if you are not doing the welding.
Also pay close attention to the state of the front wings, and the headlamp bowls as original panels are not available. These areas rust badly from the inside out because the front arches have no liners, and the wheels spray lots of crap up into the front of the car.
Doors and rear tailgates are still easy to find in good condition secondhand, but bonnets tended to rust more and are harder to find.
look for a late model 1.6 laser 1985-87 if you want to use the car every day, these have a 5 speed gearbox which is not common on many other 1.6 models (some older cars could have been converted)
I would expect to pay around £1500 for a good solid example of the above.
One thing to consider, I found that a 2 litre is only slightly more expensive to insure (even when i was 18) than a 1.6, and the performance difference as standard is very noticable, but the fuel economy is not much worse either. I have owned a 1.6 capri but it really is underpowered, the 2 litre is a better car.
I dont use my current 2.0s everyday all year round because its a nice straight example and I wont be driving it in winter with the salt etc, but my previous 2.8i was a great daily driver for 2 1/2 years, only letting me down once with an injection fault. (the carb cars have the benefit of being much, much simpler to fix than the injection models)
regular servicing will keep the car reliable, as with any car. Older cars simply require more maintainance, with closer service intervals.
I just love the look of them
heres mine :
and what cannot be done at home will be cheap to do at a garage compared with any modern car
Rust is the killer and expense on capris, like almost all cars of that age.
Just buy the best car bodywork wise you can. mechanical parts are cheap, body panels are not ... some panels are not available new, including the front panel which is often corroded / accident damaged. Front wings are only available as poor fitting pattern parts...
Examine carefully the following structural areas : front strut tops / inner wings, A posts at top and bottom which is a hard area to repair. Sills along the length of the car especially the jacking point in the middle, rear spring hangars. If these areas are badly corroded it will cost a lot of time in labour to fix if you are not doing the welding.
Also pay close attention to the state of the front wings, and the headlamp bowls as original panels are not available. These areas rust badly from the inside out because the front arches have no liners, and the wheels spray lots of crap up into the front of the car.
Doors and rear tailgates are still easy to find in good condition secondhand, but bonnets tended to rust more and are harder to find.
look for a late model 1.6 laser 1985-87 if you want to use the car every day, these have a 5 speed gearbox which is not common on many other 1.6 models (some older cars could have been converted)
I would expect to pay around £1500 for a good solid example of the above.
One thing to consider, I found that a 2 litre is only slightly more expensive to insure (even when i was 18) than a 1.6, and the performance difference as standard is very noticable, but the fuel economy is not much worse either. I have owned a 1.6 capri but it really is underpowered, the 2 litre is a better car.
I dont use my current 2.0s everyday all year round because its a nice straight example and I wont be driving it in winter with the salt etc, but my previous 2.8i was a great daily driver for 2 1/2 years, only letting me down once with an injection fault. (the carb cars have the benefit of being much, much simpler to fix than the injection models)
regular servicing will keep the car reliable, as with any car. Older cars simply require more maintainance, with closer service intervals.
I just love the look of them
heres mine :
Edited by OllieC on Sunday 20th June 10:50
Super Slo Mo said:
TallPaul said:
clarksonisawilly said:
The Pinto lumps (iirc) are non interference so you you can snap timing belts and not worry about it. Other then your engine not starting until you stick a new belt on of course!
My memory is the 1.6 Pinto is interference, the 2.0 isnt. Or the other way round! Either way, I'm sure one is and the other isnt...Freedom from cam belt related disasters and ease of replacement aside, though, it's a horrible engine - sounds like a hoover, unresponsive, goes like a wet fart and drinks fuel...
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