Well, Back in 2014 i had this thread: link
I had a white Capri that i bought "restored and ready to paint" which turned out to be bodged and ready for the scrap yard. However, being young and keen i set about repairing it in the little garage and getting a rover V8 to fit which was going swimmingly.
Now, the user name might hint at why, but a 1972 hillman hunter came along which i had to buy so the Capri took a little break.
which turned into a long break after a house move, many iterations of turbo/itb/stock mx5 engines in a heavily worked hillman and a V8 turbo volvo jumped the que.
And then i asked my (now) wife to marry me, which she said yes!
For a few years she always said that she wanted to use one of my cars as the wedding car, so i asked which car she would like.
And she pointed to this:
Three months before we were due to be married.
A few weeks (or months, its all a blur now) I was talking to my friends about SAAB turbo engines and also Vauxhall VXR's and such and how they all seem to end up with about 300bhp/300ftlbs torque without too much work. Aluminium head/block and exactly the same power figures as the turbo v8 that i was going to chuck into it.
As the key to speed is to add lightness, having essentially half the engine that makes the same power, i went for the turbo 4 pot, rather than the V8.
The most common Saab engine to use is the B204 from the 9000 which bolts up directly to a Vauxhall omega gearbox and is well documented, so i decided not to go for this.
The engine I went for was a Vauxhall Z20NET, which is also known as the B207r which is an evolution of the B204. It shares components with the VXR motor, Uses (most) of the same bolt pattern as the B204 so it will bolt up to an omega gearbox, and was £150 with absolutely everything (fwd box still attached, wiring loom cut at the firewall, all ancillarys ect)
Of course, with all the modern extras such as a Vacuum pump, power steering and also a heater, the engine would not fit far enough back so a few blanking plates were made up and a new water outlet for the thermostat to get it all the way back and into the bay.
Had to make a sump to fit the Capri:
working out trigger points for the ECU using a home made degree wheel
Changing injectors (Original ones pictired)
Lightened flywheel (not as bad as it looks in the photo!)
2.5" Exhaust
The brains behind it, is a VEMS ecu. I have used a few Megasquirts in the past, but to get all the features i want, with a loom and assembled (to save time mostly) it was going to be thousands. No thanks. So i sent £1000 over to Hungary which got me a full Motorsports ecu that can run everything i want and some with all the sensors and wires that i need (full specs at the bottom of this post) Also rewired the whole car whilst i was at it
Digital dash made from a Andriod Tablet communincating with the ecu via bluetooth
So now i had an engine, an ECU, less than 2 months and half the shell of a car!
First thing to do was get some wings and a valance fired on and get it looking car shaped. Easier said than paid for (old school for tax is hitting Capri's hard now) so a weekend off to visit the (then) Fiance's family and also pick up a full front end off a Capri "whilst we are down there" on our 700 mile round trip.
And Voila, god knows how, but a week and a half before i was due to get married, I had a running driving car which passed the MOT first time, looking rough as balls.
That wouldn't do, so the next logical step was to paint it. I had already ordered the paint and had no more holiday left to take at work so the weekend before, me and the best man sanded, filled, primed and painted the whole car!
Yours truly:
Of-course, just like American Hotrod or any other TV show, there was a setback the day before the big reveal. I can only blame myself and it was probably because i had spent the last few weeks working on the car till late night/early morning, going to work, then carrying on, i forgot to shake the tin of paint before doing the bonnet. So on the Friday before the wedding i came in to find a pale blue bonnet sat next to a dark blue car, without enough blue left to do it again and sod all time until the shops shut.
Que a few hurried phone calls to the motor factors in Carlisle and a drive at warp speed to get there before closing i had a tin of black gloss paint.
Back to its roots, with a black bonnet.
My brother came and helped at this point. Drove up from London for the wedding and now roped into helping me assemble a cars interior when we should be out having my last pint as a "free man".
We got finished at 0200. I drove to the wedding at 1300
So far this is the hardest task I have undertaken and I managed to finish with some time to spare, The wife thinks i wont be doing another big car job......
Full specs:-
Engine:
-Z20NET / B207r
-R25-R28 Vauxhall omega gearbox
-Astra Z20LET Single mass extremely light flywheel + clutch
-Stock turbo
-630cc Injectors
-2.5" Exhaust, stright through, 1 silencer
-2.5" intercooler piping
-Astra H Cable throttle
Vems ECU:-
1 x LSU4.9 Wideband O2 sensor (LSU4.9) = £67.53
with_connector no
1 x MAT sensor () = £17.45
1 x v3TwinShieldHarness (T) = £218.30
with_relays yes
with_connector LSU4.9connector
extra TESA tape yes
injectors I4
custom length unspecified
1 x ECU VEMS V3 (v3.6) = £551.72
1-wire interface no
EGT input 1
ETC BridgeOutput_Interface 0
Flyback HighZ-only 30V flyback
Hi-side PFET outputs 4
ignition driver 4
Knock input channels 1
LCD connection yes
MAP connection 300 kPa simplenipple
mounting-style flanged case
primary_trigger EC36/27 VR
secondary_trigger EC36/13VR
Service ASAP
Special requests no
withSDcard no
+ Bluetooth adaptor
Propshaft:-
Modified by CPS Drivelink in Newcastle extremely quickly for a very very good price!
Suspension/ Steering:-
- Stock, All refreshed
- Lowered 2" front and rear
Fueling:-
- Standard capri tank modified to take Walbro 430LPH intank pump
- Fiesta fuel filter
I had a white Capri that i bought "restored and ready to paint" which turned out to be bodged and ready for the scrap yard. However, being young and keen i set about repairing it in the little garage and getting a rover V8 to fit which was going swimmingly.
Now, the user name might hint at why, but a 1972 hillman hunter came along which i had to buy so the Capri took a little break.
which turned into a long break after a house move, many iterations of turbo/itb/stock mx5 engines in a heavily worked hillman and a V8 turbo volvo jumped the que.
And then i asked my (now) wife to marry me, which she said yes!
For a few years she always said that she wanted to use one of my cars as the wedding car, so i asked which car she would like.
And she pointed to this:
Three months before we were due to be married.
A few weeks (or months, its all a blur now) I was talking to my friends about SAAB turbo engines and also Vauxhall VXR's and such and how they all seem to end up with about 300bhp/300ftlbs torque without too much work. Aluminium head/block and exactly the same power figures as the turbo v8 that i was going to chuck into it.
As the key to speed is to add lightness, having essentially half the engine that makes the same power, i went for the turbo 4 pot, rather than the V8.
The most common Saab engine to use is the B204 from the 9000 which bolts up directly to a Vauxhall omega gearbox and is well documented, so i decided not to go for this.
The engine I went for was a Vauxhall Z20NET, which is also known as the B207r which is an evolution of the B204. It shares components with the VXR motor, Uses (most) of the same bolt pattern as the B204 so it will bolt up to an omega gearbox, and was £150 with absolutely everything (fwd box still attached, wiring loom cut at the firewall, all ancillarys ect)
Of course, with all the modern extras such as a Vacuum pump, power steering and also a heater, the engine would not fit far enough back so a few blanking plates were made up and a new water outlet for the thermostat to get it all the way back and into the bay.
Had to make a sump to fit the Capri:
working out trigger points for the ECU using a home made degree wheel
Changing injectors (Original ones pictired)
Lightened flywheel (not as bad as it looks in the photo!)
2.5" Exhaust
The brains behind it, is a VEMS ecu. I have used a few Megasquirts in the past, but to get all the features i want, with a loom and assembled (to save time mostly) it was going to be thousands. No thanks. So i sent £1000 over to Hungary which got me a full Motorsports ecu that can run everything i want and some with all the sensors and wires that i need (full specs at the bottom of this post) Also rewired the whole car whilst i was at it
Digital dash made from a Andriod Tablet communincating with the ecu via bluetooth
So now i had an engine, an ECU, less than 2 months and half the shell of a car!
First thing to do was get some wings and a valance fired on and get it looking car shaped. Easier said than paid for (old school for tax is hitting Capri's hard now) so a weekend off to visit the (then) Fiance's family and also pick up a full front end off a Capri "whilst we are down there" on our 700 mile round trip.
And Voila, god knows how, but a week and a half before i was due to get married, I had a running driving car which passed the MOT first time, looking rough as balls.
That wouldn't do, so the next logical step was to paint it. I had already ordered the paint and had no more holiday left to take at work so the weekend before, me and the best man sanded, filled, primed and painted the whole car!
Yours truly:
Of-course, just like American Hotrod or any other TV show, there was a setback the day before the big reveal. I can only blame myself and it was probably because i had spent the last few weeks working on the car till late night/early morning, going to work, then carrying on, i forgot to shake the tin of paint before doing the bonnet. So on the Friday before the wedding i came in to find a pale blue bonnet sat next to a dark blue car, without enough blue left to do it again and sod all time until the shops shut.
Que a few hurried phone calls to the motor factors in Carlisle and a drive at warp speed to get there before closing i had a tin of black gloss paint.
Back to its roots, with a black bonnet.
My brother came and helped at this point. Drove up from London for the wedding and now roped into helping me assemble a cars interior when we should be out having my last pint as a "free man".
We got finished at 0200. I drove to the wedding at 1300
So far this is the hardest task I have undertaken and I managed to finish with some time to spare, The wife thinks i wont be doing another big car job......
Full specs:-
Engine:
-Z20NET / B207r
-R25-R28 Vauxhall omega gearbox
-Astra Z20LET Single mass extremely light flywheel + clutch
-Stock turbo
-630cc Injectors
-2.5" Exhaust, stright through, 1 silencer
-2.5" intercooler piping
-Astra H Cable throttle
Vems ECU:-
1 x LSU4.9 Wideband O2 sensor (LSU4.9) = £67.53
with_connector no
1 x MAT sensor () = £17.45
1 x v3TwinShieldHarness (T) = £218.30
with_relays yes
with_connector LSU4.9connector
extra TESA tape yes
injectors I4
custom length unspecified
1 x ECU VEMS V3 (v3.6) = £551.72
1-wire interface no
EGT input 1
ETC BridgeOutput_Interface 0
Flyback HighZ-only 30V flyback
Hi-side PFET outputs 4
ignition driver 4
Knock input channels 1
LCD connection yes
MAP connection 300 kPa simplenipple
mounting-style flanged case
primary_trigger EC36/27 VR
secondary_trigger EC36/13VR
Service ASAP
Special requests no
withSDcard no
+ Bluetooth adaptor
Propshaft:-
Modified by CPS Drivelink in Newcastle extremely quickly for a very very good price!
Suspension/ Steering:-
- Stock, All refreshed
- Lowered 2" front and rear
Fueling:-
- Standard capri tank modified to take Walbro 430LPH intank pump
- Fiesta fuel filter
