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Mar 20, 2012 21:18:47 GMT
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You know what? In all the years I've been here I never did a readers rides thread. Thought I'd share this one, because it's turning into a huge job and because (like all the best projects) I've started it pretty much randomly..... Anyway, the car. I bought this capri in May 2007 (on a saturday - I was supposed to be leaving for the classic ford show at Santa Pod when a guy phones me up and says "do you want to buy a mk1 capri? I want £200 but it's got to go today...." I think we got to the show about 11.30pm and put the tent up in the dark (as usual)  Here it is shortly after purchace (with some of my other capris....)  and here it is on the ramp while I was figuring out exactly how rusty it was (very!) I did a load of work to it - rebuilt the whole rear end, new boot floor, wheel well, rear chassis... then I "borrowed" its back axle for my mk2 cortina and it just got pushed in a corner and left. I don't think it moved at all between the end of 2007 and last month, when I pulled it out to see if it had a handbrake cable I could "borrow" for the cortina. It didn't, but I started to realize why I kept it at all.  That's why. I'm going to build myself my own, personal, perfect capri. The one I've had in my head since before I was legal to drive. More later. My pizza is done. |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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Mar 20, 2012 21:23:24 GMT
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Ooh nice Mk1, now I'm betting it wont be as rare as one of the ones I used to have? believe it or not I once owned a 1300GT!!!  wasnt a bad car but the lure of a mk1 escort woith bubble arches made me part with it!! doh! |
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Last Edit: Mar 20, 2012 21:24:22 GMT by rwdrules
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Mar 20, 2012 21:27:57 GMT
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I had a friend when I first started working who had a black Capri, Wolfrace wheels, Pirelli P7's etc and a 1300 engine...
Sold him my Avenger 1500 GLS.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Mar 20, 2012 21:29:53 GMT
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Far as I can tell, the car started life as a 1600GT, but it had been comprehensively messed with over the years to the point where there is nothing left of that except the logbook description.
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,417
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Mar 20, 2012 21:31:02 GMT
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I couldn't believe it when I saw this pulled out. It was part of the furniture in its corner. Didn't look too bad when I had a quick poke around and the repairs you've done so far look good! Can't wait to see it progress more.
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funkyhunk
Part of things
Old Ford's R Us
Posts: 265
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Mar 20, 2012 21:43:55 GMT
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I like an old capri, can't wait to see what you do with it  Do I spy an Escort RS2k airbox under the bonnet? Is it a 2l pinto you going to use? |
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Last Edit: Mar 20, 2012 21:45:34 GMT by funkyhunk
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Mar 20, 2012 22:13:36 GMT
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Yeah, when I got it the car had a rs2000 spec 2.0 pinto and a type 9 gearbox. Both now long gone. I'm not fitting a 4 pot so no huge loss! (in fact, I probably made a profit on them) anyway...  on the ramp, removed both axles (rear was the cortina's old 3.89 english and front was a 4 cyl crossmember and therefore no good) and dumped them outside.  |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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Mar 20, 2012 23:05:10 GMT
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I do like the Mk1 capris - did you really pay £200 for it?
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1966 Ford Cortina GT
2018 Ford Fiesta ST
Full time engineer, part time waffler on Youtube - see Jim_Builds
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Mar 20, 2012 23:19:58 GMT
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Yeah, really. Bargain even 5 years ago! Like I said, the guy needed to sell it quick, I was the first person he called |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,962
Club RR Member Number: 71
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One word - bookmarked - looking forward to the progress
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Mar 21, 2012 19:00:22 GMT
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I'll try and cover the work done so far in this post. I have more from today but it's all still on the camera. So, the car is on the ramp, no axles.. Front end of the driver's side chassis leg was more or less gone completely... No photo, but these are the only bits of metal that were left behind the ARB bracket   Fixed that though, looks like this now.   Most of this (and more) was hidden underneath half an inch of very odd underseal - seems to be 50/50 underbody sealant and potting compost. Very messy to shift but it's mostly gone now.  Strut tops next - Passenger side has a thick plate welded in as a repair (probably by me), it's solid so I left it - I cleaned the surface rust, treated it with genolite and a coat of red lead and then fitted a strut top cover panel over the top.  It might seem a bit odd, layering panels like that, but it's how capris were built (more on that later...) and real v6 cars have cover plates on the strut tops from the factory as extra stiffening. Drivers side strut top however.....  I managed to salvage most of the chassis number from this mess of rotted metal -  I'm going to stamp the number into the cover panel before I weld it in (soon as I find some stamps, anyway...). Strictly speaking, the car doesn't need a stamped VIN because of its age but I don't see why I should make it easier to steal....  Chopped out, ready for thick plate (like the other side) and then the cover panel. Later though, because this is where I hit trouble....  See this hole? See the ramp leg perilously close to it? I did.  Rest of the drivers footwell isn't any better. I suddenly needed to get axles into the car and get it off the ramp ASAP. So.... I "found" a 2.8i rear axle and a v6 front crossmember complete with PAS rack (probably off the same car) and fitted them.  Due to the 2" wider track of a mk2/3 capri this is going to cause arch/tyre interface unless I deal with it, but for now it got the car back on wheels again.  Carpet up, dash out, pedals out, door off. That about takes us to today, which I'll add later. |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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bhups
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Mar 21, 2012 20:23:40 GMT
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Wow thats quite a project! Keep up the good work!
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Mar 21, 2012 20:25:24 GMT
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Oooh this looks to be interesting, be great to see how it turns out  |
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Mar 21, 2012 20:52:55 GMT
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If it comes out how I'd like, I'm pretty sure you will like it ;D Today.... Well, front footwell on the driver's side is very bad.  Previous "patch over rust" repairs and water ingress caused most of this - the inner sill and front A panel are just as bad.   Here is the patch cut open - with the rusty original inner sill still inside it. Grr. I do wish people would fix stuff properly!  and the top of the same bit is also rust infested, eating into the inner wing top and the bulkhead.  Now most of the rot is removed it looks like this  I decided to remove the whole panel for better access to the bits behind it. I also managed to figure out a couple of things that bothered me about this car - from the chassis number, it should be a pre-facelift (and it had pre facelift side vents and back seat) but it also had facelift rear lights (bodged in) and a late dash (fitted partly with self tapping screws...) and the later type loom/fusebox that fits through the driver's side footwell top (next to the bonnet hinge) which is a blank panel on a prefacelift car. Now I've got it removed, it is obvious that the holes have been drilled to fit the loom - this removes my last doubt about this being a ringer and also shows me where the water was getting in |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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At this rate, you're gonna have to change your name to scaryoldcapri
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 10th July 2007  waited almost five years to post this pic ;D |
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Someone just shot the elephant in the room. |
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Dammit!
I've only got 1 photo of my 71 1600XL & damn it was tidy compared to what you have to work with over there.
Oh well, that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
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Another thread that should fly along Is there a realistic timescale? John |
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Nathan
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,650
Club RR Member Number: 1
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Excellent as always.
Looking at your Strut repairs in detail as mine need doing as the previous owner just wacked a plate over the rust on each side.
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Mar 22, 2012 19:22:30 GMT
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Another thread that should fly along Is there a realistic timescale? John No, not realistic at all! I want to drive it this summer. |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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wasnt a bad car but the lure of a mk1 escort woith bubble arches made me part with it!! doh!
