Project Project Capri. Back on the road! New earths.

[Tamworthbay]

Keep at it, the middle is the worst bit!

[nigel bickle]

Dont make the same mistake again. If you must use another Garage, (if you MUST) ride it hard- restrict the budget, drop in unexpectedly, repeatedly and ask for regualr prompt updates.

First sniff of an issue (-& there will be one) get help. Fast.

[danthecapriman]

Dont make the same mistake again. If you must use another Garage, (if you MUST) ride it hard- restrict the budget, drop in unexpectedly, repeatedly and ask for regualr prompt updates.

First sniff of an issue (-& there will be one) get help. Fast.

Dam right!

I fucked up before. I should have been in there regularly keeping an eye on things but like an idiot I trusted them.

I've already had much better and more professional chat with the new place, but I will be keeping a much closer eye on it this time.

I'd love to do the work myself (excluding paint obvs) but I just don't think the room and facilities I've got would do the job well enough. I can weld cars pretty well but this amount of work is well over my capabilities I think.

[TripleRich]

Really sorry to hear that.  Sounds like they were struggling with the metalwork which is typical with quite a few of these places.   

 

With the new lot make sure you visit the car often and get them to photograph every step.  A decent restorer should be proud of their work and happily photograph what they are doing.  If the metalwork gets done right it will last you another 30 or 40 years and the expense will long be forgotten.

 

I've only been restoring cars for 2 years but I've put some things to consider below...

 

Putting the engine & box in a freshly painted engine bay in the garden is risky.  If you get them to do the job they will be responsible for any damage.  

Rebuild the mechanicals so it drives like new when you finish.  You can do that yourself and get the garage to install them for you.  

Fitting headliners and glass isn't much fun, especially if you're going for a new headlining. 

Don't cheap out on the paint even though it may be tempting.  I've seen people spend 20k on metal and then spend 2k on paint, it doesn't make sense.

Consider an alarm/tracker to protect your investment.

 

Don't give up, it'll be a great car when its finished.

[danthecapriman]

Really sorry to hear that.  Sounds like they were struggling with the metalwork which is typical with quite a few of these places.   

 

With the new lot make sure you visit the car often and get them to photograph every step.  A decent restorer should be proud of their work and happily photograph what they are doing.  If the metalwork gets done right it will last you another 30 or 40 years and the expense will long be forgotten.

 

I've only been restoring cars for 2 years but I've put some things to consider below...

 

Putting the engine & box in a freshly painted engine bay in the garden is risky.  If you get them to do the job they will be responsible for any damage.  

Rebuild the mechanicals so it drives like new when you finish.  You can do that yourself and get the garage to install them for you.  

Fitting headliners and glass isn't much fun, especially if you're going for a new headlining. 

Don't cheap out on the paint even though it may be tempting.  I've seen people spend 20k on metal and then spend 2k on paint, it doesn't make sense.

Consider an alarm/tracker to protect your investment.

 

Don't give up, it'll be a great car when its finished.

Thanks Rich.

 

From what I can see they've done a decent enough job of what they have done, but for what I've spent the progress has been terrible. There seems to have been a lot of money paid for nothing really. I'm really struggling to see where the money's been going if I'm honest.

 

 

I do have just about everything needed for this now though.

The floors, A posts, door mounts, inner and outer sills, inner wings, headlamp bowls, 95% of the scuttle area, screen surrounds are all finished now so the car does have full structural integrity back in it again.

It just needs the scuttle area finishing off, new rear quarter panels, rear panel repairs, front valence and spare wheel well repairs. Then it's a case of reskinning the doors and attaching the doors, wings and other panels before painting.

I've now got a good pair of doors - both have good frames and I've got a pair of new skins (one is genuine nos).

I've got a section of the rear roof area from another car to repair the section between the tailgate hinges.

New inner rear arches, new pair of rear quarter panels and complete rear panel are ready sitting in my shed.

The front valance and front panel I've got is a mega rare nos Ford panel. Both front wings are nos Ford panels and in the car...

The only thing I couldnt find was a good spare wheel well but the original should be repairable with some sheet steel.

Literally all I'm missing now is the new front and rear springs, and make my mind up which rear and front springs I'm going to go for!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Was it a Capri specialist?

 

You need to see what car restorers in Eastern Europe are like - there's a guy in Hungary who restores nothing but BMW E9 Coupes. He's probably not cheap by Hungarian standards but cheap by ours, and his work is just astounding. The lengths he goes to eliminating rust and getting panel fits 100% perfect (a real 100%) are unreal. There is a real skill set in the former Bloc countries that had to be learned from a make do and mend mentality.

 

https://www.facebook.com/CSlsGarage?fref=pb&hc_location=friends_tab&pnref=friends.all

[Timewaster]

Is PeteM still around?

 

Im sure he has opinions and advice on using East European restorers.

[richardthestag]

keep it up mon brave, grasp it by the bollocks and get it done. you know that at the end there will be something that you will be genuinely proud of.

 

Do the work that you can do and farm out the stuff you cannot. work under a gazebo if you have to , call in mates, be methodical and it will happen

[danthecapriman]

Was it a Capri specialist?

 

You need to see what car restorers in Eastern Europe are like - there's a guy in Hungary who restores nothing but BMW E9 Coupes. He's probably not cheap by Hungarian standards but cheap by ours, and his work is just astounding. The lengths he goes to eliminating rust and getting panel fits 100% perfect (a real 100%) are unreal. There is a real skill set in the former Bloc countries that had to be learned from a make do and mend mentality.

 

https://www.facebook.com/CSlsGarage?fref=pb&hc_location=friends_tab&pnref=friends.all

 

No, it wasn't a Capri specialist. They do all old cars of all makes and marques.

They did the engine rebuild on my Mercury too. They did a really good job with that which is why I used them again for this, so I'm a bit surprised they've been so poor with this job. Maybe it's the bodywork side they aren't so good with? I've no idea wtf they were doing or thinking with it really.

From looking at the work they've done it is good. The join between the old and new floor sections is flawless and they've made the joint almost impossible to see unless you really get close and look for it. This is all well and good of course but we are dealing with a Ford Capri ffs!! It's got to be sound but does it really need to be that good on a fucking floorpan!? Imho no it doesn't. You'll never see it anyway once the underbody stonechip and sealer are on so why am I paying through the nose for that to be done? It really needn't be to a perfect mirror finish. I won't go into figures, but for what I've added up that I've spent on this it should be finished by now! And that's not me exaggerating! I feel royally taken the piss out of by them tbh and I also feel like a complete cunt for allowing it to go on before checking up and kicking some ass. It's lucky really I stopped it when I did as if I hadn't who knows what would have happened when I ran out of money to pay for it all with.

 

You live and learn I guess, and this has been an expensive lesson for me if nothing else, and at least I've still got my car.

[Timewaster]

So they have done too good a job?

 

Could be worse, at least you don't have a shell full of shoddy jobs to undo.

[Tamworthbay]

So they have done too good a job?

Could be worse, at least you don't have a shell full of shoddy jobs to undo.

Not wrong there, if the 17yr old who owned mine before me had not had access to 1, fibreglass and 2, 'a mate who could weld a bit' then it would be finished now. But having spoken to Dan about his project in the past, I know he has put a proper shed load of money into it and is right to be pissed off at the amount of progress made for the investment made.

[danthecapriman]

Hi Dan

 

You're only an hour's drive from me so I'd be more than happy to devote a few weekends to lending a hand when you get to the reassembly stage.

Never worked on a Capri but I'm vaguely competent* and can work under instruction / be a second pair of hands/eyes as required.

 

Drop me a PM if you need a hand when you're at that stage!

Thank you for the offer, I may well take you up on it once the car comes back. Your a true gent!

 

So they have done too good a job?

Could be worse, at least you don't have a shell full of shoddy jobs to undo.

Kind of yes.

The work that's been done is good, but it needent have been done like that. It's almost like they knew I'd always be there and always pay my bills on time so they spent ages doing things when they neednt have. Wether or not it was a deliberate thing to keep bumping up the hours on each bill I don't know...

I think they were surprised that I stopped them like I did and came to take the car from them. I think as it was in such a state of disassembly they thought there was no chance anyone would be likely to come and move it again so they made sure they took their time with it if you know what I mean?

 

Not wrong there, if the 17yr old who owned mine before me had not had access to 1, fibreglass and 2, 'a mate who could weld a bit' then it would be finished now. But having spoken to Dan about his project in the past, I know he has put a proper shed load of money into it and is right to be pissed off at the amount of progress made for the investment made.

This 100%.

This car had been bodged. The pics from early on in the strip down show things I never even knew about having owned the car as long as I have done.

I was fully prepared to pay top dollar for this car to be put right and I knew I couldn't have done it myself. It was a big job. But for what I've spent so far it's at a frankly ridiculous state! Honestly, for that figure it should be finished now. There's no way in hell this car will ever be worth what I've spent on it, not even close, but I really feel I've been taken the piss out of big time.

I'm lucky in a way that I'm in the situation I am in (personally/financially) if this was an awful lot of other people less fortunate then it'd be serious shit time. This has been financially ruinous for me so far but I still have a good chunk of cash left to get it back on track with and I can replace over time what I've lost. It's just been very hard to overcome so far. If I hadn't taken action when I did then it could easily have been way way worse.

[danthecapriman]

Time for a bit of an update.

Nothing at all done to the car, still waiting to take it to a new place to finish the body and paint. Early June is looking like the time.

 

So instead I've built the car it's own home! Never again will this Capri ever have to endure the utter shit that is the British weather!

 

IMG_0441 by Dan Clark, on Flickr

 

It's taken ages to get the garage to this stage, it went up very quick but it's prep work on the base and odd bits afterwards that eat up time. I'm no builder either, I hate fucking about with concrete, wood etc etc, metal work and nuts and bolts are much more my thing!

 

IMG_0442 by Dan Clark, on Flickr

 

The roof is all thick tongue and groove planks nailed and screwed to the big support purlins, then given a layer of roofing underfelt which was glued and nailed down, followed by the top shingles. These were a ball ache to put on but look great and make it much more weatherproof.

 

Now it's at a dry almost finished state I've put all the Capri's parts and panels inside for now. It's amazing how much stuff comes off a car when you take it apart, even such a basic one as this.

 

IMG_0445 by Dan Clark, on Flickr

 

IMG_0446 by Dan Clark, on Flickr

 

Here's most of the panels, pair of new rear quarters, wings, inner arch bowls, door skins, roof repair section, spare good door etc etc etc. All this will be going on the car soon all being well.

I've also ordered a load of new suspension parts ready to fit everything as soon as the shell is painted. That way I can get the car rolling again ready to build up myself at home. Saves refitting horrible old parts only to have to rip it all off again and replace it later.

I've got new standard height front springs, top strut mounts, a pair of new front wheel bearing kits, full set of new bolt locking tabs, new gas shockers, U bolts for the rear axle/springs, and I decided to go with new multi leaf rear springs too instead of upgrading everything to 2.8 single leaf spec. I decided to stick with multi leafs, the cars had them for the last 43 years so they can't be bad! Plus it's what it should have being a peasant spec car. Being new they will feel and work much better than the completely nackered old ones anyway.

I've also picked up a used replacement complete fuel filler door and hinge piece as mines rotten.

 

Anyone got any ideas what I should do with the new rear leaf springs?

My thought was to paint them with black POR paint (same as all the other suspension/steering components are) will this be ok on springs? Or will it just crack once the spring starts to flex? Also, should I oil between the leafs?

I used to use 10w40 engine oil between the leafs on other cars or is there anything better?

 

Fingers crossed progress should be fairly quick once the new place start work, every part they will need I now have in stock and the car is ready to work on straight away too.

It's really been a huge drag up to now and to be perfectly honest it's depressed me immensely having this hanging over me all the time. I just want the metal work finishing and the paint putting on!!

[TripleRich]

 

 

I just want the metal work finishing and the paint putting on!!

 

Feel the same way about my car!

 

Panels are looking good.  Are the front wings genuine?  My experience of aftermarket ones is that they chew up a lot hours.  Including removal of the old wings it took me be just under 5 working days to replace both front wings on a MK3.  Took half that when using a genuine ford items.

 

Have you thought about getting the mechanical parts blasted & powder coated?  You get a nice long lasting finish and it makes the underside look mega.  If you do it all in one go its not very expensive either, would work on the leaf springs better than ordinary paint too.

 

 

 

 

 

[lisbon_road]

Very impressed with the effort and devotion.  Hang in there, with your attitude, you will get there.

[Skizzer]

Fantastic news that you've got this moving forward again Dan. Really looking forward to progress updates

[danthecapriman]

Thanks guys. It's seriously tested my patience and sanity and it's also made me question my love of old cars too but I can't and won't quit now.

In a way it's lucky that all this is over this particular car, if it was any other I would have bailed by now and called it quits.

 

 

Feel the same way about my car!

 

Panels are looking good.  Are the front wings genuine?  My experience of aftermarket ones is that they chew up a lot hours.  Including removal of the old wings it took me be just under 5 working days to replace both front wings on a MK3.  Took half that when using a genuine ford items.

 

Have you thought about getting the mechanical parts blasted & powder coated?  You get a nice long lasting finish and it makes the underside look mega.  If you do it all in one go its not very expensive either, would work on the leaf springs better than ordinary paint too.

 

RA024.JPG

A lot of the new panels are genuine new old stock Ford parts. Both wings, one door skin and I've got a complete mk2 front valance/front panel too are all genuine new old stock. Expensive and hard to find now but, as you say, well worth trying to find.

 

I did consider getting everything blasted, for whatever reason though I just never did and went for a good scrub and POR top coat. I'm going to stick with that now I think, it won't look as good or stay like that as long but it'll save me time and money now (which has become very important!).

It's not going to be a show car anyway, I want it looking good and useable any time of year. Hopefully this way should be good enough?

[TripleRich]

POR should last quite a while if not forever under there.  I've found it to be very resistant and far better than just spray painting stuff. If you're going for a daily driver a bit of cavity wax on any unpainted nuts, bolts, cables and lines underneath will keep them from going all scabby looking.     

 

From what I've read POR is only weakened by light exposure so anything that is going to see the sun will need a top coat to protect the POR.

[danthecapriman]

POR should last quite a while if not forever under there.  I've found it to be very resistant and far better than just spray painting stuff. If you're going for a daily driver a bit of cavity wax on any unpainted nuts, bolts, cables and lines underneath will keep them from going all scabby looking.     

 

From what I've read POR is only weakened by light exposure so anything that is going to see the sun will need a top coat to protect the POR.

It does seem pretty resistant and long lasting on the things I've used it on before. I sprayed ordinary black paint onto my old Granada's drive shafts a while ago, it looked good for about a year but then started rusting and chipping again. POR doesn't seem so bad for this.

 

I've seen a transparent type of wax which I'll use on nut and bolt heads etc etc, should keep them looking tidy, at least for a few years. The whole car will be getting cavity wax inside everywhere once I've got it home. I want it to stay rust free for as long as possible after all this!

[paulscavalier]

I have got some POR for underneath the cavalier. I did wonder if I needed to prime any areas first.if it's not really nessercary that will save me a bit of time. It's just the odd bit of surface rust here and there

[fordperv]

This is going to be fantastic when its finished, im looking forward to update pictures

[lisbon_road]

All those new panels, wow.

 

Don't put your address in these posts or even hint at it.

[danthecapriman]

All those new panels, wow.

 

Don't put your address in these posts or even hint at it.

Absolutely! I've no idea how much they'd all be worth but it will be a fair bit, especially given old Ford scene tax. The NOS Ford front valance panel is unbelievabley rare now. I've never seen a NOS one come up before or since. It's worth it's weight in gold to me though as you can't get mk2 front valances at all anymore in steel, either genuine or pattern. The only thing available is fibreglass which I'm not interested in.

[fordperv]

All those new panels, wow.

 

Don't put your address in these posts or even hint at it.

Completely agree too many undesirables look through build threads, the worst he would get from us is a group of strange folk turning up in overalls to put it back together

[Tamworthbay]

The last new valance I saw made £850 a couple of years back, bet it would be £1200-1400 now. And to think my whole car cost me £600........

[DeeJay]

Dan, when you put your car in for the rest of the work get a written schedule.

It doesn't have to be "2.35, 25th June will fit drivers wing, 4.30 will underseal same" just something to show that they are on track and to give you peace of mind. 

[danthecapriman]

Dan, when you put your car in for the rest of the work get a written schedule.

It doesn't have to be "2.35, 25th June will fit drivers wing, 4.30 will underseal same" just something to show that they are on track and to give you peace of mind.

 

I will do this time. The mistake I made before was being too trusting and just letting them get on with it. I think they found it easy to take the piss that way.

I'm going to get the car dropped off and ask them to look it over and give me a list or similar of what it needs. Then I want updates on progress and I'll be checking up regularly this time.

 

The good thing is that all the structural serious stuff is already done, it's all cosmetic stuff that's left then paint, so the progress should be visibly quicker from now.

 

The last new valance I saw made £850 a couple of years back, bet it would be £1200-1400 now. And to think my whole car cost me £600........

This car cost £100!

When you look at it that way spending what I have done is absolute madness! I can only imagine what this car has cost me since I bought it in 2001. It'd be a lot.

[danthecapriman]

Just a little progress report on this.

 

I'm now on holiday from work for next week. Wednesday is the day the Capri should be going off to be welded and painted.

I'll be picking the shell up on a rented trailer using the Volvo, then dropping it off a few miles away to the new place. I won't have much room in the car or trailer for the panels etc so I'll load up the van on Thursday and take them down the day after, they should all be a bit safer in the van too, saves jamming it all into the car and causing dents and distortion. Besides that, even with a Volvo estate I'd struggle to fit it all in!

 

Tomorrow, I'll be finishing up some concreting around the new garage, that should be that finished then.

Sunday I'll be going through all the boxes of parts to find anything bodywork related, nuts, bolts, hinges, brackets etc etc. It's all there in tubs and boxes, just needs finding and putting 'to hand' ready to load up and shift on Thursday.

 

I don't think there's anything now left to chance, fingers crossed it'll all go smoothly.

While I'm looking forward to getting this back on track again, and I really really can't wait to see it painted, it's starting to stress me again. Now the date is fast approaching I'm feeling a bit down about it again for some reason. I think it's because of what happened before and the money I'm going to spend. I'll be so glad once it's back home painted and in its new garage. Wish me luck!

[Bobthebeard]

Great news..

Good luck wished!

[eddyramrod]

Absolutely!  Best of luck Dan