Project Buying a Crapi - 2020 Update!, Still slowly bleeding me dry

[andy18s]

If Opel had stuck with the Manta for a couple more years and dropped in the XE20 16v from the Astra,they would have finally had a car with the engine it truely needed

They would have sold thousands!!!!

 

Edit.. my screen name is Andy 18s in memory of my last Manta,the 1 that got stolen then found a year later....

Kinda lost the love once I saw the damage it got whilst missing

[Sir Snipes]

If Opel had stuck with the Manta for a couple more years and dropped in the XE20 16v from the Astra,they would have finally had a car with the engine it truely needed

They would have sold thousands!!!!

I always figured that would have stepped on the toes of the brand new Calibra.

[DodgeRover]

There were 2 Capris doing really well in the unlimited production stoxs class at Smallfield Oval, one was well used, one was very tidy, the well used one won a couple of heats.

[dozeydustman]

Mk3 Capri is worth saving. Not a refined car by any means to drive, but you can have a lot of fun in one. Standard brakes are absolute shit, and back end can be a handful when pushed, especially. It's as mechanically sophisticated as a meccano set so any spanner time should be simple. Don't drive one like a sports car but a long distance tourer and they make sense - comfortable driving position and pretty easy to drive despite the twitchy cart-sprung back end.

 

Your biggest enemy will be rust and sympathetic* repairs to keep them on the road. Last drove a Capri in 1999 that an old school chum owned. An absolute hoot as it had been fitted with a 2 litre injected Pinto from a Sapphire. The A and B pillars rotted through on his at the sill, so did the scuttle and behind the headlamps.

[fordperv]

I always figured that would have stepped on the toes of the brand new Calibra.

Its a shame calibra's weren't rwd

[Tamworthbay]

Its a shame calibra's weren't rwd

+1 they were a nice looking car when they came out.

[Guest Hooli]

+1 they were a nice looking car when they came out.

No they weren't but RWD would have given them an attractive quality.

[sierraman]

If Opel had stuck with the Manta for a couple more years and dropped in the XE20 16v from the Astra,they would have finally had a car with the engine it truely needed

They would have sold thousands!!!!

 

Edit.. my screen name is Andy 18s in memory of my last Manta,the 1 that got stolen then found a year later....

Kinda lost the love once I saw the damage it got whilst missing

Not sure about that, by the other cars about in 87/88 the Manta was old hat. People were into XR3is and Golf GTIs so seventiestastic stuff like the Manta and Capri were on borrowed time.

[Sir Snipes]

I just realised/remembered it was the lack of the usual partisan behaviour between old rivals (in this case, Manta and Capri owners) that first made me join Autoshite.

I guess the same was true for RR, too, but that site always seemed a bit too self serious.

[coalnotdole]

Well as anyone who's read the thread so far will know after much procrastination I decided I just couldn't live without such a great example of fords engineering in my life. Here are some photos showing just what a bargain I've bagged myself for £1500...      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dosent look too bad so far?, Lower Rear quarters are full of expanding foam but I think thats actually a factory thing on mk3's....

 

 

 

 

Crispy sill top on passenger side:

 

 

 

 

Inner sill also a bit ripe here, floor has been plated to inner sill on the underside in this area:

 

 

 

 

Passenger floorpan/bulkhead joint is crispy, again overplated on the outside:

 

 

 

 

Underside of passenger "A" Post is scabby and door is starting to rot around the hinges:

 

 

 

 

Think the damage around the "A" post is mostly caused by the screen rubber drain hole area having rotted out the scuttle, Inner skin appears fairly solid still from a quick poke:

 

 

 

 

Rear end of passenger sill is also pretty badly rusted:

 

 

 

 

Same area on drivers side has been plated and wobbed up - sill and quarter panel are now mostly one and the same:

 

 

 

 

Front end of drivers sill is rotten as well as the trailing edge of the wing and a bit of the door skin:

 

 

 

 

Inner wings are pretty good and original:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apart from the front ends..

 

 

 

Both headlight bowls are rotted out on the bottoms and tops:

 

 

 

 

Passenger side ARB mount area is pretty good:

 

 

 

Drivers side is rusting behind the doubler plate:

 

 

Spring clamps fitted to the drivers side only...

 

 

Spare dash top and new wings:

 

 

I've had a bit of a run through it and the electrics now all work with the exception of the heater fan which i expect is the motor at fault, I removed a non functioning 90's car alarm and immobiliser and also a load of cable and scotchlock connectors which had been rigged to feed the rear numberplate lights - Original cabling was live but had the connectors cut off for some reason.

No small change found yet but plenty of petrol receipts and childs railway tickets from last year jammed behind every bit of trim I've moved!

 

Its scabby but i think a set of sills, lower a post repairs and lower rear corners and arches in addition to the new wings would make it fairly sound tbh.

[dozeydustman]

I've seen much worse Capris for £1500, though they tend to be the V6 ones. I think you've done OK with this one. How long before it ends up as a full on rest like Dan's? 

[junkyarddog]

Patch it up to a reasonable standard and have some fun.

[danthecapriman]

Rot wise it looks about as to be expected, probably better in some places for a Ford of its age. There’s certainly some welding required but don’t underestimate how far it’s spread! You will find more as you dig!

Looks a good buy though and definitely worth putting some effort into.

 

Wtf is going on with those spring clamps though!? One side only? Is the car sat at an angle because of them?

 

Can’t wait to see more with this.

[coalnotdole]

Wtf is going on with those spring clamps though!? One side only? Is the car sat at an angle because of them?

Its sitting pretty much level - I'm guessing passenger side has a lowering spring fitted but they didn't have one for the drivers side so they whacked some clamps on to get it down level!

[Tamworthbay]

Heater will probably be the resistor in the unit. Don’t believe the ‘it can’t be opened’ that you will read, it’s fiddly but doable. Otherwise looks ok at the money.

[HMC]

Looks a decent buy in the current market tbh. It’s akways worth bearing in mind that the price of a minter helps to cushion costs to improve a less than mint one, nowadays more than ever.

 

I was brought home from hospital as a newborn in a year old ‘79 T 1300L. Bet that took a while!

[fordperv]

Pretty usual spots to be fair, couple of weekends will see this m.o.t worthy

[Bren]

With my SD1 I replaced a lot - but I also repaired a lot. The inner sills I made templates for and then made sections out of 16 gauge zintec - cheaper than replacements and they will last longer.

 

You will be surprised how quick thespending can get out of hand - you need to be disciplined.

[Guest Hooli]

Its sitting pretty much level - I'm guessing passenger side has a lowering spring fitted but they didn't have one for the drivers side so they whacked some clamps on to get it down level!

 

Ahh it's had proper Ford owners then!

[vulgalour]

Every Capri I looked at in the 90s looked just like that one does now, what a weird thing to kick off some nostalgia.  Brings back that very specific noise the rusty bits made around the headlight bowls and the way the doors felt when the top hinges had started to really go so you had to shut them in a specific sort of way.  Nice that it doesn't appear to have any over-plating on the front shock mounts or anything too scary showing up on the rear inner wheel tubs, at least from the photos.  Perhaps the lack of sunroof - factory or otherwise - has done it some favours.

 

These remain one of the best looking Fords ever produced.  I doubt I shall ever own one, so I'll continue to enjoy them vicariously through threads like these.

[coalnotdole]

Well MOT went fairly well all things considered:

 

 

 

 

Tester wasn't at all impressed with the previous owners spring clamp lowering on the offside! Will order some new springs but might just take the clamps off in the meantime and see just how out of level it sits without them.

 

The corrosion it failed on is the reinforcing plate that the top two pedal box bolts go through next to the fusebox, It has an upstanding/lip around the edge and has had water sit-in it and corrode. I've made a new one up this evening which is pretty much an exact copy of the original.

 

Just steering gaiter and handbrake to do and have a fiddle with the carb and it might well pass.

[fordperv]

Blooming heck that's brilliant, I at least expected a a couple of places to need a good tickle with the mig

[cort16]

Blimey that’s a bit of a result

[danthecapriman]

You’ve done well with that. Can’t say I’m surprised at the comments and failure on that spring clamp contraption though! Fucking weird thing!

 

I’ve got a pair of used but good front springs here if you want them? Though new ones aren’t exactly expensive.

[sierraman]

Worth just welding up and then using and enjoying. I think that’s what it’s all about really.

[dozeydustman]

That's not three bad considering. Most of those jobs should be quite easy to repair. Win.

[fastblatt]

I’m really surprised that’s all it failed on considering the pictures. Becomes a rolling resto as son as you get a ticket.

[mercrocker]

It is indeed quite revealing how much corrosion can still warrant an MOT pass.....Puts some of those MoT on-line checks into perspective, too as well as reinforcing the need to actually go and look at cars first!

[TripleRich]

I wish you the best of luck! 

 

The restorer in me says its fucked and has already gone to get the body roller.  But seriously the best solution is to plate it up and enjoy it for a few years as others have said.  Bulkhead, floor, headlamps, and external holes will give it a reasonable life extension.  Some cavity wax will slow the rest of the rot down if you want to go that far.

[coalnotdole]

Well i've been running through the fail sheet and trying to sort out various issues.

The engine seemed to be running very rich at idle and carb adjustment didn't seem to do a lot, Turns out I have a 2.0 pinto with the manifold and carb from a 1.6 sierra bolted to it - this explains the mashup of a throttle linkage and why the hideously overpriced capri linkage I bought doesn't actually fit...

 

Second hand carb and manifold bought from eBay at vast expense(£140)hopefully its as tidy as it looked in the photos.

 

Lots of other small bits ordered including some silly things like a timing belt cover and fan shroud both of which were missing and annoying me. Top end gasket set and rebuild kit for the master cylinder. About £450 into it in parts now I reckon. Scary just how quickly it adds up especially when eBay and OMG Ford tax are involved...

 

 

Popped the front wheels off ready to change the brake hoses as they were an advisory and was pleased to see fairly new callipers and vented discs on both sides:

 

 

 

 

Took the rear drums off to see what the cause of the rear imbalance and poor handbrake was, O/S shoe had had the lining drop off. seems to be a common problem with modern glued linings when they're left out of use for any time:

 

 

 

 

And the wheel cylinders are slightly different bore on either side! Both were leaking as well so replacements ordered:

 

 

 

 

As bad as the outside of this car looks its actually quite good underneath - Heres the O/S rear inner arch:

 

 

 

 

Rear chassis leg and spring hanger:

 

 

 

 

And front spring hanger - its had a small plate on one face but the rest is all original, Other side has two small plates but again is pretty good:

 

 

 

 

The worst area at the back is probably just on the lip of one arch where the rot has started to spread into the arch liner, Still hopefully an easy repair whilst the outer arches are being changed:

 

 

 

 

This evening i dragged the spare front end out of the container and started stripping it down:

 

 

 

 

This will donate the plastic lower valance grilles to my car and also the bumper corner brackets which mine is missing (and which eBay chancers want £70 a pair for) :

 

 

 

 

The headlight bowls on this one are in pretty good condition - once I've finished drilling the spot welds off ill get them blasted and repair them before fitting them to my front end:

 

 

 

 

Other side:

 

 

 

 

I'll probably use part of the inner wing as well to repair where mine are rotted out at the very fronts: