danthecapriman

Hopefully they’ll be able to find one somewhere. Probably be a few days wait to source it? I was chatting to an autoglass fitter a while back while he was doing my old work van screen and he looked up all my old cars and the screens were available still, even the Mercury! I reckon you’ll be fine.

Boring work has been continuing on this, mostly adding yet more cavity wax and clear wax where it’s visible. Didn’t take pics, cos, it’s boring! Also got the two footwell kick panels fitted back in… then had to remove them because I forgot to connect the earth wires for the interior lights first!🤬 refitted them again now though. Took the grill off and stole @captain_70s idea of using a silver permanent marker to restore the faded ‘FORD’ logo in the middle. Looks much better now so thanks for that one! Then while that was off spent a ridiculously long time trying to get the stupid bonnet release catch spring thing back into place under/through the slam panel. One of those jobs that was incredibly frustrating trying to get it to fit right. Then refitted the release hook and cable. Everything works perfectly which is good. I then decided the original bonnet spring and latch mechanism were not in keeping with the current state of the car! So I bought a new old stock replacement which is like new in that anodised gold-ish colour. Hermes decided to take 13 days to get it to me so it needs fitting and adjusting yet. Then that’s the front end finished and also means the car can be driven without the bonnet flying up. Pics to follow as I forgot to take any. I also decided to spend a few days cleaning out the garage and laying a new floor since winters on the way. I’ve put down some rubber/foam type tiles on the floor just to tidy it up and keep it cleaner in there. They’ve got grip mouldings on too so shouldn’t be slippery. Loads of old rubbish and empty boxes of parts binned too, and there’s very very little left to actually fit on the car now which is a relief. Its not the best garage ever but it’s all I’ve got for now. It’s dry and safe for the car though which is all I need. And… How was that for a spooky prediction!

🥳🥳🥳👍 12 months! That must have been so frustrating! Glad you got it sorted though, fingers crossed for the MOT.

Great stuff @Shite Ron Cortina looks a lovely place. Most definitely interested for the Capri trip! One of each mk would be a brilliant way to do it too.

@Shite Ron at my rate of working it’ll take me 6 years to finish mine! Joking aside, I’d most definitely be interested in convoying with your mk1 when you do it. This trip with the Cortina’s looks brilliant fun. Anyone fancy being my co-driver!?😅

This really looks like great fun! Maybe I should do one for Capri’s. Capri’s to… hmm Mind, I’d love to take the Mercury to Italy and use its immense girth to block up some of their tiny roads!

This looks awesome! Can’t wait to see more.

Why, over the last few years, have several people who have been solid contributors to this site been banned or forced out yet one or two (I’m sure you all can think who I’m talking about!) seem to be immune and can carry on posting vile shit and generally being a provocative arrogant arse wipe?? I don’t get it!?

Well I like them. Takes all sorts I suppose.

Thanks!

That Toyota is gorgeous. Lovely styling on Jap stuff of that era, very American-ish.

I’ve not really updated it for some time tbh. Various updates etc have gone in other threads too but: It was from around the time Photobucket started arsing around so I’m not sure all the photos are there anymore either. I should probably start another thread or combined thread for all my stuff? Might be a better plan? Sorry for the hijack LHg. Mustangs looking fab! Still love the colour👍

Nice! A touch of luxury for my L then! The bit in the middle is like a rubbery soft padded bit, similar to dashboard padding. I’ll have to pop out the centre badge and see who the manufacturer was and the date of manufacture is usually stamped in there too. I think there were a few different manufacturers making them for Ford at the time.

More done today. Mostly cleaning the interior this time. The seats are fine, being new material, but the dash and most other bits of trim were filthy and looking dull from years of storage so I’ve cleaned it all down with some trim cleaner and a cloth. Incredible how much crap came off on the cloth! It looked grubby but it was far dustier than I thought. Then did a few coats of black cockpit shine and buffed up with a microfibre cloth. Looks absolutely fantastic now! It’ll most probably need a few more goes over with the shine as some of the plastic had gone very dull. But it’s not been cleaned or polished in years. Spent ages over the last few days sorting the door and tailgate seals too. They’re all new and are making shutting the doors/tailgate extremely difficult. The rubber is so stiff and thick it’s stopping things closing properly. Managed with the doors, although I think it’ll improve with time once the new seals soften and take the shape of the closed doors. But the tailgate is not having it! I think I need to loosen the hinge bolts and slide the tailgate up a touch as I think the seal is hitting in the wrong place on the underside of the tailgate. Also finished cleaning and shining up the replacement footwell kick panels. They’re looking great now and just need fitting. I’ve also wax injected the A pillars and inside of the door hinge areas so now just need to fit the kick panels over them. And, I had a great find recently! I’ve been thinking about the steering wheel recently. Been keeping an eye out for a better one - couldn’t find anything much of an improvement over mine so thought about getting the leather wrap on mine retrimmed. Then a really nice one turned up on eBay so I bagged it! Heres my original. These are different to normal mk2 steering wheels. Mine being an early car they carried on using up stocks of mk1 wheels. Which look way nicer too imho. And here’s the one I got off eBay. It’s in absolutely lovely condition. The soft trim is all perfect and the plastic is all really good. I think it’s actually off a higher trim car than mine as it’s got a soft padded centre section whereas on my old one it’s hard plastic. All it needed was a quick wash and some cockpit shine buffing on and it looks a million times better than my old one. Its got a really pleasant smell too! That old musty car smell with a slight hint of old tobacco! Or rather it did, until I cleaned it. Anyway, almost there now. Just a few bits to finish then time to hit the queens highway. (It’ll probably be kings highway by the time I get it done!!) Main thing stopping me driving it now is the tailgate not latching down.

It’s a toss up between two for me. A 1990 H reg Ford Orion 1.4glx (first year of the new shape Escort/Orion). This thing was an absolute shit pile on wheels. Everything in it had a mind of its own and either worked or randomly didn’t next time it was used, engine was a gutless turd that would never stay running for the duration of any journey, electrical faults and random smoke/burning smells, drive in rain or any damp would turn the headlights off permanently until dry. It leaked badly too, used to get incredible amounts of condensation on the inside. It was an absolute dog. Couldn’t sell it (nobody stupid enough to buy it!) so scrapped it… imagine my surprise and disgust when, a few years later, I spotted it parked outside shops not far from home! It’s definitely dead now though. or A 1991 J reg BMW 316 E36. I hated this thing. It was utterly worn out everywhere and was falling to bits. It was the car that turned me against BMW’s, the previous E30 was a brilliant car imho but this replacement model was utter shit. A real disappointment. It was uncomfortable, cheaply made and felt cheap and tinny. The engine was rattling its tits off too. Rear brake lines had rusted through and were a pain to sort. It stank inside because of mould, which was there because it leaked like a sieve. Sold it for a big profit believe it or not! And probably could have sold it a few times over given the interest I had in it. Don’t know why? But it sold to a pair of chavs who turned up in a modified Saxo which probably says it all. I can’t imagine it lived much longer tbh given the state of the Saxo and how they drove away. Id say the BMW probably takes the title. Just! I’ve got absolutely no desire to have another (but an E30 would be a different matter) yet, strangely, I’d probably have another Orion. Just one with a bigger engine.

Anyone seen this? Amazing old truck with a bit of a history to it which gets touched on in the vid’s. Looks like an interesting project! The guys also got an old Autocar tractor unit too.

I’ve only ever had old cars, never even had anything with the new style 51/02 style number plates. In 22 years I’ve broken down 3 times. 1: Capri. Popped a heater hose. Pulled over and bodged it back together and drove home. No big deal. 2: Volvo 244. Front brake calliper seized up and boiled brake fluid. Had to get recovered. 3: Mercury. Original starter motor died at importers warehouse so got swapped for a small block mustang starter (same bolt pattern as big block but not manly enough!) worked for a while despite sounding awful, then blew itself to bits trying to start up at motorway services! Nothing I could do after that so recovery used. I don’t think that’s bad going at all for that length of time or the ages of the cars I have!

Small update. Got a few small odd bits finished since last time, nothing exciting really. I’ve been over the entire underside and fitted split pins to all the castle nuts and nut cages and made sure all the nut/bolt lock tabs are bent over - loads weren’t 😬 That sort of stuff really, and more waxing of box sections and bits of the underside and chassis which wasn’t a nice job in the recent hot weather! Today I ran it up warm and changed the engine oil, it’s been in the sump a good few years now since the car went back together but I wanted clean oil in ready for hitting the road. Didn’t bother changing the filter as it’s essentially new still and hasn’t hardly been used. Old oil came out slightly darker than new oil but still golden and pretty clean. No metallic bits in it, no moisture and no petrol so everything seems good inside. No bits of crap on the drain bolt magnet either. Stuck new 15W40 Castrol back in (which is what I’ve always used in this) with a dose of Marvel Magic oil mixed in just to help it a bit after sitting around so long. Also diluted some of that down in petrol and stuck it in the tank to help lubricate the top end/rings etc. can’t hurt! Also shoved a bottle of fuel system cleaner in the tank just in case there’s any varnish of crap in the lines or carb. It seems fine so far but again, can’t hurt! I’ve given the carb a bit of a tweek on mixture too, seemed a tad rich looking at the plugs and it seems to run a bit smoother now. Decided to change the front anti roll bar bushes today too. Old ones looked very tired and were likely original parts. Dead easy on these, two bolts each side to release the U clamp then just pull the old bush off the bar. New ones are polyurethane replacements in the soft ‘Road’ material so should be similar to new rubber ones in the way they feel. All contact faces were smeared in silicone grease that came in the pack and all went back together easily. Old V new. Old ones were really baggy and dry rotted once off, definitely worth changing them. The new ones are a superb fit too, really nicely made. This is one of those jobs made so much nicer by the car being as clean as it now is. All the bolts came out easily, no rust on the U clamps or mounts… lovely! Been shopping too. Got a really good condition base model instrument cluster with correct mk2 style lettering on the dials. Mines ok but nowhere near as good as the new one. Got that for less than £10 posted, which seems a bargain to me. And scored a pair of very good condition black front footwell kick panels. Been looking for some for ages but good black ones never come up. Loads of grey mk3 ones but no black. They’re in great condition and just need a wash and buff up with trim shine. My old ones were a mess, one had a hole melted through it from a welding job behind it way back whenever, and the other was cracked and had a hole through from an angle grinder! Always been like that since I’ve had the car and not ideal to put back into such a nice car now! Anyway, it’s on the home straight now. Very little left to do. Main thing is fitting the last bits of brightwork, odd bits of interior, under-dash panel, steering wheel needs bolting tight and pinch bolt on the steering UJ coupling. Probably other bits & bobs too but it’s close!

I don’t think it’s that one. The one I’ve seen isn’t as tidy as that! I think it’s a bit older too. Most of the times I’ve seen it it’s been around Waterlooville and Havant so I’d imagine it lives in that area somewhere but I’m still yet to find where! Thinking about it I’m sure there’s another Espace around here somewhere that’s got a massive bleached/bare patch on the bonnet. Though that might be a mk2, I’ve not seen that one for a while.

There’s a maroon mk1 still in use round here. I see it out and about fairly often, but I’m yet to see where it lives or find out who owns it. It’s not in the best of condition but still seems to keep going and keeping getting MOT’s so someone loves it. Ill keep an eye out!

What a lovely old thing it was! Heart breaking what happened to it, and the other car. Certainly makes you think (and worry) about how safe your own things are. I’m not a million miles away from where it was taken myself and it’s got me thinking about my own yank.

Apparently that Ford wagon had only been in this country for a couple of months. It’s owner having just imported it in from LA. Poor bloke must be devastated and pissed right off by what’s happened. There are some absolutely immoral horrible cunts out there. I just can’t fathom how anyone could do stuff like this to other people’s things. Shame on the race promotors/track too for allowing these two shit bags to carry on racing those cars. If that was the last meeting at Ringwood then good riddance if that’s the sort of thing they turn a blind eye to.

I’ve played GTA games right from the top-down era original games. I got the original way back in 1997 at first release. I’ve played every one since. A favourite of mine then was the GTA London 1969. I played it to absolute death! My two favourite cars in it were: The Crapi (had to be didn’t it!) And the S-cart There was an add on for this too; GTA London 1961 which had the same map but with new missions and loads of different cars. GTA 2 I found a bit of a let down really. Never really liked it as much as the previous ones. GTA3 was brilliant when it came out as the first of the 3D era games. Favourites on this one were the Esperanto, Manana and Perennial. San Andreas was absolutely fantastic. The map seemed absolutely enormous and there was so much to do. By far my favourite GTA of all though was GTA IV. Not the biggest map, but it was really detailed and had a good story. The graphics were great and best of all, the car handling and collision damage was absolutely brilliant. Way more realistic than GTA V. Favourites from IV were; Marbelle. Handled awfully but I like that and it looks like a classic yank. (Think it’s based on a US Granada/Lincoln Versailles) Esperanto. Emperor. Uranus. Love it’s fox Mustang/Escort-ish looks. Buccaneer. Classic muscle. These seemed really rare though? And from The Lost & Damned add on for IV (which was brilliant add on!). Regina. Classic station wagon, all in beat up rusty appearance only in IV and with a way better looking front end that the same car in GTA V. Rhapsody. Because AMC Pacers are cool. Fact! GTA V I was very disappointed with. The story and missions were good, Trevor was a great character and the map & graphics were great but the car handling was terrible and very unrealistic and the car damage was absolute crap compared to IV. I’d say this was the GTA I’ve played the least and enjoyed least.

Looks as superb as ever to me! 👍 Nothing wrong with having it looking tidy and looked after. Tired old parts are nice but sometimes do let the appearance down a bit.

Certainly looks ‘vintage’! Probably for the best it’s been changed! You've reminded me, changing the diff oil is a job I need to get done on my Mercury.